Then I found the places where runners run, the parks and along the Seine River. I like to explore places by running. After a few days of sight-seeing at the Catacombs (Les Catacombes), Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel), Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, the Ferris Wheel place de la concorde (La Grande Roue de Paris), the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame (Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris), and walking past the Pantheon, I decided to visit by fonctionnement. Since we were staying near the Montparnasse neighborhood, I figured that I would start my run at the Montparnasse Cemetery (Cimetière du Montparnasse). It was just a few blocks away in the middle of the neighborhood but protected by high walls. I found my way into what appeared to be a city of the dead as all the crypts were above ground adorning grandiose tributes to loved ones. It was very crowded. The placement of the crypts both horizontally and vertically were packed as densely as the city itself. Ironically, the catacombs offered a similar, yet highly contrasted, view of the dead. Bones (skulls, femurs, radius', major bones) were literally stacked in piles some resembling grand pieces of art. The bones could be viewed nose to nose, if you will.
Catacombs of Paris
Montparnasse Cemetery
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| Montparnasse tower in background |
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| count the number of crosses |
After Montparnasse, I ran over Edgar Quinet, up Boulavard Raspail and over Boulavard de Port Royal to the park-like area Jardin des Grands Explorateurs down to the entrance of Le Jardin du Luxembourg which is also now the home of the French Senate. The palace was created in 1612 by Marie de' Medici widow of King Henry the IV of France. Finally I had found a place where runners run. There are many paths inside the gardens so you could spend a whole workout session there. You could deem it France's Central Park although not anywhere near as large and not as good for running as New York's. The outer loop appears to be about 1.5 miles but combined with other loops you could easily get in 3 miles or so without repeating paths. There were runners in every direction including what appeared to be physical education classes from a local high school running loops around the inner garden somewhat laid out as a track and similar in size. For runners, I guess the idea is to get to a park or along the river to run and not on the busy sidewalks and roads. I guess this is true of any city. Many of the larger boulevards have sidewalks wide enough but you do have to do some dodging of pedestrians and sometimes bikes and pay attention to the crosswalk signs. Since the French drive on our side of the road, crossing the street was easier to muster. I followed the same path back that I had come except for staying on Raspail to Denfert to St. Jaques for a total of 7 miles.
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| The gates to the gardens and palace |
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| Getting ready for spring - the palace and now French Senate |
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| Not really sure but interesting |
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| Standing guard - how bizarre that they stand in a little box |
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| Runner girl |
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| Cool architecture |
On the following day, although a bit rainy, I decided to do a morning run to Jardin des Plantes probably the second largest park on the Rive Gauche (West Bank). This would take me in a direction that I hadn't been before so I had to map out a way to get there. From the hotel I ran east on the Boulevard Auguste Blanqui to Place d'Italie along and through an open market that stretched at least a mile long - fresh seafood, meat, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, pastries, sweaters, etc. In these open markets, I'm just wasn't so sure about the meat (especially blue chickens) that were sitting out. I made my way, still getting odd glances by marketers, to Place d'Italie. I am sure there is more to this than a giant circle but it has 9-10 roads either coming into or going out of the circle. I needed to find Boulevard de l'Hopital which was halfway around the circle. This road would take me to the entrance of Jardin des Plantes. My journey on Boulevard de l'Hopital was like running on any other boulevard until reaching the actual Hospital, Hospital Petie-Salpetriere. The excessive size and architecture of this working hospital was amazing. Some key facts can be found here although you might need to translate to English. I took a couple of pictures from the gate and then continued my run.
The Jardin des Plantes houses many things of interest - botanical garden, geological museum, museum of natural history, a small zoo. Similar to Luxembourg Gardens, there are paths for running and exploring. Although not as large, the outside loop is probably about a mile. But, there are many paths that can be combined to get in longer runs in without repeating paths. In one area, there is also a place to get in some short hill bursts. Since I was running I didn't get to explore any buildings but certainly may be worth a visit, particularly to the museum of natural history.
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| Place d'Italie |
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| Place d'Italie (with palm trees) |
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| Lots of open air farm markets in various places in the city |
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| Hospital Petie-Salpetriere |
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| Jardin des Plantes Musee Natural historie |
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| Geologie Centre |
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| Another place to run like many of the parks in Paris |
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| Green houses in Jardin des Plantes |
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| Ménagerie, le zoo historique de Paris |
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| from the Jardin Des Plantes circular maze |
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| Interesting tree while running up the circular maze |
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| Running |
Since the Jardin des Plantes is near the Seine river, I decided to run some along the river. The river is not wide and the myriad of bridges that connect the east bank to the west bank are worth a visit. The river is nearly 500 miles long and flows into the English Channel. There are 37 bridges that cross the Seine in Paris and the view from each appears to be just different enough to want to explore them all. Pont Neuf is one of the oldest dating back to 1607. I probably had been on at least 10 during the visit and probably 4 on this run. I first ran across the Pont d'Austerlitz and took pictures of the Viaduct d'Austerlitz, the bridge that carries trains. Then the Pont de Sully, Pont de la Tournelle, and finally Pont de l'Archeveche near Notre Dame. I traversed bridges back and forth and ran down along the Seine looking for perfect views which I seemed to find with every footstep. Once I reached Notre Dame, I realized that on my previous visit a few days earlier I had not seen the back of Notre Dame from the outside, which arguably is more beautiful architecturally than the front. I made this my endpoint to begin my journey back to the hotel.
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| Rain on lens but I think the blur adds to the effect (bikes for rent and freestanding potty) |
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| Viaduct d'Austerlitz |
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| Down along the Seine |
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| Notre Dame from the rear and the Pont de la Tournelle |
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| Found myself running back and forth over bridges for different views |
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| A must - a boat ride on the Seine (consider day and night) |
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| One of my favorite views - Notre Dame |
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| My only selfie |
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| In some ways Notre Dame is more impressive from the rear |
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| Vedettes du Pont Neuf |
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| Bridges (Ponts) are as impressive as the monuments |
I decided to take a different route back running along side the Seine but turning on Saint Marcel from Boulevard de l'Hopital. I saw a sign for Denfert which I knew was by the hotel so I figured this road would get me close. Eventually it turned into Boulevard Arago which confused me a bit but not enough to be lost. I suspect Boulevard Arago is named after the French Astronomer (learning that now) and there is an Arago French Line as shown in the Da Vinci Code. On the west bank, if you are running uphill you are going away from the river, downhill and you are going toward the river. Obviously, this makes sense but it's a good way to know if you are going the right way on the streets that run mostly north and south in Paris.
My run ended at 9 miles and change. It was wonderful to explore on foot. You just don't get the true experience of a city without walking/running in it. The Metro is easy and I did take it a few times but I walked/ran much of the time to experience the neighborhoods and to get those odd looks from Parisians wondering who the guy is in running shorts. Running gives you the lay of the land but the downside is, its probably not a good idea to visit a museum or attraction in sweaty running clothes so it's mostly for the outside view. As you can see from the pictures, the outside views are some of the best and free attractions. Other places visited during the week included Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Monmartre, Musee de l'Armee Invalides, Musee Rodin, Boat Tour on the Seine, Les Deaux Magots, Saint Chapelle, Flottes and of course Versailles. I suspect there were more smaller things or run/walk-bys but these are the main highlights.
Unfortunately, Cindy had to work for a full 4 days and although I would have liked to have experienced all of these with her, I was on my own for those 4 days but we did have almost a full 3 days to explore. The weather was terrible but how can one complain when they are in Paris. I can go on and on about things and show over 1700 pictures but I have to stop somewhere. My basic recommendations for visiting is to learn to read maps (make Google maps your friend), learn the Metro map and how the Metro works (its simple but the Metro and RER work differently), learn some basic French, visit the main things as per above (for first timers), explore the side streets particularly on the Rive Gauche (west bank), be aware of your surroundings (as noted on the attempted pick-pocket on the Metro near Montmartre), and relax.
As for running, runners mostly run in the parks and along the Seine. I saw runners, in Jardin de Luxembourg, Jardin des Plantes, Versailles, and the grounds between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. I suspect any decent size park will be where runners are running. The sidewalks and multitude of crosswalks are not conducive to constant running for longer mileage. But for visiting, exploring and experiencing the city, there is no better way to get a feel for the city. I was probably even safer running than my experience in the Metro although the Metros felt pretty safe also. I never felt unsafe in Paris. I will say running is a universal language. While running along the Seine, another older male runner and I came to a corner, we both nodded, acknowledging the universal sport of running and we were both in shorts. By the way, the Paris marathon looks like a great event. I looked at the course and, now, being there, I can see how pretty it can be.
I would be amiss not to include one last picture of Cynthia and me. This is her second time there for work so she needed to cram sight-seeing in around her daily chores. We got to see a lot together on this trip. I even walked her to and from the bus stop each day. Overall it was a fun trip.
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| Love in Paris - night-time boat ride - Eiffel Tower in background |
Days 337-361: 79 miles, 2014: 1,645 miles
