Places to visit in Paris
My favorite special places to visit in Paris
Paris is known by everyone for its beauty and tourism.
But in this article, I will share some of the lesser-known places and inside observations. And of course some personal favorites. As a bonus, I will share my three favorite Champagne brands.
Places in Paris
Grande Arche de la Défense
In 1982, on the initiative of French president François Mitterrand, Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen and Danish engineer Erik Reitzel won the competition with their design of a Grande Arche. Erik Reitzel is especially known for his minimalistic structures, which you can see when visiting the inside of the roof of the building.
Before building this monument, Spreckelsen had only built four churches and his own house.
The building is turned 6.3 degrees due to standing over an underground motorway and train lines.
The oldest houses in Paris
You know Paris for its big avenues like Champs-Elysées. And you should go there. For sure. But how was Paris before Haussmann started renovating Paris?
Three addresses to visit:
- 13 Rue François Miron, 75004 Paris
- 3 Rue Volta, 75003 Paris
- 51 Rue de Montmorency, 75003 Paris
Île Saint-Louis
Île Saint-Louis is one of my favorite places in Paris. Sitting at a café outside in the sun or finding a restaurant of your taste. And don’t forget to taste the famous Berthillon ice cream.
Le Train Bleu
One of the most surprising restaurant experiences in Paris is Le Train Bleu at Gare de Lyon togstationen.
The Train Bleu restaurant is also known for a scene in the movie Nikita.
Panthéon
The Panthéon is an impressive monument, but it is actually the inside that I come to visit.
The Foucault pendulum is a near-perfect pendulum swinging uniformly relative to the fixed stars. You can thus see the Earth turning.
In the crypt of the Panthéon you will find the graves of great men and women honored by France. My favorites are:
- Louis Braille enabled blind people to read and write. At the age of 12, he started working on a new system to enable blind children to read and write. After working day and night for three years, at the age of 15 his first version was ready.
- Maria Skłodowska Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and the first person to win it twice. She was the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris. And the first woman to enter the Panthéon for her own merits.
- Joseph-Louis Lagrange. Maybe you heard that the James Webb Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope were sent to Lagrange point 2. Well, he figured it out in 1772.
- Simone Veil survived Auschwitz, became a leading defender of women’s rights, and as Minister of Health secured the legalization of abortion in France in 1975.
Observatoire de Paris
The Paris Observatory is actually not easy to visit. The reason I mention it is to tell a story.
The story of giants standing on the shoulders of giants.
The Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) made precise observations of the planet Mars. His student Johannes Kepler (1574-1630) used Tycho’s records of the motion of Mars to deduce the laws of planetary motion. In 1671 the Paris Observatory sent the French astronomer Jean Picard (1620-1682) to Denmark to determine the exact position of Tycho Brahe’s former observatory at Uraniborg on Hven. While in Denmark, Picard met Ole Rømer (1644-1710), recognized his talent, and brought him back to Paris in 1672, where Rømer joined the Paris Observatory. Here he observed eclipses of Jupiter’s moon Io. This allowed Ole Rømer to conclude that the speed of light was finite. In 1905, Albert Einstein concluded that the speed of light is invariant, so space and time must be relative.
Sculptures in Paris
I love sculptures. Here are my four favorite sculptures in Paris.
Lion of Belfort at Place Denfert-Rochereau
The lion symbolizes the heroic French resistance during the Siege of Belfort, a 103-day Prussian assault from December 1870 to February 1871.
Ours blanc by François Pompon at Musée d’Orsay
François Pompon worked as an assistant for Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel. At the age of 67 he made the polar bear. An entire life leading up to this moment.
Sculptures at the Louvre
The Louvre has a fantastic collection of sculptures. My favorites are the slaves by Michelangelo.
Imprisoned in stone, The Louvre
The Thinker by Rodin
The Thinker was originally entitled The Poet, representing Dante, the author of the Divine Comedy.
This powerful man, lost in thought, maybe observing the world. If he could, he would be shaking his head.
My favorite Champagne brands
I lived in a Champagne village for many years. The list is ordered by how much I drink of it.
Champagne Henri Chauvet in Rilly-la-Montagne
The Chauvet family has complete control over the entire process. The wine fields, when to pick the grapes, the pressing, maturing the wine, bottling, and selling.
I always have a bottle of Chauvet in my fridge. Rosé, Brut Nature (dry) or Réserve. Because, you never know when there might be something to celebrate.
If you want a great champagne at a fair price, go with Henri Chauvet. Do like me, buy two boxes with a mix of your favorite bottles and keep one in the fridge at all times.
Champagne Vilmart in Rilly-la-Montagne
Laurent Champs leaves nothing to chance. The wine is aged in barrels. I have seen an article where Vilmart beats the next on the list. It is not cheap, but you get what you pay for.
If you want an extraordinary champagne at a fair price, go with Vilmart.
Champagne Bollinger in Aÿ
Of course, you think James Bond, Agent 007, but Champagne Bollinger is actually an incredible Champagne. Bollinger makes no compromises. The quality and taste are simply extraordinary. So is the price.
If you want the best no matter the price, go with Bollinger.
Fun fact: Bollinger uses Business Central and was once my customer.