Sept 23, 2023 - Paris Tour and Farewell to France

The local guide took us to visit the remarkable church of Saint-Sulpice in the Latin Quarter of the 6th arrondissement.  It is best known for its distinctive Baroque facade and more recently, its prominent role in the best selling novel The Da Vinci Code

Then he took us to walk through the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens.  

We had free time for the rest of afternoon.  First we walked by the Musee d’Orsay which is the other museum we really want to see and did not get any advance ticket due to our uncertainty about our schedule.  We were just try to see, and luckily, we got in. The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual. In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first "work of art". The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography.  We were particularly impressed with their impressionism art displays.

Then we took the subway to visit the Montmartre and the Sacré-Coeur.  The Sacré-Coeur, consecrated in 1919, is one of the most iconic monuments in Paris. At the top of the Butte Montmartre, it has one of the most beautiful panoramic views of Paris. In a Roman-Byzantine style, the Sacré-Coeur is recognizable by its self clean special stone. It’s resistant and impenetrable by water. When it does rain, the stone releases a clever substance called ‘calcite’, which cleans the stone and keeps it white. To our surprise, there were so many tourists visiting this place when we were there.

We visited Place du Tertre (Artists Square), Rue de I’Abreuvior (one of the oldest historic street), Le Bateau-Lavoir (where Picasso used to live) and the Wall of Love.  

We had a farewell dinner at Grand Cafe Capucine near the Opera House.

After dinner, we joined the optional night cruise tour to see the lighting along the Seine River. The boating company we used was Bateaux Mouches. The boating company’s embarking process is the worst we ever experienced.  It was the worst experience of our France Tour.  By the way, there were very little of lighting you can see until you get to the Eiffel Tower.  In our opinion, It is not worth the money to do the river cruise.