Hidden Paris

This morning we visit the Île de la Cité. This area of Paris is home to more than its fair share of famous sights, but our goal is the infamous Palais de Justice and hidden within it, Sainte Chapelle. This architectural masterpiece was built to accommodate holy relics acquired by Louis IX in 1239 and it ranks as one of the greatest examples of Gothic art in France alongside the cathedrals of Notre Dame Cathedral and Chartres. We continue to the Conciergerie, formerly part of the palace complex but repurposed during the Revolution as tribunal and prison. We end the day at the Musée de Louvre where we will view the Etruscan, Greek and Roman galleries, one of one of the richest collections in the world. 

We make an unusual visit to the Egouts, a complex network of tunnels which mirror the city streets above ground and serve not only as waste removal but as support for the city’s electrical and digital infrastructure. The sewers have long been an unusual attraction for visitors and guided tours were conducted by boat or wagon as early as the 19^th century. In the afternoon, we head west to the leafy suburbs of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and the National Archaeological Museum. Housed in a grand chateau, once seat of Kings, the museum was originally conceived by Napoleon III as a repository for the artefacts acquired during the Second Empire’s great archaeological excavations.

We head to Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement. This hilltop right bank neighbourhood with its narrow alleys and cobbled lanes still retains some of the famous village atmosphere that appealed so much to the artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Here we visit the snow-white confection of Sacré Coeur and the nearby unsung gem, the Church of St. Pierre. There is a Roman temple to Mars is tucked away within its holy grounds and we admire the spolia repurposed within the church. We end the day at the Musée de Montmartre.

This morning we explore the city’s Romano Gallic origins with a visit to the Arènes de Lutèce, site of the Roman amphitheatre. Built in the 2nd century AD it was designed to seat up to 15,000 people. In the afternoon we visit the Musée de Cluny where we visit the Roman baths that lurk beneath the museum. We end the day with a visit to the Catacombes de Paris. After several years of modernization and accessibility work, the museum reopened in May 2022 with a brand new museography.

We leave Paris behind, and speed northwards across the channel back to London.