Sainte-Chapelle & Saint Germain

Bonjour!

We tried to start the day in Paris with another croissant from La Maison d'Isabelle since they were so good the day before, but unfortunately they were closed! We decided to stop at Bertrand's for our breakfast fix instead since it was on the way to our first attraction. The croissants were pretty good, but not quite as good as the others. We then headed over to Sainte-Chapelle for our 9:00 timed ticket. We were grateful we had reserved our spots ahead of time as there were many others who had done the same!

When it was our turn, we went inside and up the stairs to the second floor for the visit. We spent some time admiring the windows, including the largest - the rose window which is 9 meters in diameter (about 30 feet long) and the illustrations within. We were a bit bummed because four of the fifteen windows were under scaffolding, so we didn’t get a chance to see all of them. I was particularly impressed with the “Donor Window” which depicted several coronations, behind which King Louis IX used to sit during mass. 

A few fun facts about Sainte-Chapelle:

• There are more than one thousand (1,113) stained glass panels depicting small scenes within the 15 windows. The panels narrate stories from the Old and New Testaments, ranging from Genesis to the Resurrection.
• Even though Sainte-Chapelle was damaged during the Revolution and by two fires (1630 and 1776), nearly two thirds of the stained glass in the chapel is original medieval work from the 13th century! After the damage from the Revolution, Sainte-Chapelle underwent a major restoration project between 1840 and 1863 to restore it to its 13th century appearance with support from the public and key figures such as Victor Hugo. This helped create some best practices for restoration and conservation of historical monuments.
• The upper level of Sainte-Chapelle was directly connected to the King’s royal residence.
• It took less than 7 years to construct Sainte-Chapelle (between 1242 and 1248), and it was completed before Notre Dame.
• Louis IX permitted Sainte-Chapelle's construction to house the Crown of Thorns. He was considered a saint during his lifetime and reigned for over 43 years from 1226 until his death.

 

After Sainte-Chapelle, we decided to make an impromptu visit to the Conciergerie (right next door) because they offered a combo ticket if you visit Sainte-Chapelle on the same day. The Conciergerie has played many roles including as a royal residence, a symbol of royal power, the meeting place for the Parliament, and a prison. During the French Revolution, it also became a detention location with the establishment of the Revolutionary Tribunal, where more than 4,000 people were imprisoned and accused of being enemies of the Republic. Most of these prisoners stayed for only a few days, and nearly 2,600 prisoners tried by the tribunal were sent from the Conciergerie to the guillotine. However, the Conciergerie's most famous prisoner was Marie-Antoinette, who now has a small chapel in the cell she stayed in for 76 days. We also got to see the lower parts of the palace, which are the remains of the medieval royal residence. The audio guide included in the visit did a great job helping us visualize what the Conciergerie looked like throughout the various stages of its history!

From there, we walked over to Pont Des Arts to do a St. Germain walking tour (Thank you to On The Luce, the site/blogger who shared the Montmartre and Le Marais tours we took previously!). This one took us along the Left Bank, one of Paris' most famous neighborhoods because it was a meeting place for intellectuals, center of the post-war jazz age, and a hub for artists and writers including Picasso & Hemingway. The Pont des Arts was formerly the "love lock" bridge in Paris - but they have since taken all the locks down since the railings collapsed from the weight of them. The walking tour took us by Laduree as well, so we had to make a stop! We picked up one pistachio and one caramel - both were great, but the caramel was my favorite. The tour took us briefly by the Musee Delacroix as well, which was fun to see ahead of our visit to the Louvre later in the trip where we saw his most famous work, Liberty Leading the People! We then saw the Église de Saint Germain des Prés, one of the oldest in Paris, which was used to store saltpeter (one of the ingredients of gunpowder) during the French Revolution until it all went up in a huge explosion leaving just the church & one tower standing.

   

The next stop was to see Les Deux Magots and Cafe de Flore, two famous Parisian cafes that have been rivals since the early 20th Century when their regulars would choose one over the other. It was fun to think about which one we would choose if given the opportunity!

After the two cafes, we went off-route a bit to grab some lunch. Back in 2010, my mom and I stayed in the St. Germain neighborhood and discovered a favorite local spot, Le Nemrod. Ray and I went back there for old time's sake and it was as good as I remembered (looking back, one of the better meals in Paris for both of us)! I got the canard confit and Ray got the ravioli. We sat outside on the terrace and watched the world go by, which was even more fun because of all the activity happening on the street (lots of funny traffic patterns, tourists, and people going about their workdays). Since we were close by, we went over to Le Bon Marche for some shopping. They had an exhibit going on called "Super Japon" which included some pop-up restaurants, a special stationery store, and more.

We then headed back towards the next stop on the tour, passing the Hotel Lutetia on the way. On the flight over to Paris, I was watching a show about Paris that briefly discussed this hotel's history. The hotel was built in 1910 by the Boucicaut family (owners of the Bon Marche department store) and was named after Lutetia, the ancient pre-Roman town that eventually became Paris. Famous guests over the years included Pablo Picasso, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles de Gaulle. However, while it's a luxury hotel now, it also served as a meeting ground for German anti-fascist intellectuals and writers fleeing the Nazi regime in the 1930s and was later used by German military intelligence when France was occupied during WWII. Afterwards, it became a WWII welcome and repatriation center. All that to say, something I quickly grew to appreciate about Paris was how so many of the buildings have so much history and, in many cases, has been many things. 

We then walked by the Église Saint-Sulpice, the second largest in Paris after Notre Dame which has two towers that are not quite identical.

We finished off the walking tour by passing the Palais du Luxembourg and spending some time lounging in the green chairs in Luxembourg Gardens. It was so peaceful and pleasant, and much needed after all the walking! 

 

We headed back to the hotel for a bit of a break before heading out again toward the Eiffel Tower for the evening. We set up a dinner reservation at Marzo and took the metro over a bit early to explore the neighborhood, including walking Rue Cler, a cute Parisian street with all the classic bakeries, cheese shops, and charcuterie shops. Along the way, we passed the Artillery and Cavalry buildings as well.

At dinner, we split a natural wine from Corsica, a mirko pizza (mushrooms and spicy ham), and a burrata with vegetables (perfectly cooked zucchini and eggplant with roasted bell peppers), then finished with tiramisu. Dinner was excellent and, as a bonus, we finished right on time to walk over to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at the top of the hour!

Excellente journée,

Amy