A Morning Walk in Paris

I yawned as I opened the french doors and stepped out onto the tiny balcony of our sixth floor apartment and looked out over the roof tops of Paris. I love that feeling I get on my first morning in a new city. It is kind of like starting a new life in a new place. There are so many new things ahead of me, so many possibilities and the excitement of the unknown. I take a breath of fresh air as the morning sun rises up above the buildings, and I’m awake and ready for my first day in Paris.

After showering and dressing, we head down the spiraling staircase and out through the giant green wooden door of our building and step out onto the sidewalk of Rue de Turenne. The cafe on the corner looks quiet so we head south down the street until we come to another corner. The cafe across the street where we had eaten a late dinner after our arrival last night is busy again this morning, while the cafe on our side of the street is completely empty. We take a right turn here and walk through the picturesque streets of Le Marais, with stunning buildings with huge wooden doors of different styles and colours, and boutique style shops lining the streets.

Walking in Le Marais

We find a small corner cafe where we spot fresh croissants in the window. We sit down outside and order coffee and a croissant with a view down the street where we can watch Parisians and the occasional tourist walking by. The coffee is a cafe olay (with milk) and is smooth and rich, and the croissant is fresh, soft and flaky.

We pay for our breakfast and continue down the street past a small grocer with fresh fruit and vegetables out the front. Eventually we come to Rue Vieille du Temple and turn left until we reach the very busy Rue de Rivoli. We cross the road with a large group of people and continue walking south on our own until we reach the Seine. It is such a pleasant sight and we are both excited and can’t quite believe that we are walking along the Seine in Paris – it is like some sort of dream. We cross the Pont Louis Philippe to Ile Saint Louis and turn right to walk along the banks of the island until we reach the western tip and continue around to Pont Saint-Louis – the bridge that links the two islands of the Seine together. We stop here a while to look out over the river. The morning sun has warmed up the day and the sky is blue with white fluffy clouds. The river is very calm and I can see boats moving along it on the southern channel. Looking over to Ile de la Cite I can see Notre Dame, and as I look next to me I see the composed look of excitement on my wife’s face – Notre Dame is what she had been looking forward to seeing most in Paris.

View of the Seine from Pont Louis Philippe

We cross the bridge and wander into Square Jean XXIII, busy with people, where we sit on a park bench to rest our feet under the shade of some trees and admire the Gothic architecture of the back of the cathedral. We are mostly quiet, enjoying the incredible setting, and I think still overwhelmed by the fact that we are here.

View to the back of Notre Dame on Ile de la Cite

We get up and leave the park and walk down Rue de Cloitre Notre Dame along the northern side of the cathedral. It is amazing just how large Notre Dame is when you get up close, and if you take the time to look, the detail is just incredible.

When we reach the square in front of the cathedral we are treated to the view of Notre Dame in all of its glory. The gothic facade is fascinating and its famous twin bell towers rising above just make me want to explore further. There is a huge line up to see the towers so we decide to return another day, but do decide to head inside the cathedral. The interior is just as magnificent as the outside, and the atmosphere and singing is beautiful enough to even touch a non-religious person such as myself. I could go on about Notre Dame, but that will be a story for another day.

Notre Dame

After exploring the crypts of Notre Dame – which is more a look into the ancient foundations of Paris – we wander across the bridge to the Southern bank of the Seine. This part of the river is busy with boats and Quai Saint-Michel – the road which follows the Seine – is busy with traffic.

A cruise boat makes its way up the Seine

We walk along the Seine, hand-in-hand, for some time, enjoying being together in such a beautiful and romantic city. Eventually we reach Pont Neuf and cross back over to Ile de la Cite, where its western tip points out into the river, and then continue across the bridge back to the north bank of the Seine. From here we wander back in the direction from whence we came, walking past riverside vendors selling used books, souvenirs and art. We have seen several artists during our walk along the Seine and decide to stop at one that caught our eye. His paintings are beautiful scenes of Paris and particularly of the Seine, and we buy a couple of small pieces to take with us.

Pont Neuf

View of the Seine from Pont Neuf to Pont des Arts and the Eiffel Tower in the background

Riverside vendors

We continue walking along the Seine until we reach the grand architecture of the Hotel de Ville. There is a large gathering of people in the square and they are making use of the beautiful weather and warm sunshine. Our legs are getting tired now and we head up Rue du Temple and then make our way through the maze of streets of Le Marais and eventually back to our apartment for a rest before we head out again in the afternoon.

Hotel de Ville

It only took one morning for us to fall in love with Paris. We would be taking these walks often over the next week.