Journées du Patrimoine

Hi fellow bloggers - this was Debbie's first week back in Paris.  This weekend marks Heritage Days (Journées du Patrimoine 2012) not only in Paris, but in all of France and many other European countries.  On these days many buildings open their doors to the general public for free.  In Paris, maybe about 200-300 buildings were open, ranging from schools and various offices and museums to the Presidential Palace (Palais Elysée), Sorbonne and Senate (at Palais du Luxembourg).  Debbie and I started with high hopes of seeing Palais Elysée, but decided the 4 hour wait was just a tad too long! 

Instead we went to some churches we haven't been to - St Marie Madeleine, which you can see directly from Concorde.  Madeleine is different than most other churches/cathedrals in Paris.  It has a classic Greek look.  No central dome, no flying buttresses, no side chapels, etc.  As it turns out, it took over 80 years in construction and plans changed many times.  In the end, it was completed as a "simple" parish church for the 8th arrondisement.  Our second church was St Eustache, which is similar to Notre Dame in size and style.  I don't recall any flying buttresses, but they were probably there.  When we were last in Paris, St Eustache was being refurbished.  Guess what - it's still being refurbished.  Outside seems complete, but inside is maybe 1/4 done at most.  The most impressive thing is just the size. 

We discovered Square Louis XVI as we walked between the churches - it commemorates the location where Louis' bones were originally interned (in an unmarked grave).  Recall, Louis XVI lost his head (along with queen wife Marie Antoinette) during the Revolution.  In later years, the bones were reclaimed and the square was created with a small park and chapel.  We enjoyed this small, unpretentious memorial.

Our main visit Saturday was Hotel de Ville (Paris City Hall).  This is our old stomping grounds - right next to the metro station I would take to work.  Lines were reasonable, and we were entertained by music as we waited.  Inside, as we've learned to expect, the rooms are lavishly decorated in ornate French styles.  Walls are painted with murals, molding is gilded.  Statues, ornate clocks, stained glass, and chandeliers of Baccarat crystal abound.  We visited the mayor's office, which was strangely modern in style and furnishings.  The computer screens always seem a bit out of place near Louis XIV clocks on the mantels!  It was a great tour, complete with information cards in English!  Even had activities for kids (if we had little kids).  We made it back home after about 7 hours of touring, exhausted!

Sunday, we slept in a bit (trying to regain strength) and decided to take the metro over to the Sorbonne (instead of walking as we did Saturday).  We were surprised to find a short line to get in.  In general, the Sorbonne (one of the earliest universities in Europe, dating from mid 1100's) is fairly plain.  It's walls may be painted with murals, but the trim and ceilings are mostly white, even if they have sculpted patterns.  The architecture is plain, but classic. 
The Grand Amphitheater was impressive - hard to imagine making a presentation there!  Also, Cardinal Richelieu's chapel and tomb were interesting - his Cardinal's hat is suspended from the ceiling above his tomb.  Again, we were treated to information posters in English (seems like it shouldn't be a big deal, but we haven't found this to usually be the case...  more so now than in the past).


Our next stop was entirely different - the Senate at Luxembourg Gardens.  Where the Sorbonne was more classic, the Senate is actually in a Palace that was once occupied by Napoleon.  Administrative offices are in one wing, while the assembly and reception rooms are in a separate, fancier wing.  Some sections reminded me of Versailles. 
Highlights included the Grand Hall, the Senate Library and Archives, and the Senate assembly chamber.  Of course, there were also the views of the Gardens from Senate windows!  Now, that's a garden office!

After the Senate, we went to the Pantheon for a quick visit - mostly I wanted to see if you could go up in the dome (you couldn't).  Like the Sorbonne, the Pantheon is less gaudy and more classic.  To me, the dome itself and the statues are most impressive.  We stopped nearby at the Bombardier for a pint of Guinness and their roast beef and Yorkshire pudding Sunday dinner. (Just as I remember it - for 12 euros, impressive in itself!) 

Our final stop for Journées du Patrimoine was at Madame Curie's Museum, not too far away.  There wasn't much to it, but it was still interesting to see where the Curies (Pierre and Marie, and later their daughter and son in law) performed their pioneering research on radioactivity.  Currently, the Institut du Radium is one of the leading cancer research and treatment facilities in the world.
Once again, home around 5pm.  Had to return to work to get some rest! 
Au revoir.