1er Arrondissement: Sights

Okay guys, blog slacker party of one over here. I know I KNOW. School is in full swing now, so I am playing my famous disappearing act from society. Seriously though, I've been getting home from studio and I'm just too tired to be witty and put together blog posts.

Good news: You will not be able to get rid of this blog and its constat updates (and meeeeeeeeeee!) starting at the end of January.
Bad news: I'll be in and out of here sporadically for the next 3 1/2 months. Sorry, but this girl's gotta graduate!

So, we left off last time with the arrondissement thing. That starts now!

The 1st arrondissement is one of the oldest arrondissements (weird right?!) in Paris. It's also one of the smallest, with a significant portion containing the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens. Aside from that, it's main functions are dedicated to business/administration and things like tourism, dining, shopping, etc. Even though it's small, the 1st is packed with things to do/see, so I've broken it down into a few different sections. Today I'll show you some of the sights (built ones - AKA gardens are another day).

1. The Louvre 

The Louvre started out as a fortress built in the 12th century, and evolved into a palace. It maintained its status as the main royal residence until Louis XIV gave it the hand and moved out of the city to Versailles. The Louvre then became a place to display the royal collection, which is a euphemism for a glorified storage unit (kidding), and also played home to the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Academie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture. THEN the National Assembly (transitional governmental body during Revolution times) decided to turn the Louvre into a museum. AND HERE WE ARE TODAY.

The Louvre is HUGE. Like overhwhelmingly huge. The three most famous pieces (I've heard from other sources, I am not a reliable art connoisseur so feel free to ignore this wisdom) are the Mona Lisa (okay except this one), the Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. They also have an incredible Egyptian collection. And everything else is preeetttyyy extensive. That's where my Louvre expertise ends. If you're set on seeing everything, 1. Good Luck and 2. Go here. Someone has actually seen everything, and has set up themed scavenger hunts to help break down your visits.

In the court of the Louvre you can see I.M. Pei's famed pyramid. As an architecture student, I shouldn't admit this, but I always imagine it being significantly smaller than it is... and then I get there and I'm like HOLY SMOKES IT'S HUGE. Check out that scale. It's the opposite reaction I have to the Mona Lisa (it's small and constantly surrounded by asian tourists with video cameras, sorry to disappoint). If you're a Da Vinci Code fan, then YES this is THE PLACE. And yes, I have pictures of myself at the inverted pyramid point somewhere on my computer... If you're a super fan, you can take a legitimate tour for the bargain price of 113 euros! :)

The Louvre also just opened up their Islamic Art wing. I haven't been to see it yet (which is counterintuitive to this post, I realize), but I've heard good things. I'll report back.

2. The Palais Royal

The Conseil D'Etat (Counsel of the State) is a big deal. It is "the highest administrative jurisdiction - it is the final arbiter of cases relating to executive power, local authorities, independent public authorities, public administration agencies or any other agency invested with public authority" (Yep, stole that from the website). Did your eyes just glaze over? Sorry. BUT this is important, because it's in the Palais (Pal-AY) Royal. The Palace was built in 1633 by Cardinal Richelieu. A fire destroyed the palace in 1773, and it was subsequently rebuilt in 1781. It remained a royal palace and place of entertainment (theaters and the garden - places to see and be seen) for many centuries. Now it is home to the Conseil D'Etat, the Constitutional Council, and the Ministry of Culture. Can you tour these places? NOPE. Or at least I haven't been able to find any information if you are able to do so....But you can see the Cour d'Honneur with its controversially famous "Buren Columns" designed by Daniel Buren? YEP. The garden is also beautiful, but I'll get to that in the garden post (I know).

3. Ste. Chapelle

I was a little bummed to see Sainte Chapelle (upper left) getting a facelift, but will be going back as soon as everything is fixed. This church is known for its incredible stained glass windows and beautiful interior. Click here for more information. 

The building in the middle/to the right is the Palais de Justice. It used to be a palace (surprise!) and now contains many judicial courts and the Conciergerie, which was where Marie Antoinette was held before being guillotined, but is just a museum now.

4. St. Eustache

St. Eustache is a beautiful cathedral near the Chatelet-Les Halles station. I feel like it might be a little overlooked (Notre Dame, Ste Chapelle, and Sacre Coeur are the big ones), but you should stop here. Its convenient location and gothic beauty are worth the detour. ALSO there's a ton of construction going on right outside the church's front door, but once that's finished, it will be a great space to take a break from marathoning around the city all day.

5. The Orangerie + the Jeu de Paume

These two museums don't go together, buuuuuut whatever. The museums are both located on the opposite end of the Tuileries Gardens from the Louvre. The Orangerie is on the southwest edge of the gardens, while the Jeu de Paume is on the northwest. If you are a fan of impressionist painters, head over to the Orangerie. There, you will find 8 of Monet's Water Lilies murals, with work by Renoir, Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne, etc.

The Jeu de Paume contains modern and postmodern photography and media. If that's your thing, check it out!

6. Other Cultural Gems

Walking in the 1st, you might run across the Comedie Francaise (left) and the Banque de France (right).

And this wraps up the first part of the 1st! I hope you have a great week - I am really looking forward to a little sunshine after two straight weeks of rain!

xoL