• The Eiffel Tower

• The Eiffel Tower

• The Eiffel Tower from Notre Dame

• Paris and the Seine from Notre Dame

• Sainte Chapelle, the Louvre, and the Seine from Notre Dame

• Sacre Coeur from Notre Dame

• Notre Dame spire and the Seine

• Île Saint Louis (center) and the Deportation Memorial (right center, at the tip of Île de la Cité)

• At the very tip of the island and partially underground, the Deportation Memorial remembers the 200,000 French victims of the Nazi concentration camps

• Paris from Notre Dame

• The Eiffel Tower from Notre Dame

• The Seine, the Grand Palais, the Arc de Triomphe and the modern skyscrapers of Paris from Notre Dame

• Paris from Notre Dame

• A view of Sacre Coeur from the Musée d'Orsay

• The Panthéon from Notre Dame

• The Pont au Change

• The Pont au Change and the Conciergerie on the Île de la Cité

• A view of the Louvre from the Musée d'Orsay

• Doug & Kathryn at the Musée d'Orsay

• Now a spacious art museum, the Musée d'Orsay building was originally a train station built for the 1900 World Exposition in Paris. From 1980 to 1987, it was repurposed by architect Gae Aulenti. It houses one of the world's best collections of Impressionist art.

• A restaurant inside the d'Orsay and an inside view of the clock on the previous slide

• Inside view of another clock

• The d'Orsay's collection begins historically where the Louvre's collection ends and gives way to the Pompidou Center's collection of modern and contemporary art

• Sculpture now sits in the central gallery of the d'Orsay which in an earlier era sheltered train tracks and platforms

• Some of the roof support structure of the d'Orsay

• An interior clock at the d'Orsay

• A school group on a field day at the d'Orsay

• Ghislaine Blanc, our third amazing French National Guide. She joined us just for the tour of the d'Orsay so we would have smaller groups for the tour.

• Edouard Manet, Le déjeuner sur l'herbe - 1863

• Edouard Manet, Olympia - 1863

• Edouard Manet, Le fifre - 1866

• Edouard Manet, Le balcon (Berthe Morisot, peintre, belle-sœur de l'artiste, Fanny Clauss, musicienne, Antoine Guillemet, peintre) - 1868-1869

• Paul Signac, Les Andélys, dit aussi La Berge - 1866

• Henri Fantin-Latour, Un atelier aux Batignolles - 1870, from left to right, Otto Schölderer, Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, Zacharie Astruc, Emile Zola, Edmond Maître, Frédéric Bazille, and Claude Monet

• Berthe Morisot, Le berceau - vers 1872

• Berthe Morisot, L'hortensia - 1894

• Gustave Caillebotte, Raboteurs de parquets - 1875

• Edgar Degas, Le foyer de la danse à l'Opéra de la rue Le Peletier - 1872

• Edgar Degas, Au café dit L'absinthe - 1876

• Edgar Degas, Danseuses bleues - vers 1893

• Detail of Edgar Degas, Danseuses bleues - vers 1893

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Chalands sur la Seine - vers 1869

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, peintre - 1875

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bal du Moulin de la Galette - 1876

• Camille Pissarro, Gelée blanche - 1873

• Camille Pissarro, Jeune paysanne faisant du feu. Gelée blanche - 1887-1888

• Paul Cézanne, Portrait de l'artiste - vers 1873-1876

• Paul Cézanne, Cour de ferme à Auvers - vers 1879-1880

• Paul Cézanne, La Montagne Sainte Victoire - vers 1890

• Claude Monet, La gare Saint-Lazare - 1877

• Claude Monet, Débâcle sur la Seine - 1880

• Claude Monet, Essai de figure en plein air dit Femme à l'ombrelle tournée vers la gauche - 1886

• Claude Monet, Effet de vent, série des Peupliers - 1891

• Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral - 1893

• Vincent van Gogh, Self Portrait - 1889, while in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence near Arles, age 36

• Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh's bedroom in Arles - 1889

• Vincent van Gogh, L'église d'Auvers - 1890

• Vincent van Gogh, Chaumes à Montcel - 1890

• Vincent van Gogh, Portrait of Doctor Paul Gachet - 1890. Gachet befriended van Gogh while he lived in Auvers-sur Oise and purchased much of the art that van Gogh left at his death.

• Eugène Boudin, Venise, Quai des esclavons - 1895

• Georges Seurat, Cirque - 1890-1891

• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, La danse au Moulin-Rouge ou La Goulue et Valentin le désossé - 1895

• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, La danse mauresque ou Les almées - 1895

• Aristide Maillol, La femme á l'ombrelle - vers 1895

• Pierre Bonnard, L'aprés-midi bourgeoise dit aussi La famille Terrasse - 1900

• Henri Matisse, Luxe, calme et volupté - 1904

• Edouard Vuillard, La chapelle du Château de Versailles - 1917-1919, reprisen 1928

• The Charles de Gaulle hospital which we passed on our walk from the ship to the Place de la Concorde

• A park and another view of the hospital along our walk

• A conservatory in the park

• One of a number of restaurants with the name La Terrasse

• Rue Cler

• Rue Cler

• Rue Cler

• Rue Cler

• A tour boat on the Seine approaching the Pont Alexandre III

• The Grand Palais beyond the Seine

• The Pont Alexandre III and the Left Bank

• As close as we got to the Arc de Triomphe. We were crossing the Champs Elysées near the Rond Point des Champs Elysées

• The Egyptian obelisk at the Place de la Concorde

• At the entry to the Jardin des Tuileries near the Place de la Concorde

• A view over the Pont Royal with la Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame in the background

• The Seine, Pont Neuf, and the Grand Palais

• Pierre Hermé Macarons & Chocolats - delicious macarons!

• Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge, and the Institut de France on the Left Bank

• Pont Neuf plaque. Ironically, Pont Neuf or New Bridge is the oldest of the bridges crossing the Seine in Paris.

• Pont Neuf and Île de la Cité

• Notre Dame

• Henri Matisse, View of Notre Dame - spring 1914. This painting is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

• According to Rick Steves, the Notre Dame grotesque with his head in his hands is the most photographed in Paris. He is watching over the crowds in the square below.

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame detail

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame detail

• Notre Dame detail left of left entrance door. Of course, that is Saint Denis holding his head in his hands.

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• A Notre Dame gargoyle

• Notre Dame spire

• The figure at the right admiring the spire is Viollet-le-Duc, the architect of the 1860 neo-Gothic renovation of the church

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• Notre Dame

• A 'foot shot' while climbing Notre Dame's northwest tower

• A close-up of a gargoyle and three grotesques at Notre Dame

• Doug without his camera

• Grotesque close-up

• Gargoyle close-up

• Grotesque over Paris

• Kathryn at the entrance to the bell tower

• One of the bells

• Grotesques overlooking Paris

• Even the grotesques find those baguettes to be tasty

• The Louvre

• The Louvre's modern entrance pyramid, I.M. Pei, Architect

• The Louvre

• The Louvre

• Louvre detail

• Louvre detail

• A 'foot shot' in the modern entrance hall to the Louvre

• Inside the Louvre entrance hall

• An inside-out photo

• Of course, there is a Starbucks inside the Louvre

• An historical entrance to the Louvre

• A modern entrance to the Louvre. The cylinder in the center of the spiral staircase is an elevator.

• Note the elevator is at its highest point

• Winged Victory

• Winged Victory

• Venus de Milo

• Venus de Milo

• The Apollo Gallery illustrates the ornate decor characteristic of the 18th century French royalty. This is a detail of a ceiling that depicts the signs of the zodiac.

• Another ceiling detail in the Apollo Gallery

• Cenni di Pepe, La Vierge et l'Enfant en majesté - 1280. This is an example of the flatness (lack of perspective) characteristic of painting during the Middle Ages.

• Giotto Di Bondone, Saint François d'Assise recevant les stigmates - ca 1290-1295. This panel illustrates early use of perspective for which Giotto is noted.

• Léonardo de Vinci, La Vierge à l'Enfant avec sainte Anne - ca 1510. Two centuries later, da Vinci uses many techniques to create perspective.

• The Mona Lisa is a rather small painting. Here is the crowd of people trying to get a closer view.

• Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa - 1503-1506. It is behind glass, thus the reflections of the mass of humanity viewing and photographing the painting. No one was injured in the taking of this photograph.

• A portion of Louis David's Sacre de l'empereur Napoléon I - 1804. Note that Napoleon, arms raised, is crowning himself, to the Pope's dismay.

• Closer detail of Louis David's Sacre de l'empereur Napoléon I - 1804

• Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Une odalisque, dite La Grande Odalisque - 1814

• Eugène Delacroix, Le 28 Juillet. La Liberté guidant le peuple (28 juillet 1830) - 1830

• Michelangelo's Slaves

• Michelangelo's Slaves

• Michelangelo's Slaves

• Busts of Roman Emperors

• Roman Emperors. Is this the origin of the expression 'cutting off your nose to spite your face'?

• You da' man!

• Back outside, on the north side of the Louvre

• The north side of the Louvre from the Rue de Rivoli

• Across Rue de Rivoli from the Louvre, likely part of Haussmann's mid-19th century renovation of Paris during the reign of Napoleon III.

• Getting to the wedding reception in style

• On Friday evenings and Sundays, this street along the Seine is closed to motor vehicles

• The Pont au Change and the Conciergerie on the Île de la Cité

• La Sainte-Chapelle

• La Sainte-Chapelle, built 1242-1248 for King Louis IX, the only French King who is now a saint

• This altar was raised to more securely display the Crown of Thorns, now kept at Notre Dame

• Jesus being fitted with the Crown of Thorns, detail in right panel above altar

• Altar and canopy detail

• Rose window at la Sainte-Chapelle

• La Sainte-Chapelle

• La Sainte-Chapelle

• La Sainte-Chapelle

• La Sainte-Chapelle

• La Sainte-Chapelle

• La Sainte-Chapelle

• La Sainte-Chapelle

• A 'foot shot' in la Sainte-Chapelle

• Leaping eight centuries to the Pompidou Center, 1972-1976 design by architects Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano and home of Europe's best collection of 20th Century art.

• The Pompidou Center, the daring exoskeleton design is controversial

• The Pompidou Center is noted for its permanent collection of 20th century modern art and exhibits of contemporary art

• Entering the Pompidou Center

• Georges Braque, L'Estaque - 1906, pre-Cubism

• Pablo Picasso, Buste de femme - 1907, pre-Cubism

• Pablo Picasso, Buste de femme - 1909-1910

• Pablo Picasso, Le guitariste - 1910

• Georges Braque, Femme à la guitare - 1913

• Pablo Picasso, Portrait de jeune fille - 1914

• Pablo Picasso, La liseuse - 1920

• Pablo Picasso, Nature morte - 1922

• Pablo Picasso, Arlequin - 1923

• Detail of Pablo Picasso, Arlequin - 1923

• Pablo Picasso, La Muse - 1935

• Pablo Picasso, Portrait de femme - 1938

• Henri Matisse, Pont Saint-Michel - vers 1900

• Henri Matisse, Le peintre dans son atelier - 1916

• Henri Matisse, Le peintre dans son atelier - 1916

• Henri Matisse, Nu rose assis - 1935-1936

• Marc Chagall, Le poète Mazin - 1911-1912

• Paul Klee, Rhythmisches - 1930

• Piet Mondrian, Composition en rouge, bleu et blanc II - 1937

• Leaving the Pompidou Center. Note the creating of street art in the plaza below.

• Fontaine Stravinski. Apparently each of these sculptures have some musical meaning.

• A close-up of one of the sculptures in Fontaine Stravinski. It rotated and periodically spouted water from a particular orifice, shown in this photo.

• A view of Sacre Coeur from the Musée d'Orsay

• Sacre Coeur, built 1875-1919 on Paris' highest point

• Sacre Coeur

• Sacre Coeur

• Sacre Coeur

• Sacre Coeur

• Saint Pierre de Montmarte and Sacre Coeur

• From Sacre Coeur we began a walking tour of Montmartre, a district noted for art and nightlife

• Food, art, and people at an open market in the Place du Tertre in Montmarte

• La Maison Rose - a famous gathering place for artists and writers in Montmarte, among them Picasso and Gertrude Stein

• Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein - 1906. This painting is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

• Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein - 1906. This painting is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

• Au Lapin Agile - a famous gathering place for artists and writers in Montmarte, among them Picasso, Renoir, and Modigliani

• Pablo Picasso, At the Lapin Agile - 1905. This painting is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

• Pablo Picasso, At the Lapin Agile - 1905. This painting is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

• A sundial in Montmarte

• Saint Denis, an easily identifiable saint, is always holding his head in his hands. The legend goes that he was beheaded, then picked up his head and walked several miles, the stuff of which sainthood is made. This statue marks where he was beheaded by Roman soldiers.

• Taking a shortcut through the hills of Montmartre is 'Man in the Wall', a tribute to writer Marcel Aymé

• Le Moulin de la Galette, in the Montmarte district of Paris, was a famous gathering place for artists and the subject of a famous painting by Renoir

• Le Moulin de la Galette

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bal du Moulin de la Galette - 1876

• Along our walk in Montmarte

• Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo lived here

• Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo lived here in 1886-1888

• The front door to van Gogh's residence in Montmarte

• Montmarte is still noted for its nightclubs

• Another famous Montmarte nightclub

• The Moulin Rouge, a famous Paris nightclub

• Kees Van Dongen, The Parisian Woman of Montmartre - ca 1907-1910

• A few of these original Art Deco signs still mark entrances to the Paris Metro

• Back on the Left Bank in the Saint Germain district, we enjoyed drinks, dessert, and coffee at Les Deux Magots, once frequented by Hemingway, Sartre, Camus, and other writers and artists

• The view from our table

• The view from our table

• Excellent espresso!

• A 'foot shot' at Les Deux Magots

• A visitor stealing our pastries

• Saint Sulpice

• Saint Sulpice

• Saint Sulpice

• Saint Sulpice

• There were many people enjoying the Jardin du Luxembourg on this beautiful day

• Jardin du Luxembourg

• Jardin du Luxembourg

• Jardin du Luxembourg

• Jardin du Luxembourg

• Push boat rental stand

• Push boats were very popular this day

• Push boats

• A 'foot shot' in Jardin du Luxembourg. We found gravel pathways to be common in France.

• The Panthéon, final resting place of many famous French people

• There was a demonstration outside the Panthéon during our visit

• The Panthéon

• The Panthéon

• The Panthéon

• The Panthéon

• The Panthéon is also notable as the location of Foucault's original pendulum

• Foucault's pendulum

• If you have Dupuytren's syndrome, you may be interested to know there is a street in Paris named after the doctor who studied it. It was just a few blocks from our hotel. Thanks to Errol Ger for that information!

• The Hotel de Relais Medicis, our home in Paris

• Kathryn waving from our hotel window

• A garden at the hotel

• The hotel sitting room

• The hotel breakfast room

• Our room at the Hotel le Relais Medicis

• Our room at the Hotel le Relais Medicis

• Our room at the Hotel le Relais Medicis

• A view of Rue Racine from our hotel room

• A view from our hotel room - parking in Paris can be a problem!

• Tight fit!