For our second day in the City of Lights, we decided to explore a neighborhood we heard a lot about: Montmartre. As a Moulin Rouge fan, I knew I couldn’t miss that part of Paris. Our day starting with a lot of stairs, something I wasn’t expecting but should have known! After all, Montmartre begins with “Mont”, the French word for hill…
Our first stop once we got out the metro was the Sacré-Coeur basilica. Before going to Paris, I heard a lot of people saying it was absolutely worth it, so we walked into in, around it and up it! The church is beautiful from the inside, and the view is as nice from the top.
If you have the chance to get to the top, I’d suggest doing it! They view was breathtaking even though we had a cloudy sky, and who doesn’t like getting closer to the gargouilles (gargoyles).
After climbing so many stairs up the hill and the church tower, it was time for a nice lunch on a terrasse! We opted for crêpes, as it’s a must-eat in Paris! Actually, my sister and Chris opted for the crêpes; I chose a Croque-Madame, which is another thing people have to try in Paris!
Next, we wandered around, checking out the beautiful paintings people were selling on the streets and peeking at the new masterpieces the painters were working on, all while refusing many offers to get our portraits drawn. The people hanging in Montmartre all have so much talent painting and drawing! My stick figures don’t stand a chance.
And because we were in the neighborhood, I wanted to visit the Montmartre museum. It hosted a lot a famous French painter, and as a took a few art history classes, I couldn’t not stop. So we spent around an hour looking at the paintings in the houses, as well as visit the gardens that inspired so many artists. If I lived in that house, I think I’d start painting too! 😉
My favorite part of the museum was definitely the studio. Even though nobody worked in it for a while, creativity was leaking all over that room. It felt like the perfect place to sit down and let inspiration pour. Of course, pictures can’t relate that feeling very well, but know that I wanted to sit down and work on a painting too, even though I don’t have any talent!
I have to admit, we all got a bit lost trying to find the Moulin Rouge! But it was a beautiful walk, so we weren’t going to complain (or just a little bit). Paris is absolutely lovely, and Parisian also tended to be very kind and welcoming to us. After all, as French Canadians, we’re cousins! I know that’s not the treatment everybody is going to get, but we were lucky enough to have people point us in the right direction when we looked completely lost.
We ended our day at the Galeries Lafayette, one of the biggest store you’ll find in Paris. I initially thought it was a mall, but it turned out the entire thing is only one giant store! (Offering lots of different brands, of course) But while my sister was going through all the expensive clothes and finding something to splurge on, Chris and I headed to the roof, where the crowd was thinner. We both needed to sit down, and the terrasse seemed like a good place, as we didn’t fell like looking for a coffee shop around town.
When we got to the roof, I was absolutely blown away by the view! Nobody ever told me that I could get the greatest sunset picture of Paris on the top of Lafayette! I felt like I stumbled upon an incredible hidden gem, so I stayed there for an hour or two, watching the sunset as my sister was checking out price tags. But don’t worry, I made sure we met soon enough so she could see the amazing show the sky was playing for us, right before the sun disappeared. It was so beautiful!
So if you want to get the best sunset in Paris, please go to Lafayette! You don’t even need to buy (or pretend to buy) anything! Just jump on the escalator and keep going until you hit the roof 🙂
STAY TUNED FOR MORE POSTS ABOUT OUR WEEK IN PARIS!
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