Cluny Museum. That's where the original Unicorn Tapestries are. It's also a former monastery that was built over several hundred years, so you get a lot of different architectural styles in one rambling building.
I second the vote for Sainte Chapelle -- and Notre Dame, which is practically right next-door. Those rose windows and gothic ceilings are just breath-takingly gorgeous.
I'd never heard of the Cluny museum, will look for it! I have been to the Cloisters in NYC, which have what I think are called the Unicorn Tapestries... any connection?
Huh. Apparently there are two sets and I misremembered which was which. The more famous Unicorn Tapestries are indeed at the Cloisters, and the set at the Cluny is The Lady and the Unicorn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_and_the_Unicorn. Still, worth going to see. I remember there being a lot of symbolic detail, with different types of animals representing... virtues? seasons? Clearly I need to review my art history!
Cluny is great. Particularly the beamed ceilings in the later parts, and yes, the tapestries (which are in a dim room, and may be hung in the wrong order, as there is some debate about the story they are telling, but just about everyone agrees that they are supposed to represent the experience of the senses, as well as having seasonal aspects and appearing and disappearing animals). As far as I know there's no connection between the two sets of tapestries, though I wondered the same thing.
Do be careful to check the schedule, because, as with everything in Paris, it closes unexpectedly on days you'd expect it to be open, and they also host private parties. In the park across the street from Cluny, there is a very small sculpture of Romulus and Remus.
The archeological tour under Notre Dame is pretty interesting, particularly if you like Roman ruins or want to learn more about how Isle de la Cite was formed and what it was like in medieval times.
Oh, and definitely visit the medieval parts of the Louvre. I at least did a serious double take when I got down there. I won't spoil the visual.
I second or third Musee D'Orsay and the rest of the Louvre, where you can be two inches from a sculpture that is the same age as say, the Trojan war, with no glass between you, and also see their futuristic rising column elevators in the area where the three wings meet up. I especially recommend the Near East section, which has the twins of some of the middle eastern sphinxes that are in the British Museum, and some terrific temple paintings.
There is so much to do that before we went I went around to all the websites for attractions I wanted to see and made a spreadsheet of their hours and the days they were open and what neighborhood they were in (this will differ in the summer) so I could group things appropriately, and also so we wouldn't discover we had gone to a closed attraction and not know what to substitute.
Also, Paris is littered with miniatures of the Statue of Liberty that are the original molds and models for it including one that stands in the courtyard of the Musée des Arts et Métiers.
Have a wonderful time! Take photos, eat in a different place every time you can, and make sure to get the flower-style gelato ice cream cones at least once, because it's fun to watch them make them, especially if you get more than one flavor.
I grew up with ancient things :) One of my favorite childhood beaches was the site of a ~2200 year old aqueduct that we could play or swim around - and that also, since it goes out into the water, protects the beach from jellyfish, which was why we liked it. However, I bet Paris's ancient things are, on average, much more beautiful than most of the ruins we had scattered around us.
We really ought to go to the Louvre... how much time should we expect to want to spend there? Considering we'll have only about 7 free days and so many other things to see, what's your guess of how the Louvre stacks up - half day? full day? return on a second day?
Hmm, do Paris museums tend to be open on weekends? Do they have the American security-theatre obsession that would get in the way if we're wandering around the city with full backpacks?
We really ought to go to the Louvre... how much time should we expect to want to spend there? Considering we'll have only about 7 free days and so many other things to see, what's your guess of how the Louvre stacks up - half day? full day? return on a second day?
The Louvre is enormous. You could literally spend two weeks there and not see all of it. I would say the 'return on a second day' strategy makes the most sense. That's what we did, and while I still felt that I wasn't getting to see as much as I would have liked, it helped to know that we would have a second crack at it.
Hmm, do Paris museums tend to be open on weekends? Do they have the American security-theatre obsession that would get in the way if we're wandering around the city with full backpacks?
The primary place that I was turned away for having a backpack (and not for the pack itself, but for having a metal spoon) was at Sainte Chapelle, where they have amazing stained glass to protect. So they have a long security line and they're fairly anal about making sure you don't have anything that could be used to damage the glass. Sainte Chapelle is relatively near the Latin Quarter, Notre Dame and various other Isle de la Cite attractions so you may just not want to take your backpacks that day if you can help it.
Outside of that, they did a fairly rudimentary bag check at the Louvre and at Versailles, but they didn't confiscate anything. I think I recall that pecunium also got some weird reactions to the fact that he carries a pocket knife.
As to weekends, the museums and attractions are open and in general extremely crowded, so go to something more obscure, or go very early.
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momijizukamori
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I second the vote for Sainte Chapelle -- and Notre Dame, which is practically right next-door. Those rose windows and gothic ceilings are just breath-takingly gorgeous.
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Now I want to go to the Cloisters again.
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Do be careful to check the schedule, because, as with everything in Paris, it closes unexpectedly on days you'd expect it to be open, and they also host private parties. In the park across the street from Cluny, there is a very small sculpture of Romulus and Remus.
The archeological tour under Notre Dame is pretty interesting, particularly if you like Roman ruins or want to learn more about how Isle de la Cite was formed and what it was like in medieval times.
Oh, and definitely visit the medieval parts of the Louvre. I at least did a serious double take when I got down there. I won't spoil the visual.
I second or third Musee D'Orsay and the rest of the Louvre, where you can be two inches from a sculpture that is the same age as say, the Trojan war, with no glass between you, and also see their futuristic rising column elevators in the area where the three wings meet up. I especially recommend the Near East section, which has the twins of some of the middle eastern sphinxes that are in the British Museum, and some terrific temple paintings.
There is so much to do that before we went I went around to all the websites for attractions I wanted to see and made a spreadsheet of their hours and the days they were open and what neighborhood they were in (this will differ in the summer) so I could group things appropriately, and also so we wouldn't discover we had gone to a closed attraction and not know what to substitute.
Also, Paris is littered with miniatures of the Statue of Liberty that are the original molds and models for it including one that stands in the courtyard of the Musée des Arts et Métiers.
Have a wonderful time! Take photos, eat in a different place every time you can, and make sure to get the flower-style gelato ice cream cones at least once, because it's fun to watch them make them, especially if you get more than one flavor.
no subject
We really ought to go to the Louvre... how much time should we expect to want to spend there? Considering we'll have only about 7 free days and so many other things to see, what's your guess of how the Louvre stacks up - half day? full day? return on a second day?
Hmm, do Paris museums tend to be open on weekends? Do they have the American security-theatre obsession that would get in the way if we're wandering around the city with full backpacks?
no subject
The Louvre is enormous. You could literally spend two weeks there and not see all of it. I would say the 'return on a second day' strategy makes the most sense. That's what we did, and while I still felt that I wasn't getting to see as much as I would have liked, it helped to know that we would have a second crack at it.
Hmm, do Paris museums tend to be open on weekends? Do they have the American security-theatre obsession that would get in the way if we're wandering around the city with full backpacks?
The primary place that I was turned away for having a backpack (and not for the pack itself, but for having a metal spoon) was at Sainte Chapelle, where they have amazing stained glass to protect. So they have a long security line and they're fairly anal about making sure you don't have anything that could be used to damage the glass. Sainte Chapelle is relatively near the Latin Quarter, Notre Dame and various other Isle de la Cite attractions so you may just not want to take your backpacks that day if you can help it.
Outside of that, they did a fairly rudimentary bag check at the Louvre and at Versailles, but they didn't confiscate anything. I think I recall that
As to weekends, the museums and attractions are open and in general extremely crowded, so go to something more obscure, or go very early.
no subject