Sunday, April 13, 2014

Paris

This year, from September 2013 to June 2014, I'm living in Paris thanks to an Erasmus grant. This grant is an European exchange program which allows students to study a maximum of 9 months in another European country. So, what can I say about this marvelous city? Every single day I fall deeper in love with it. When I first came here, in 2004 approximately, I already loved it, obviously, which 9-year-old child doesn't love the city where Disneyland is? Nevertheless, despite my short age by then, I was able to appreciate and enjoy the city itself. When I had the opportunity to come and spend 9 months here, I already knew that I liked the city. However, it was not as I remembered... It was bigger, greater, more amazing and enjoyable.

Eiffel Tower and the Jena Bridge.

Paris is a must-see city. No matter your age, you are going to love it! But, I must say, if you are under 26 (and an European citizen), you MUST come. Just with your ID, you can enter for FREE in museums and monuments where you'd normally have to pay. I think you can also get free entrance if you are under 18, never mind where you come from. These museums such as The Louvre, L'Orangerie, Rodin Museum, the Orsay Museum and monuments like the Pantheon, the Arch of Triumph, les Invalides, the towers of Notre-Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle, la Conciergerie... As you can see, you could visit Paris without paying an entrance fee.

The Louvre is incredible, huge, enormous. I've already been there several times and I have not seen everything in there. You could see it entirely in 2 or 3 days, but you'd be exhausted and overwhelmed, so I strongly suggest to take it easy and visit it calmly. Of course you know some of the hyper-famous works there, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Wedding at Cana, Liberty leading the People and, of course, the ultra-famous Mona Lisa. But please, explore the museum, it has a lot to offer. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite works displayed is in a room in which, as maximum, I have seen 5 people at the same time. This artwork is, in fact, the capital of a column from a temple in Middle East. I find amazing its size and perfection.



So, please, don't visit the museum just to see the Mona Lisa because the most probable thing is that you end up being one of these in the crowd:

Crowd in front of the Mona Lisa.

L'orangerie, on the other hand, it's a tiny museum, but interesting anyway. Here, you have the astonishing Monet's Water Lillies, in which you can appreciate the mastering of the light that Monet accomplished. This museum hosts temporary exhibitions which might be very interesting as well. I was incredibly lucky to visit a Frida Kahlo exhibition which was, in fact, really captivating and suggesting. 

Rodin Museum is, in my opinion, the least interesting of them, maybe because it's the least "exclusive" since we can see Rodin's artworks elsewhere. Despite this lack of exclusivity, the sights are indeed, curious.


Despite having visited these three museums several times, I have never been to the Orsay Museum (yet, hopefully). Nevertheless, I find the building extremely gorgeous (it's a former train station).


So, enough for today. See you soon! Au revoir! 

1 comment:

  1. Comme j'ai aimé ton article! Il y a longtemps que je suis tombée, moi aussi, sous le charme de Paris, et te lire m'a permis de rêver, de m'imaginer étudiante et fortunée dans cette ville qu'on ne connaît jamais tout à fait.

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