Following our trip to Egypt, on our way back, we had to make a stopover somewhere between Singapore and Cairo (no direct flights are flying between both countries); I figured it would be a great opportunity to stop over in Paris. For this trip to France, we will only visit Paris. There is much to see and experience in Paris besides the famous Eiffel Tower and Arch de Triomphe. I made a few plans and finally thought of seeing Paris by Arrondissement. I found the website Paris Insiders Guide very useful and used the site extensively to plan my maiden trip to Paris.

Farewell Egypt, Bonjour Paris

We had an early start today, our tour company picked us up at 5.30 am to make it in time for our 9.30 am flight to Paris. The flight from Cairo to Paris was uneventful; after some 5 hours, we arrived at Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport. After collecting our luggage, our next task was to get to the RER station to get our Navigo weekly pass. Navigating Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport Terminal 1 was not as straightforward as I thought. The terminal had a circular design, and I had to ask a few people working at the terminal how to get to the RER station.

Navigo Passes

The first thing to do is to get our Navigo Weekly Pass for our transport within Paris. We could get two types of passes: the weekly pass, which requires an ID picture and provides unlimited weekly trips, and the Navigo Travel Easy Pass, which merely acts as a stored value card to load tickets. The weekly pass starts strictly on Monday and ends on Sunday, which was perfect for us. For passengers without a photo ID, we had 24 hours to get one in Paris City Centre to fix it ourselves. Arriving at the Roissypole stop (2 stations from Terminal 1), we joined the long, slow-moving queue to get the pass. After getting our passes, we were on our way to Paris City Centre via the RER B.

Exploring the Landmarks in the 8th Arrondissement

As we had an early start today, I planned for this day to be light. We planned to visit the Arc de Triomphe for sunset and then Jardin de Trocadero for a night view of the Eiffel Tower. We experienced delays when trying to find our way to the RER station and get our Navigo Pass, but we managed to check into our hotel room at 5 pm. After settling into our room, it was already sunset. We found visiting the Arc de Triomphe pointless and explored the landmarks nearby.

Church of Madeleine – The church with Greek Architecture

We headed to the Church of Madeleine, a 5-minute from our hotel. We took the opportunity to explore the shops on our way to the church. The area where we stayed was filled with luxury boutiques that still had their Christmas lights on display, giving out a festive vibe. These shops are housed in buildings not taller than 6 storeys, with the top floor as the roof floor with wrap-around balconies. The Madeleine Church was not too far from our hotel, occupying a space in the city where the roads seemed to be laid around the church. The Church of Madeleine looks like the Pantheon in Athens, having a heavily Greek-influenced architectural style. The front of the church is designed with eight Roman pillars, which wrap around the outer facade of the church. A carving of Jesus can be seen on the top of the main entrance to the church. As it was late, we did not enter the church.

Place de La Concorde – Home of the Luxor Obelisk

After having our dinner, we took the chance to stroll around our hotel. The area where we were staying (the 8th Arrondissement) is where most luxury boutiques congregate—making a mental note of the location of the boutiques which we will visit tomorrow. We walked towards the Place de La Concorde to admire the other twin obelisk we saw in Luxor, Egypt. Standing tall in the middle of the square, the obelisk was in perfect condition and seemed to have gold plated on its tip. We could glimpse the Eiffel Tower standing majestically on the Place de La Concorde backdrop.

The Icon of the 1st Arrondissement: The Louvre at Night

As it was still early (9 pm), we considered visiting the Louvre at night to take pictures of and with the iconic glass pyramid. On a Tuesday night, the Louvre was peaceful and tranquil, as the museum was closed. Despite that, the glass pyramid still attracted a handful of tourists and locals alike, wanting to take pictures of the pyramid at night. Decked in white lights, the glass pyramid was an interesting take on the 5,000-year-old structure we saw in Cairo just a week ago. The glass panels let us see the structure’s skeleton and how the designer materialised the pyramid’s construction. The pyramid at the Louvre is indeed a work of art. Most people today focused on taking pictures of the pyramid; few took the time to see the surrounding buildings.

The buildings surrounding the glass pyramid house the galleries of the Louvre. These buildings were once the residences of royalties, dating as far back as the 12th century. With the construction of Versailles, the royalty vacated the Louvre and converted their former residence to display their art collections. Today, the Louvre houses masterpieces such as the famous Mona Lisa painting and the Venus de Milo sculpture. As much as the interior was filled with art pieces, the exterior of the Louvre was equally impressive. The façade of the building is adorned with numerous statues, each intricately carved. After taking our fair share of the pictures, we returned to our hotel to rest early as we had an early start today.