My second day in Paris was full. According to my trip diary I finished my day by taking a bateau mouche along the Seine and around Ile de la Cité. Bateaux Mouches is a company in Paris that offers excursions on the River Seine and but today other tour boats plying the river are often referred to by the same name.
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| River Seine Excursion Boat (2010) |
When I returned to Paris in 2010 I took a cruise again so some of the photos below are from that year. We began by making our way beneath one of my favourite bridges, Pont Alexandre III.
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| Pont Alexandre III (1981) |
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| Pont Alexandre III (2010) |
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| Bridge Detail (2010) |
The narrowest building in Paris (on Quai Voltaire) is just barely visible between the trees, sandwiched between its two taller neighbours.
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| Narrowest Building in Paris (2010) |
The Institut de France on the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, of the Seine defines itself as the "Protector of Arts, Literature and Science". It sits across the river from the Louvre, at one end of the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge.
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| Institut de France (2010) |
The twin towers of Notre Dame Cathedral rise from Ile de la Cité, the island in the middle of the Seine where Paris was first settled. The gothic cathedral's supportive flying buttresses are visible from the river.
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| Notre Dame Cathedral (1981) |
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| Notre Dame Cathedral (1981) |
On the other side of Ile de la Cité is the Conciergerie, a medieval royal palace that became a prison in the 15th century. During the French Revolution Queen Marie Antoinette was detained in its dungeons.
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| La Conciergerie (2010) |
The Louvre is another former royal palace on the Rive Droite, Right Bank, of the Seine.
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| The Louvre (2010) |
Returning to the Pont Alexandre III, you can see the large glass dome of the Grand Palais, built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. This historical monument will be closing for renovations at the end of 2020.
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| Grand Palais (2010) |
The cruise doesn't stop here though, it carries on to the most famous feature of the Paris skyline, the Eiffel Tower.
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| Eiffel Tower (1981) |
The last sight I photographed was a replica of the Statue of Liberty next to the Pont de Grenelle.
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| Statue of Liberty (1981) |
Next time I'll tell you about my visit to Montmartre and explore Ile de la Cité on foot.
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