PARIS ON MY MIND: The Louvre, The River Seine and the First Glimpse of the Eiffel Tower

It was first Sunday of the month, and in Paris, most of the museums give free entrance to the public and I don't want to miss this opportunity. I woke up early making it sure that I will be arriving at the Louvre on time. I am anticipating a long queue since it is a free entrance and I was right. As  soon as I got out of the station, the line going inside is already long, but the good thing, it is moving very fast so I got inside the museum in less than an hour.

I really don't like going to the museums because they bore me to death and I feel sleepy whenever I am inside, but this one is exceptional, aside from the fact that it is a must- see attraction in Paris, the Louvre museum is one of a kind museum in the world.

Being the largest in the world, Louvre holds the most number of collections, from ancient artefacts to paintings, sculptures, jewellery and a collection of Western arts dating from 1800's. It has eight curatorial departments which include paintings, Islamic arts, Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities.

The Louvre alone is a work of art being a former palace during the 12th century, the interior of the building is really impressive and everything is very detailed, from walls to ceilings.

every detail of the museum from wall to ceiling is crafted into perfection

Actually I have no plans of checking all the collections inside, I am only after the famous Mona Lisa, and  as soon as I got inside, I immediately searched for the painting. As expected people flocked in front of Da Vinci's masterpiece.

the crowd in from of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is perhaps the holy grail of the museum. It is one of the most priced and famous possession of the Louvre. Unlike the other art pieces, the renowned painting is strictly guarded because it was once stolen.  It is the most seen art collection in the gallery as people pile up taking a photo of it. I have to squeeze myself just to have my own photo.  I was expecting a large painting but the Mona Lisa is just a regular size portrait but worth seeing anyway.

Mona Lisa

After spending a few minutes at the painting, I started checking out other Da Vinci's artworks at the gallery. I was only about to check Mona Lisa, but since I am already there, why not explore other collections and check out some famous masterpieces.

some of Da Vinci's works

Louvre houses around 35,000 pieces of collections and if you spend at least five seconds on every piece it will take you three days to fully check every collection.

Venus de Milo, another famous exhibit at the museum

I didn't go over with the whole museum, I thought I already had enough and seeing the Mona Lisa is already okay with me. My three hours stay there is already fine and I guess I already saw what I have to see.

Since I have plenty of time that day and I still have so many attractions to see on my itinerary, I didn't waste any time and immediately hit the road and started exploring the area. Paris is best seen by foot because there are so many things to discover while walking. Just behind the Louvre Museum is the Jardin de Tuileries, a beautiful park where you can rest your feet  after exploring the Louvre. About 500 metres, there is the public square called Place de la Concorde, a place where public execution once takes place and among the well-known French people who got executed there is Marie Antoinette. At the centre of the square is a big obelisk from Egypt which served as a gift to France in the 19th century.

While the weather is good, I continued walking until I reached the Notre Dame Cathedral, I didn't even noticed that I walked for 30 minutes and I didn't imagine that the Notre Dame is quite far from where I came. Anyway, the long walk is worth because I saw a lot of fascinating buildings that are really attention-grabbing.  I really made the right decision of not taking the hop-in hop-off bus because while walking I was able to discover things that are not part of my itinerary.

I still have a long day ahead and still early to end my city tour so I decided to take the river cruise. Taking the River Seine cruise is one of the activities to be done here in Paris. While the river banks are worth exploring, the best way to get the feel of the river is by taking a cruise. 

The River Seine is the epicentre of Paris, the river flows right through the heart of the city. During the early years and until now, the river is the chief commercial waterway and half of the water used in Paris still comes from the Seine. 

I took the Bateaux-Mouches cruise, for 13 euros, you can have your 1-hour boat tour. All of the boats have modern equipment and two decks. One of them is enclosed, with heating and air conditioning, and has a glass roof and sides. It offers an incomparable view of all of Paris’ beautiful sights while being sheltered from bad weather.

The cruise will start on their docking point near the Pont de L'Alma bridge, then it will pass the Place de la Concorde, Louvre Museum until the Notre Dame Cathedral which it will turn back at Ile St. Louis.

So while taking the boat tour, I couldn't help but appreciate the city of Paris, just like what I've said on my previous post, everything in Paris is perfect. Every corner of the city will really capture your heart. 

While traversing the river, the boat finally about to reach the end point, and before it will dock, it will pass of course on its final route and that is the Eiffel Tower. 

the Eiffel Tower while on a river cruise

It was this day that I had my first glimpse of Paris' mighty tower, while, on the boat, I couldn't help but stare in awe of this iconic structure.  I never thought that I would be this close, and my heart is pounding very fast because of excitement! While the boat is approaching, I felt this adrenalin rush, I was so overwhelmed by the fact that it is my first time to see the Eiffel Tower in front of me! I didn't know what to do during that moment if I should take a photo of it, or should I record it or take a selfie, and guess what? I did all hahaha.

me taking a selfie with Eiffel on my background

It was the moment of my life that finally my dream of seeing the Eiffel tower finally came true and perhaps it is one of the best feelings I had during that day and I can't wait to climb the tower on the next day.

That day was a well spent day and I was so happy to visit all the attractions that are listed on my itinerary, and I must say that it was a successful day. After a long and careful planning, I was able to do what I wanted to do, visited the Louvre Museum and having a close encounter with the Eiffel Tower, truly a wonderful experience and I must say that I enjoyed every bit of it!