Simone Reddington

Earlier this month I visited a friend of mine who lives in the small town of Ermont, in the Northern outskirts of Paris.  I had a lovely few days catching up with my friend, who I hadn’t seen for over a year, as well as consuming lots of delicious cheese and pastries.  One afternoon, we took the train into the centre of Paris, where I took the opportunity to see the iconic sights of the city of love 

This wasn’t my first visit to the French capital city; I was lucky enough to go on a family holiday as a child for my eighth birthday (when I was more excited to go to Disneyland) and I also went on a school residential trip in secondary school in the hope that it would help mine and my classmates’ grasp of GCSE French (it did not, the Parisian locals have no time to converse with a group of spotty English teenagers in their native language).  I therefore wasn’t bothered about paying admission fare to the most famous attractions and instead wanted to see as much as I could of the city in the limited time that I had.   

When getting off at the train station, my friend took me to the Pont Alexandre III bridge, one of the thirty-seven bridges that cross the River Seine.  Built in 1900 and named after one of the last Russian emperors, the Pont Alexandre III is beautiful to look at, with four impressive golden sculptures overlooking it.  The bridge is also the most recognisable in popular culture with many high-profile filmmakers and artists choosing it as the setting of their art, including the 1985 Bond film, A View to a Kill, and the music video for Adele’s global 2011 hit, Someone Like You.  The bridge also provided me with an impressive view of the Eiffel Tower, surrounded by the autumnal leaves of the city.   

After crossing the bridge, we arrived at the Petis Palais art gallery.  It is free to visit the art inside, but the seventeenth-century inspires building itself is even more stunning, with golden gates and the most gorgeous outdoor courtyard with a pond and palm trees.  The gallery is the home to a mix of both modern and historical art.  As a bookworm, my favourite piece was the 2018-2022 sculpture, ‘La Tour de Babel’ by artist Seth, which depicts a tower of books that reaches a multi-coloured ceiling to show how the power of literature offers readers the chance to understand other people’s lives and universes.   

By this point, we were peckish and wanted something to eat.  Paris is full of amazing French cuisine, but the restaurants in the city centre are tourist hot-spots and we were on a budget, so we decided to just have a McDonalds.  I love trying the different McDonalds items when abroad and comparing them to the British menu, so I was very excited to sample the golden arches branch on the iconic Champs-Élysées shopping street.  Of course, the French offer macaroons to go with your burger and milkshakes!

Whilst walking down the Champs-Élysées, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to visit the iconic Arc de Triomphe.  It is certainly a very impressive monument, constructed in the early nineteenth-century to honour those who fought for France in the revolution and the Napoleonic wars.  It is also home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, an unidentified casualty from the First World War who represents the 1.5 million soldiers who were killed in the conflict.  This is where French officials pay their respect to the veterans every year, on the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice agreement.  Just days after my visit, Kier Starmer joined the French President Emmanual Macron at the annual ceremony; the first UK Prime Minister to do so since the Second World War. 

My final sight-seeing stop of the day was the Notre-Dame.  The stunning Medieval cathedral is most famous for being the setting of Victor Hugo’s Gothic novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (and its 1996 Disney film adaptation).  The eight-hundred-year-old building is not yet open to visitors after its roof and spire was destroyed in a devastating fire back in 2019.  However, a seating area had been set up outside that provided visitors with an impressive view of the historic church and tributes were paid to the team of builders and craftspeople who have done a fantastic job rebuilding the French landmark. 

Paris truly is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and one afternoon was not nearly enough time to experience the history and culture that it offers.  I would love to return and spend a full weekend in the city of love