 With only an hour in Paris, I had to walk quickly to see(or glance at) as much as possible. Fortunately, I had thought so much about a nostalgic visit to Paris that I didn't need a map or any real thought before setting out. I arrived at the RER stop underneath Notre Dame, walked over to Isle Saint Louis, north to the Hotel de Ville, glanced at the Centre Georges Pompidou, then west along the Rue de Rivoli past Samaritaine Department Store and the Tour Saint Jacques, past the Palais Royale to the Rue de Richelieu, location of my first ever overnight stay outside of North America. The hotel is now called the Hotel Montpensier and appears to have been upgraded. From there I walked down the Rue Moliere, glanced up the Blvd de l'Opera, went past the Louvre and Carousel by the Jardin des Tuileries (where Napoleon stayed when in Paris, destroyed in 1871). From there I walked back over the Pont Neuf, past 36 Quai des Orfevres, and back to the RER stop at Notre Dame. Whew! What an hour! |