Today a more glamorous route awaits us, through that Paris of avenues and gardens.
Shall we begin?
This will be a walking route, approximately 2.5 to 3.5 km long, we will see the different options along the way, and the cost will be €0, also varying if you choose to enter two of the places we will see on the route.
Starting point, Church of the Madeleine.
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Church of the Madeleine
We began by visiting this building located in district number 8. It is attractive from the outside and arouses our curiosity as its construction looks like a Greek temple, and it has neither a cross nor a bell tower.
Its construction spanned the years 1764 to 1842. When the French Revolution broke out, the church was still half-finished and work was halted. After the revolutionary period, in 1806, Napoleon considered turning it into a Pantheon in honour of his army. The building was demolished and it was built as we see it today, but he finally decided that the building would return to its original use as a church.
Visiting its interior is free of charge, so it is worth taking a look at it. It has very little lighting, we will see three domes inside, and above the High Altar you can see a sculpture representing the Assumption of Mary Magdalene. The pipe organ is considered one of the best in Paris. Official website for more information.
After this tour, we will go straight along rue Royale for just over 500 meters until we come to the magnificent Place de la Concorde.
At the beginning of the walk we already see the square with its obelisk and in the background the Bourbon Palace, headquarters of the National Assembly.
Place de la Concorde
We arrive at the Place de la Concorde, we continue in the 8th arrondissement. It is located at the beginning of the Champs Elysees. In its center is the Obelisk of Luxor, it is an obelisk from the Temple of Luxor of ancient Thebes (Egypt), it was placed in the square in 1836. The Obelisk of Luxor was listed as a historical monument of France in 1937.
It is surrounded by the Hotel Crillón, the Hotel de la Marina, the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and the Tuileries Garden. It has two monumental fountains completed in 1840. The southern fountain commemorates the maritime trade and industry of France, and the fountain to the north commemorates navigation and trade on the rivers of France.
When we finish admiring this square, we will just cross and thus access the Tuileries Garden. Another place to spend hours.
Tuileries Garden
This garden connects the Place de la Concorde, where we were, with the Louvre Museum.
The opening hours are from 7 or 7.30 to 19.30, 21 or 23 depending on the season. The garden has two ponds where you can take a nice break, as well as beautiful statues by Rodin or Giacommeti for example.
We also find the Orangerie Museum where you can see works of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Monet’s paintings stand out. The entrance fee is €12.50 and is included if you have the Paris Pass. ►Ticket for the Orangerie Museum
As we said, the park connects the Place de la Concorde with the Louvre museum. We can visit it, the entrance fee is €17 and is included if you have the Paris Pass for three days or more. ►Entrance to the Louvre Museum guided tour
Have you thought about a tourist pass to visit the most emblematic places in Paris?
For more information ►official website of the Louvre Museum
Whichever way you choose, visiting the Louvre or not, we will continue to our new point which will be the Place Vendôme.
►We have named the Paris Pass for the tickets for the newly named museums, we do not stop at the explanation of all the existing passes as we have a post that explains in detail. And also clarify that even if they have the pass they will need to make a reservation in advance both at the Louvre and at the Orangerie museum. As always said, check official pages of the passes because everything changes quite often.
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Plaza Vendome
We are only about 300 meters away from walking until we reach the famous square, we continue in district number I.
We are greeted on this street in Castiglione by a series of personalized mosaics, so don’t forget to look down, they are very pretty.
Here we arrive at the peak of glamour of this route, luxurious shops such as Gucci, Van Cleef, Cartier, Lous Vuitton, and hotels like the Ritz surround this square.
It is one of the world-famous squares in Paris for being one of the epicentres of luxury in Paris since the nineteenth century.
This square is the place where the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin died. And it is also where the hotel, the Ritz, is, from where Lady Di left before her fatal accident.
In the middle we see the famous Vendôme column, it was erected on Napoleon’s orders in 1810 to celebrate his victory in the Battle of Austerlitz.
How about a tour with a guide who explains everything to us?, for me free tours are always a good idea. ►Book a free tour of Paris
Opera Garnier
Shall we continue walking? we will walk approximately 700 meters to visit our last point on this glamorous route, the Opéra Garnier, we now arrive at the IX arrondissement.
Here we can visit it from the outside and finish our route, or enter and see this magnificent building from the inside.
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Napoleon III ordered its construction by the architect Charles Garnier, and its opening was in 1875.
It is a monumental style building, decorated with marble columns and statues. Between the columns on the front façade of the theatre, there are bronze busts of many famous composers, such as Mozart and Beethoven. The interior is adorned with velvet, golden leaves, nymphs, and cherubs. The chandelier of lights in the auditorium stands out on the visit, and is famous for having been the inspiration for Gaston Leroux’s work, The Phantom of the Opera. The ceiling area around the chandelier has a 1964 painting by Marc Chagall.
The entrance fee is €12 (or €14 if it is an exhibition period), they also have guided tours, we have done it both ways and although both are worth it, I preferred the guided one because of the information provided. Official website for more information.
►Book your ticket for the Opéra Garnier
It is something that I recommend doing, it is perhaps a building not so taken into account by tourists, but its interior is wonderful, and I would include it in the essentials.
Have you seen our route through the galleries and covered passages of Paris, you can join it with this one.
MAP AND VIDEO
This and all the maps of the routes in Paris can be downloaded in the maps section at the bottom of the page or on the home page.
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links
