Notre Dame de Paris Experience

After admiring the Hôtel de Ville, we continued our walk to the Notre Dame de Paris or the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris. If translated in English, Notre (Our) Dame (Lady) of Paris. Still, it is in the 4^th arrondissement so just nearby the Hotel de Ville. The Notre Dame Cathedral houses the Archbishop of Paris.

What attracted me, physically, inside the church are its stained glasses. They are magnificent! I took photos of some of them. The Notre Dame de Paris or the Notre Dame Cathedral is also widely considered one of the “finest examples of French Gothic architecture” (Wikipedia 2011) in the country (France) and also the rest of the continent (Europe), naturally aside from the awesome stained glasses I previously mentioned.

This is from the right side of the Cathedral's entrance. Look around up and see the design...

Since this group of policement on horses were passing as I crossed the street to the Cathedral, I just have them posted here... :)

The iron works behind me and the sculptures are admirable...

WIth my fave...Joan of Arc... the quality is really bad but I did not want to use flash inside the Cathedral (respect)...

Bass relief (?) depicting Christ's sufferings...

Notre Dame de Paris in one glass... this is the miniature version inside the glass...

Also the miniature version of the labor force that made this church, Notre Dame de Paris successfully erected...

Below are a few samples of the many beautifully crafted stained glass inside the Cathedral. Beautiful work...

Hôtel de Ville Paris at 4th Arrondissement

Where is 4th arrondissement?

I did not have any intention to have any transaction at the municipality of Paris, commonly known as Hôtel de Ville but I was already at its vicinity by around 09:30 on a Thursday morning. This is still part of the earlier walk around the city of Paris, from one arrondissement to another.  The building itself is attractive. Architechts Théodore Ballu and Edouard Deperthes rebuilt this lovely-looking edifice, the Hotel de Ville “from the outside” (Wikipedia, 2011). These two talented architects rebuilt the building as an imitation of the 16^th century French Renaissance that stood before 1871. The the new interior however was based on an entirely new design, with ceremonial rooms lavishly decorated in the 1880s style (Wikipedia, 2011)

yours truly in front of Hôtel de Ville at around 09:30 AM, Thursday, 14 April 2011

"Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité", the national motto of the country (France) is clearly indicated in the lovely facade design of Hôtel de Ville architecture and sculptural designs

This is the view across the Hotel de Ville

Photo Source: Wikipedia         Hôtel de Ville Paris breathtaking night aura...

The Hotel de Ville is the administrative office of Paris City local government lead by its mayor starting 1357 and can be accessed from the Metro station named after this building, the Metro(politan) station “Hôtel de Ville”.

Near the Place du Châtelet's Saint-Jacques Tower at 4th Arrondissement, Paris

Where is 4th arrondissement?

Continuing the early Thursday morning walk around the city of Paris, more attractions are to be enjoyed... mostly of course are monuments... A very interesting structure along the way when we were planning to reach the "Hotel de Ville" caught my attention. Curious as I am, I naturally took photos but it was a thin structure yet tall and it was very tricky to capture it all. I thought it was the "Place du Châtelet" but I later learned that it was actually the "Tour Saint-Jacques" of the "Saint Jacques Tower". What's Interesting? The structure and the way it invites the passers or the interested to view it.


The first image below, I tried my best to capture the whole edifice but with its height and the road traffic intrusion, this was the best I could do...:-(.

Saint-Jacques Tower or locally called the “Tour Saint-Jacques” is a monument located in the 4^th arrondissement of Paris, in France. This slender structure measures 52 metres in height (171 ft). Wikipedia described it as a “Flamboyant Gothic tower” the not much remains of the former 16th century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie or "Saint James of the butchery" in Englis which was leveled abruptly after the French Revolution.

The Pinnacle sculpture of the Structure... Lovely design/art/architecture/sculpture, right?