So for my first full day off by myself I decided I would take a tour of the best libraries (bibliothèques) of Paris. I looked them up and planned my route since I was going to walk all of it, other than the initial train ride into Paris. Soooo, technically most of these libraries are not open to the public. This post should really be titled: How to sneak into the Libraries of Paris with rudimentary French. So many of these pictures will be slightly crooked and the occasional might be blurry because it is also not allowed to take photos in these libraries.
My first stop was Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal. This one I was told you had to have some sort of card. There was one guy who spoke no English. I convinced him that I just wanted to look and then I would come right back. So he let me go. I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to enter the actual library part, or take pictures. Whoops.
After this I stopped by the Bibliothèque Forney, knowing it was closed but just wanted to take a few pictures. It looks like a fort and has a little gated off courtyard.
I continued on and stopped in the Eglise Saint-Gervais, another beautiful Gothic church. Someone was having a lesson on the huge pipe organ so the sound echoed through the empty halls.
I walked across the street to the Bibliothèque de l'hotel de Ville where I received a visitor pass, but then was told upstairs by the lady at the desk that I was not allowed to enter. I very politely in my remedial French explained that I just wanted to look for a minute or two so she grudgingly allowed me to enter. Pictures were not allowed, so I took a few.
After this I went a little north to a middle-eastern cafe that was recommended on a website. Miznon. They said the roasted cauliflower head was the best thing, so I went for it. It was delicious! The steak and egg pita that I got to accompany it was not so much. It was a little too spicy and the pita was soggy from too much sauce. But I would definitely recommend the cauliflower.
After this I had a bit of a hike to get to the Richelieu-Louvois Library (Nat'l Library). On the way I passed another beautiful church: Eglise St-Eustache and next to that the Nelson Mandela Garden.
Soon after I arrived at the National Library. This might have been my favorite because I walked through the security (they check the bags for weapons and you go through a metal detector) then I walked right into the building and then found the main reading room, which had a sign saying it was not open to the public. I walked right inside, took a few pictures then walked out. If you look like you know what you're doing and where you're going, they don't question you.
After this I went south and stopped by the Theater of the Royal Palace. Unfortunately this was the one place I actually got turned away since there was no show going on at the moment and only one person manning the desk, so he couldn't escort me to see it either. So the exterior picture I took, but the second is one I stole from the internet, just so you can get a feel of how awesome it is.
After this I wandered through the gardens of the Royal Palace which had beautiful roses everywhere.
On my way south to the Seine I passed a cute little French figurine shop as well as the Louvre. I've been there before so I did not feel the urge to stop. Saw another beautiful church, Eglise Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois. Then I crossed the Seine on the Pont des Arts where I had my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower on this trip.
The bridge dead ends at the Institute of France where the Bibliothèque Mazarine is located. I was, surprisingly, allowed inside with a visitor pass but was told that it was forbidden to take pictures...so these are slightly blurry and/or crooked because there were a lot of librarians about. But it was a pretty cool place and the books look (and probably are) ancient!
After this I walked southwards to the Saint-Germain des Prés area where I found Jacob's street and a nice little Boulangerie, Paul, that was recommended to me so I stopped to get some tea.
After this I went one block further to an older area of Paris that has still been preserved, the Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie. Le Procope cafe is well-known, the oldest cafe in Paris, dating back to 1686 and is on the front side...but hidden behind this, through an iron gate you step into the Cour de Rohan, dating back to the 15 or 1600s. I can't find a definite date, but it is one of the oldest part of Paris and still has the old cobblestone street.
After this I walked east on Boulevard Saint-Germain, passing the Musee Cluny which houses the beautiful tapestries of The Lady and the Unicorn. I continued on for a bit then turned south, back to the Pantheon square where my final library of the day was, the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève. This one was the easiest library by far. I walked in, said I wanted to look at the library, was asked what country I was from (no ID was shown) and then the lady escorted me into the library. I didn't really get to wander but I was allowed to take pictures so I didn't have to sneak any. She was very polite and helpful.
On my way back to the metro I passed another church, Eglise Saint Étienne du Mont. I know they all kind of look the same, but I just love that gothic style. I think they are gorgeous. I took the metro back westward, but still staying on the south side of the river (Rive Gauche) from the Cardinal Lemon metro to the Sèvres-Babylone metro. A few minutes walk from there is the boulangerie Poilâne. We learned about Poilâne in school, he is a very famous bread baker from Paris and his bread is considered the best, and the most expensive. So I got a half loaf that is bigger than my face and that cost 4.16Euro. To me that is not pricey, but maybe it is compared to normal bread. It has a nice flavor with a good acidity for sourdough...but sadly I think that I prefer San Francisco sourdough, which has more "sour" flavor.
After this it took a few transfers but I made it back home. Sorry for the long post but I need to pack in lots of things on my days off and I didn't want to miss anything for my readers back home. I was just shy of 20k steps on my FitBit and walked over 8mi. I might try actually mapping it to see if the FitBit is accurate. There are a fair number of hills where I went, so my legs are nice and tired. Not sure what else I have planned for this week. Bisous!
After this I stopped by the Bibliothèque Forney, knowing it was closed but just wanted to take a few pictures. It looks like a fort and has a little gated off courtyard.
I continued on and stopped in the Eglise Saint-Gervais, another beautiful Gothic church. Someone was having a lesson on the huge pipe organ so the sound echoed through the empty halls.
I walked across the street to the Bibliothèque de l'hotel de Ville where I received a visitor pass, but then was told upstairs by the lady at the desk that I was not allowed to enter. I very politely in my remedial French explained that I just wanted to look for a minute or two so she grudgingly allowed me to enter. Pictures were not allowed, so I took a few.
After this I went a little north to a middle-eastern cafe that was recommended on a website. Miznon. They said the roasted cauliflower head was the best thing, so I went for it. It was delicious! The steak and egg pita that I got to accompany it was not so much. It was a little too spicy and the pita was soggy from too much sauce. But I would definitely recommend the cauliflower.
After this I had a bit of a hike to get to the Richelieu-Louvois Library (Nat'l Library). On the way I passed another beautiful church: Eglise St-Eustache and next to that the Nelson Mandela Garden.
Soon after I arrived at the National Library. This might have been my favorite because I walked through the security (they check the bags for weapons and you go through a metal detector) then I walked right into the building and then found the main reading room, which had a sign saying it was not open to the public. I walked right inside, took a few pictures then walked out. If you look like you know what you're doing and where you're going, they don't question you.
After this I went south and stopped by the Theater of the Royal Palace. Unfortunately this was the one place I actually got turned away since there was no show going on at the moment and only one person manning the desk, so he couldn't escort me to see it either. So the exterior picture I took, but the second is one I stole from the internet, just so you can get a feel of how awesome it is.
After this I wandered through the gardens of the Royal Palace which had beautiful roses everywhere.
On my way south to the Seine I passed a cute little French figurine shop as well as the Louvre. I've been there before so I did not feel the urge to stop. Saw another beautiful church, Eglise Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois. Then I crossed the Seine on the Pont des Arts where I had my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower on this trip.
The bridge dead ends at the Institute of France where the Bibliothèque Mazarine is located. I was, surprisingly, allowed inside with a visitor pass but was told that it was forbidden to take pictures...so these are slightly blurry and/or crooked because there were a lot of librarians about. But it was a pretty cool place and the books look (and probably are) ancient!
After this I walked southwards to the Saint-Germain des Prés area where I found Jacob's street and a nice little Boulangerie, Paul, that was recommended to me so I stopped to get some tea.
After this I went one block further to an older area of Paris that has still been preserved, the Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie. Le Procope cafe is well-known, the oldest cafe in Paris, dating back to 1686 and is on the front side...but hidden behind this, through an iron gate you step into the Cour de Rohan, dating back to the 15 or 1600s. I can't find a definite date, but it is one of the oldest part of Paris and still has the old cobblestone street.
After this I walked east on Boulevard Saint-Germain, passing the Musee Cluny which houses the beautiful tapestries of The Lady and the Unicorn. I continued on for a bit then turned south, back to the Pantheon square where my final library of the day was, the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève. This one was the easiest library by far. I walked in, said I wanted to look at the library, was asked what country I was from (no ID was shown) and then the lady escorted me into the library. I didn't really get to wander but I was allowed to take pictures so I didn't have to sneak any. She was very polite and helpful.
On my way back to the metro I passed another church, Eglise Saint Étienne du Mont. I know they all kind of look the same, but I just love that gothic style. I think they are gorgeous. I took the metro back westward, but still staying on the south side of the river (Rive Gauche) from the Cardinal Lemon metro to the Sèvres-Babylone metro. A few minutes walk from there is the boulangerie Poilâne. We learned about Poilâne in school, he is a very famous bread baker from Paris and his bread is considered the best, and the most expensive. So I got a half loaf that is bigger than my face and that cost 4.16Euro. To me that is not pricey, but maybe it is compared to normal bread. It has a nice flavor with a good acidity for sourdough...but sadly I think that I prefer San Francisco sourdough, which has more "sour" flavor.
After this it took a few transfers but I made it back home. Sorry for the long post but I need to pack in lots of things on my days off and I didn't want to miss anything for my readers back home. I was just shy of 20k steps on my FitBit and walked over 8mi. I might try actually mapping it to see if the FitBit is accurate. There are a fair number of hills where I went, so my legs are nice and tired. Not sure what else I have planned for this week. Bisous!
Wow! You're quite the urban explorer!
ReplyDeleteWhat great photos and great idea to tour the libraries! I hope you can take me to some of those cafes and bakeries!!
ReplyDelete