Paris and Palaces (The Louvre!)

The island abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is ten hours from Bonn by train (or nine hours by car). In order to make the trip more manageable, two friends and I spent half of a travel weekend traveling, and the other half exploring Paris and Mont Saint-Michel.

I absolutely recommend visiting Mont Saint-Michel if you get the chance – the architecture is beautiful and the entire experience is amazing. Touring the medieval abbey showcases how historical monks lived their lives. Paris also contains an abundance of historical sites, but they show a different side of society. One much wealthier than the monks.

Western Europe is known for its preponderance of castles, which dot the French and German countryside. Castles were primarily fortifications designed to protect the settlements that surrounded them. In times of strife, the people of the surrounding area could retreat inside the castle for protection. Paris is known for its palaces, which are often confused with castles. Palaces are specifically royal residences. While they often have similarities to castles, they focus more on ostentatiousness and demonstrating the power that a particular ruler has.

Paris is home to at least 6 palaces, including the Palais De l’Élysée, the Palais Royale, and the Petit Palais. These palaces were built by a variety of figures. The Palais du Louvre was an official royal residence from its initial construction in 1546 until the move to Versailles in 1683. After said move, the beautiful palace was converted to an art museum. The Louvre was opened to the public in 1793, under the name Musée Central des Arts.

Today’s Louvre has gone through a variety of changes throughout its history. The best known of these are the renovations during the 1980s and 1990s, responsible for the museum’s current design. These renovations included drastically altering how visitors entered and interacted with the palace.

The renovations of the 1980s and 1990s involved two dramatic changes: the Richelieu Wing was opened and the entrance was shifted into a massive glass pyramid. When current visitors enter the museum, they enter (after a massive line) through a glass pyramid. Once inside the pyramid, our bags were checked and we were guided down an escalator into a bright underground lobby. This lobby is bright due to the several (pyramidal) glass skylights that dot the ceiling.

My favorite wing of the museum was the Richelieu wing. The architecture in that wing was less extravagant, which helped the paintings to shine. In the Denon wing, the Mona Lisa is housed alongside other famous pieces such as the Coronation of Napoleon. We wandered through the ground floor of the Sully wing, mainly seeing the section about the history of the Louvre.

The Louvre is filled with dozens of delightful exhibits. If you’re visiting, I would recommend deciding a style or medium to focus on in order to see the art you anticipate appreciating the most.

Ciao,
Carden

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