3 ICONIC PLACES WHY PARIS COULD POSSIBLY BE THE BEST CITY IN THE WORLD.

Well, at least according to me, it is. Paris is and will always be the best city I’ve been to (to date.) Probably because, it’s one of my life long dream to see this wonderful city and i must say that it lived up to its promise.

I hear some people say it’s overrated since it’s a-lot-of-people’s-favorite city but can’t blame them (i mean those people who loves it,) Paris is really likeable because it’s simply beautiful. But before i go on with my list, i wanna share you a poem that inspired me to finish this article.

Paris je t’aime

A city that has the power to change perceptions.

A place that inspires, Beautiful, elegant & alluring.

A place to sit and just watch,

No stress, feeling as though you’re a character in a love story.

Quiet walks, cool breezes and hot coffee,

Places to gaze at, figure out and find out.

A place where love grows, a magician’s box

And in the end, a reflection that lasts forever

Nice, isn’t it? I was looking for inspiration to finish this post but couldn’t seem to find the right words to express how i feel about Paris and then i stumbled upon this poem which captured exactly how i feel about it. Thank you James Scott for this wonderful poem and you guys can follow his blog : Globe Throtting for his adventures.

So going back to my topic, i think you may have guessed my list right, as these are the very obvious reasons and i just want to re-iterate it anyway and at the same time I’d like to commemorate Bastile Day or La Fête nationale which was celebrated last 14th July.

So here goes my list:

 

Tour Eiffel

 

1.) Eiffel Tower

Simply because, it is Eiffel Tower and will always be Eiffel Tower. As we all know, this elegant steel tower has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world.

Seeing it in person is, well, i don’t know how to describe it but you gotta see it for yourself. As for me, my first sighting of the tower was me riding the metro, train-coming-out-from-a-tunnel, heading to Bir-Hakeim Station.

I remember the feeling. Excited as if i wanna jump off my seat and could not contain my emotion as i see the tower standing, very proud of his omnipresence as the tallest lattice tower and as the tallest structure in Paris (at least around it). It’s as if, i don’t wanna take my eyes off of it. I remember having spent almost half a day to take photos of it, just sat at a bench and admire its beauty.
Day and night it’s perfect including its light shows at night.

“The Eiffel Tower lights up every evening from sunset to 1am (2amduring the three months of summer), coupled with the lighthouse on the Tower top that sends out its light beams during the same hours. As for the glimmering lights, this ten minute show is added during the first five minutes of each hour on the hour.”

The fog is covering the tip of Eiffel Tower on a cold chilly night

Facade of The Louvre

2.) The Louvre

The Grand Louvre is the largest and the most visited museum in the world. The Louvre was originally a fortress, turned chateau (French castle), turned storeroom for stolen arts during World War II, turned museum and now houses the world’s most famous paintings, especially old master works including Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, which is why The Louvre is 2nd on my list.

“Guinness World Records lists the Mona Lisa as having the highest insurance value for a painting in history. On permanent display at The Louvre museum in Paris, the Mona Lisa was assessed at US$100 million on December 14, 1962. Taking inflation into account, the 1962 value would be around US$780 million in 2015” – wiki.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is undoubtedly one of the most famous pieces of art in the Louvre, with people from all walks of life travelling to the museum to catch a glimpse of the world famous painting. What you may not know about the Mona Lisa is that it isn’t as big as everyone thinks, as the dimension of the painting is actually just 21 x 30 inches (53 x 77cms) – which is just a little bit larger than an A2 piece of paper. The Mona Lisa also has its own bodyguards and is protected by bulletproof glass; however, it was stolen in 1911 before being returned to the Louvre just two years later. Mona Lisa’s identity is a mystery, and no-one has ever been able to come to a decision as to why she is smiling that way. Many believe she is the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, as her real name in Italian is Lisa Gioconda. Others believe Mona Lisa is a self-portrait and an allusion to Leonardo da Vinci’s supposed homosexuality.

Aside from the Mona Lisa, here you can find other famous works like Winged Victory of Samothrace, a marble structure created way back 190 BC, another sculpture called Venus de Milo by Alexandros of Antioch, Virgin of the Rocks & La belle ferronnière both paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, The Lacemaker and The Astronomer both by Johannes Vermeer, and one of my favourite next to Mona Lisa, which is the Liberty Leading the People, a painting by Eugène Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830. Mainly because it was used as Coldplay’s album cover for Viva La Vida.

 

3.) Louis Vuitton Champs-Élysées

You may be frowning with disappointment and thinking, what the fvck is my number three doing here? It doesn’t belong here. well, I could have easily chosen Arch de Triomphe, Notre Dame de Paris, Place Vandome, Jardin De Tuileries of Luxembourg, Panthéon, Museé d’Orsay or i can go-on on un-dending list of beautiful places in Paris, but i choose it to be more personal.

As we all know, Louis Vuitton has its world presence since it’s a conglomeration and you’ll find its stores in major cities, but why of all those places i’ve given above, i’ve chosen this instead?

As i mentioned, i want it to be personal. Needless to say, I’m a sucker for LV, period. And let me give you a bit of a background why Louis Vuitton in Champs-Élysées? Because it’s their first flagship store which opened somewhere between 1913 or 1914 which is at the time, the world’s largest travel store on Champs-Élysées.

And for someone who appreciates their art pieces (i like to call it like that), then it’ll be a milestone to visit their very first store. A 4 or 5 storey-building with the size of a typical shopping mall that only has one brand to sell.

Click this if you’re interested to know the full history of Louis Vuitton.

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Bottom line is, Paris has the superlatives in almost everything, they have the most visited monument in the world which is Eiffel Tower, they do safekeeping of Mona Lisa at The Louvre – which has been acclaimed as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world”, and finally, they have the first flagship store of one the best luxury brands of luggage or malletier maker in world – which is Louis Vuitton. And that is why i think Paris is the best city in world.

Thanks for dropping by, you can follow me on instagram as well for more photos of Paris: TravelDestinationsBy7am

What about you? What are your favourite attractions in Paris? I’d like to hear them.

From Paris with Love,

7:AM