Epic Honeymoon - Day 39 - Paris

Our last day in Paris had arrived, and this was no time to slow down. Determined to get as much value from our Paris Museum Pass as possible, we crammed in as much as we could, down to the closing hours of the day! If you’re willing to put in the legwork, then I definitely recommend picking up one of these passes, as the value can easily be recouped, and then some.

Baguette in a bag.

We began our day with a spur-of-the-moment baguette for late-breakfast / early-lunch at Maison Pradier. They were running a deal including a sandwich, cake and drink, so we snapped that up to fuel up for the afternoon. Passing by Fontaine St. Michel, which was without water and thus more of a statue than a fountain, we returned to Notre-Dame to go up the towers for a view over this magnificent city.

It's probably more impressive when there's water flowing.

In order to join the towers tour, you must use the electronic terminals on the north side of the Cathedral and register yourself and companions for a specific time – even with the Paris Museum Pass, you must still register as spots are limited. We did so, and had to wait an hour or so, so we took a walk around the Cathedral for a while.

Notre Dame from the south side.

Paris is full of avenues lanes like this.

Once you do get to go up, it’s a dizzying climb up the spiral stairs to get there, but it’s certainly worth the trip. With uninterrupted views over the western half of Paris, you can contemplate life with the Cathedral’s resident gargoyles, and peer down on the people below.

Contemplating the world with my gargoyle mate.

Not a bad view.

Looking down on the plebs, err, I mean, people.

From there, head inside the tower to see the bells, and then proceed all the way to the very top of the southern tower for a spectacular view in all directions. Time up here is limited, though, with the next groups coming through, so you basically only get to do a lap and then come back down.

Some kind of tower over there in the distance.

Le rooftops.

Gazing east down the Seine.

As the clouds began to roll in, we exited Notre-Dame and found our way back to the metro to proceed to Invalides station. We visited the Military Museum, sort of by accident, while planning on seeing Napoleon’s Tomb. The Museum itself could take you a whole day to see if you’re into war history; we visited a few of the rooms before exiting out the back to where the Tomb actually sits.

A visit to Napoleon at Invalides.

Sound the trumpets!

Napoleon’s tomb is mammoth in size, and sits below ground level for all to peer down at. Adorned overhead with a massive painted dome, it’s a fascinating memorial to one of France and Europe’s most powerful historical leaders.

The roof over Napoleon's tomb.

And the tomb itself.

Having time to squeeze in one last attraction for the day before things closed, we shot across to the Quai Branly Museum. Housed inside are oddities and artefacts from all kinds of cultures and countries across the world – a much more varied collection than most other museums across Paris. The Branly celebrates the diversity of the world in which we live rather than just commemorating the local history of a particular area.

The quirky Branly Museum.

An eclectic collection of things you won't find in other Parisian museums.

Paris is one of those places where you could live there for a year and still not see everything. We smashed as much as we could into 5 days, and while exhausted, it was certainly worth the effort. Taking a final walk past the most famous landmark of the city, we stopped in at a Thai restaurant just up the road from our AirBnB for a tasty dinner, before turning in for the night.

And with that, it was time to move along once more. We packed our things, ready to head for the next destination on this epic tour: the land of chocolate…

...and beer, and mussels on Day 40!