Here is a real Paris cliché... and one of the major tourist highlights: Notre Dame de Paris. It's been sitting on the île de la Cité for, well, almost 1000 years (they started building it in 1163, ended most of it in 1220 and really completed it in 1345!) and I realized I never showed it to you on this blog. Of course this cathedral has been photographed so many times, it's hard to come up with something original. I chose to concentrate on the bottom of the western facade, at night. And before you ask, no, I did not see any hunchback!
great shot....
ReplyDeleteand just to the right of the cathedral is one of my favorite places to hang out at night...Place St. Michel....
i wish i was in paris :-(
Hmmm... I hope people don't burn the place down when they'll go in and light up massive amount of candles for the French soccer team in the next couple of days! ;-)
ReplyDeleteNotre Dame is truly very impressive in person and an absolute must see if you visit Paris. Going inside is free, by the way, and well worth the detour.
Hard to fit the whole thing in a small camera unless you walk a few blocks away from it, though. Best vintage point, I think is from the back, near Rue du Cardinal Lemoine.
You do very nice night shots, Eric!
Clichés like Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower are joyful places though, where people from around the world gather and are maybe the happiest in their lives. I'm not ashamed to say that when I'm in Paris, I head for the Eiffel Tower to enjoy a little of that energy.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I forgot: here is the official website for Notre Dame. There is an English version if you click on the flag.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cathedraledeparis.com/FR/0.asp
I love this photo! I think Notre Dame is so beautiful at night. The past two times I was in Paris, my hotel was near there. I would see it every morning when I left, and every night when I returned back to my hotel. Seeing it just makes me smile :)
ReplyDeleteParfois on a besoin de regarder ces lieus qui nous resemblent "l'image" de Paris!!
ReplyDeleteAllez les bleus!
hi eric!
ReplyDeletebeautiful shot!
do you know if it was in a vault at cluny or some other museum where the heads of the saints were found?
wasn't it during the revolution (or after, most likely) that the saints on the facade were "beheaded" and notre dame turned into a building of the people, and not a place of worship?
i should dust off my french history book.
I agree with Luggi: Notre Dame is lovely, and loving it is nothing to be ashamed of. Same thing with Tour Eiffel. Just more examples of the beauty of Paris.
ReplyDeleteEric, a classic!
ReplyDeletebarista brat : I believe you mean where the heads of the saints are shown. If I remember well, during some event (the French revolution? but maybe that was too recent), people went and cut off the heads of the Saints, but they are now displayed at the Musée Cluny. That's what I've been told, but again, could be wrong.
i know that i am late with this question but does anybody have the words to the marseillaise?
ReplyDeleteRafael: check out this site
ReplyDeletehttp://old.marseillaise.org/francais/
(La Marseillaise - paroles en français)
There are all kinds of things about La Marseillaise, there, including sound files, sheet music, the words in French, and the site is completely translated in English if you check on the link "this site in in English"
Ah, changement de sujet (ouf, les drapeaux, le patriotisme et tout, ça commençait à devenir "terrain miné" :))
ReplyDeleteQuel superbe monument (je ne me lasserai jamais de la voir)...et réellement une superbe photo (une de plus !)
that's an different and nice composition for our lady ;-)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely one of the most amazing sites to see in Paris. Great shot, Eric!
ReplyDeleteTomate: I liked the thing you wrote about the candles being burnt for a French victory in the World Cup! :o)
Seeing this photo reminds me of the last time I spent Christmas in Paris. I walked all around Notre-Dame, the sapin de noel (christmas tree), and finally joined 3000 of my closest friends for a midnight international Mass. It was really special. In can be a bit touristy during the day, but it's still a wonderful place. Thanks, Eric for the great photo! Allez les Bleus!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think a place like this could ever be a cliche - to much beauty in the raw - it is more of a classic or a monument that everyone knows and you got a good one here with this line of doorways and saints...
ReplyDeletemerci tomate!
ReplyDeletethis picture is very somber and alive at the same time. great!
ReplyDeleteIt is sure an impressive building. It may be a cliche but no it's a must see.
ReplyDeleteI've learned many things with Haxo Station, thanks!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo - very unusual view. Good luck on Sunday!
ReplyDeleteHey, haxo station, merci beaucoups pour la web address. Hey, all, hit 'retour' from that painting and the site is pretty fun. I didn't notice the marks in the place as historical indications of building locations, though I knew there were houses and shops there. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteC'est une très jolie photo :) Vue, revue, peut-être... mais comme toutes les belles choses, je ne m'en lasse pas.
ReplyDeleteWell apparently you all like Notre Dame... And Haxo, really thank you, like you say many parisians don't know what you explained (I did not)
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the painting that can be seen thanks to your link.
> Lisi. Love your photo! LOL
I'm confused about Lisi.
ReplyDeletetomate and haxo, thank you sooo much for the information, and the URLs! Awesome. I was just telling my hubby how much I learn for coming to visit PDP every day! I'm gonna spedn something like 5 hours of my Saturday just checking out the links tomate provided and looking up other related stuff. Thank you on and all for constantly fueling my desire for knowledge!
ReplyDeleteOh, and eric, I LOVE this shot, as I'm sure you already figured. I could spend another 5 hours just closely examining the archetecture of Notre Dame!
great shot, the Notre Dame, is so photogenic....
ReplyDelete...and the most amazing place to be for Easter mass, when the inside is lit entirely by candlelight (and the glow of the closed circuit, flat screen TVs vroadcasting the service to those standing at the sides!)
ReplyDeletethis is probably the best photograph of Notre Dame I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteI say briefly: Best! Useful information. Good job guys.
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