Carnavalet, Vosges and Sacre Coeur

Too soon the weekend and our last day with Sue and John, but we made the most of it!
We set off after breakfast to Musee Carnavalet, a museum spread over two mansions from the 16th and 17th centuries and filled with period furniture, sculpture, art and portraits. Through the windows were glimpses of hidden gardens. The museum was close to our apartment in the Marais and from here we wandered to another must see. Place des Vosges is Paris's oldest square and one of the most beautiful in the world. It dates from 1612 and is set out in perfect symetry with 36 houses of red-gold brick and stone facades around the square of trees, paths and fountains. Around the outer perimeter are arcades with galleries and cafes. Sadly one of the the houses had suffered extensively from a fire.

garden in Musee Carnavalet through window

Entrance to Place des Vosges

Place des Vosges

Arcades around Place des Vosges

From here we headed to the Metro and up to Sacre Coeur. We stopped for lunch at the bottom of the stairs where we enjoyed another bottle of vin rouge.

Up the mountain of stairs to the top where we were met by a huge crowd and a few entertainers and stalls of food. I headed into the church to view the beautiful stained glass windows and David took photos of the view. Sue and John wandered around the square of artists where there was an amazing variety of styles with vibrant colours and ranging from abstract to traditional. A group of artists were working on portraits but most were landscapes. We then headed down the hill to Moulin Rouge to see the famous windmill atop the building. Onto the Metro and back to the apartment through Rue St Antoine where we bought more supplies for our last supper! More vin rouge and champagne!!

Sacre Coeur

Moulin Rouge

Steps to Sacre Coeur

Not another night of tired feet!