Here and there but not quite everywhere!
We headed out in the morning to Gruyères, home of Switzerland’s Gruyère cheese. As the forecast was calling for rain in the afternoon, we first headed to the castle atop a small hill near the small town. After exploring the castle and having lunch in a nearby restaurant, we returned to town to check out the Gruyère cheese museum and shop.
Continue reading “Cheese and a Castle in Gruyères”
Although we’ve been to Geneva before, we haven’t really done much in the actual city. So today, after landing, we headed to the historic old town area to take a walk around. We visited the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre at the top of the hill and eventually ended up at the Patek Philippe Museum to the west.
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We headed out in the morning to Versailles on the RER. The Château de Versailles is huge. We were easily able to spend the entire day there without seeing everything. We toured the interior of the main palace as well as two smaller buildings at the Estate of Trianon. We also walked through the extensive gardens behind the palace.
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We headed out in the morning to see the Château de Vincennes, at the eastern end of Metro line 1. After touring the chapel and castle keep, we had a quick lunch before heading back into Paris to visit the Panthéon. We then went to a nearby crêperie for an early dinner. We ended the day with a visit to Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, the largest department store in Europe.
Continue reading “Vincennes and the Pantheon”
We started out by heading to the Catacombs of Paris, a series of underground tunnels where human remains were moved after the city’s cemeteries were filled in the 18th century. Afterwards, we had lunch at a restaurant by Rue Daguerre, a pedestrianized street lined with cafes and shops.
After lunch, we took the Metro over to Cité, an island in the middle of the Seine. We visited the Sainte-Chapelle, a former royal chapel. We also saw the exterior of the Notre Dame de Paris, the city’s famous cathedral which is currently being restored after suffering a fire in 2019.
We then made our way to the Eiffel Tower where we took a 1 hour boat sightseeing cruise with Bateaux Parisiens, which we received as a welcome amenity yesterday from the Le Méridien Etoile. Afterwards, we went up to the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Eiffel Tower where we spent the rest of the evening.
Continue reading “Rising Up From the Catacombs to the Eiffel Tower”