France - River Seine Through Paris (★★★★☆)

These pages will be mostly used to describe British walks, but I do sometimes venture abroad and will also add interesting walks further afield to this site. 

This was the first of three days on the continent and the plan was to walk the River Seine through Paris. My first task of the day was to head down to London and then across to Paris on the Eurostar, where I then navigated the Paris Metro to Javal-Andre Citroen station (Pardon and Merci are all the French you really need on the Metro really).

This would set me down next to Pont Mirabeau, a bridge built in 1896 - and dropping me at the western end of the twenty administrative districts that make up the centre of Paris.

From here I head to Pont de Grenelle, where I cross over to the mid-point of the Seine and then turn onto Île aux Cygnes (isle of swans) - a long artificial island sat in the middle of the Seine. 

This offers a tree lined walkway - L'Allée des Cygnes (alley of swans) - and from here I head up towards the Eiffel Tower to start my walk through Paris.

Walking towards the Eiffel Tower

Eventually my path along the middle of the Seine comes to an end at Pont de Bir-Hakeim - where I must return to the riverside - following the Seine from here on the right hand side. This takes me on to the site of the Eiffel Tower.

La Tour Eiffel

From here it is back down to the riverside, which I now head along through a modern looking part of Paris - full of boats acting as bars or restaurants. 

It is a very similar walk to London - and heading through this section there are a few bridges to clear on the next section of path, before I reach Pont Alexandre II and the location of the Grand Palais.

Pont Alexandre III

Here I wish I was here with a bit more time as whilst the Grand Palais is less exciting to see (it looks a bit like the British Museum) - I would have like to have had the time to head up Esplanade des Invalides, which runs up to one of the unexpected sites of interest (at least for me) at Hotel des Invalides - a magnificent hotel, which is nevertheless very visible in the distance as I pass by.

A borrowed picture of Hotel des Invalides as the zoom will only do so much

From here I continue on up the river, and on past the gardens that sit on the far side of the river prior to reaching the Louvre, with the Musée d'Orsay being the next site coming up on my side of the river.

Musée d'Orsay

Here I take the opportunity of a pedestrian bridge to take some photos from the bridge and take in as much as possible - and this grand old building is actually the former Gare d'Orsay - ie Orsay Train Station - but I do not fully cross over my pedestrian bridge and instead continue on along this same side of the river.

Gare d'Orsay was the first electrified urban terminus in the world - opening in 1900, just in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. In 1986 it was converted to a museum and it's got to be one of the most attractive train stations ever constructed. And today it is truly magnificent to walk past and the buildings by the Louvre on the far side of the river aren't looking too bad either.

Pont Royal backed by Pavillon de Flore on the far side

This is as good a spot as any to go hunting for some lunch - and so here my passage along the river comes to a brief halt as I head off to hunt for some food - but with it being Paris the streets are just as lovely as the riverside.

Parisian streets

But I am soon back by the side of the river, as I pass by the Institut de France building, which was originally built as a college - funded via a bequest from Cardinal Mazarin, and opening in 1688.

Institut de France building

There's not too much more interesting history associated with this building, but that does not matter too much, because now we hit the jewel of the Seine - crossing over Pont Neuf to Île de la Cité (island of the city).

This is a very pretty old part of town that sits on a natural island on the Seine, and where Clovis I first established his palace in 508. These days it is most known for Notre-Dame cathedral, but even before we reach that cathedral, it is an attractive old part of the city to wander around.

Île de la Cité

Here I'm keen to find a spot to settle down and eat my recently bought lunch, and I find a quiet spot right near Notre-Dame to settle myself down.

A shame about the scaffolding, but not a bad spot for lunch

Notre-Dame is of course having a lot of work done after a fire in 2019, but the cathedral looks to be getting close to normal now after extensive works (as can be seen).

My food consumed and with my energy levels boosted again, I cross over onto Île Saint-Louis, and then continue on via the far side of the river to before - but now we seem to be entering something more like a financial district of Paris, and slowly as we go on the historic charm of Paris starts to fade as we close in on Gare de Lyon, and my stopping point for the night.

It's been a great day walking the city. I wish I had a bit more time to have been able to venture off and potter about, but just having the chance to get a feel for the city has made this a perfect day.

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Click for the write-up of my activities on the following day when I head down to Switzerland and visit Rochers de Nay (Swiss Alps) and Lake Geneva.

Disclaimer: Outside of Britain I don't know what I'm doing.