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

Today's walk is slightly different, because today I've over in France - and whilst this is only a fairly short walk, it is quite a special one, as today I'll be walking along the River Seine through Paris.

The first task of the day has been to get down to London, and then across to Paris on the Eurostar - and from here I navigate my way across Paris on the Metro to Javal-Andre Citroen station.

By this point it is already fairly late in the day - having lost an hour due to the time zone change coming over from England - but this sets me down alongside Pont Mirabeau, a bridge that dates back to 1896, on the western side of central Paris.

From here it is a short walk down to the next bridge, where I cross over to a mid-point along that bridge, where a long artificial island sits in the middle of the Seine. 

This offers a tree lined walkway - L'Allée des Cygnes (the 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 one of the river banks - and here I opt to follow the Seine on the right hand side. 

This takes me on to the site of the Eiffel Tower.

La Tour Eiffel

The Eiffel Tower was only meant to be a temporary structure - and was built in 1989 for the Exposition Universelle - a world fair that would be held in Paris in the same year.

The original intent was for the tower to stand for twenty years, but the value proved to be invalable for the purposes of radio communication, and then later proved to popular to remove.

By late 2002 the tower had received it's 200 millionth visitor, and continues to be a popular attraction.

Having ticked off this major site in Paris, we continue on along the river, where we are now heading through a fairly modern 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 we 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.

Even from a distance this looks very inviting, and 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, we 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.

This grand old building is actually the former Gare d'Orsay (Orsay Train Station) - but we do not fully cross over my pedestrian bridge, and instead continue on along the 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. 

But in 1986 it was converted to a museum and it's got to be one of the most attractive train stations ever constructed. 

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.

And one of the bonuses of walking along the Seing through Paris, is that there is so much to see over a fairly short distance of walking.

Pont Royal backed by Pavillon de Flore on the far side

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

Parisian streets

But we are soon back by the side of the river - and next we 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 next we hit one of richest parts of Paris in terms of history - 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 King Clovis I established his palace in 508. 

These days it is best 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 food - and I manage to find a quiet spot right near Notre-Dame to settle down and have a bit of a rest.

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

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).

And with my food consumed, and energy levels boosted again, I cross over onto Île Saint-Louis - and then continue on via the far side of the river to before.

Now we seem to be entering something more like the financial district of Paris, and as we go on, the very unique 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 way to kill a few hours, just walking the city - and I wish I had a bit more time to have been able to venture off and potter about, but there really is just so much to see in such a small central area.

Total Distance: 6.6 miles

Total Ascent: 157 feet

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

The following day I continued on to Switzerland, and you can click to read about my trip to Rochers de Nay and Lake Geneva.

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