This morning we enjoyed a city tour with a local guide and our fellow travellers. We visited Notre Dame cathedral, with several thousand tourists. We had a group photo taken in front of the Eiffel Tower and drove past many iconic landmarks, including the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe.
Once the tour ended, we left the group and set off to explore Paris.
We walked the length of Champs de Élysées to see L'Arc de Triomphe, passing many, many shops, cafes, souvenir places and crowds and crowds of tourists.
Lunch was at a cafe on the sidewalk of the Champs de Élysées. C'est magnifique!
The plan was to board the hop on hop off bus, so we chose the one that would take us to Sacre Coeur at MontMarte. We enjoyed the ride and the scenery and once off the bus, made our way up a very crowded street, stopping off at souvenir shops along the way. At the top of the street, Sacre Coeur loomed above us, with a flight of stairs on either side. The stairs were full of people, many sitting down staring at the view. The grassed area between the steps was also full of people sitting in groups enjoying the sunshine and the view.
Once at the top, we too admired the view before joining the crowds in the nearby streets. There was a wedding underway in the chapel beside Sacre Couer, so we didn't get to visit there.
After a spot of shopping, we had a drink in Corcoran's Irish Pub, before descending many flights of the stairs back to road level.
Our hotel is in the general vicinity of MontMarte so as it was 5.00 pm, we decided to walk back. It was an interesting trip, passing Moulin Rouge, assorted live sex shows and sex accessories shops and an endless variety of bars, cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops. It took almost 90 minutes to reach the hotel, so we have vowed to only use the hop on hop off bus tomorrow!
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