There is no way to get the full experience of the Louvre in one day, it is the largest and most-visited museum in the world after all. It is almost too popular for its own good, especially the Mona Lisa room and the famous Greek statues. And though we got there right as the doors opened, it was quickly too crowded to appreciate the fact we were in a palace. Our tour guide for the morning, Elisabeth, was very informative and made sure that we saw the main attractions. It felt like we were sprinting to get through the tour before the crowds suffocated us. I wish I would have had a bit more time to soak in the experience. After breezing by the works of the “Ninja Turtles”, and giving a quick wink to the Mona Lisa, we headed back to the metro for a short ride to the Marais.
The Maris district is an eclectic neighborhood, with lots of historical and cultural significance. We started our tour in the Saint-Paul Saint-Louis church which was founded by the Jesuits in the 1600s. We made our way to the Place des Vosges, where Victor Hugo lived while writing Les Misérables, passing by the remains of the original wall that surrounded Paris at its founding on the way. We then found ourselves on the Rue des Rosiers, the historical Jewish Quarter with all its history and sadness. There were placards and tributes to the Jewish lives lost during the Holocaust on almost every building here. So much history everywhere that would have gone unnoticed without a guide in my ear.
I was still feeling a little under the weather, so I decided to take it easy for the rest of the evening. I grabbed a bite to eat from a boulangerie near the hotel and had a makeshift picnic in the Champ De Mars, by the sparkling light of the Eiffel Tower.