We arrived in Paris just after midday! To avoid jet lag we decided to get walking and explore central Paris. First stop was Place de la Bastille which is close to our hotel.



The Place de la Bastille was the location where the infamous Bastille prison stood prior to it being stormed as part of the French revolution in 1789/90. Today there exists a large monument where the prison stood.

We soon left Place de la Bastille and headed towards the central part of Paris, Ile de la Cite.



It was not long before we found our first Patisserie. We sampled the eclairs which are simply amazing. Nothing like the eclairs we get back home in Australia.



Soon we paid a visit to the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. The Cathedral is amazing. The architecture is French Gothic and the church dates back to 1160. The church is best known thanks to Victor Hugo who wrote the novel Hunchback of Notre Dame. Thanks to Victor Hugo, the church became hugely popular and was as a result restored to its former glory.





Our final adventure of the day was visiting the Pantheon. The Pantheon has been many things over the years. Originally a church, the Pantheon today is as a secular mausoleum housing the remains of significant characters in French history! We had a great time at this place and it was a welcome refuge from the heat!