We decided to spend the day getting our bearings, so we started off on foot along the Boulevard de Strasbourg until we reached the Seine and Notre Dame where there was already a huge queue of tourists. We stopped for breakfast at the Cafe Le Petit Pont and walked through part of the Latin Quarter before heading along the river towards the Louvre.

On way, we stopped at the small footbridge Pont des Arts which was covered in padlocks as is the current craze here. It was clearly causing considerable damage to the wire mesh guard rails and it was apparent that some sections had been recently replaced, only for more locks to be appearing.

We crossed over to the Louvre and made our way into the central courtyard where we saw the glass pyramid which forms a skylight for the entrance hall. Continuing on, we passed under the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and in to the Jardin des Tuileries which was looking very attractive with lots of flowering plants. We had a short break relaxing by the Grand Bassin Rond before continuing on through Place de la Concord and up the Champs Élysées.

We stopped for lunch at Cafe George V before continuing on to the Arc de Triomphe. There was a fair queue waiting for tickets to climb the Arc but we decided to join them and eventually made our way up the spiral staircase to the top of the Arc where we took in some spectacular views of Paris.

Fairly tired by now, we caught the Metro from Charles de Gaulle station under the Arc, changed lines at Chatelet and disembarked at Gare de L'est which is only a short walk from the hotel.