Rick & Gill's 2017 Holiday: Paris Monday

Last night on the way back home, we saw this great, high tower with, guess what, people on top. Well, it’s been a while since Rick climbed a tower, so this morning he walked the 10 mins to the tower in time to book the first guided tour for the day at 10am. Unfortunately the tour was in French, so information understood was just a little limited. The Saint Jacques tower is all that remains of the Church of Saint-Jacques-le Majeur, the starting point for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In 1501, it was decided to replace the old tower with this new one and the new tower was finished in 1522. During the revolution, the church became a national asset and was sold for its stone in 1797. Fortunately there was a clause in the deed of sale that prohibited demolition of the bell tower. By the beginning of the 19^th century, the tower was in very poor condition. In 1836, the City of Paris repurchased the tower and a few years later, restoration work was initiated by Napoleon III. In 2001, restoration of the facades of the tower was undertaken and the tower was opened to the public in 2013.

There are 300 steps to get to the top and the views of Paris are stunning, with all of the low level buildings, interesting roof tops, the Seine etc. Well worth the visit.

We then walked the 2 kms or so to where the canal boat trip left from, near the Place de la Bastille. It was a 2 1/2 hour trip up the Canal St Martin, going through a number of double locks, past 2 swing bridges and a lift bridge, as well as under many attractive pedestrian bridges. With the temperature up around 30 degrees, it was comfortable on the canal with a slight breeze and spray from the locks filling. The canal was constructed in the early 1800s and the section we were on rose almost 30 metres. We started off by motoring through a tunnel under the Place de la Bastille and followed Boulevard Richard Lenoir before seeing light again.