Paris: Day 3
June 13, 2022
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On Day 3, after breakfast in my hotel, I took the RER A train to the end of the line to the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, about 20 km west of Paris.
The town features the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, originally the Grand Châtelet, built on the site by Louis VI in 1124, expanded after, and then burned to the ground by the Black Prince
in 1346. It was reconstructed by Francis I beginning in 1539, and has subsequently been expanded several times, including its vast public gardens, started in 1595 by Henry IV, and expanded
and redesigned several times. Interestingly, the Sun King Louis XIV was born at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1638.
Then it was back to Paris to visit the Cimetière du Montparnasse, the
second largest cemetery in Paris (after Cimetière Père Lachaise), the home to such famous ex-persons as writers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, actress Jean Seberg, and new wave
filmmakers Jacques Demy and Agnès Varda. Finally, dinner at Coeur de Breizh crêperie and a stroll through the Jardin du Luxembourg on the way home.
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Above: Rear view of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, this current version reconstructed in 1539.
1 to 3 show the breakfast area of the Hôtel Des Mines, the place where I sat daily, and a quite nice variety of things to eat, including Parisienne honey.
4 shows a little gas station built right into the sidewalk and roadway.
5 to 7 shows front views of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
8 to 10 show views in the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
11 shows the Sainte Chapelle built to house a relic of the Crown of Thorns or the True Cross, the part of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye built
by 1238, predating the magnificent Sainte-Chapelle which Saint Louis built within the Palais de la Cité at Paris between 1240 and 1248.
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