Seldom have I had a more diverting Sunday than the one that I spent in Paris with Miri and HL.  We began at The Panthéon and proceeded to the Musée de Cluny.  We left the medieval museum in time to reach the Église de Saint Sulpice for a recital on the church’s grand pipe organ.

         Unlike many churches in Paris, Saint Sulpice boasts little architectural distinction other than its two mismatched towers. Its construction began in 1646, but it was not completed until 1780.  So it is a mixture of Baroque and Neoclassical styles, with more recent renovations.

         Saint Sulpice’s organ is among the most famous in Europe.  It was last rebuilt in 1862, and it has over 7,000 pipes.  The church’s acoustics were excellent, and the richness of the tone justified the organ’s reputation.  

      I am grateful to Miri for suggesting a walk along the Left Bank of the Seine late that afternoon.  When we reached a tour boat docked near the Pont Neuf, we decided to buy tickets for a ride along the river.  The Pont Neuf, or New Bridge, is the oldest one in Paris.  The city’s first stone span indeed was new when it had been constructed; that was around the Year 1600.

From the water, we could appreciate the full extent of The Louvre.  The Renaissance palace became the world’s largest art museum.  

The Pont Alexandre III is the most ornate of Paris’ dozens of bridges over the Seine River.

 
We had a fine view of the Eiffel Tower as we neared the Pont d’Iéna.
The structure that has become the symbol of Paris was erected for the 1889 World’s Fair and had been meant to be temporary.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame has reopened after extensive restoration, following the catastrophic 2019 fire.