What took your breath away while in Paris?

For me, the obvious one...the First Sighting of The Eiffel Tower. It was more thrilling than I honestly expected it to be! And I expected it to be pretty thrilling... (frankly, just successfully getting through the day with the foods, transportation system, and language barrier, since Paris was the very first European city I'd ever visited - that was pretty impressive; I became A Bonafide European Traveler LOL!) I'll have to give this some more thought - I can think of moving experiences in many other cities, but for Paris so far it's a bunch of 'gee whiz, I never thought I'd get to see THIS' moments...hmmm...I hope to get back to you.

Sainte-Chapelle.

The Musee D'Orsay! In addition to the art collections, the building itself is a work of art. Definitely stands out as 1 of the highlights for me.

So many things... a chamber music concert at Saint Chapelle, watching the sunset over the Seine, my first glimpse of Notre Dame, the taxi cab ride to the Eiffel Tower(the driver was nuts), dinner at the Jules Verne not to mention the museums, the churches ,etc, but then I've been in love with Paris since my days there as a student.

The windows in St Chappelle ! Cant recommend them enough far distant second would be looking down the steps and over paris from in front of Sacre Couer and the back end of Notre dame from the Left bank

Mass at Notre Dame..... the choir...... the ambiance..... the way the sound bounces around the cathedral.......

two wow memories quickly stand out for me. The first was at the Orsay museum. I didn't really know much about or appreciate impressionism, but I was walking thru the museum and turned a corner. There was one of the most striking paintings I've ever seen! The second, although trite, is a special memory. Walking along the street above the Seine all of a sudden carts appeared selling crepes. I'm sure its industrial mix and so on, but the magic of the moment -- river in the background, beautiful buildings around me, warm crepe in hand, cemented that first evening as something unlike anything I'd done on trips in the US before.

Walking through the Rodin Museum appreciating the sculptor's work only to turn and notice a lovely small painting on the adjacent wall. Getting closer realizing it was Van Gogh's "Le Pere Tanguy." All of the work in the Museum D'Orsay. Had to sit down in one room as the emotion of seeing all the beautiful paintings and knowing most of the artists never lived to see how their art impacted the world. Lastly, walking down stairs toward Napoleon's tomb and seeing the final resting place of a relative, General Henri Bertrand.

I have been many times and Paris still takes my breath away. Night cruise on the Seine, seeing Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame from a distance, Rodin Museum and Holocaust Memorial behind Note Dame.

Basilique du Sacré-Coeur Sainte-Chapelle A wonderful, crispy puff pastry called "Religieuse au Chocolat"

Sitting on the steps in front of Sacré-Coeur at sunset watching the whole city turn bright white to red to blue, just like the flag. Some artsy type should document that! There's always somebody selling beers from a bag for 2 euros and some live music so it becomes one of the best makeshift cafes in Paris for an hour.

What a great question to ask!! We will be in Paris on August 15, and I can't wait. Our first trip was four years ago, and much of it was on tour to magnificent places outside of Paris. This time we will be soaking up as much of the city as we can in four and one half days. Claudia, thanks for the mention of the Van Gogh at the Rodin Gallery. It was on the list as a "do if we can", but we have been on a quest for several years to see as many original Van Goghs as we can; it makes for fun trip planning. So Rodin may go to the top of the list after all. One magical moment we had unfortunately can't be repeated. On our only city day in 2007 we were walking from the Louvre to Musee de L'Orangerie to see the Monets (and the unexpected treasures in the lower level) when we were suddenly inundated with what seemed like a parade of every civilian and military law enforcement contingent in Paris. They came endlessly by on foot, in cars, in vans, in trucks, and finally even on rollerblades, surrounding the athlete carrying the Olympic torch. It was a stunning sight which quickly passed before us. We learned that the protests stopped the runners about halfway through the route, and we felt very lucky that we were in the right place at the right time to see it. The Impressionist paintings from Orsay have been on tour in the US in two different exhibits for the past couple of years while the gallery in the Orsay was being redone. We were able to see both of the exhibits and cannot wait to see them all together at "home" at Orsay.

For me it was the evening I went to La Defense and stood under L'arc de la Defense. There was something about it that captivated me. An electricity in the air, a moment between friends, I'm not sure. My life lead me to that moment and I knew that I was supposed to be there and right where I belonged. I miss France.

I have to agree with Jeff, Notre Dame. We have only done two day trips to Paris but both times we hit Notre Dame. We are going for a week in November and I can't wait to discover other places that take my breath away. What a great post.

The Paris Sewer Tour... Seriously... It was an interesting hour seeing the Parisian underworld.

Eiffel Tower from the Ecole Militaire side; then watching it grow larger and larger as we walked toward it along Champs de Mars. Then catch Seine cruise at the foot of Eiffel Tower, right before sundown, coming back after dark to see Eiffel Tower lit up. Luxembourg Gardens. Go to the market and put together a picnic lunch and relax in the gardens. Climb to the top of Arc de Triomphe and take lots of photos! Take the metro to La Defense and the Grande Arche. Climb the steps, turn around, and take a telephoto all the way back to the Arc De Triomphe. Go to the Louvre; after fighting the crowds, go back outside to the Arc de Carousel in the courtyard(ie. "miniature Arch of Triumph") look through the middle back down Champs Elysee, and take photo including the Place de la Concorde and in the distance, Arc de Triomphe. Those are only five "breathtaking" moments out of about 30! I've been to Paris twice now, and I'm not finished!

For me the most memorable moment was when I first stepped out of the loooong staircase to the top of Notre Dame. Seeing past the first (and well photographed) gargoyle, the whole city of Paris under my feet. That completely blew me away!

Paris is one of those cities, like New York, where every time I turned a corner, I said "Wow! There's ___________!" There's a landmark on every corner. "A wonderful, crispy puff pastry called "Religieuse au Chocolat"" -- I need a translation, but that sounds like it would be a Chocolate Nun in English.

What took my breathe away in Paris....litterally...walking by my first French Cheese Shop....litterally. I couldn't breathe. So much pain for so much pleasure! :)

At the Musee d'Orsay, we took a left to get out of the way of HORDES of picture-snapping, loud-talking nightmare tourists, and there was Renoir's "Le Moulin de la Galette," one of my favorite paintings of all time. I burst right into tears, much to the consternation of my poor husbannd. "The Raft of the Medusa," a huge canvas by Gericault, in the Louvre, never fails to stun me. It is EPIC. Also in the Louvre, Antonello de Messina's "Christ at the Column." Depicts Jesus as a plain looking carpenter - it's just a study of his head, with the crown of thorns, his eyes turned up to heaven and a "can this really be happening to me?" look on his face that is completely heartbreaking. Standing on the steps at Trocadero, watching the light show on the Eiffel Tower. Finding Apollinaire's grave at Pere Lachaise. With so many others, I must mention the windows at Sainte Chappelle. Do not go in and spend your money if it is a dark and gloomy day. With the light streaming through them, these windows are GLORIOUS. They will really take your breath away. One morning about 8:00am we were sitting outside at a cafe on rue de Passy, people watching. The best guy EVER came out of his apartment to buy bread across the street, and we watched in amazement as he was doing his business, because, at 8:00am, this burly, middle-aged guy was wearing beautiful cashmere flannel slacks, an impeccable pressed white shirt, and garnet colored velvet slippers embroidered with a lavish gold crest. Whoo! A massive downpour in St. Germain-des-Pres one afternoon. Everyone shrieked and lept around and opened their brellies and otherwise took cover, and a bunch of us rushed into the cafe across from the Buci News and had a drink. Marvellous.

Hands down, Sainte-Chapelle! Try to go there on a sunny day so the sun can shine through the windows. And get there later morning when the sun is above the surrounding buildings. Breathtaking!

Thank you for the question Jean-Paul! I am traveling there for the first time and have so enjoyed reading everyone's lovely stories and memories. Mike wrote The Paris Sewer Tour... – just to let everyone know I have heard the same thing from a close friend. It does sound crazy but when she told me about it I was really surprised. Kira – I want to thank you for giving me something else to find and see in the Louvre. Antonello de Messina's "Christ at the Column." I so hope to find it. Sounds wonderful. Thank you.
Thank you all for your stories. I will continue to check back on this post. I want to read as many as I can.

http://europeforvisitors.com/paris/articles/paris-sewers-museum.htm If you have the museum pass it is covered. Its one of those things that if you happen to walk by you might never go it but I just wandered in and it was really interesting (to me) I would also add being up on top of the towers of Notre Dame when the bells ring is a feeling I won't soon forget. The concussion of the those huge bells was awesome. I'm a bit a of a kook in the fact that I am usually up and gone from the motel around 5 am... Walking around Paris for those first few hours is also really a treat.

Besides the 1st sight of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer... The ladies shoe department at Printemps. Total Shoe Art. Tears welled up in my eyes when I calculated the Euro to Dollar exchange in my head and realized I could not possibly buy as many pairs as I wanted to.

The look of awe on the frozen face of a wonderful gal when we were on winter break from college and had to clump all the way to the top of the ET since we were too broke to buy an elevator ticket.

Arrival at the Gare du Nord. Great art deco station, lots of sights, smells and activity.

The atrium in Galeries Lafayette. The light show at the Eiffel Tower. The beautiful displays of fresh fruit and vegetables at the street markets like Rue Mouffetard. The inside of Sacré Couer. Opera Garnier.
The window displays at the high-end retailers along Avenue Montagne.

My wife on our honeymoon ;)