Le chateau de Vincennes

We had visited several of Paris' great parks over the preceding weeks and thought we might finish our stay with the largest of these, the Bois de Vincennes, on the edge of the city. Vincennes, now a suburb that appears as densely populated as the rest of Paris, is the home also of the Chateau de Vincennes, another royal chateau, one of the greatest of still-intact Medieval fortresses, featuring the highest donjon in all of Europe. Alas, we spent most of our time at the chateau and at the royal chapel, making only a brief excursion to the nearby Parc Floral. We'll have to see the rest of the Bois de Vincennes itself next time.

Main exterior wall and entry tower--17th century; the chateau is within these walls

Another side of the wall--about a kilometer all around

The entry tower, impressive enough by itself if not Medieval

Plan of the chateau

Helpful model; the Medieval chateau is the big walled structure center right

Thus; as I said, donjon is the tallest in Europe

Vertically

Along the battlements

The Chateau de Vincennes has the usual royal chateau history...first a royal hunting
lodge, then a royal fortress, then a prison, then a factory, then a warehouse...now a
historical site and military museum...some of the 18th century prisoners were
artistically-gifted

King's private personal chapel

Vaulting in one of the towers

Up closer on one of the capitals

Prisoner? empoyee? tourist?

Architectural ornament

During the centuries of royal residence and comings and
goings, the interior was entirely paneled; little remains but
nails that held the paneling to the stone walls

The Chateau is the site of much history: three French kings died there, and one
English king, Henry V (who was sieging and pressing his claim to be king of
France too); as a prison, it held the Marquis de Sade (I'm standing in his cell),
Enlightenment types Mirabeau and Cordorcet; Louis XVIII was executed there;
so was Mata Hari; and of course Germans killed people here as everywhere else

One of the Marquis de Sade's letters to his wife, written at Chateau de Vincennes:
"please forgive me, honey..."

One of Condorcet's books, ditto

Fascinating place...probably not high on most tourists' must-see
lists, but very easy to get to...at the eastern end of Metro line #1

Le bistrot du peintre

We'd walked past it a dozen or more times, always vowing to have a drink and a look around. It's one of several neighborhood cafe/bar/bistros we've seen, dating from the Belle Epoche, and, so far as we could tell, completely un-renovated or changed from that time. It was another glorious Paris evening, and we finally stopped for our drinks and look around. In the 11th, corner of Rue Charonne and Avenue Ledru Rollin. Established 1902. We had walked all the way from Notre Dame up through the Ile St. Louis, stopping twice for ice cream, and more or less final shopping, past the Bastille...not the first time for such a walk, either.

Tours de la Cathédrale Notre Dame

After the Louvre we Metro'd up to the Strasbourg-St. Denis station for a look at the Brasserie Julien, another Art Nouveau site. Alas, it was closed, already on its August fermeture. (Note to self: as we noticed even in our own unfashionable neighborhood, the August closings can extend well into July, and, presumably, September as well.) At this point, despite tired and sore feet, Vicki decided she wanted to climb the towers of the Cathedral. Hey, we're in Paris! And so we walked to the Cite and stood in line for half an hour, and then did the ascent. While in line, BTW, we had the great satisfaction of seeing some people sent to the end of the line for trying to edge in in front of an Asian family behind us. Anyhow, the tower tour was a great experience, a chance to review so much of what we've seen the past three months.

Classic gargoyle view

Opera Garnier and district

Monsters, Inc.

Roof-top view

Eiffel Tower, Invalides, etc.

Cite view

Ditto

From the top of the south tower

"Lock" bridge

Looking toward the 3rd and the 11th, our "home," Place de la Bastille and Opera
Bastille

The Francois Mitterand Bibliotheque Nationale

Plages again

Saint-Chapelle

Petit Palais, Grand Palais, La Defense

La Defense closer up; Grand Arch

Pompidou

North Tower: and at just about this moment, 5:30 PM, Quasimodo started 
peeling the bells, which transformed a great experience into a glorious one: 
http://youtu.be/r9gplh5xXno