We arrived in Paris about 10 minutes behind schedule after an uneventful journey. Our hotel is about 15 minutes from the Gare du Nord and we found it easily on foot following the directions provided by the travel agent, Byway.

With just half a day in Paris (and after an early start) we decided to do one memorable thing, visit Notre Dame. The hotel is very close to Gare de L’Est and it was a quick ride on the Metro to Cite, the closest stop to the cathedral.

As we arrived in the square in front of the cathedral a group of musicians was busking for the crowd, the sun was out the music was playing, what a great atmosphere (see above).

Visiting Notre Dame is free and the hotel receptionist told us the queues have died down since it reopened so there was no need to book a timed entry. Sure enough there was a queue but it was moving quickly and we only had to wait about 15 minutes to get in. There were a lot of people in the church and we were carried round a circuit of the building in about 30 minutes but it was amazing. The whole cathedral has been restored following the fire and it felt like it was newly built. The stonework and statuary was pristine and the stained glass gleamed. It was a flying visit but a good use of limited time.

After leaving Notre Dame we walked along the banks of the Isle de la Cite, across a bridge and along the Quai des Gesvres looking for just the right cafe. We decided to stop at Cafe Sarah Bernhardt on Place du Chatelet which Mark was pretty sure features in the Tour de France (Mark? Max?). Having revived ourselves with a late lunch (early supper?) we had just enough energy to head back to the hotel ready for an early night.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Milan, tales of the train through the Alps will follow…

PS, just for Wendy, Marks watch tells us we have walked 10139 steps.