Following the Footsteps of the Revolution

Historian lover that I am, my escapades in Paris often involve trying to rediscover the history of this city. This past Saturday was no different. On my nighttime boat trip on the Seine, I discovered that I could visit the Conciergerie. Thanks to my luck in staying on the Île de Saint Louis, the Conciegerie is in walking distance from where I stayed. It was just the first in a day full of location’s from Paris’ past.

The Conciegerie began its life as a palace during the Middle Ages, but that is not what it’s know for. For those of you who have not read A Tale of Two Cities, which I just finished a week ago and thus am now a self-appointed expert on the French Revolution, the Conciergerie is the prison where they held people before guillotining them. Today, they’ve recreated the little chambers, as they would have been during the Revolution; however, there are dummies instead of humans garbed in 18th century clothes and groveling in the straw. They have a list of all the victims of the Terror and surprisingly, only 2,000 people died. The most famous prisoner was Marie Antoinette, but Robespierre also spent the night there before he died. Unfortunately, Louis XVIII decided to build a chapel where Marie Antoinette’s cell was, but they knocked out the bathroom and built a recreation so that all the visitors can see what her cell might have looked like. They even have a dummy facing the wall that’s supposed to look like her. These pictures are of the entry to the building (notice the Gothic arches) and the courtyard.





Right next door to the Conciergerie is Saint Chapelle, which is a gorgeous 13th century chapel built by Saint Louis aka Louis IX. It’s almost all stained glass. I’m not sure if the pictures even do it justice.

I don’t know if you can see me and Julie, but we’re all the way at the bottom beneath the rose window.







In the afternoon, I went to the Musée de la Vie Romantique with my friend, Jackie, form Princeton. It’s near the metro station, Pigalle, which I only discovered later, is the in the heart of the red light district. The museum itself is in a cute little house. It’s filled with pictures and memorabilia, including the hair, of the 19th century author, George Sand.

To conclude the afternoon, we decided to get ice cream and sit by the Seine, but this time we branched out and tried Amarillo, a chain of gelato places in Paris. They are one of the few places I’ve been to that will give you unlimited flavors. They also make your ice cream in the shape of a rose, which is quite lovely.