After a quick training session (10 minutes), you are on your Segway and ready for your ride in Paris to discover its monuments!
– Ecole Militaire (Military School): we are looking at the beautiful Ecole Militaire, built in 1751 (works were conducted by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the architect who also designed the Petit Trianon in Versailles) and now we head for the Eiffel Tower.
– Peace Wall: this art work (completed in 2000 by Clara Halter and Jean-Michel Wilmotte) refers to the Wailing Wall (in Jerusalem). On the sides of it there are slots into which previously you could slide messages of peace.
– Carrousel du Champs-de-Mars: a little further on our left is the Carrousel du Champs-de-Mars dating from 1913. Last Parisian merry-go-round working with human energy! It is the crank in the center of the arena that rotates the original wooden horses, sculpted by the Limonaire brothers.
– Eiffel Tower: we cross the Champ de Mars, the ideal place for an Eiffel Tower photo stop. You can pinch it or hold it on your hand. Let your imagination run free!
– Lavirotte building: here, we are at n°29 avenue Rapp, in front of an amazing Art Nouveau building built in 1901 by the architect Jules Lavirotte. Can you see what’s hiding the front door?
– Cathedral of the Holy Trinity: let’s carry on along Avenue Rapp and see a bit of Russia in Paris. Here is the Russian cultural center and the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Like an embassy, the entire site is Russian territory.
– Quays of the Seine (les quais de Seine): on the river banks, we head towards 3 monuments erected during the 1900 World Fair: Alexander the 3rd Bridge, the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais.
– Alexander the 3rd Bridge: the first Parisian bridge to span the Seine with a single arch.
– The Petit Palais, in classic style, built by architect Charles Girault. It is faithful to its original vocation to be the Museum of Fine Arts of the city of Paris (free museum, closed on Mondays).
– The Grand Palais hosts temporary cultural events. Note that its roof (6000 tons of steel and 2000 tons of glass) has the same weight as the Eiffel Tower!
– Hôtel des Invalides: let’s now head to the Hôtel des Invalides. Its construction was ordered by Louis XIV in 1670 to accommodate wounded soldiers (up to 10,000 simultaneously). Under the dome resides the tomb of Napoleon.
Final step, from Hôtel des Invalides, we return to the Champ de Mars for final well-deserved Segway photos in front of the Eiffel Tower 😊!