Panthéon & Notre-Dame de Paris

Pantheon was originally built as a church, but is now used as a  mausoleum for famous French people.

Unfortunately, the dome is under renovations at the moment

neoclassic architecture interior

The basement is now used as a mausoleum for famous French people such as Voltaire, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Marie Curie

Notre Dame cathedral

gothic architecture interior

mid-day mass

Notre Dame in the evening

Notre Dame from the side

Notre Dame from the back

Montmartre

Montmartre is the area that includes Sacre-Coeur Basilica and Place du Tertre. There are plenty of shops and restaurants, and also artists who will sketch your portraits.

road behind the basilica

around the Place du Tertre, where there are many artists sketching portraits
(unfortunately they're not too keen on having their photos taken)

We stopped by here for dinner. Food was average.

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Sacre-Coeur Basilica)

Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the top of Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement, and is a short walk from the 4 and 12 metro lines. The basilica offers a good view of Paris, and has plenty of shops and restaurants nearby (which I'll save for another time).

One thing to note, is beware of the string scam at the bottom of the stairs. As you walk by, men will approach you and try to tie a string around your finger or hand, and then demand a steep payment for what's essentially a worthless string. Just keep your hands close to yourself, don't make eye contact and walk pass them.

Sacré-Cœur from the bottom of the second set of stairs.
Watch out for all the string scammers around here.

back view of Sacré-Cœur, from Rue du Chevalier de la Barre

The area gets a bit rough at night, with a lot of people sitting around getting drunk.

View of Paris from Sacré-Cœur

Au Bougnat (Traditional French Bistro)

Au Bougnat
Traditional French bistro just around the corner from Notre Dame, a 3 course meal is about €30, but it's definitely worth the price. Highly recommended.

front of the restaurant

asparagus pudding

chicken caesar salad

roasted duck over potatoes

chicken over noodles

fondant au chocolat and raspberry sherbet
yes, it tastes as amazing as it sounds

bourbon vanilla crème brûlée

Château de Versailles (Palace of Versailles) [part 2]

The Palace from the back

in line by the entrance

After waiting in line and passing through security, there's another entrance

restoration work in progress

There are actually two lines. The one of the left is for audioguides, the one on the right is normal entrance. If you don't want audioguides, you can skip the long line.

The Royal Chapel, from the first floor

Royal Chapel, from the second floor

Hall of Mirrors