In Paris, museums offer free entry on the first Sunday of the month (which happens to be today!). We considered doing the Louvre, but found out that the student fare was actually pretty reasonable, so instead we opted to visit Versailles, the elaborate palace of King Louis XIV (we will go to the Louvre tomorrow). After reading about it in history textbooks and tourist guidebooks, I knew what to expect, but it was still very impressive to see in person. What stands out most is that there is gold everywhere - it is not hard to see why French finances were in bad shape prior to the French Revolution... I guess simply saying that there is gold everywhere is not doing this place justice though - the gold, combined with the intricacy of the interior decoration is remarkable. The Hall of Mirrors (see photo), King's Chamber, and the Queen's chamber were very impressive. Versailles also holds some important national paintings (especially portraits), although some of them were replicas. We obviously did not have enough time to check out everything here, but I am glad we came.
In the evening, we also checked out Montmarte, an artsy district known for being home to the Cathedral Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge. The view of the city from Sacre Coeur was excellent. We then went back towards the hotel and ate a proper multi-course meal at Au Boeuf-Coronne - this was a great dining experience! We had an aperitif, red wine, foie gras, hangar steak, cheeses, Creme Brulee, and a cappuccino. Not cheap to be sure (32 euros per person) but it was a great value I think for some very good food!
