Boat tour and Montmartre

Day one of the MRU tour began with a walk through the famous Tuileries garden on our way to the Pont Neuf for our guided boat tour along the river. The Seine is what Parisians use to describe the city, either right bank or left bank, and it's a wonderful vantage point to see Paris from. It travels all the way down to the Eiffel tower and circles back to Les Docks passing by monuments such as the Musée D'Orsay, the Pont Alexandre III and of course the incredible Notre Dame cathedral.  It's really a great way to get oriented.

Next we visited the small village like quarter of Paris, Monmartre. This neighbourhood was so important to the development of Paris culture in the 1800's and was home to many artists who would paint it's famous windmills. Picasso, Renoir, Latrec, and Van Gogh all lived and worked here creating some of their most famous masterpieces. This was also an area where the rich would come to mingle with these artists in cabaret's such as the famous Moulin Rouge. There are still many artists displaying their work in the Place du Terte and a few small art galleries including the Dali Museum.

Besides the sweeping views from the top of the hill and the steps of the famous Basillica Sacre Coeur, this is also one of Paris' garment districts with multi story Fabric shops and specialty notions and craftspeople. The Marché St. Pierre is probably the most well known of these and you can find an amazing selection of every type of fabric here. Of course in the spirit of Montmartre there are many specialty boutiques situating among the winding hills and the people watching here can't be beat.