During the 2024 Summer Olympics, it just so happened that I was living in Paris. Cool, right? Well, not if you asked any Parisian at the time. I love them, but they can be quite a negative bunch, and this proved especially true when it came to the Olympics. In anticipation of the games, they fled the city like an enemy force was about to invade. As a newly minted resident of Paris, I too took on this negative attitude, seemingly by osmosis. Maybe I just wanted to be included. đ
THANK GOD I snapped out of that funk and bought some tickets! I attended 3 events at the 2024 Olympics, and it was one of the coolest experiences Iâve ever had.
Located on the right (north) bank of the Seine in the center of the Paris, the Louvre is, perhaps, the most famous museum on planet earth. But it didnât always serve this function. Originally, when it was originally constructed all the way back in 1100s, it was actually a fortress. I mean a true Medieval castle, like you see in the movies, complete with turrets and a big moat around it. Eventually, as the urban footprint of Paris began to expand, this castle transition from a military installation to a palace for the French royals. I am really resisting the urge to jump down a history worm-hole here, so but to summarize centuries of history into a a few lines⊠the physical structure that was this castle was altered many times for many reasons through history. In the late 1600s, when King Louis XIV relocated to the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre was repurposed to house his extensive art collection⊠and things have evolved from there. It was first opened to the public in 1793 with a mere 537 paintings, and that number has now grown to include a breath-taking 500,000 objects, which collectively attract almost 9 million visitors per year, making it the most visited museum in the world.
Now that weâve done a bit of ground-work on Paris in the previous article, letâs get out there and start tickinâ some tourist destinations off the olâ list, eh?
In this article weâre going to cover The Eiffel Tower, CathĂ©drale Notre-Dame (outside), Madeline, Place VendĂŽme, Tuileries Gardens, Jardin Du Palais Royale, Sainte-Chapelle, Galeries Lafayette, Basilique du SacrĂ©-CĆur de Montmartre, and The Louvre Museum (teaser)
Paris needs no introduction, but hereâs one anyway.
Paris is the capital of France andâin terms of metro areaâthe largest city in the European Union by a HUGE margin. According to the OECD, the population is 11.2 million. For context, the next largest metro area population in the EU is Madrid, at 6.9 million. London (now ex-EU) and Istanbul (definitely not EU) clock-in at 13.4m and 14.6m respectively, according to the same OECD data set. So Paris is more than just a historic, beautiful place (although it is those things as well)âit actually fits the definition for a âmega-cityâ, in the same league as Mumbai, Mexico City or Los Angeles.
Camden Town is a vibrant little area in north London that is famous forâamong other thingsâits rich history with Londonâs musical lore. This area has long been associated with Londonâs punk scene, and indeed youâll still see some people walking around this area sporting 2-foot high mohawks and all kinds of punk stylings that strike one as being almost performatively contrarian. Camden had deep ties to the early punk movement in Britain, with bands like The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones famously frequenting this area. Apparently the photo on the cover of The Clashâs debut album (the real ones will know) was shot here in Camden. Later on, bands like Joy Division and The Cure would play here frequently, but Camdenâs most recent contribution musical lore was none other than Amy Winehouse. She actually lived here, and as such, this neighborhoodâs already-crowded mural scene is now infused with her likeness.
The #1 rated hike in Madeira on AllTrails is the one that from Pico do Areeiro to Pico Ruivo. These are the two highest peaks on Madeira. And in the middle you pass over Madeiraâs 3rd highest peak: Pico das Torres. AllTrails ranks this hike as âHardâ and I think most people who do it would agree. But thereâs some serious hype around this trek!
âItâs gonna be the coolest hike of your lifeâ my friend said to me confidently after we landed in Madeira.
ââŠLike, my life specifically?â **Subtext: âYou donât think Iâve done any other cool hikes?â đ„ș
âNo, dude, like the coolest hike of anyoneâs life.â
When you fly into Madeiraâassuming you are coming from Europe, which is undoubtedly the most common flight pathâyou will fly over this jagged, sun-soaked rocky outcropping. Even from the window of the plane, it seems really long. It makes an impression on you immediately that Madeira is going to be a rocky, mountainous place. Which is true. I had sort of forgotten about this little land formation until I looked at the map on the morning of this hike (I wasnât responsible for planning this portion of the trip đ)âit turned out, we would be hiking out to the very end of it!
At the time of our visit, Farol da Ponta de SĂŁo Lourenço was the 2nd most popular hike in Maderia on AllTrails, which I just found out has this cool map embed feature. So hereâs the info from AllTrails: itâs categorized as an âintermediateâ hike, and you can probably knock it out in a few hours. There are definitely som very steep stretches of trail, but there are also flatter portions where you can catch your breath. And there is also a little oasis in the middle of it in the form of a cafe! I have no idea how these restock that place.
Our time in Portugal continues! Now weâre going to head to the Lisbon airport and catch a plane to a little-known island off the coast of Africa that⊠somehow⊠is still part of Portugal?? Itâs called Madeira.
To be perfectly honest, even IâPETER, THE MAP ENTHUSIASTâwasnât sure where Madeira was when the idea of traveling here was first posed to me. This is why itâs good to plan trips with other adventurous friends: they will push you to places you wouldnât have otherwise considered! Once we settled on going to Madeira, it turned out that we had quite a few friends who had traveled here before us, so perhaps this island isnât so âlittle-knownâ after all. đ€·đ»ââïž
The historic center of Lisbon, predictably, is too dense with beautiful historic buildings to allow for many murals. The truly gorgeous European citiesâand Lisbon is definitely one of them!âtypically make the most of space in a way that doesnât leave room for big murals. Street are needs empty walls. So in a city like Lisbon, you have to look outside of the city center.
So the majority of these murals came from neighborhoods called Ajuda (west of the city center) and Graça (just east of the city center).
There is so much history here that itâs tempting to jump down a rabbit-hole, but I think that would actually be sort of a distraction. When I first arrived in Lisbon, although it was clearly rich in history, I spent most of my time just trying to wrap my head around how BEAUTIFUL it is. This is easily one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. I havenât been everywhere yet, but in terms of raw aesthetics, Lisbon rocketed to the top of my list quite easily, along side places like Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Valletta.
