Here’s a way to travel back in time along the streets of Paris, all in the space of one day. Begin your journey in Roman times by visiting the Arènes de Lutèce. Weather permitting, don’t hesitate to move on to the Middle Ages with the musée de Cluny (reopening scheduled for fall 2021), and walk along the rue Mouffetard, the rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève and the rue des Ecoles that runs alongside the Sorbonne, the oldest university in Europe. Have some lunch in the Latin Quarter then cross the river to the Sainte-Chapelle, a splendid example of gothic architecture. Past the tip of the Ile de la Cité and the quaysides, you’ll come to the Louvre, former residence of kings, whose perfectly balanced forms will take you into the Classical period. Close by, the avenue de l’Opéra unfurls one of the characteristic perspectives designed by Haussmann, and from there, by taking the Météor metro line (14), you’ll find yourself in a flash in the new district around the Bibliothèque de France. Audacity, immensity, elegance: you’re at the heart of contemporary Paris, ready to dine by the Seine River not far away.
