Similar to my sentiments about the street art I found in Naples, I think the street art of Paris feels quite unique in the context of the murals I’ve seen overall. Indeed, these pieces of art like there were directly inspired by and connected to the city around them—which is not always the case! In North America—where there are some incredible works of art tucked away down alleyways in cities like Toronto or San Francisco—the artistry can weirdly begin to blend together after a few cities. Perhaps this is a symptom of the cultural homogeneity of the continent at large, or maybe I’m just looking for meaning in a place where this none to be found… but the murals I saw in Paris definitely felt like they belonged here.
Tonight is not a regular season match! No; this is UEFA Champions League (UCL). If you are not familiar, UCL is where to top placing teams from the domestic leagues all around Europe play against each other. So, for example, Arsenal plays in the English Premiere League, while Juventus plays in Italian Serie A. These are two famous clubs that would never play against each other during regular season play. The only place where you see international cross-over is UCL, and that is why it’s one of the coolest things in sports! Only the best teams from each domestic league will qualify, and the exact number of teams that make it into UCL from each domestic league depends on how good that league is. So, for example, in Ligue 1 (France) the top 3 teams qualify for the next season of UCL, where as La Liga (Spain) it’s the top 4 teams. This is because La Liga is more competitive than Ligue 1. How “competitiveness” is measured is subject to some controversy… but that’s the gist of it.
So this is a Champions League match, and PSG are up against the Spanish side Girona, who came out of nowhere to finish 3rd in their 2023/2024 campaign, behind only Barça and Real Madrid. Let’s do this!
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. 😂
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 I’ve 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 didn’t 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 we’ve done a bit of ground-work on Paris in the previous article, let’s get out there and start tickin’ some tourist destinations off the ol’ list, eh?
In this article we’re going to cover The Eiffel Tower, Cathédrale Notre-Dame (outside), Madeline, Place Vendôme, Tuileries Gardens, Jardin Du Palais Royale, Sainte-Chapelle, Galeries Lafayette, Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre, and The Louvre Museum (teaser)
Paris needs no introduction, but here’s one anyway.
Paris is the capital of France and—in terms of metro area—the 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)—it actually fits the definition for a “mega-city”, in the same league as Mumbai, Mexico City or Los Angeles.
Camden Town is a vibrant little area in north London that is famous for—among other things—its rich history with London’s musical lore. This area has long been associated with London’s punk scene, and indeed you’ll 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 Clash’s 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 Camden’s most recent contribution musical lore was none other than Amy Winehouse. She actually lived here, and as such, this neighborhood’s 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 Madeira’s 3rd highest peak: Pico das Torres. AllTrails ranks this hike as “Hard” and I think most people who do it would agree. But there’s some serious hype around this trek!
“It’s gonna be the coolest hike of your life” my friend said to me confidently after we landed in Madeira.
“…Like, my life specifically?” **Subtext: “You don’t think I’ve done any other cool hikes?” 🥺
“No, dude, like the coolest hike of anyone’s life.”
When you fly into Madeira—assuming you are coming from Europe, which is undoubtedly the most common flight path—you 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 wasn’t responsible for planning this portion of the trip 😂)—it turned out, we would be hiking out to the very end of it!
At the time of our visit, Farol da Ponta de São Lourenço was the 2nd most popular hike in Maderia on AllTrails, which I just found out has this cool map embed feature. So here’s the info from AllTrails: it’s categorized as an “intermediate” 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 we’re 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?? It’s called Madeira.
To be perfectly honest, even I—PETER, THE MAP ENTHUSIAST—wasn’t sure where Madeira was when the idea of traveling here was first posed to me. This is why it’s good to plan trips with other adventurous friends: they will push you to places you wouldn’t 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 isn’t so “little-known” after all. 🤷🏻♂️
