Heritage Days in Paris? We heard about this a day before it was happening and wondered what this was all about…

What a nice surprise we had one weekend, when we learned that all the museums in Paris were open to the public (for free) on that one day in September to celebrate French history! It is called European Heritage Day. So, even though Chris and I were swamped with work and feeling the need to be attached to our screens, we jumped on the metro and went into the Latin Quarter to see if we could get into Le Conciergerie . This building was once home to the Kings of France (a Royal Palace), and then it became a court of justice and finally a prison where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned and sentenced to death. The chapel there is magnificent. It was built beside the small courtyard she was allowed to walk outside in each day.

After seeing those two buildings, we went for a walk along the Siene by the Notre Dame Cathedral because there was a ‘floating market’ on that day. Lots of French chefs and artisans had stalls along the water for food and wine tasting. Just our thing!!! So, as we walked along eating and drinking we saw a camera crew and bodyguards and followed the ‘action’. It ended up being France’s former Prime Minister; Francois Hollande. He was trying out the samples as well, so I slowly made my way up to him through the stalls and shook his hand and got a photo with him!! 🙂 He said he loves Canada!

Anyway, we were happy we went out on a little adventure on Heritage Day.  You never know what will happen in a day here, if you just go out to explore.