PARIS - On a recent work trip to Paris, I was dining at a Corsican restaurant with about ten colleagues, all world travelers in Higher Education like me. The head of our party went around the dinner table asking us about the most amazing place we had ever visited. I heard stories about many wonders of the world, including the Pyramids of Egypt and the Terracotta Warriors in China. When it came my turn, I said Paris. I could go on and on with stories and memories explaining why, but for the purpose of this article, I want to talk about one spot in particular, which happens to be my favorite spot in the world.
Sitting behind Notre Dame at sunset is one of the most extraordinary sites I have ever seen. It is completely common, and encouraged, to grab a bottle of wine, sit by the bank between Quai de l'Archevêché (Archbishop’s Quay) and Pont de la Tournelle (Tournelle Bride), and spend hours conversing with your favorite people. On some nights, you might even see Parisians, young and old, playing boules, a French lawn game similar to bocce ball.
I have spent many a night at the Quai de l'Archevêché. It is here that I feel happiest. Not only do I enjoy watching the sun glitter over the Seine as if it hasn’t already done so a million times before, but this is also the best view of Notre Dame. If you are patient, you will see that once the sun is no longer visible, this medieval architectural queen and her surrounding street lamps slowly light up and illuminate the city around them. While I will admit that Europe’s most famous church attracts swarms of tourists at all times of the day, this is one landmark that you cannot skip.
No matter what time of year you visit, I recommend waiting to enter until evening when Notre Dame is having Vespers or Mass. At this time, the few sounds inside the cathedral are the soft shuffling of visitors’ feet and the occasional click of a camera. However, all who enter are overcome with the echo of the choir that fills the church, and sometimes even the soul, with a melodious serenity that you can only experience when you allow yourself to be cut off from the hustle and bustle of Paris that waits just outside. Whether you practice a religion or not, you find a sense of peace here.
What first caught my attention inside Notre Dame was the large font of holy water. Inscribed on all four sides and in four different languages is “I am the way which seeks travelers.” This resonated with me because ever since my first road trip to Canada when I was seven years old, I have been a traveler. Paris was the culmination of my traveling in my 20s, and, as sentimental as it sounds, I felt it was seeking the traveler in me, too. Though I had waited 25 years to see the sunset behind Notre Dame, I think Paris was waiting even longer for me.
