Paris From The Pantheon

I’m a sucker for a good view, and the one from the top of Paris’ Pantheon is an absolute corker.

I’ve only recently discovered that you can actually get to the top of the Pantheon. Located on a hill in the 5th, just behind my flat, people don’t really tend to visit on their trips to Paris. Sure if you don’t like big churches it might not be your thing, and maybe you’re not into seeing the tombs of Voltaire, Hugo and Rousseau. On the other hand, the building is free for those of us lucky enough to be under 26 years of age (and an EU resident…) and is home to one of the best views of Paris, or anywhere for that matter.

You can only climb the tower with an official tour, because obviously they can’t police and manage huge masses of people climbing up and down the 250 steps into the cupola and dome. There’s one section of stairs, on the outside of the dome, that are just terrifying to walk up and down. Not so terrifying that you can’t do it, but just enough to make your slight fear of heights tingle a little. The tours run daily, even Sundays, at 14:30 and 15:3o, and these too are free for the youth of Europe. Paris is pretty much the best place to be a student.

With the weather being a bit weird lately, think gorgeously warm and sunny with 10 minutes of gross rain and black clouds at about 3pm, my sister and I decided to head up at precisely the wrong moment. Luckily by the time we had got to the top it had cleared up enough for the sky to be blue again. You can tell how high up we are by the colour of the clouds! While there isn’t a lot to say, there is a lot to see.

What is your favourite view from/of?
How weird is this weather though?!