Today was our big self-guided walking tour day. We actually took a metro, tram and train to start our tour.
Our first stop today was the Jardin du Luxembourg, or Luxembourg Gardens. They were created between 1612 and 1617 for Marie de’ Medici, who tired of living in the Louvre (when it was a palace) and wanted an Italian-style palace to remind her of her childhood home in Florence. Even though the palace was used as a prison during the French Revolution and a German barracks during WWII, the palace, garden and grounds remains beautifully maintained and warmly welcoming on a sunny spring day.
In Paris, surrounded by history, palaces, royal gardens, ancient statues, etc…. yet the kids are fascinated by a centipede.
We spent the morning here, feeding the ducks, drawing, and soaking in the sights.
Marie De Medicis Fountain 
Marie De Medicis Fountain
Next we walked to the Église Saint-Sulpice, a beautiful Roman Catholic church with a fountain in the square in front. We also found our French nativity in a nearby shop. I love trying to find different local nativities in each country we visit.
Église Saint-Sulpice
Next on our walking tour was the Panthéon, originally a church dedicated to St. Genevieve but now serving as a mausoleum.
Panthéon
Penny enjoyed acting like Carmen Sandiego as we explored the city.
We walked to the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company and let the kids pick out a book and get it stamped. It’s difficult to find or order English-language books in Kyiv, so we take advantage of every bookstore we find.
Another French picnic in the Square René Viviani
Just across the Seine, we found the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. It was a hopping place but we took our time wandering through it.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame
Cathédrale Notre-Dame
We were admiring the different chapels inside the cathedral when an unusual painting caught my eye.
It was a Chinese Madonna, also called The Holy Mother and Her Son (Sainte Mere et Son Fils) by the painter Yin Xin.
Outside was Point zéro des routes de France, or Paris Point Zero, the place from which everything in France is measured.
How do you keep four kids walking all over Paris with grins on their faces? Ice cream.
With only a few more stops to go, we lingered at Le Palais Royal for awhile in the golden afternoon.
We walked up the Avenue de l’Opéra toward our final stop: Palais Garnier, where the Phantom of the Opera was set. Penny picked a retelling of the classic opera story from the bookstore earlier today, complete with an accompanying musical CD. And for a more contemporary connection, the girls love watching the movie Leap (Ballerina), which is also set there.
Unfortunately, we had arrived too late in the day to tour the inside, but we vowed to attend a performance there on a return visit.
We had effectively tired our kids out. As we made our way toward a cafe for some dinner, we quite accidentally stumbled upon one last historical landmark.
L’église de la Madeleine is actually a Catholic Church, though it looks like a Roman temple.
With only one day left in Paris, we had one main goal: the Louvre.
