10 things for New Orleanians to see in Paris
The first time I visited Paris, I stepped out of the Gare de l'Est with a huge backpack and a bigger dream come true. Around age 8, I had flipped a page in my Grandpa's coffee table book and first laid eyes on the Nike of Samothrace. Since then, I had yearned for Paris.
As I walked along, enchanted, a growing familiarity arose. The iron balcony railings, the fleur-de-lis emblazoned everywhere, and the above-ground tombs all felt like home. I even knew, without speaking French, how to pronounce the street names. A New Orleans girl in Paris is a girl meeting a long-lost older sister.
If you're in Paris for the Saints game, or just want to understand our shared heritage and culture, here are ten places where New Orleans and Paris meet.
1. St Jeanne d’Arc at Place des Pyramides + Maid of Orleans
New Orleans’ beloved Maid of Orléans presides over the French Market with gleaming beauty. She also has a twin: an identical golden Jeanne stands across from the Louvre and Tuileries. The New Orleans statue is a copy of this one, given to our city by the people of France in the late 1950s.
2. Place des Vosges + the Pontalba Buildings
Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba retreated to Paris after surviving a violent confrontation with her father in law. When she came home, she modeled her iconic Jackson Square row houses after Paris’s oldest planned square. Visit the Place des Vosges and note how the red brick, architectural symmetry, and shops below/homes above structure all echo in the Pontalbas. You can also see the baroness’ townhouse on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the Hotel de Pontalba. It is now the residence of the U.S. ambassador to France.
3. Notre-Dame des Victoires + the Ursulines
Before the Ursulines ushered in a city-wide devotion to Our Lady of Prompt Succor, they first introduced Notre Dame des Victoires. You can still see her, the city’s oldest statue of Our Lady, in the Old Ursuline Convent. St Mary’s Italian Church next door is also dedicated to Notre Dame des Victoires (look for the inscription above the altar). This devotion originated in Paris at the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories (my favorite pilgrimage site in Paris). The beautiful French shrine is covered in 37,000+ ex votos and has been beloved by saints from Thérèse of Lisieux to John Henry Newman.
4. Saint-Sulpice + the Ursulines
The Ursulines came from Rouen, but sailed to the New Orleans colony from Paris. Before they departed, they spent weeks in Paris preparing logistically and spiritually. Saint-Sulpice was their liturgical home.
5. Montmartre + Bienville
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville founded New Orleans in 1718, governed Louisiana off and on for decades, and claimed countless adventures. But in the end, he retired to Paris, where he died in 1767. Bienville received full military honors and burial at Montmartre. Over centuries, Bienville’s grave became unmarked and possibly lost. Even if you can’t locate Benville, a stroll through the cemetery’s ornate tombs and fascinating residents is well worthwhile.
6. Les Who Dats: New Orleans Cafe Saints Bar + the Great Canadian Pub
On one trip to Paris, I rounded an alley in the Latin Quarter and spotted a dive bar called “New Orleans Cafe Saints Bar.” Inside: all the cheesiest black and gold memorabilia you can imagine. The French Who Dat nation is small but deeply passionate. If you want to watch live-streamed NFL games on big screens alongside French fans, head to The Great Canadian Pub, a sports bar nearby. Down river in Saint-Germain, The Moose also offers a North American-style sports bar with live games.
7. St Louis, King of France: Sainte-Chapelle and Saint-Denis
St Louis Cathedral defines the French Quarter skyline and holds stunning stained glass windows telling the story of St Louis IX’s life. In Paris, you can encounter both the king and the fruits of his reign. St Louis IX commissioned Sainte-Chapelle in the 1240s as a reliquary for the Crown of Thorns. Sitting in the morning light as it pours through the soaring glass feels miraculous and unforgettable. Since the Revolution, the Crown of Thorns has been housed at Notre-Dame Cathedral, where it is displayed for veneration on Fridays. With a quick metro ride north, you can also visit the Basilica of Saint-Denis, where Louis was laid to rest among most other French kings. (P.S. Saints fans: it’s a 15-minute walk from the Stade de France!)
8. The original Elysian Fields: the Champs-Élysées
When Bernard de Marigny carved his plantation into the Faubourg Marigny in the early 1800s, he named his grand avenue after Paris’s most famous boulevard. Champs-Élysées translates to “Elysian Fields.” In Paris, the Champs-Elysees runs from the Place de la Concorde up to the Arc de Triomphe. Enjoy a long walk and decide who did better, Paris or New Orleans.
9. Napoleon’s tomb, Les Invalides
Napoleon’s mark on New Orleans cannot be overstated. Because of his Louisiana Purchase deal, New Orleans became an American city in 1803. Tradition holds that Napoleon House on Chartres Street was intended as a refuge for the exiled emperor in a failed escape plot. The Cabildo even houses one of the world’s few bronze death masks of Napoleon. In Paris, visit his monumental tomb beneath the golden dome of Les Invalides. P.S. The original Louisiana Purchase documents are housed in the French Archives in the Marais.
10. Wallace fountains
The elegant, green cast-iron fountains in Parisian parks and on sidewalks were the gift of English philanthropist Sir Richard Wallace, who wanted every Parisian to have clean drinking water after the siege of 1870. More than a hundred Wallace fountains still pour fresh water today. In 1984 Paris gifted New Orleans with a Wallace fountain, which stands in Latrobe Park. Four female caryatids support a dome decorated with dolphins, representing kindness, charity, simplicity, and (ha) sobriety.
If you’re ready to visit my favorite places on earth, Thy Ship can help you build and book a trip that not only goes far, but deep.
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