today i get to introduce you all to monika, the lovely & charming woman behind splendid willow avenue (have you checked out her blog?? i swear, it transports you away to sweden! chock full of swedish design & posts that make you smile). monika and i met through blogging & started chatting once we opened our online shops. she’s funny, charming and makes you feel like you’ve been friends for years. her shop, splendid willow avenue, is full of gorgeous swedish products (some that are only available in the states through her site!). click here to read more about her!
her shop’s gold, sparkly flip flops inspired today’s sightseeing tour along the seine. thanks to mariah for creating the awesome map & tour – we both were saying that we’ve become a bit obsessed with the map! 
Paris Walking Tour – Sightseeing along the Seine River
let’s pretend that we’re spending a relaxing afternoon visiting places along the famous Seine river.
Fun Fact: Did you know that in the summertime, the city creates temporary beaches along each side the Siene , sand and palm trees are brought in, and city-dwellers can enjoy lots of fun beachy activities – how much fun would that be? My kinda city.
off we go…
- You’ll start at the Pont Neuf, which is the oldest bridge in Paris – it’s 405 years old this year!
- Next is the the Conciergerie – a 700 year old former royal palace that had a notorious prison in it during the French Revolution. Marie-Anoinette stayed in this prison before her death.
- Now on to the Sainte-Chapelle. It was founded by King St. Louis and the chapel glows with 16 enormous stained-glass windows that illustrate more than a thousand biblical scenes.
- Stop by the Marché aux Fleurs – they’ve been selling flowers for around 200 years.
- Next is the Notre Dame Cathedral is considered one of the the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in Europe.
- Your next stop is the Memorial of the Deportation – a memorial to the people deported to the Nazi concentration camps during the WWII. Inside are 200,000 beads of glass reflecting light in the darkness in remembrance of those who were lost.
- Next stop – a cheese shop! La Ferme Saint-Aubin is famous for cheeses in all shapes and sizes from all over the country.
- Stop and have a bite to eat at Mon Vieil Ami. It is the acclaimed bistro of superchef Antoine Westermann. “It’s really the restaurant of the isle,” says food critic Patricia Wells.
- To finish off your meal, your last stop is at Berthillon – a luxury ice cream and sorbet parlor. Their ice cream is made of all natural ingredients with no preservatives or artificial sweeteners and is considered the best ice cream in the city or in all of France!
have you been to any of these spots? what did you think? i’d love to hear what you thought of the seine!
[click here for more information on a walking tour along the seine // paris photos by lillian chang photography]
