History Trip to Paris
During the half-term break, A level History students went on a trip to Paris and surrounding areas to be immersed in local culture and of course history. Read the full report from Mrs Helen Rose, Head of History, below.
At 7.00 am on the first day of half term, A Level History students headed to the Eurostar terminal at King’s Cross St Pancras with Paris in their sights, determined to delve deeper into France’s past, and in particular the French Revolution and Napoleon period which is studied as part of the course.
We arrived at the Hotel de l’Est to beautiful rooftop views of Paris, with a few (even able to see the Eiffel Tower.
We then embarked on the first of many adventures via the Parisian metro, this time on the way to a boat trip on the Seine. Having narrowly missed being confused for part of a large group of elderly people wearing orange hats, we got to the dock and boarded, enjoying stunning views of the Assemblée Nationale, Les Invalides and the Musée d’Orsay on our trip. We returned just in time to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour and, despite the pouring rain, this definitely ended up being one of the most magical moments of the trip.
We were in high spirits as we made our way to our dinner destination, Flunch, where we enjoyed a great selection of French food including freshly made crepes! Some students even managed to fit in a game of UNO with the manager of the restaurant, who was a great addition to the game, despite his determination to play a green 6 on top of a red 2. We ended the day with a night time walk back towards our hotel, enjoying the atmosphere of a busy Saturday evening in the centre of Paris.
Having enjoyed fresh pastries from the hotel breakfast, we headed to the Palace of Versailles bright and early on the morning of the second day.
The Palace itself was converted into a Museum of the History of France by order of King Louis-Philippe in 1837 and it was fascinating to see snapshots from throughout France’s history inside. The Gallery of Great Battles was particularly impressive and everyone enjoyed pointing out moments we recognised from across history within it, such as the French siege of Calais in 1558, which is studied as part of the Late Tudors section of the A Level course.
The visit also gave students a chance to visualise just how lavish the life of the French monarchs had been during the ancien régime, and it was great to watch the Sunday afternoon fountain shows in the very same gardens through which Louis XVI would have taken his afternoon walk 300 years before.
Our last stop was the Royal Tennis Courts, the site of the historic Tennis Court Oath of 1789 in which the deputies of the Third Estate first rebelled against the ancien régime and vowed not to separate until a constitution was written for France.
This was followed by a visit to Les Invalides and the Musée de l’Armée back in Paris, which houses some of the most iconic paintings of Napoleon, as well as his tomb and his last horse, le Vizir, which was preserved with taxidermy.
We were feeling suitably enthused with history by the time we made our way to the Montmartre area and back to Flunch for dinner. Having taken full advantage of the unlimited chips, we made sure to stop at a local shop to purchase some iconic ‘I Heart Paris’ t-shirts for the next day, before enjoying some free time exploring the area and taking photos by the Sacré-Coeur.
Having shown off our new T-shirts on the packed Monday morning metro, the third day began with a trip to the Conciergerie, which was converted into a prison in the late 14th century having previously been the residence of the kings of France during the Middle Ages.
It was especially fascinating to visit the chambers in which Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before her execution in 1793, as well as an exhibition about the important, but often overlooked, female figures of the revolution.
The afternoon brought a guided tour by a French postgraduate student in which we visited the Hôtel de Ville, Palais-Royal, and Louvre amongst other famous landmarks, before finally making our way back to Gare du Nord and the Eurostar terminal.
Overall, a great trip filled with lots of French history and lots of Eiffel Tower spotting. Make sure you keep a look out for the occasional I Heart Paris T-shirt around school!
