A brightened up week end in Paris with Anne and Niels

The Eiffel tower from the Esplanade of the Trocadéro - Anne and Niels

7:30 AM - Saturday and Sunday - Anne and Niels, from Copenhagen (Denmark), as regular marathoners, chose to run with Paris Running Tour two times, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. We were lucky, despite a rather cold weather, we ran under a fantastic sunlight, which allowed us to fully enjoy our tours.

On our way, we saw the "Invalides" (see the picture below), the "Ecole Militaire" (Military school) and ran through the "Champ de Mars"; all these places are linked to war.
The Hotel des Invalides was created at the request of Louis XIV to house and take care of injured, maimed or old soldiers (one reason often evoked: Louis XIV liked the glory of his victorious wars but not the - not so glorious - aftermaths in terms of maimed soldiers wandering in the Parisian streets). Inside the Invalides, you can see the tomb of Napoleon.

The Invalides (from the south) - Niels and Anne

Not so far from the Invalides, the Ecole Militaire founded by Louis XV. Its aim was to educate young (and poor) officers. As the Invalides, it still belongs to the Ministry of Defense.
Between the Ecole Militaire and the Eiffel tower, you find a park, the "Champ de Mars", literally the Field of Mars, Mars being the Roman god of war. It was called "Champ de Mars" by the Romans when they defeated the Gauls there and took Paris (called Lutecia at this period).

Then, the Champ de Mars was used to study strategy and to train for war, notably by the Ecole Militaire.
Nowadays, the ones who train at the Champ de Mars are runners (among them, sometimes, soldiers from the Ecole Militaire!).
Merci Anne and Niels!

The routes of the tours (Saturday and Sunday):