Listening to the news, I understand there are record temperatures here in Paris and an announcement that there is danger to life. The only good news is that it seems to have peaked the day we arrived. Starting today, there will be a gradual return to more comfortable conditions. Nevertheless, we can't lose an opportunity to make our way into Paris.
As far as our first night is concerned, thankfully we survived the balmy conditions and are no the worst for ware. Regarding breakfast, personally I'm not interested in cooked food so it's another continental breakfast. Having a fridge and hob are useful though together with a range of equipment. Now let's see how Paris greet us.
Understandably, it's a later start than I would have liked but armed with an attractions list, we take the longer than I thought, walk over the Seine and to the station at Poissy. Now how do we get tickets. We're directed to an office where we can buy a travel card for 2 Euro then top that up so we can use it on any transport within the Paris area. The cost of this is just 4 Euro per day and that's something to write home about. Sadiq Khan are you paying attention? I read somewhere that in 2025, France is the most visited country with the UK dropping to 10th, You can see why. So, now with our travel card in hand we can try for some cooked food at a sandwich bar and that's most reasonable too. Now let's get on the rails.
At Poissy there are different types of train but all included on the pass. We board for the stop train to Saint Lazare on the J Line. Remembering the different letter and number is important for efficient travel around the city. At Saint Lazare now what should we do? There are so many letters and numbers of services departing from here. In the end I chose the simplest. We head south for two stops arriving at Concorde.
Emerging in the heart of the city for the first time, we are greeted to a fierce sun: It's still well over 30 Celsius. Looking around, there are already obvious attractions. There is the obvious Place de la Concorde with it's obelisk and Gardens of Tuileries to the east fronted by the Musee de l'Orangerie. We proceed to the Seine riverbank where more attractions come into view. Over to our right is a distant view of the Eiffel Tower while in the medium distance is the Alexandra III Bridge. Instinctively we make our way towards it along a avenue of trees beside the Seine. We reach the northern end of the bridge for a photo shoot. This all takes time, but resisting crossing the river, we head north between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais not forgetting the monument to Winston Churchill. We are now approaching the monument to Charles de Gaulle. It's all good so far as we locate the metro and our first view of the Champs-Élysées. Three metro stops later we are at the other end and another iconic landmark, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile. It's another box ticked as we return to the metro and head south to the Gare de Champ de Mars for the Eiffel Tower. It's a good 5-minute walk to view the tower. As a glimmer of hope there is a breeze picking up; cooler weather is forecast.
This is my second time at the Eiffel Tower and there are obvious changes. On my first visit the site was open but now the privilege of walking under the tower has gone unless you pay the entrance fee. Glass panels act as a barrier around the site. Across the Seine bridge you get better and more distant views of the tower while other historic buildings are in the north, It's here my age limitations are exposed. I'm just too tired to walk far, but the end of the tour today is near. We locate the C line which after two stops, allows us the reach Saint Lazare.
At Saint Lazare it's really busy for the commute and we locate the platform to Poissy where the train of a curious double-decker type waits for departure This train makes just one stop before Poissy. By this time my aching feet are a major inconvenience and there's still that walk which adds another 15 minutes. All I can do is grab a beer as some form of consolation but it's rest and a good night's sleep I need. That proves difficult too after a long day in the heat.
As I look back at the day, I'm happy with what was achieved, but I wonder if down the line I'll remember the crowded and airless almost vintage metro trains. I guess though that this is what Paris is all about, a mixture of old and new where cultures collide.

The Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde ('Harmony Square') is a public square in Paris. Measuring 7.6 ha (19 acres) in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
The Gardens of Tuileries is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was opened to the public in 1667 and became a public park after the French Revolution.
The Musee de l'Orangerie is an art gallery of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Garden next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
The Alexandra III Bridge The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city. It has been classified as a French 'monument historique' since 1975.
The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, commonly known as the Grand Palais, is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris between the Champs-Élysées and the Seine, France. Construction of the Grand Palais began in 1897 following the demolition of the Palais de l'Industrie (Palace of Industry) to prepare for the Universal Exposition of 1900.
The Petit Palais is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, built for the 1900 Exposition.
The Monument to Winston Churchill A statue of Winston Churchill by Jean Cardot was inaugurated in the grounds of the Petit Palais on the Avenue Winston Churchill in the 8th arrondissement of Paris in 1998.
The Statue of Charles de Gaulle. Located within Place Clemenceau, next to the Champs-Élysées, stands this statue of the great French General, depicting him walking down the the famous boulevard, after the liberation of Paris, on the 26th of August 1944. The Champs-Élysées is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is located.
Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
The Eiffel Tower is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer" (French for "Iron Lady"), it was constructed as the centrepiece of the 1889 World's Fair, and to crown the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution.

Source: Visit and Wikipedia