Continuing on from Montmartre

Descending from Montmartre down the steps in front of Sacré-Cœur, we pass through the nightclub district and wander down Rue des Martyrs, a fabulous residential area.

Rue des Martyrs

We stop to admire the neighborhood food shops (maybe we should rent an apartment here!).

Neighborhood food shops

As we reach Place Vendôme, we find wedding parties pausing for pictures in front of the Ritz Paris hotel.

Stopping for pictures

A little further along, down Rue de Rivoli, we find a police presence, accompanying a protest over France's Covid-19 vaccination requirements.

Protest march

Passing by the protesters, we enter the La Samaritaine, a department store first opened in 1910, starting as a small apparel shop and expanding to a series of buildings with a total of 90 different departments.  The original store closed in 2005 and is now owned by the luxury-goods maker LVMH, who reopened the location in 2021 with retail offerings targeted at affluent consumers, restaurants, and a boutique hotel.  The remodeled store contains much of the original fabulous structure.

La Samaritaine

It's been an interesting day, hiking up to Montmartre, winding back through the city, stumbling on a protest, and viewing the magnificent remake of La Samaritaine.