Monday, May 23, 2016

The ascent

Our climb into the Panthéon's dome went in three stages. Each stop gave us a chance to catch our breath and allowed slower climbers to catch up with the group. The first pause was on a balcony, still inside the church, under the vaulted ceilings.

If you look closely you will see, just to the right of center, the thin line of the cable of Foucault's pendulum.

One of the guides led the group while the second one followed up, making sure no one was left behind. If I remember correctly, our group numbered about twenty or twenty-five. Each tour can accommodate a maximum of fifty people.

Looking down along the nave toward the choir.

The Panthéon offers six dome tours a day, two in the morning and four in the afternoon. I caught the 15h30 tour. That was the second to the last for the day. The whole thing took about forty-five minutes, start to finish.

5 comments:

  1. Hopefully ( assuming Y can take time off) next year on our trip to France , we can put the Pantheon on our list for our Paris stay. There are many interesting things to see inside in addition to the dome's tour.

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  2. Hello,
    While doing a search for 'french rooms' I stumbled onto a link to your website, and it is wonderful. I've visited the Loire Valley twice and have enjoyed driving to the wonderful towns and chateaux that I had read about for so long. I can't wait for the top of your climb on the Pantheon.
    jim

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  3. Great photos, Walt! I just finished reading Umberto Eco's book, Foucault's Pendulum on Saturday. Phew!
    That is one long book and sometimes hard to keep turning pages!
    The best news for people wanting french tv: oklivetv.com is FREE!!! I have been enjoying mostly TV Ch 2 but the times are exactly what time it is in France. So, for me to watch the news here in NW USA, I have to be available between 10 - 11 am. I checked and I will be able to watch the French Open - but now it is at 6:45am so I might catch it tomorrow! Good luck!

    Mary in Oregon

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  4. t.b., I recommend it!

    jim, hi, welcome, and thanks for the comment!

    mary, now there's a coincidence! Good luck with the tv watching. :)

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  5. Another wow! I'm glad you caught some people in that shot from above. I never would have appreciated the dimensions.

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