The 2022 French Open and magnificent city of Paris

We enjoyed a gorgeous day of tennis at Roland Garros despite some of us having/getting over Covid; the venues at Roland Garros aren't nearly as massive as at the US Open and the site is easily reached by Metro

Housed in the 13th century Louvre Palace, the Louvre museum is the largest (783,000 sq ft) and most visited (11+ million) art museum in the world; in 2016, a second Louvre museum was opened in Abu Dhabi

The Beaux-Arts Grand Palais was built for the Universal Exposition of 1900; the Grand Palais closed in 2021 for significant renovation works but will host the fencing and taekwando events for the Paris 2024 Olympics before re-opening to the public in 2025

Considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, Notre-Dame was completed in 1260 and was the most visited (12+ million people annually and I still remember my first time here in 1990) monument in Paris before the fire

Close to Notre-Dame, the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation honors the 200,000 people who were deported from Vichy France to the Nazi concentration camps during World War II; this stark and evocative memorial was opened by Charles de Gaulle in 1962

Luxembourg Palace, finished in 1645, is the seat of the upper house of the French legislature; the palace was built by Marie de Medici (widow of Henry IV) who modeled her mansion on the Pitti Palace in her native Florence

Standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars; an amazing 12 roads converge at this roundabout with the 1836 monument in the center

As I was leaving Roland Garros, I recognized Martina and Mary Joe as they gathered for a photo but couldn't recognize any of the other women; Martina won the 1984 French Open against Chris Evert 6-3, 6-1 but lost in the final here on five other occasions

These former players were having their photo taken at the French Open but I couldn't spot a single one I recognized; I'm sure some of my tennis friends will be able to help out to identify them

I've always thought the 1882 Hotel de Ville one of the most beautiful buildings in the city; Charles de Gaulle, on August 25, 1944, greeted the city during the Liberation of Paris while in 2002 the city's first gay mayor was stabbed here (he recovered)

I remember watching in shock as Notre-Dame, long a symbol of the city, burned on April 15, 2019; the French government committed to rebuilding the cathedral which is slated to reopen in December 2024; did you know there's not a single stop sign in Paris?

Housed in a former Beaux-Arts train station from 1900, the Orsay houses the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world; just across the Seine from the Louvre, the Orsay receives 4.2+ million visitors annually

Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, the Beaux-Arts style Petit Palais now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts; it is across from the Grand Palais on the former Avenue Nicolas II, today Avenue Winston-Churchill

Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, the Tuileries Garden connects the Louvre with the Place de la Concorde (where Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI were both guillotined in 1793)

Metro Paris, home to 13+ million people, is easily one of the most beautiful cities in the world thanks largely to the urban planning of Baron Haussmann who, at the request of Napoleon III, totally transformed the city from 1853 to 1870

The 1672 Porte Saint-Denis is a triumphal arch inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome; completed in 1607, Pont Neuf (New Bridge) is the oldest bridge in Paris; the Bloody Mary was invented at Harry's NY Bar in Paris in 1921

The 57 acre Luxembourg Gardens has always been one of my favorite spots in Paris; the gardens are featured prominently in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables-it is here that the principal love story of the novel unfolds

The Octagonal Basin in the Tuileries Garden looking toward the Place de la Concorde; one thing I've come to appreciate in Paris is how many benches they provide in the 450+ city parks!