The second day of my Euro 2016 adventure was the only one without a game to attend. Instead, some sightseeing across the beautiful city of Paris was followed by an afternoon in the fanzone located directly underneath the Eiffel Tower!
Tuesday was my first full day in Paris after arriving from Sheffield the previous day and watching Republic of Ireland draw with Sweden at the Stade de France.
Despite no match to attend today, there is never a dull moment in one of the world’s greatest cities and we made full use of the metro system to visit a number of notable locations.
The day began on a sombre note as we passed ‘The Bataclan’, the theatre opened in 1865 and tragically made famous worldwide after 89 people were killed in the worst part of the 13th November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.
Our next destination was 17 Rue Beautreillis. These apartments are well known to fans of 60’s band The Doors, as it is where the iconic frontman Jim Morrison was sadly found dead aged only 27.
A brief stop at the Bastille monument was then followed by heading up to the beautiful Sacre Coeur Roman Catholic church, built in 1914 and providing a breathtaking view over the city.
Around the corner we visited Montmartre, the famous area of Paris filled with artists plying their trade in the sunshine and surrounded by old-style restaurants and bars, before heading down the hill for a photo outside the famous cabaret venue Moulin Rouge.
Around an hour before the day’s first football match began, we arrived at the fanzone located directly under Paris’ most iconic location – the Eiffel Tower.
Security was understandably tight, with up to four body checks before entry was granted, and inside the atmosphere was entirely friendly and jubilant with fans of nations all over Europe enjoying the sunshine and free entry to watch the football on the big screens.
Austria v Hungary in Group F was the 6 o’clock kick off and the game we would take in while exploring the fanzone, which was filled with bars, the official store and activities such as table-football, video games and five-a-side.
On the pitch, it was Hungary who caused a minor upset in their first major tournament match since 1986, defeating Austria 2-0 with goals coming from Adam Szalai and Zoltan Stieber.
Unfortunately, heavy rain greeted the 87th minute second goal and so we decided to head back to our hotel to watch Iceland earn a shock draw with Portugal in the evening kick off which brought another memorable day in Paris to a close.
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