A Pilgrimage To Paris
Miscellaneous
Some screenshots of the banks of the Seine.
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And some real.
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The St. Galen Cathedral.
After all the disappointment
I had no hope to find it, so I didn't search for it at all. While looking through
the production sketches in preparation for this article it hit me like a hammer...
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...St. Galen is Notre Dame! It has some strong modifications,
especially the towers and the small rosette window, but is it still recognizable.
While St. Galen is completly surrounded by a park, Notre Dame has a park only at east and south side.
And if I remember right, close to Notre Dame you have access to the Parisian catacombs.
So I was there without knowing. It was the first Noir location that I've seen since I
was parking in front of it after my arrival in Paris. The towers of Notre Dame is the place where Mireille
thinks in episode 23 after her attempt to kill Breffort, before reading Kirika's letter.
This picture is taken again from
French Wikipedia.
I'm sure I've made a photo from the west side (entrance and towers), but it's not at the film.
Maybe the camera didn't operate. It's time that I get a digital camera, so that I can check the pictures immediatly.
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The supposed University. I did neither find such
a bridge in Paris nor such a building near the Seine. Either it's meant to be in
one of the suburbs, or it is again an invented location.
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Because it shows the bridge better, here's the production sketch. You can take a look at all Parisian bridges by yourself.
This bridge, shown in ep. 23,...
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...is inspired by the Viaduc d'Austerlitz. I did cross
it several times with the Metro, but again I didn't connect it with Noir and so this
picture is taken from French Wikipedia.
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Before I went to Paris I visited Barbizon. It's
around 50 km away from Paris and supposed to be the place...
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...where Mireille's informant lived. Though I
didn't find such a place, at least not there where I expected it.
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Nothing what I found out during this pilgrimage changes that Noir is my most favourite anime.
It are the storyline and the characters that draw me into it. And meanwhile I see it
as challenge to figure what real location might have been the inspiration for the Noir locations.
I like to know which cemetary is meant to be. And some of the parks too. For example I have
the idea that the park in "Tea in the Moonlight" might be vague inspired by the Jardin
du Luxembourg. But I've seen to less of them to be sure. Paris has 470 parks.
Fortunatly the most of them are to small to be taken in consideration. Less illusions
I have about finding the little shops and restaurants. The most of them are so
similar that slight changes would make it impossible to find them.
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