Paris is known for its beauty, booming tourist trade and artistic scene. The city is as metropolitan and culturally diverse as New York, and as architecturally exciting as London. The cobbled streets are lined with eclectic cafes, patisseries, flowershops and authentic French bakeries.
Paris is the quintessential city of romance and one of the world’s top honeymoon destinations.
Paris intramuros, as the natives say – the Paris “inside the walls” or, in today’s terms, the six-lane périphérique ring road – features 20 arrondissements, all of which have their own character and their own special charm. It is a great idea to do some research on which district will suit you the best. This should then be the best place to set up camp. For some visitors, it may even be an advantage to find accommodation in an outer arrondissement: this gives you the opportunity to gain rare insights into the lives of the locals and to discover bars or restaurants far off the beaten tourist trail. Paris’s arrondissements spiral out in a clockwise direction from the most important central districts, to both her lively and sleepier suburbs. From the historic, beautiful Marais to the trendy, emerging ‘SoPi’ (South Pigalle), each arrondissement has it’s own unique traits. Choose the perfect arrondissement for you and enjoy a holiday as a real Parisian.
The best way to see Paris is wandering hand-in-hand down the banks of the Seine. Start on the Ile St Louis and walk past Notre Dame to the Musee d’Orsay. Notre Dame is one of the few free sites in this expensive city, and the beautiful Gothic cathedral is a lovely and relaxing place to spend an hour exploring. Speaking of iconic attractions, you can impress your significant other by booking a “skip the line” guided tour for the Eiffel Tower and whisk them right past the huge queues outside. Watch the sunset from the top of the tower, and then stay in the 7th arrondissement for a huge choice of cosy bistros and wine bars. The area is not cheap - but then Paris is rarely chosen for reasons of budget. North of the Marais, the 18th arrondissement is home to the much celebrated Montmartre district. This historic area is best known for the white domed Sacre Coeur Basilica that sits imperiously on Montmartre’s summit, offering some of Paris’s most famous views.
Whether you’ve come to the city on a budget or you’re prepared to go the whole hog in terms of cost, eating out in Paris is a must. It is a big part of social life in France and the line between cafe, bistro, brasserie and bar is very much blurred. Le Pantruche, named after the 19th Century theatre nearby serves excellent seasonal and reasonably priced food. Dessance provides a unique dining experience for those with a sweet tooth: the restaurant is desserts only, with a range of intricately detailed deserts and unique flavour combinations. If you want to experience an authentic Brasserie, Bouillon Racine is a heritage-listed 1906 Art Nouveau soup kitchen - and the soup really is delicious - the caramelised onion soup is a particular favourite. In the northern Marais, nouvelle cuisine is flourishing. and bringing new impetus to the food in the city. From Candelaria, a Mexican taco and cocktail bar, to Nanashi, which bills itself as ‘Bento Parisian’ - new leading lights are forming.
Paris is best explored on foot, and you will discover things that you would never spot from a bus or a taxi. If you choose to stay in one of the outer districts it is a good idea to check your city apartment’s proximity to the metro network. The convenient underground métro has a dense network of stations all over Paris with a stop on every major street corner. It was constructed as a subterranean tramway system (which is why subway trains drive on the right, like cars and buses, and not on the left as “proper” trains do in France). For most visitors, it makes more sense to buy a discounted 10-unit “carnet” of tickets rather than a day pass or a weekly pass: central Paris is small enough to walk from one site to the other, and you won’t need the métro much during the day. Tickets from the carnets can also be used on the RER network (quicker but fewer stops since it mainly serves to connect Paris with the suburbs) and local buses.
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