The city of eternal light, love, food, couture and lots of other well known phrases. Marlene and I travelled to celebrate her birthday, even though we travelled in September. The trip, only a week in length started by flying to London then taking the Eurostar to Paris. We reversed the order on the way back. Although a long day, from landing at Heathrow, taking the Paddington Express to the city, a cab to St. Pancreas and waiting for our train, the Eurostar is well worth it. It's fast, smooth and efficient and lands you right in the centre of Paris at Gard de Nord. Make sure to book well ahead if possible otherwise the price of tickets can easily run up quickly. Also remember about the security checkpoints that you have to pass through before boarding. I lost my new knife that I had bought in Austria, as I forgot about it until it showed on x-ray and was confiscated. It was a stupid mistake on my part, forgetting that you need to clear customs like anywhere else.
We had a ParisPass while here, which included the ubiquitous tourist boat trip down the river. It's actually a nice way to see the city from another point of view and it was a beautiful day as well. Near the turn around point of the ride, Jardin Des Plantes and the Natural History Museum on the Left Bank. Notre Dame from the back ahead of us..
The gardens behind the Trocadero, that cascade down the hill to the Seine and the bridge over to the Eiffel Tower. Down by the street there's lots of hawkers and tourist junk for sale. Beware of pickpockets in this area everyone said.
We stayed in the 16th Arrondissement, at the Hotel Plaza Tour Eiffel [www.plazatoureiffel.com/en]. A small boutique hotel on a side street, rue Grueze, just a block from the Trocadero and views of the EiffelTower. The area is very nice, quiet at night and with lots of cafes, restaurants, shops and places to wander. It's also very close the the metro at Trocadero, so you can transit anywhere else from here easily. The hotel was typical of lots of Paris hotels, smaller rooms, but very nicely furnished and with lots of nice staff and amenities. Breakfast was included in the price and was a huge spread with lots of choice. The neighbourhood is close to many things and everything else is easy to access. We could walk to the Arc de Triomphe easily.
With only five days, you really can't see everything, it could take forever, so we just picked a few and spent time in these places. Notre Dame and the Left Bank, with the Luxembourg Gardens, which were fantastic. A huge area to relax and enjoy the sunny day with all of the Parisians.
The back of the Palais de Luxembourg, the gardens here are stunning and huge. It's a vast green space in the city.
The Fountain of the Medici's, build by the famous Italian family from Florence. A calm tiny grotto area by the Palais de Luxembourg.
It's definitely a city for walking. Along the Seine, through it's entire length on both sides are great walkways, away from cars and surrounded by green space in many cases. This is the walk from Place de la Concorde down towards the Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower.
The flying buttresses of Notre Dame Cathedral, most visitors spend all their time in front and inside but the architecture of the building from the exterior is amazing. There's also a tiny pocket garden at the back of the Cathedral that's worth the visit.
One of our favourite museums was the Musee D'Orsay. Built into a totally renovated train station, it's amazing collect of artwork focusing on 19th century painting on the 5the and sixth floor is worth the visit. There's also a nice cafe on the 6th floor to stop and relax for a while. the Museum is huge and could take a full day and beyond to enjoy. Take it in small chunks and it's a nice place to visit.
The Hill of Montmarte, in the 18th arrondissement gives you a wonderful perspective on the city, and where the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur os located.
We spent the good part of a day wandering this district, which has a diverse selection of things going on, from the garment and costume area, to some of the original village area, the only vineyard on the city proper, some very upscale residential areas, nightclubs and of course the Cathedral of the Sacre Coeur. We went early on a Monday morning, and it was still packed with tours and tourists. It's a beautiful building and worth a visit. Make sure to take some time to wander around the area. We ran into an elderly lady who had lived her entire life in the village and showed us some amazing things you would probably never find yourself. Make sure to save your metro ticket to ride the funicular up to the level of the cathedral.
The back streets of Montmarte
Paris is an amazing city, wonderful food, shops, markets, huge amounts of history everywhere, great architecture, efficient Metro system, generally friendly people and very helpful, lots of green spaces and places to just walk about.