"The World's Most Beautiful Capital" a Paris Travel Page by Tom_Fields

Paris ranks among those must-see cities. It's the world's most beautiful capital, with almost unlimited possibilities. One cannot help but be impressed.

Like New York, Paris never sleeps. People are out at all hours, in this huge city of around-the-clock activity. If you can't find anything to do here, you're not looking.

People often complain that Parisians are rude, without manners. But to be fair, they're very much like those in other giant mega-cities, such as London and New York. Everyone's in a hurry. Things have to move fast to keep such a place going. And it goes better if you at least try to speak in French.

Parisians orient themselves by referring to the "Left Bank" and "Right Bank" (la Rive Gauche et la Rive Droite). These refer to opposite sides of the Seine, which are on the left and right as one goes downstream.

L'Ile de la Cite is in the center. The Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Le Pantheon, Saint-Michel, and Montparnasse are on the Left Bank. Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, Le Louvre, L'Arc de Triomphe, and the Pompidou Center lie on the Right Bank. This will help prevent confusion about where things are.