| Page Views: 34,201 Last Visit to Paris: November, 2007 I Visit Here Frequently | Perambulations in Paris! by BeatChick - last update: Mar 12, 2008 |
Paris ~ C'est Tres Jolie!
I am OBSESSED with Paris - I don't know why, maybe it's because most of my ancestry is French (excepting my Oglala Sioux heritage) - but I'm always trying to figure out a way to get back!
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I'M BACK FROM PARIS!!
This was my 5th trip to the CITY OF LIGHT - stayed 10 days! This was my 2nd research trip for a book I'm finishing up of walking itineraries covering film sites in Paris (see my pbase.com site for photos I took last trip of various film spots).
I arrived in Paris Friday afternoon after a long flight delay, Nov 9th and returned Sunday, Nov 18th. This hapless tourist & intrepid writer SURVIVED (just barely) the transit strikes (which hit in the middle of the trip). I sojourned at the Port-Royal Hôtel on the boulevard Port-Royal, located at the edge of the 5th/13th arrondissements.
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The previous trip was a glorious February jaunt to Paris for 16 days. I was there during the soldes season & took advantage of the sale by doing more shopping then I'd done the 3 previous trips combined. My first trip I stayed 2 days in Paris, the 2nd trip was 4 days, the 3rd trip was 9 days; 4th trip was 16 days and with the 5th trip of 10 days I now have a combined total now of 41 days, over a full month! Nice. :D
I've said before:
It's not how much time you spend in Paris that counts, it's what you DO with your time. And as you can see by my tips on Paris & photos on pbase.com, I tromp ALL OVER Paris!
Except for new tips, I've arranged tips to reflect grouping by arrondissement & listed each to show the order in which I saw them. For those tips that have multiple locations, those are listed before everything else.
I'M COMPLETELY FINISHED WITH TIPS FOR:
HOTELS
NIGHTLIFE
RESTAURANTS
SHOPPING
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If you're curious to read my original trip report that inspired many of my Paris tips (and I haven't even gotten started on my 1st 2 trips), you'll find it on Fodor's website where I am a regular contributor (I once posted as MaryC and now post as, of course, beatchick).
*Thank you, Vincent, for the correction to the photo title!! |
|  | I LOVE Paris! Paris is in my blood, Paris is me. If I believed in reincarnation I'd swear I lived there as an ex-pat in the '20s because that is the era that draws me. Paris feels like home.
Paris has everything you could ever want: wonderful food (from a humble satisfying delicious $3 limon sucré crêpe bought from a street vendor to a $400 meal at one of the hallowed gastronomic temples such as Taillevent), great little charming budget hotels, secret nooks & crannies, green pockets of interesting squares/parcs/places, the hidden courtyards, the rumored underground passageways, the hidden off-limit paths of the Catacombs.
It's also full of art & architecture. Where else can you ride the bus, peer over a wall and discover Rodin's The Thinker? Or his Balzac in the midst of traffic? Any architectural student would want to come here to see the blaze of styles that span from Gallo-Roman times (Arenes de Lutece, Roman baths at the Musée de Cluny) to present ultra-modern architecture (La Defense). This city loves to retain and maintain its history.
No other city is more artfully arranged! |
The Lovely Quartier Latin! Turn LEFT on Rue Galande to follow Jesse & Céline's route through Before Sunset!! Click HERE to start Celine & Jesse's journey through Paris.And then we must speak of radiant vistas seen from stairs that are actual streets in places like Montmartre or the Butte aux Cailles. The discoveries are neverending!
I've been to Paris 5 times and haven't even begun to put a dent into all the things I want to see: parcs, jardins, squares, places, Viaduc des Arts, inside the grands magasins Galeries Lafayette or Printemps (although I've shopped at the vendors outside). Can you believe I still haven't been to the famous cafés such as La Rotonde, Le Select, Le Procope? Ah, and the tea salons and the historic bistros to try. With each trip the list grows. So much to see, so much to do, so much to BE.
In 2004 I made reservations to Paris via Air France; the lady taking the call remarked with glee that I was going to Paris! I asked her if she liked it. Mais oui ~
PARIS IS PARIS! | | | Rue Galande in the Quartier Latin - Before Sunset |
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| Pros: | "Everything - the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feel." | | Cons: | "I don't live there. :0(" | | In A Nutshell: | "PARIS: food, ambience, art, architecture, views, history & mystery!" |
BeatChick's Paris Travel Tips
 BeatChick's Paris Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for BeatChick about Paris | | | | |
Paris92 Thu Jun 11, 2009 17:10 UTC
Hi Mary! I just love looking at these pages. Going to Paris for about the millionth time this summer--anything new you think I should see? | pedmar Fri Mar 20, 2009 11:02 UTC
Excellent Paris page from one who works there. You can be hire by the Paris tourist congress,can do a better job ::) cheers A+ Pedmar | adema29 Fri Mar 13, 2009 19:20 UTC
Amazing Paris guide! 80 restaurant tips!!!! Impressive! | Zvrlj Sun Feb 15, 2009 10:18 UTC
Excellent tip about Catacombs, probably the best on the web :-) Thank you for help! Best regards, I&V |
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