"About Paris--There are two" a Paris Travel Page by hquittner

For starters one can visit exclusively the Paris of the here and now: be a flaneur (ie. wander the streets), visit the market areas, see the parks, ascend the Eiffel Tower, visit the many museums of 20C art and sculpture, use the Metro, eat, visit the Clubs and Cabarets and dodge the traffic. Or instead one can wallow in the 16 to 18 C (baroque and neoclassical) architecture and the the unsurpassed museums like the Louvre and the Impressionist d'Orsay. With those following the latter course, only 1% of VT Tipsters have visited and (of course) been impressed by the Musee National du Moyen Age et des Termes de Cluny (also known as "the Cluny and the Roman Baths"). Yet I am sure that 100% of visitors have stood at the corner of Blvds. St. Germain & St. Michel and walked along the iron fence and looked at the sidewalk chalk artist work; while behind the fence is a small park and these great structures that occupy a large city block. Until now,we were uncertain that it was worth the trouble to write about Paris, but this neglect of the Cluny has changed our minds.

As our middle-age years of life drew to a close and we planned retirement, we seriously considered buying property in Paris. In over 25 years of solo European vacations together we have spent what amounts to over 50% of that time in France and again half of it in Paris (2-3 months). We had the means but uneasines about medical-health liabilities led us to adopt retirement in New Orleans (the most French American city). As avid sightseers, we have examined almost every thing in Paris except th Moulin Rouge and other night spots and regrettably the opera houses. The catacombs, the sewers and the Canal St. Martin we have also missed. We have eaten in scads of restaurants , none above 2* quality (and price). We have mastered the Metro, partly learned when the bus is better and taken our grown children and grandchildren in the Batobus which we enjoy. We have stayed mostly in 3* hotels (occasionally in less) and once in an apartment. As we note above, we have not been to Paris (or elsewhere in France)for 5 years but our experiences have always been overwhelmingly delightful.

We will keep this part "under construction". There are so many places around Paris and in its edges,(the "banlieu" and closer) that we will list them as we make entries and perhaps an extra comment here. Some have not VT entries at all and we will have to address that! (as soon as we can locate our pictures and get them into the computer). The most important is the Chateau of Ecouen which we visited one time 24 years ago.This is where all the Renaissance holdings of the Cluny have been installed and is called the Musee Nationale de la Renaissance.(It is 14 km from de Gaulle Airport).