"Paris c'est chic" a Paris Travel Page by bianchis

Our first visit to Paris was on our honeymoon 41 years ago. It was a 2-day blitz trip and I was dazed and dazzled taking in the sights.

This time with the helpful tips of you VT’ers, , we did not have to queue to see the main attractions making our 7 days in May 07 a stress free and enjoyable vacation.

We wandered through Paris using mostly the bus and walking. The only time we used the RER was on the first day when we made the La Defence our starting point. This was a good decision because we took the lift up to the top of the Grande Arche for the view of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées which was quite rewarding although the public area at the top was very limited and not inviting. However, the architecture was amazing and the buildings around reminded me of NY.

Travelling in comfort with the TGV from Switzerland and arriving at the Gare de Lyon it was only 10 minutes away by taxi to our hotel d’Aubusson 33, rue Dauphine which was conveniently situated in the very lively Latin Quartier, 2 minutes from Pont Neuf with close access to the buses and the metro and last but not least not far from the new quarters of ex president Jacques René Chirac.

We were a bit disappointed with the restaurants but then we did not invest much time in searching, as this was not our priority. We had a reservation for the Jules Verne and ate there for an exorbitant price but sad to say it rained so there was no view.

However, we had a free view of Paris from the top of. Printemps department store on boulevard Haussmann and rue de Charras a fantastic view of Madeleine, Sacré Coeur, the Eiffel tower. The Opera.

Actually we were curious to see Sarkozy in his new residence the Elysee Palace and discovered this nearby theatre Theatre MARIGNY and what were they playing “Piaf une vie en rose et noir”.
We immediately booked tickets for the evening show and were thrilled to hear this fantastic
singer Nathalie Lhermite with her heartbreaking voice singing 20 of Edith’s most famous songs.

Definitely off my list of things to do is the Moulin Rouge. It was OK, impressive, perfect but “no heart”. I guess in the old days it must have been different.

This is where we started our tour. Taking the RER., we arrived at this spectacular site, a Paris you do not expect to see.
The Arche consists of two 35-story towers crowned by a vast rooftop area that houses the International Foundation for the Rights of Man. The building is so well proportioned that the spaces it enfolds seem deceptively compact. In fact, the width between the towers could easily accommodate the Champs-Elysées, while the hollow cube in the center is big enough to embrace Notre Dame Cathedral.

It was lovely walking along the Seine and seeing the Eiffel tower in the distance. We were really lucky to have such good weather in May although it rained in between.