Where to start? and other Paris, France Things to Do Tips

With the river, of course. It's always the first place I head for when I visit Paris. The Seine flows right through the middle of the city and has always played a central role in the city's life, from the moment the Parisii tribe settled here on what is now the Ile de la Cite. For the centuries it was been the city's main transport route and even today it carries an incredible amount of commercial traffic, as well as the famous "Bateaux -Mouches" which provide thousands of tourists each year with what still has to be just about the best way to get a first overall look at the city.

You'd have your time cut out if you tried to walk the whole length of the river as it winds its serpentine way through the city, but do get down to the water's edge at some point and join the locals as they sit, walk, cycle, sunbathe along the quays that lie between the water and the massive stone embankments.

There are 32 bridges crossing the river - the oldest is the Pont Neuf (New Bridge) - one of the newest is the new Pont des Arts , built in 1984 to replace what was the city's first iron bridge (built by Napoleon in 1804). The Pont des Arts is for pedestrians only and always seems to be in party mood.

leyle

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Directions: There are steps beside the statue of Henri V at the Pont Neuf which will take you down to the quay.
The Pont des Arts crosses the river near the Louvre
Website: http://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/English_index.htm

First came the Parisii (the tribe that ultimately gave the city its name), then the Romans arrived and stayed awhile before they retreated and left the Franks in charge of the island-city in the middle of the Seine. Vikings raiders became Normans but the city remained in Frankish hands through the Middle Ages and while the city grew beyond its island, here was the centre of both judicial and religious power. Not much is left of the ancient city these days - though the three mediaeval buildings that remain are arguably the most sublimely beautiful (Saint Chapelle), the most magnificent (Notre Dame) and the bloodiest (the Conciergerie, known as "the antechamber to the guillotine" during the Reign of Terror) in
the whole city.

These three buildings are certainly the island's main attractions, but visitors looking for more might choose to seek out the Memorial de la Deportation, which tells a story just as dark as that of the Terror - how 200,000 French men, women and children were sent to death camps by the Vichy government during WWII.

If that's too grim, the flower market is a riot of colour and perfume, and the pretty park around Notre Dame offers a little repite from the crowds.

Nowadays the island plays host to thousands of visitors daily, and is home to the few thousand lucky Parisians (and Parisiennes) who live here.

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Directions: Metro - Cite
Sainte-Chapelle - 2, Boulevard du Palais
Conciergerie - Quai de l'Horloge
Memorial de la Deportation - Square de l'Ile-de-France
Flower Market - Place Louis-Lepine

The little two-tiered church of Saint Chapelle is, to my mind, the most beautiful building in all Paris. Built by France's saint-king, Louis IX, in 1248, to house the Crown of Thorns and other precious relics acquired at enormous cost from the Emperor of Byzantium (now housed in the Treasury of Notre Dame), the two chapels are at the same time in complete contrast and completely complementary to each other.

The lower chapel, intended for use by the household servants, with its low vaulted ceiling, walls painted in darkly rich colours, gilding and small high windows, is the very image of a kingly mediaeval chapel, a lovely little jewel box.

The Upper Chapel is nothing short of breathtaking. So cleverly has the architect designed its soaring pillars and windows, the supporting structure is barely noticeable and the walls seems to be made solely of the most exquisite stained glass while the delicately vaulted ceiling floats above you. With sunlight pouring through the tall windows it truly is a miracle of light and space. Two-thirds of the glass is original, a miracle in itself given the turbulent history of the city the chapel graces so perfectly. No photo can do it justice -you really will have to go and see it for yourself.

leyle

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Phone: 01 53 73 78 50
Address: Boulevard du Palais
Directions: Sainte-Chapelle is inside the Palais of Justice on Ile de le Cité-- a few minute walk from Notre Dame.
Métro : Cité, Saint-Michel, or Châtelet.
Open every day, 9.30 a.m. - 6.00 p.m. (closed Jan. 1, May 1, Dec. 25).
Website: http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Cathedrals/Paris/Sainte-Chapelle.shtml

What is there to say about Notre Dame that hasn't been said before? Nothing really, except that no visit to Paris is complete without paying the great lady a visit. Join the crowds and do just that - the architecture is sublime, the glass magnificent, the view from the towers worth the climb, the sense of history palpable. A visit here is an unforgettable experience and such is the presence of this wonderful building that every glimpse you get of it as you move around the city will give you a small thrill of recognition.

Remember that this is a place of worship, the city's cathedral. There are several masses daily and visitors' movements around the interior are restricted at those times.

leyle

Warning from Lulu : when leyle says "climb" she means on foot! I hadn't realised that until I was already launched on the climb, on a staircase less than one meter wide and a couple of hundred people coming up behind me - no way to change my mind!

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Address: Place du parvis de Notre Dame , 75004
Directions: Metro: Cite
RER: Chatelet-Les Halles, Saint Michel-Notre Dame
Open daily, general admission free but there is a charge to climb the towers and to visit the crypt..
Website: http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Cathedrals/Paris/Notre-Dame.shtml

Paris is a treasure house of museums and art galleries. Try to see them all and you will rapidly find your mind a blur of magnificent works of art and architecture. You really do have to be a bit selective. One not to miss though is the Museum of the Middle Ages. Housed in two historic buildings - the Roman baths and the mediaeval Hotel de Cluny, once the Paris home of the Benedictine Order, the buildings themselves are fascinating and they are now filled with works of rare beauty - delicate ivories, serene carvings in stone and wood, stunning mediaeval glass, fabulous pieces in gold and precious stones, gorgeous textiles and more. The collection includes works dating from Franco-Romano times right through to the late middle ages, both secular and ecclesiastical. Only a fraction of it can be on display at any one time.

Most precious of all and the biggest drawcard of the museum - the exquisite and enigmatic set of tapestries known as The Lady and the Unicorn - is to be found in a room of its own where nothing else can detract from their beauty.
Do allow yourself plenty of time here, this is a collection to be viewed in quiet contemplation.

As you leave, pay a visit to the mediaeval garden, a new feature of the museum. A little time spent here allows for a gentle easing back into the modern world of rush and noise to reflect on the splendours of another age you have just left behind you.

leyle

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Address: 6, place Paul Painleve
Directions: Where Boulevard Saint-Michel meets Boulevard Saint-Germain
Metro Cluny-Sorbonne (closer) or Saint-Michel (not far at all).
Open: 9:15 to 5:45. Last admission 5.15. Closed Tuesdays
Closed 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
Website: http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/ang/homes/home_id20754_u1l2.htm

From the moment you find yourself heading into the district known as Le Marais (the marsh) you know you are in a very special part of Paris. Once the most fashionable part of the city, the quartier is stuffed with beautiful grand houses - known as "hotels" though few, if any, have room rates posted. Those that open their doors to the public are mostly museums and they are worth visiting as much for the architecture as the collections they display. The oldest - the Hotel de Sens - is a library now, open to anyone but only by appointment. Its warm golden stone walls and mediaeval turrets are a delight though, so do seek it out.

As the fortunes of the Marais have risen and fallen, and risen again, one thing has remained constant - this has always been the place that Paris' Jewish population considered their quartier and even today kosher restaurants, boulangeries and charcuteries pepper the streets - and this is still the only area of Paris where shops are open on Sundays - including the excellent Richard -Lenoir market.

There's much more to the Marais than Sunday shopping though - the historic quartier is home to more museums than any other part of Paris, including the Picasso Museum (housed in the lovely 17th century Hotel de Sale - worthy of a visit in its own right) and the Cognacq-Jay Museum -a gift to the city of the exquisite collection of 18th Century paintings and decorative arts gathered together by the owners of the Le Samaritaine store. It too is housed in yet another beautiful house - this time the 16th century Hotel Denon.

Had enough museums? The Marais is renowned for its trend-setting shops and boutiques, small galleries, smart cafes where the art of people-watching is a time-honoured pastime. Or you can simply stroll the narrow streets, keeping your eyes open for anything that catches them. You'll be richly rewarded.

leyle

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Directions: Hotel de Sens - 1 rue de Figuier
Picasso Museum - 5 rue de Thorigny
Cognacq-Jay Museum - 8 rue Elzevir
Metro: Saint-Paul

Situated in the heart of the Marais, the Place de Vosges is both Paris' oldest square and arguably its most beautiful. Begun in 1605 as residences for courtiers in the service of Henri IV and completed in 1612, with arcaded buildings in brick and creamy stone facing into a cool, green linden-tree-lined formal garden it really is a delight. In its heyday, the garden was THE place to go, to see and be seen - though a darker side was to be seen at dawn - this was where duellists came to play out their deadly games. The fashionable followed the court and many magnificent houses were built in the surrounding streets, but fashion is fickle, and when Louis XIV moved the court to Versailles, the area soon fell from favour to become a somewhat forgotten backwater, left to its own devices. As other quartiers were developed into the elegant Paris most people recognize today, the Marais stayed rooted in the past, a Sleeping Beauty awaiting her Prince.

It wasn't until the 1960s that Paris woke the late-Renaissance treasure sleeping there. The Marais was declared an historic preservation district and today the area is very fashionable once more. The arcades around the Place de Vosges are lined with cafes and ultra-smart boutiques, and elegant young mamans bring their children to play in the garden. Some of the wonderful houses nearby have become museums and every street has its own speciality shop or gallery. You could spend days exploring the quartier, but even if you have only a few hours to spare, do make time to sit in the square, either in the garden (it's free) or at one of the many cafes or restaurants, and take in some of the atmosphere of this corner of the city.

leyle

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Directions: Metro; St Paul, Chemin-vert or Bastille

You could spend days here at the Musee Carnavalet so vast is the collection and so fascinating the story it tells - the history of the city of Paris. The museum is housed in two of the city's finest 17th century hotels, the Hotel Carnavalet and the Hotel Peletier de Saint-Fargeau .

The beautiful rooms and passages are full of fine furniture, the best of French decorative arts, portraits, models, archaeological finds and more - all labelled in French, but no matter.
For me, it s the recreated rooms that tell the best stories. The Hotel Carnavalet was the favourite home of Mme de Sevigny, whose letters to her daughter paint a remarkable picture of life in the 17th century. Here you will find, reproduced in the finest detail, the salons and rooms of grand hotels that have long since disappeared along with others such as the 19th century writer Marcel Proust's bedroom, a military tavern and a salon from the famous Cafe de Paris. Anything and everything you can think of that has a tale to tell about Paris is here - endlessly fascinating. Yet another place to come back to again and again.

leyle

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Phone: 01-44-59-58-58
Address: 23, rue de Sevigny
Directions: Admission free to the permanent collection
Open 10am to 5.40pm
Closed on Mondays
Metro: St Paul

How can anyone visit Paris and not notice the Eiffel Tower? Its presence is everywhere -there will be so many times when you will catch a glimpse of it through narrow streets, behind other buildings and monuments, out of a window. Even if you feel you've seen it a hundred time before, it always makes you look at it.
Whether you choose to join the queues to go up it, just walk around the base, take it in from a boat on the river or simply see it from afar, the chances of you leaving Paris without at least one photo of it are very slim.

Do I need to say more?

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Address: Champs de Mars
Directions: All the information you need is on the website given here
Website: http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/

The Latin Quarter - the name conjures up images of students and intellectuals sitting in atmospheric cafes and brasseries, arguing and debating long into the night. The reality these days is that the cafes are full of tourists and the debates are over which "menu du jour" offers the best value and just what is "faux-filet."
Oh well, that's no reason to give this corner of Paris a miss. The students certainly are still there, many of the brasseries do offer good value and there are bookshops aplenty still even if genuine intellectuals are thin on the ground.

There are any number of top sight-seeing options around here - the Hotel Cluny ( my No 1 choice for the glorious Lady and the Unicorn tapestries housed here) , the Sorbonne Chapel (open only for special events - I caught a fabulous Giotto exhibition here last time I was in Paris), the Arab Institute with its excellent museum, and equally good Lebanese restaurant (le Ziryab - very pricey and bookings are essential but the view is spectacular), the Pantheon and the Church of Saint Edmond du Mont ( and a great little pub down the hill fromthere where a jazz band sets up on Saturday afternoons)

Whether you opt for a full-on culture combo of museums, churches and historic buildings or simply to wander, soaking up the atmosphere of the narrow streets, the Latin Quarter is one corner of Paris not to be missed.

leyle

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Phone: "le Ziryab" 01 53 10 10 16
Address: Arab Institute - 1, rue des Fosses Saint-Bernard
Directions: Metro - St Michel
Website: http://www.franceway.com/regions/idf/latin.htm