"Paris - Nearly 40 years of love and... " a Paris Travel Page by pfsmalo

Having first come to Paris in October 1970, I moved from London in March 1971. Stayed just 18 months, during which time I married, and went back to London. We then decided to come back in May 1975 and have stayed in France ever since, albeit since 1980 in St. Malo.
My love/hate relationship with Paris has been an ongoing thing since those early days. Driving a taxi in Paris is no easy thing and I hated the place for it's traffic, noise and Parisian attitudes. Over the years a fondness for the streets of Paris has developed, a thing that I can't say about London anymore. Although Paris has been re-developed since the 70's there are still pockets of urban life as it was back then. The great thing about Paris is its manageable size. If you get tired walking, you're never that far from a metro station. And walking is the way to see Paris, keeping your nose off the floor (the Paris town hall doesn't allow dogs to s**t anymore) and being aware of your surroundings.

Having so many friends around Paris means that you won't find hotel reviews here. Having so many friends here means that I don't have to eat out that often but you may find a few restaurants reviews. I am not a museum buff and not an art gallery person so you may not find much in that direction either. I also believe that there are enough tips by Vters like Beatchick, Guyon, Shrimp56, my friend Nemorino and others of the main Paris sights, that I don't feel the need to include them myself, although there may be one or two tips that do include photos of these places.
I certainly do not profess to know all of Paris or discovered all its little passages and courtyards, but if you are looking for the pretty side, the little known, the out of the way, the oddity, then you may find a photo here somewhere. I am trying to organise things by arrondissement to make things a little easier to find them on foot. There is no better way of seeing Paris, just use the bus or metro for the longer distances or getting home.

I would like to dedicate these pages to my wife and my father in law, who first took me to those parts of Paris (Belleville, Menilmontant and Charonne) where tourists don't seem to go much.
I must also say that I have been inspired by many of the VT'ers here that have written about Paris. Thanks also to the following in helping plan my routes.

www.parisinconnu.com
www.parislenezenlair.fr (also good for historical facts and some great anecdotes.)
www.parisavant.com
Leonard Pitt for his book "Walks through the lost Paris".
Editors "Parigramme" for a fine series of books about the lesser known Paris.
And lastly to Vt'er Elodie-Caroline for telling me I could write as well as take photographs.