"Paris" a Paris Travel Page by annase

" The heart of Paris is like nothing so much as the unending interior of a house. Buildings become furniture, courtyards become carpets and arrases, the streets are like galleries, the boulevards conservatories. It is a house, one or two centuries old, rich, bourgeois, distinguished. The only way of going out, or shutting the door behind you, is to leave the centre ." - John Berger Imagine Paris, Harper’s (New York, January 1987).

Paris, the capital of France - not one of the Hilton sisters - is one of the cities in Europe that has masses of grandiose architecture, wide boulevards, huge parks, cafes with seating outside, fashionable crowds and just in general a great cosmopolitan and multicultural atmosphere everyone wants be part of.

The Paris urban area has a population of 10 million, making it one of the most populated areas in Europe. It is regarded as one of the world's 4 major global cities and it hosts many international organisations such as UNESCO and the OECD. The city has had and continues to have a major impact on fashion, business, arts and science.

In the past it has also played a very central role in European politics, although its role in the EU has been getting less and less significant due to the arrival of eastern European Member States to the Union in 2004 and 2007. Knowing how crumpy the French can get when and if things do not go according their plan (look at Charles de Gaulle, for instance, who prevented the membership of the UK twice by walking out during one of the negotions [so called empty chair crisis] and who insisted on France receiving the largest subsidies in the whole Union for its farmers), the politicians in Paris will not give up without a fight.

The city boasts with numerous major pompous landmarks such as the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, Eiffel Tower, the Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe, Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on the Montmartre hill, the Museum of Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Invalides museum, the Centre George Pompidou - just to name of few.

Parisians are notorious for not wanting to speak anything else than French, so be prepared to know at least a few words. You will not get appreciated by this, but it will make you life much easier.

Despite being portrayed as an 'awkward partner' in many respects, 30 million foreign visitors stay in the city every year, so they must be doing something right and we all love the city (and the country) despite that. :-)

There is lots of entertainment in Paris. You can choose between opera, theatre, concerts, cinema, clubbing... In addition, there are lots of museums, galleries and other places of interest. You can just walk along the streets and marvel the scenery.

The largest opera houses in Paris are the Opéra Garnier and Opéra Bastille; the former hosts more classic ballets and operas, and the latter provides a mixed repertoire of classic and modern. The major theatres include Bobino, Théâtre Mogador and the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse.

The New Morning is one of few Parisian clubs holding jazz concerts. In addition, it is a home to the indie scene. The Zenith hall in Paris' La Villette quarter and a "parc-omnisports" stadium in Bercy serve as large-scale concert venues.

Although the mainstream cinemas are dominated by Hollywood-generated film entertainment, the homegrown cinema comes a close second. In addition, European and Asian films are widely appreciated. The city has an extensive network of small movie theaters which display around 300 old or new movies from all across the globe every week.

Whilst visiting Paris, one of the places I went to was the Louvre museum. I absolutely loved their Egyptian collection as well as seeing one of the most famous paintings on earth, Mona Lisa. There is so much art in Louvre: they have whopping 35000 works of art and the exhibition space is absolutely enormous, 60000 m3, but you can only see so much in a day, so you have to pick and choose.

If I went there now, I'd go an see the section housing Islamic art. The museum has free admission every first Sunday of every month, but if you do go on that particular Sunday, make sure you arrive there early.

At €9 (2007), the admission fee is not very pricy anyway. This will provide you with an all day access to the museum (except for temporary exhibitions in the Hall Napoléon). It is also valid for the Musée Eugène Delacroix. Evening tickets (€6) are sold between 6 pm and 9.45pm on Wednesday and Friday evenings.