Go to Paris!
January 14, 2010 by mbelcher
Filed under Places to go
Paris is internationally known as a place of romance, whether it is the most romantic city in the world is a matter of opinion. However whenever I have visited Paris it certainly has a certain air about it! There are many things to do in Paris outside of the standard tourist attractions, being the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Catherdral and the Louvre. Here are some tips and advice for further things that you have to check out if you considering visiting Paris, and to enable you to have the best possible trip.
Paris is very similar to London or New York, with a constant stream of busy people hurrying around on their way to important meetings. From a tourists perspective, this can be interpreted as arrogance, but Paris is a very big city and the stress of city life can drive anybody to be snappy!
Paris is an extremely polits city. Courtesy is extremely important in day to day transactions and dealings. Even if you can just use one word, this will generally demonstrate that you are making an effort and then Parisians are likely to be more considerate.
Central Paris is divvied up into 20 areas or districts which are known as arrondissements. These are arranged in a spiral shape from the centre of the city (clockwise!). Every district has it’s own attractions, in the first for example you find the Louvre, the 2nd the Paris Stock Exchange.
Paris offers a wide variety of tourist attractions. The most famous of these are The Eiffel Tower (located on the 7th arrondissement), The Notre Dame Cathedral (located in the 4th), additionally the Picasso Museum containing Picasso’s own work is located in the 3rd.
One thing worth investingating is on every Friday night and Sunday afternoon, a mass troop of roller skaters, all skate around the city on a pre-planned route for several hours. I stumbled across this by co-incidence and it was certainly an interesting spectacle!
Paris has a broad range of festivals, with each catering to a different group of the diverse make up of Paris’ population. There is a techno parade in September with DJ’s and thousands of young party goers converging on the city. The Six Nations Rugby is held in the city in Feb, Paris Fashion Week, The French Open (Roland Garros) in May.
Having travelled to Paris on a number of occasions one of the most incredible experiences is the dining! This is to be expected! There are a huge range of restaurants in Paris, with both cheap and extremely expensive. There are number that have secured the coveted Michelin stars, with several within Paris currently holding 3, these include Le Bristol, L’Astrance, Les Ambassadeurs, Guy Savoy, L’Ambroisie and a host of others. If you are looking to visit establishments of this nature it is imperative that you book well in advance as they are extremely popular.
If you are looking for something that it not quite as expensive there is a vast range of cheaper alternatives serving high quality food in many locations in the city.
Additionally there are a wide range of bars and other drinking establishments, although the Parisians traditionally will normally have food with any alcohol that they consume.
Enjoy your trip!
