If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast. - Ernest Hemingway
And this quote seems true to the core! This city is already showing signs of staying with me for life. It is like a glass of alcohol which may not seem attractive initially, but once you’ve plunged into it, can never leave you alone for long time to come!
We were in the city of fashion and city of light Paris for 3 days from 19th – 21st July 2011 (during our 2 week trip to Europe). Prior to this trip, the only thing I knew about France was it’s position on the world map, French fries and Anatole (not the French poet but Sir P.G. Wodehouse’s French cook at aunt Agatha’s place who, according to Bertie, was God’s gift to the gastric juices!)
Paris is all about awe-inspiring monuments, beautiful bridges, historical museums, glistening lakes, well-connected transport and mostly 5 storied monotonous but impressive buildings with no lifts!
Places to visit:
1. The Eiffel Tower: The shining Jewel
It’s so different to have lunch inside the Eiffel Tower. That’s the only place in the whole of Paris where I can’t see this tower of iron – Anonymous.
Paris’s most famous monument and one of the wonders of the world is over-powering, majestic and immensely beautiful. Everywhere we traveled in Paris, we caught a glimpse of this massive monument and it mesmerized me even from a far-off distance. At times, the Parisian streets felt incomplete without seeing the tower and I found myself searching around for it!
The Eiffel tower is a wonderful spectacle at night. The sight from the top is awe striking! The city lights up like a beautiful garden with fire flies. The river Seine serenely ferries flamboyant cruise-ships from one end to the other, the bridges over it illuminated elegantly. Since 1999, 20000 flash white bulbs were fitted on to the Eiffel tower. In addition to the subtle golden light illuminating the tower from top to bottom at night, these ‘sparklers’ (as they are fondly called) start off for some time - 11 to 11.30 pm or so. It is timed precisely along with the cruises on the river while making their return trips.
Entry ticket- 8 Euros till the second floor, 12 Euros to the top.
2. Pont Alexandre III: A photographer’s delight.
The bridge over river Seine with huge pillars and sculptures of horses and nymphs interspersed with elaborate olden style lamp posts. It is said to be the most beautiful and ornate bridge in Paris.
3. Louvre museum: Housing gems of art.
It is usually the first name on the list of the world’s most famous museums. I almost felt giddy after suddenly encountering such a large landscape. This museum is spread over an area of 652,300 square feet! There are thousands of artistic masterpieces on display, the most famous of which is the Mona Lisa.
- Walking tour from Blanche to Abbesses: Exploring old streets
Paris offers numerous walking tours. Anyone can also opt to follow map directions on of the walking tours and set off. We had a map of the tour from Blanche to Abbesses stations starting at 1889’s Moulin Rouge(red mill in French). This is a popular music hall offering entertainment even today. It has a showy red mill on its roof. The map detailed the various streets and significance of buildings and a few old cafes. Every street in Paris has a story! Apart from walking through the stoned old streets lined with little shops and art galleries, it was more fun to navigate by directions in a map as if we were in search of a hidden treasure!
An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris. - Friedrich Nietzsche
En-route, we visited Montmartre - The Peak of Paris.Since the 1800s, the street near this monument has various artists practicing art. This tradition continues today. There were artists ready to make portraits, caricatures and silhouettes of tourists for 20 Euros! We ended our walking tour at the Abbesses station.
Tourist friendly Paris- Paris has a huge airport and a major railway station. The moment we landed at the main station Paris EST, we spotted an Information office. When we went to enquire there and asked the lady at the counter, "Can you speak English?" She replied, "I can speak just about any language you’d like to hear!" She gave us detailed information on what we could do in our 3 day trip and handed over the metro rail map for roaming around. Metro pass for 3 days cost us 20 Euros per person(unlimited travel).
Getting around Paris- We’ve never, in our whole lives, navigated through any other city with greater ease! The Metro stations are just round the corner. The metro map accurately points the routes and stations. The time between 2 consecutive trains at any route is exactly 8 mins! Stations have displays indicating the number of minutes to go before the next train comes. The stations near the tourist attractions like the Louvre or Eiffel tower point directions to reach there. Frankly, we never felt any necessity to know French! Paris has logical structures, but all streets seem the same! The thought that often comes to mind after walking for a long time is, "Were we here 10 mins ago?" We could always ask for the nearest metro station to figure out where we were.
Best time to visit-
Paris is enchanting at any time, even in the summer, when it sizzles and in the winter, when it drizzles- Cole Porter
Well, the best months are March to August when the sun shines bright. However, if the weather is in a testing mood, it will rain even during summer. But don’t let that dampen your enthusiasm, just grab that umbrella and set off. The sunlight during the day is from 5.30 am to 10 pm.
I wouldn’t recommend the bus tour since it would go to selected places, and won’t stop for more time at the ones you like! Paris has tons of museums and since we did not have that special eye for art, we preferred to walk more to experience the old streets, and colorful lanes in the evenings and sitting awhile on the banks of lake Seine.
Where to stay- Hotel stays can be really costly (ranging from 100 Euros to 900 Euros per night) since they offer swimming pools, gyms and loads of things a tourist won’t care for. There are many who rent out their apartments at much cheaper rates. Through the website airbnb.com, we got to know many such home-stays and after reading their testimonies, we were tempted to experiment with them. I’m glad we did, the apartment we stayed at was just perfect. Stay - 66 Euros per day.
Food- (We are vegetarians, so not much choice) Bakeries and restaurants are strewn in large numbers. A decent meal of sandwich or pizza would cost around 8-10 Euros. Indian restaurants charge around 20 to 25 Euros, best avoided!
Some useful links that helped us a long way-
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/paris, http://www.tripadvisor.com (for reviews of tourist attractions)
http://www.airbnb.com (for stays)
Paris is a place where one loses his head, his morals, drinks a lot and falls in love, at least once. - Anonymous
One review is insufficient to describe Paris, no wonder there are so many books written on this city! Paris is now undoubtedly my favorite city in the whole world.
