Paris Places in Paris
You’d think by now every stone, every nook and cranny in Paris has been rediscovered or reinvented. What is YOUR favorite place?
6 Days in France
One of the pleasures of living in Paris is the opportunity to share the city with friends. Planning a six-day visit to Paris with at least one excursion outside of the city offers the challenge of trying to sort through the myriad of possible visits, museums, landmarks within the Paris city limits and those ‘can’t miss’ locales within reasonably easy driving distance (or train) from central Paris.
So, join us on a day-by-day excursion with our friends Yinjie, James and Diana who are visiting from south Florida for a well-deserved break from work and university studies. This will be a first trip to France for two of our three guests. I asked all three if they had a ‘wish list’ of sights to see in Paris, and museums are high on the list.
Date: June 20th, 2008 |
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Paris Information, Please!
During the past few years, finding the Paris Office of Tourism wasn’t as easy as one might expect. I’m happy to report that the Paris Visitor’s Bureau is alive and well with branches in seven arrondissements.
If you stop in at the Office of Tourism, you can pick up a free map available in ten languages (French, English, Spanish, German Italian Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Korean) I was also presented with the Paris For You (2007-2008) Walking Guide.
You’ll want to go to the Office of Tourism to buy your Museum Pass (the other option is the FNAC bookstore) which will allow you the possibility of cutting long lines at the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay. The Museum Pass is useful if your time in Paris is limited.
Date: June 11th, 2008 |
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New Friends for the Eiffel Tower
It must get lonely at the top – even for the Eiffel Tower with its millions of visitors. How must it feel to be a beautiful tower and have so few other tower friends?
Soon the Paris landscape will bring in a new friend for the Iron Lady. His name is Signal and he’ll be gazing at Mlle Eiffel from across a crowded Paris - all the way over in La Defense.
At 301 meters, he’s still just a tad short for Eiffel at 324 meters, so she’ll have to leave her high heels at home.
Date: May 29th, 2008 |
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Green Paris: Gardens for every season
Photos by Chris Card Fuller ©2007
When you consider that 500,000 trees grace Paris’s avenues, gardens, and the Boulogne and Vincennes woodlands, it’s easy to understand why visitors and Parisians alike flock to the gardens with the first rays of sunshine and mild temperatures.
Date: May 14th, 2008 |
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Welcome to Paris: Are you lost?
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
The sun is shining brightly here on the third day of May - and everywhere I look- visitors are studying their maps. If you are lost, don’t feel bad. Everybody gets lost in Paris - even Parisians. I have one word of advice - go to a newstand, kiosque or bookstore such as FNAC and buy a copy of the Plan de Paris (par Arrondissement et Communes de Banlieue).
I’ve mentioned this in past posts, but it never hurts repeating. The Plan is better than most maps (you’ll normally get a free map at your hotel or when you rent a car, but it won’t have all the details of the Plan de Paris). This is a book you can take home with you and bring back with you every time you return to Paris. I still have an old copy from the 1970s which looks like it was bought yesterday.
The Plan de Paris can be bought at FNAC for all of 7.32 Euros which is a real bargain considering how many times it will save you from getting lost over several decades. (While in FNAC you can also buy your Louvre museum tickets t the same time at their ticket Kiosque)
Above all, don’t be embarrassed about getting lost - and don’t let it stop you from exploring. The couple in the above photo hail from Australia. I was really happy to be able to help them find what they were looking for - the Louvre Museum. After saying goodbye to them before they crossed Rue du Rivoli headed toward the Tuileries Gardens and the Carrousel du Louvre - I proceeded to get lost. That’s because I had left my Plan de Paris back at the apartment.
Date: May 3rd, 2008 |
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Great Hostels in Medieval Paris
If your gut instinct tells you that hostels are bound to be in Paris’s seediest neighborhoods, far from tourist attractions, I’m happy to report that some of Paris’s most pleasant youth hostels are smack in the middle of Paris’s medieval core.
MIJE youth hostels
MIJE or La Maison Internationale de Jeunesse et Etudiants was created in 1958 to provide inexpensive city lodging for student groups and individuals. Its three locations in the Marais district (Right Bank) are housed in 17th-century aristocratic townhouses:
Hotel Fourcy - 6 Rue de Fourcy
Hotel Fauconnier - 11 Rue du Fauconnier
Hotel Maubuisson - 12 Rue des Barres
Date: June 13th, 2008 |
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The Woman Who Stole Louis XIV’s Virginity
Photos by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
How did an untitled woman, married to a merchant, end up in the 16 year old king’s bed? Catherine Bellier, handmaiden to Queen Anne of Austria, Louis XIV’s mother, was assigned the responsibility of relieving the young king of his virginity at the bequest of his mother.
Amazingly, Catherine Bellier was extremely ugly. She was nicknamed ‘One-Eyed’ Caton. It was specifically because of her ugliness that she had access to the king’s private chambers without raising suspicions of any ‘hanky …
Date: June 8th, 2008 |
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Museum Night (Nuit des Musees) 2008
Every year Museum Night just gets better and better. If you can coordinate a visit to Paris with Museum Night which occurs annually in mid May(this year was May 17th), you’re in for a treat. Museum night begins at 6 pm. Some museums close as early as 9 or ten pm while others will remain open until 1 am.
We waited till the last minute to decide about which museums to visit. With over sixty museums participating within the Paris city limits, you can imagine that this was no easy choice.
We narrowed it down to three museums - the Army Museum at Les Invalides, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais.
Les Invalides- Army Museum
What clinched it for me was the Army Museum’s buglers concert in the Grand Salon followed by the National Guard’s cavalry parade. If you have yet to visit Les Invalides and Napoleon’s Tomb, you’ll find that the adjoining Military Museum is a colossal construction that (in my opinion) rivals the Louvre. Whereas the Louvre’s ornate decor symbolizes France ‘at ease’, Les Invalides maintains the strict lines and harmony that create an imposing yet pleasing ensemble. Commissioned by Louis XIV in the 1670s, Liberal Bruant was the architect responsible for the portion of this building which served as a hospital for war veterans. Mansart built the gold leaf dome structure which now houses Napoleon’s tomb.
Date: May 18th, 2008 |
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Paris Parks: Parc Montsouris
A spring day in Parc Montsouris is the closest thing to heaven. Really.
Montsouris is my favorite park in Paris. It’s not as big the Luxembourg Gardens. It lacks the formality of the Tuileries and doesn’t have the flower power of either of these two dynamos, but as you can see from the photos, it certainly is a welcoming picnic location.
If you’re already on the Left Bank, getting to Parc Montsouris is pretty easy. You can take the RER line to Cite Universitaire (within Paris, it costs the …
Date: May 9th, 2008 |
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Jazz in Montparnasse
Petra Penttila
Gael Petrina
Photos by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
You don’t have to walk far to find Jazz in Montparnasse. I like to listen to jazz when I’m alone. The best way to listen to jazz (in my opinion) is when you’re alone (with the exception of Dixieland). Tonight I was wandering around Montparnasse on this long weekend - having just taken the train back from Lisieux.
Actually, I was looking for a casual dinner spot where I might enjoy a light meal and a glass …
Date: May 2nd, 2008 |
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