La Ville Lumiere means ‘city of lights’ - a popular description of Paris. The French capital is a bustling city of culture and commerce and at night, it is indeed lit up like no other place - with all the flurry of a lively city.
There is something for everyone here in Paris, whether your passion is art, architecture, food, fashion or history.
The French capital is also the world’s de facto capital of culture. For generations, artists have visited and lived here to inspire their work. Here, you will see the most modern museums alongside ancient sites… and sights.
Paris is a big metropolis with over 2 million inhabitants, 11 million in the Ile-de-France region overall. The city is densely populated, yet you will still find many quiet oases scattered around. Even today, parts of the River Seine offer a quiet walk down its banks. The many bridges crossing the great river are both artistic and functional, in true Gallic style.
The Marais district is another quiet nook worth a visit. This is where you will find Victor Hugo’s apartments, and little seems to have changed since he wrote his masterpieces here. This is also where you can find some of the smaller, but less crowded museums of Paris.
But you will also take pleasure in the bustling areas of this exciting city.
The Eiffel Tower is no longer the world’s tallest construction but thousands still visit every year - more than 100 years after its difficult birth and all the controversy it has endured.
The Louvre remains a must-see for art lovers around the world. The museum is home to a collection of over 100,000 masterpieces. The Mona Lisa exhibit is always crowded, but there are dozens of justly famous, and unjustly obscure pieces also worth a look. Vermeer’s ‘Geographer’ adorns one wall, while the ‘Lacemaker’ is on the other side of the portal.
Visit the Paris Opera House - site of the fictional Phantom of the Opera. Or see the Musee d’Orsay, home of many of the world’s finest 19th century works of art, housed in a renovated train station. Just a walk through the city is an experience in itself. Go up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe or up the hill in Montmartre to the Byzantine-style Sacre Coeur Basilica.
There are also good trips to take not far out of the city. There’s the 17th century wonder of Versailles. Or for something a little more 21st century, there’s Disneyland Paris. Sit at a cafe just about anywhere along the way and enjoy some of the world’s finest coffee or wine - and those famous French pastries of course.
The weather is usually cooperative to sight-seeing. The climate year round is moderate, rarely moving outside the range of 4C (39F) in the winter to 22C (72F) in the summer. Rain is unusual, and rarely lasts long enough or pours hard enough to put a damper on any plans.
Paris is divided into 20 ‘arrondissements’ or districts, with the first at the center and the others running clockwise around the it. Throughout the different areas, there is an overlap of history, architecture and sights.
In every case, travel from one to the other is made easy and inexpensive by the safe and relatively clean Metro (subway). First opened in 1900, there are almost 400 stations transporting 6 million people per day.
But walking to and from many parts is also a good option. While not as simple as Manhattan’s rectangular grid, armed with a good map, the hardy visitor can travel on foot over a good portion of the city.
Many will argue: the best way to see this City of Lights is on foot. As a walker, you will see Paris in all its glory, basking in French sunlight.
Related tours and destination in Paris: Check them out
Enjoy a sumptuous dinner cruising down the Seine aboard a boat from La Marina de Paris. Finish your evening with a cabaret show at the famous Moulin Rouge.
Enjoy a full day exploring three historical castles including the Amboise Castle, Clos Luce Castle, Chenonceau Castle with lunch. The tour also includes a visit to Monmousseau Cellars with wine tasting sessions.
Recent Comments