One of my favorite cities to visit is Paris, France.  I love to walk through all the mazes of streets, squares and parks.  There are endless choices of simple things to do; from sipping a glass of wine at a sidewalk cafe to just sitting in the gardens behind Notre Dame Cathedral and people watching.

There is some much to see and do in Paris, that it is virtually impossible to do in one visit.  Of course, one of my first stops is at the Eiffel Tower.  It is an engineer feat that amazes me everytime I gaze up on it.  It is 1,050 feet tall and weighs in at 7,700 tons.  If you plan to climb it, it has 1,710 steps. In the evening, it lights up with a sparkler effect for a certain period of time.

photo copyright: Maison de la France

photographer: Fabian Charaffi

My next visit is to the Louvre Museum.  It is massively big - it covers 14.5 acres.  There are over 30,000 works of art displayed in the museum.  It takes several visits to cover it all.

Photo : © Paris Tourist Office

photographer : Marc Bertrand

My favorite museum is the Musee d'Orsay.  It is filled with a hugely popular collection of Impressionist art work.  The museum building itself is former, grand train station - Gare d'Orleans. The artists included in this fine museum are Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Matisse and Degas.

The city is divided into the Right Bank (Rive Droite) and the Left Bank (River Gauche).  It is comprised of 20 districts (arrondissements), each with it own special flavor.  The Right Bank is known for is high fashion while the Left Bank is known for it's bohemian charm. 

It is very easy to get around in Paris.  The underground Metro has a multitude of lines and they are color coded to make it easy for the tourist.  I purchased the multiday travel pass that allows unlimited travel on the Metro.  Nearly all the major attractions are within a short walk of a station.

Another fun day trip was to the Paris Flea Market in the Clignancourt area.  It's pricey, but interesting to see all the french antiques and vintage items.  I strongly suggest not to travel alone to this area, as there are lots on pickpockets waiting to prey upon someone as you come to and from the Metro.  My travel companion and I locked arms and kept our purses in between us.  Taxis are plentyful if you prefer to play it safe.

There is an abundance of sidewalk cafes and most have interior tables with air conditioning.  Most are reasonabley priced and offer an English version of the menu.  I had the best cup of coffee and croissant at the Gare de Lyon train station.

I like to venture out of Paris on a day trip using the rail system.  Paris has 6 major train stations - Gare d'Austerlitz, Gare de l'Est, Gare de Lyon, Gare Montparnasse, Gare du Nord and Gare St-Lazare.  Each station has trains departing to certain parts of France. So, if you wish to visit Monet's Givereny home in Normany, 45 miles northwest of Paris, you would need to go to the Gare St-Lazare and take the train to Vernon and then a taxi to Giverny. For more info on Paris train stations, click here: www.paris.org/Gares/

I took a great tour of Paris by night on an open top bus.  It took us to all the sites while these grand monuments and museums were illumimated.  It was well worth the time and money.

 Avoir un voyage merveilleux à Paris !