City of Light, City of Romance
Paris is called the City of Light because of the beauty of its palaces and monuments, many of which are indeed shown off at night with floodlights. It could just as well be called the City of Romance because so many visitors choose the destination for romantic getaways, or simply enjoy lifelong romances with the city itself. The city is noted for fine dining (it is the French capital, after all), high fashion, top perfumes, nightlife with an edge, architecture (especially, the mansard roof) and Notre Dame, perhaps the world’s best-known cathedral.

About Paris
The French capital reveals beautiful vistas and magnificent architecture everywhere you turn, a tribute to careful planning, impeccable taste and French pride. Like all sizeable urban areas, it offers plenty of activities and sightseeing. Most of all, it possesses the je ne sais quoi that could only be Paris. The city center looks the way it does, with wide boulevards sweeping across the terrain in several directions, because of a massive 19th century urban renewal project that, while delivering a city we love today, swept away big chunks of a much older Paris. However, long city strolls that include the Marais district reveal something of that older Paris.

Visitors choose Paris because their friends or lovers rave about it or simply because it is a must-see for any who want to claim they are reasonably well traveled. They find the great walking city, as promised, as well as the French cooking they want to sample on its home turf, sometimes in Michelin-starred establishments. Also, fashion isn’t just about garments for skinny models at the big shows but evident in the goods offered at the smallest of shops. The city is awash in fine art galleries and museums, not to mention its 1,800-plus classified monuments. Nightlife can be what you want, ranging from cabaret to opera or from the risque show to a chance to dance or just hang out in dimly lighted clubs. Paris attracts all personality types, with a tilt to the venturer side of the scale. It helps to speak some French.

The French have a reputation for rudeness, but well-mannered tourists don't usually have much trouble. Be aware of a different potential problem: Paris hotels are very noisy by American standards. Ask for a quiet area (usually toward the back of the building).

Tour the Paris sewers. Or, tour the Catacombs, old quarries where the city once dumped skeletons from overcrowded cemeteries. Or see both.

Climb the towers in the Notre Dame Cathedral for a better look at this medieval house of religion, and for the views.

Meet up with one of the city’s laughter clubs and do what the members do: Practice specific breathing movements said to produce roars of laughter.

Wrangle a ticket for a couture show.

Attend a striptease show, and be aware you must wear smart attire to be admitted to one of the sophisticated new strip clubs. Also, have a look at the Museum of Eroticism.

Meet the Parisians. Sign on for a walking tour or cycling tour with a Parisian host. Or, make an appointment to meet a French artist and visit his or her studio. See http://en.parisinfo.com/show_exhibition/rub7066.html.

Don your black turtleneck and hang out in the cafes. Or, go dancing.

Access your audio tour guide via your mobile phone or PDA. Several vendors provide links to such narratives. One, Paris Story, promises you Victor Hugo (the virtual version) as your guide and offers an interactive map for zeroing in on specific attractions and the things you will want to know about them.

Buy a baguette, cheese and wine, and head to the banks of the Seine for a picnic.

Attend an evening of improvisation (for free, first Sunday of each month) at the Entrepot cinema.

Chart a sightseeing route based on points mentioned in “The Da Vinci Code,” most notably the St. Sulpice church, on Place St. Sulpice, plus, of course, the Louvre.

Take a hike. The city’s approximately 110 miles of hiking trails criss-cross the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, follow the Seine River and cross the city from north to south and east to west.

Plan to attend a wine-tasting session.

Spend an evening with a guide viewing and learning about the Metro system.

Shop, or just sightsee, at the Saint Ouen flea market with its more than 2,000 exhibitors.

Attend a cabaret show.

Grab a partner and play tennis in the Luxembourg Gardens.

Fish in the Seine.

Attend a free concert at Radio France. Or, attend a recording session for one of the radio station’s shows.

Book a spot in a Meet-Parisians-at-work program. You may observe those who make and work with chocolate and cheese, or observe a furrier, bookbinder, silversmith or those involved with the world of the theater. See http://en.parisinfo.com/paris_sightseeing/rub7865.html

Escort the kids to Disneyland Paris. Also, take a short hot-air balloon ride over Disneyland.

Opt for a guided shopping tour. Or, home in on the subject with a guided tour of Printemps Haussmann, a department store that is an attraction in its own right and offers fine views over Paris from its terrace.

Take a tour of Le Grand Rex, a 1932 cinema so large it seats 2,650. Or, take a backstage tour of the Opera Bastille.

Buy a one-day guided city tour to ensure you see the must-sees while in Paris, then revisit those that interested you the most.

Take a cooking class, or classes.

Cruise the Seine and see the city while aboard one of the famous bateaux mouches.

Eat well or for fun (or both). Have dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Grab a quick croque monsieur at lunch; sample bistro fare one evening, as well.

Take day trips, guided or unguided, to Versailles, Chartre or Giverny (to see Monet’s home).
View Paris at night from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Take a guided tour of the city’s soccer stadium in Saint Denis, a few miles north of Paris. While there, you’ll have to visit the 12th century cathedral that was long the burial site for French kings including Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette.

For more information, consult the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau at www.parisinfo.com and French Government Tourist Office/Maison de la France at www.franceguide.com/us

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