The top 5 famous sights in Paris

1. The Eiffel Tower - The Eiffel Tower is one of the most remarkable monuments worldwide. Annually many people from all over the world come this part of Paris to visit this 324 meters high tower. In November 2002, the Eiffel Tower welcomed its 200 millionth guest. On the 3rd floor is the work office of Gustav Eiffel, that lived there for years. The view from this point is phenomenal and worth every dollar or euro. On the first platform is an exposition about the Eiffel Tower with paintings, photo’s and information. There is an elevator that brings you to the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Information panels show which buildings can be seen from the top floor.

2. The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris - The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris is an impressive cathedral, build on an island called Île de la Cité, in the Seine. After the damage during the French Revolution, this 130 meters high cathedral needed a 23 years restoration starting in 1845 by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. It has beautiful windows, many paintings and 17th century statues. There is also a treasure room where 3 relics of Christ are kept.

3. Basilique du Sacre Coeur - The Sacre Coeur is a basilica in Paris, is situated on hill Montmartre in the 18th district and is dedicated to the ‘Sacred Heart Association’. You can see the church from the Eiffel Tower and people can visit this church. The outside shows similarities with a cream pie. Inside is even more beautiful in the form of one of the world’s largest and most remarkable mosaics.

4. L’arc de Triomphe - The L’Arc de Triomphe is the second largest arc worldwide. It is situated in the 8th arrondissement in Paris and is build on the Place Charles de Gaulle, which is one the busiest traffic courts. The construction began in 1806, in honor of one of Napoleon’s victories at Austerlitz. Later, in 1836, the building was completed under the guidance of King Louis Philippe. People can visit the roof of the arc, which is 54 meters high and offers a beautiful view.

5. Chateau de Versailles - This is a castle and since 1792 a national museum called des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon. Once they were symbol for de greatness of King Louis XIV. The most impressive space is the 70 meters long mirror room called Gallerie des Glaces. The palace is closed on Monday en during official French holidays.

Bastille Day in Paris

Bastille Day in Paris is similar to Independence Day in the United States. The annual event is called Fête Nationale, what means National Celebration and it is held on the 14th of July. This day marks the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris in 1789 and it is considered to be the beginning of the French Revolution.

These days, Bastille Day is the most patriotic event of France which will be celebrated with a lot of fireworks, trumpets, drums, bugles and a parade. The president of the republic will be there too and an impressive arrival is expected.

After the parade the fireworks will be shown near the Eiffel Tower, which will be viewed by many France people but also many foreigners.

During the ‘after party’ of this event, Parisians and tourists can enjoy the parties in the capital city. There are many local orchestras and well known bands playing along the streets and in bars and cafés. Besides all these parties, there is one main party which is called The Bal du 14 Juillet. This is a massive party that is located on the Place de la Bastille, the place where the Bastille prison once stood. This party is not being held on Bastille Day itself but the night before (the 13th of July). Every year they use another theme.

Learn about Paris before planning your itinerary

When visiting this amazing city, it’s very important to plan an itinerary if this is your first visit. Like any other city, you should always be aware of the pros and cons before you put on your explorers hat. Paris are blessed with more pros than cons, if art and architecture makes you tick you are coming to the right place. Paris has a lot of everything, from family attractions to amazing monuments, endless streets with museums, all held together by a blanket of historical buildings.

A tourist can easily get lost in planning a holiday-list that overrides any page; therefore it is necessary to concentrate on the ones that would have the best impact on your holiday experience.

Why would you say that Paris is known for being the ¨most visited¨ destination in the world?
Here are your reasons why more than 30 million people visit Paris each year:

Champs-Elysées: La plus belle avenue du mundo, ¨The most beautiful street in the World¨Paris is a city where the Kings and Queens of fashion design originated from. A Street filled with glamorous shopping malls and cabarets that you will remember for a lifetime. If you have a passion for fashion, you can make your way down this avenue.

No one says ¨I love you¨, like the French
Lovers tend to find themselves lost in each other´s eyes in the gardens alongside the Seine River. Here you can see young honeymooners to old couples still sharing the same umbrella. Even if it is only for a weekend, nothing in this world sounds more romantic then taking your loved one to Paris.
Sites not to be excluded in your itinerary:Most visited historical landmarks:

• Eiffel tower
• Arc de Triomphe
• Notre Dame Cathedral
• The Bastille prison
• Most visited Museums:
• Musée du Louvre
• Picasso museum
• Musee National d´Art Moderne

Tip:
Most efficient way of travelling in Paris would be the metro. Be sure to know the basic French, most Parisians do not speak English. Easy and short language guides are available and adaptable to most mp3-players or your mobile telephones.

Misunderstandings on Paris, France

A lot is said about Paris and also Parisians and having spent a lot of time here in Paris a few thoughts.

Frogs legs are a speciality and not a common place food. Similar to dog restaurants in South Korea (where they do exist but are a speciality and only really common with the oder generation) frog legs are a food many French people themselves have not tried. I experienced the same thing when living in Helsinki, Finland. I was told that all Finnish people have done the sauna to hole in the frozen ice dunking so I did it. Afterwards I found out that many Finnish people have not even tried it.

Parisians I also have found to be very friendly. It is like anywhere in that if you can at least try and speak even 1 or 2 words in French then people will try and help you. French people can be stubborn but then so can Catalans, Brits, Italians and every other nationality.

Culturally Paris, France is a fantastic city and a great city break or week long break location. Happy Xmas to al lour blog readers. You can also learn more about Paris cuisine online.

Faire du shopping a Paris!

When is comes to shopping, Paris has it all. Even those people who hate shopping enjoy the experience. You can find something for everyone from haute couture, perfume, flea markets, misic stores, department stores and outdoor markets.

Opening hours - In Paris, the shops are open from 10:00 to 19:00 Monday through Saturday. The department stores remain open until 21:00 one evening each week. On Sundays you can find the large chains open and some on the Champs-Élysées but almost every where else will be closed.

Department stores - The main department stores are Bon Marché, Galeries Lafayettes, Samaritaine, Printemps, and Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville (BHV). They all ffer a huge selection of products.

For music, books, gadets, and electronics, try either Virgin Megastore or FNAC. They also sell tickets for shows and travel services.

Paris fashion - Everyone knows a little about Paris fashion and the boutiques of the major designers are situated on avenue Montaigne (Yves Saint-Laurent and Christian Dior, Faubourg Saint-Honoré (Hermès and Gucci), la place de la Madeleine, Saint-Sulpice, or Sèvres-Babylone areas. The more hip could venture to the Halles district (Agnès B, Claudie Pierlot), la Place des Victoires, (Kenzo) or Marais (Ventilo, Et Vous).

Carrousel du Louvre which is a huge mall under the Louvre museum has loads of stores such as André Courrèges and Lalique. There are also a number of boutiques and a gigantic food court. Perfumes and cosmetics are found in the Opéra area. If it's food you want, For gastronomic products, try the two great gourmet food shops of Paris, Hédiard and Fauchon which can be found on place de la Madeleine.

Paris Motor Show

From the 4th until the 19th of October Paris organizes the Salon Mondial de l'Automobile. Over 500 international brands from 23 countries will be represented on 80000 square meters. Many new products will be presented as a world or European preview.

There will be plenty of free fun at the show, including: an off-road track, an indoor electric karting track, and a special exhibition on taxis from all over the world. This year they expect 1.5 million visitors and that makes it the largest and most important car salon in the world.

Tickets at the entrance : Ticket (over 18) : 12€ Ticket child age of 10 to 18 : 6 € Children under age of 10 : free Works council group (from 15 tickets) : 10€ / ticket
For more information: http://www.mondialautomobile.com/

Parisian heat, all year long: Hammam and sauna in Paris

The Marais remains a very attractive place for whoever wants to feel the heat in Paris. The area is ideally located at the heart of everything and enjoys a very bubbly atmosphere with young fashion creators’ shops and other small artisanal boutiques during day light and its bars and restaurants in the evening. Not to mention that this is the Parisian gay area by excellence. This together brings aliveness and unexpected colors into the small streets of Le Marais.

But even during winter the heat goes on. Les Bains du Marais has become an institution for a lot of locals. This hammam and sauna place offers some of the best treat in Paris. The main steam room is ideal for long rests. The sauna and hot steam room will do the rest of the treat.

As for black soap massage and skin cleaning, you can use the main steam room to self indulge you or get a proper clean from one of the, tough and rough but efficient masseurs. After a couple of hours there, make sure you take the time for a mint tea before joining back the outside world.

There is really so much to do and see in the Marais part of Paris that it would be hard to list all the possibilities, suffice to say there the area has an abundance of excellent cafes, bars and restaurants and is in my opinion, the best part of the city in which to stay as a tourist.

Le tour de Paris

Something hot hit the French capital last summer. Something that turned even the most car advocates into mere cyclists. The French “vélolution” was under way. In August, Paris' socialist mayor, Bertrand Delanoë launched finally launched his initiative of cheap bikes everywhere to riddle the French city. 10,000 Vélib were originally installed with that number now close to 30,000.

The so called “freedom bikes” scheme is nothing new for someone that knows France main cities, given that Lyon, Rennes and a few others started before the capital. Others have joined since then such as Marseille, Toulouse. For only 1€ a day you can enjoy the thrill of biking in Paris, all worth every cents you spend and much cheaper in the end than a good old rollercoaster ride. It’s a bit tedious to go through the registration process from one of the street station (assuming you have a security chip on your credit card) but at least it is available to visitors, unlike in other cities such as Barcelona where only the locals get access to it.

But all in all it changed the face of Paris and of Parisian for that matter. With more and more bikes, car drivers – not to say maniacs – have shown increasing patience and even “savoir vivre”. The Vélib has also brought a sense of social networking, not just at Vélib station, or waiting at a red light but also on online blogs where Vélibists exchange tips and experiences. So during your next visit to Paris, give it a ride!

Paris, it’s not just about cheese!

In 1992, the face of Paris changed once and for good. The charismatic French city put on another jacket for millions of worldwide tourists. Coming over to Paris was not just about cheese, baguette and other popular clichés any more. Entertainment and breath taking experiences were not to be found in Pigalle any longer, the colorful face of a libertarian Paris, but in a small city on the outskirt of Paris, Marne-la-Vallée.

Disneyland Paris opened its doors during 1992 and began welcoming tourists in 1993. The concept of transporting the Californian dreamland concept of Disney over to France was daring, at least from a French point of view, but turned out successful as the attraction is now the largest in Europe, fifth in the world and has dragged close to 160 million visitors over its 15 years of existence.

The amusement park was primarily targeted to a European audience, reputably harder to satisfy than American and Asian citizens. So the imagineers (imagination + engineer) came up with a slightly different concept. They tried to make people dream about a modern America rather than the traditional American way. The outcome of that reflection became Main Street USA, while the city also grew with years passing by to become a very “alive” place to hang around.

But recently, Disneyland Paris hit the tabloid other than for the launch of a new attraction. French president Nicolas Sarkosy, presumably single at the time, decided to expose his relationship with former top model Carla Bruni during a visit to the magic world of Disney, sacrebleu!

Flights from the USA to Paris, France

Many of you who contact us for Paris, France vacation rentals are flying in from the USA, from cities such as NYC, Washington DC and Miami. Below we take a look at some of the best flights to Paris, France for March and April 2008.

Air India are doing some specials from NYC to Paris, France for around $532 Roundtrip (5th to 12th March as an example), whilst Air France and Continental continue to be two of the best fare airlines for NYC to Paris, France flights.

From Miami, fares are slightly higher and often involve 1 stop over. The US based airlines United, American Airlines and Contintal tend to offer the best fares. Flying from Washington DC, the Spanish airline Iberia have some special fares at around $634 Roundtrip are were by far the cheapest from DC, for dates I checked.

By far the easiest way to check all fares at one time is to use a price comparison site such as http://www.expedia.com/