A love affair to remember... (Sights & Attractions in Paris in general)

Member Name: byrnehel

Product:	Sights & Attractions in Paris in general
Date:	18/06/01 (608 review reads)
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I was lucky enough to be whisked off to Paris for the weekend and highly recommend it. Paris is the city for lovers (they even have a lovers walk) so whether you have a recently aquired partner or a long term love, Paris will inspire the forgotton romantic in us all.

My boyfriend booked the tickets on wwwlastminute.com on Wednesday and on Friday evening we were at Waterloo, ready to travel first class on the Eurostar to 'gay' Paris. The deal involved the Eurostar trip, two nights stay in a three star hotel, bed and breakfast.

The first morning we got up, excited to make the most of our time and went down to breakfast for seven. I tend to find croissants in this country either too buttery or too dry, but in France, although it is a cliche, they were perfect, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, they just melted in your mouth. The French bread was of course delicious.

We decided to do all the normal touristy things as I hadn't been to Paris before, and the first stop was the Notre Dame. Having read and enjoyed Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of.... This was a particular highlight (one of many) and the architechture and intricate stained glass windows were awe inspiring. Not a place to take young children due to the fact that you have to remain silent (or at least whisper-quiet) while people are praying. I am not religious, but found the place very peaceful and not at all pompous.

Next stop was the Ile de St Louis, which is a picturesque Island in the middle of the Seine that has quaint cafes and boutiques, and the most delicious icecreams imaginable. There is even a L'occitane boutique where you can stock up on their wonderful candles and perfumes and soaps, a lot cheaper than you would find them over here. After a few refreshments we decided to tackle the Champs-Elysee (not one of my boyfriends favourite places!) and what better way to get there than a trip down the river Seine in a rive
r boat.

The river boat trip was lovelly as the sun was shining and you could see the wonderful buildings of Paris from a different perspective. The only problem is that although the boat acts like a bus and stops at all the tourist spots such as the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Elysee, there is only a boat every twenty five minutes so if you just miss one (which we did a few times!) you can be hanging around for a long time so if you have a lot packed into the day it is much quicker to use the Metro. It is however, the most pleasant way to travel if you can spare the time.

The Champs-Elysee is the equivalent of our London's Oxford Street. Full of Japanese tourists, over expensive (for what you get) restaurants and of course, the multi-national Mcdonalds (you can't escape it even in Paris!). There are mainly big stores such as Sephora (the make-up emporium) designer stores such as Louis Vuitton, D + G etc and right at the end is the Arc de Triomphe. After seeing all this once, if I went again I wouldn't come back as the stores were two crowded (there was a two hour queue - mostly Japanese, just to get into Louis Vuitton - we managed to sneak in straight away as some people were leaving, but then there was at least an hour queue if you wanted to buy something, which was a bit ridiculous). The Arc de Triomphe didn't particularly interest me as I am not a fan of things to do with war, but I am sure that it is okay for the men who don't like shopping to have a look around, whilst their ladies spend their Francs. Well, shopping is thirsty and hungry work, so it was time to refuel.

After Crepes and milkshakes and a spot of shopping in the St Germaine de Pres area (where I got served in Louis Vuitton straight away - if the Champs Elysee was Oxford street, the St Germaine de Pres was definitely Bond Street - we headed back to the hotel to 'freshen up' in time for dinner, but there were so many good restuarants, where t
o choose? We consulted the timeout guide and as it seemed to be that the nicest places for dinner were in the Monmartre we decided to head for the Sacre Coure.

This was a good choice as not only does the Sacre Cour lie on a hill overlooking the whole of Paris (the Eiffel Tower lit up at night is a beautiful sight), but there was also a huge amount of steps to climb up to it (if you didn't want to take the lift)which would help to burn off the meal that was to follow. Unfortunately, we got to the Sacre Coure too late to go inside (took too long 'freshening up!) but from the outside the white, domed building was absolutely stunning and well deserved of it's reputation as the most beautiful building in Paris. Next time I would like to see it in the daytime.

After possibly the best meal I have ever eaten, in a French restuarant in the Monmatre we headed off back to the Hotel after an exausting day. The French eat incredible slowly and take such a long time over their food that I think we spent about three hours in the restuarant. There was live music and singing and all in all it had been a great day.

Although Sunday is supposed to be the day of rest, there was no rest for us as we headed off bright and early after breakfast at 9am.

We took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower and were riding the lifts up to the top in no time. Those scared of heights should maybe avoid this as there is literally just a glass door that you are pressed up against between you and a long drop down. However when you get to the top, the view over Paris is amazing, it helped that it was another clear day.

We then walked the lovers walk to the Place de Concorde and took the metro to the Louvre. The Louve was probably my favourite part of the trip, whatever art you are into there is something for everyone. Most famously the Mona Lisa which until you have seen in the flesh, you will have no idea of it's beauty. Even the building itse
lf is a stunning combination of the modern and the historic. I could go on forever (Oh I already have) so I won't mention much more than to say this is a must visit.

A spot of dinner later and a short walk and it was time to head back to the Eurostar for our journey back to London. Midnight at Waterloo and the grim realisation of work on monday hit us. All good things have to come to an end and I now have a list of things that we didn't have time to do and am already planning the next trip.....Paris was a whirlwind romance, but the fantastic memories will last a lifetime

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