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Making Paris your OwnBy Karen Fawcett
In order to really get to know Paris, people should also take to the streets and to the metros and buses. But walking is by far the best way to explore the City of Light and is the only way to appreciate the interiors of Paris’s sixteen major parks and cemeteries located throughout the city.
For those who want a great tour, Bonjour Paris recommends City Tour, where you can see a lot of the key monuments and eat at a restaurant from on high in the tallest building in Montparnasse. If you’re an architecture buff, expect to be in overload. The city is proverbial eye candy for those interested in design and most especially, planning through the ages. Invest in a copy of Eyewitness Travel Guide to Paris.
Many Parisians are so ethnocentric that there’s an old story. An older Parisian resident of Montmartre said to his friend, “Tomorrow, I’m going into Paris.” C’est la vie. © Karen Fawcett |
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There’s a Paris everyone sees, and the off-the-beaten path
city. Every tourist and business traveler should definitely get an overview of
the must-see landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysées, the
Invalides, the Place de la Concorde and the list goes on and on. But there’s so
much more to the City of Light than those famous must-sees.
Identify a specific interest: If you like gardens and
appreciate different types of vegetation and horticultural wonders, head for the
Luxembourg Gardens, Père Lachaise (the largest outdoor space in the entire city
and happens to be one of world’s most famous cemeteries), the Bois de Vincennes,
the Tuileries, the Bois de Boulogne, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Parc Monceau to
name just a few. If the weather is good and you have children in tow, these are
the ideal destinations. European parks are so different than ones in the US.
This book is one of the best when it comes to mapping out
and explaining the architecture of this city that was originally constructed by
the Parisi Tribe. After the Romans occupied Gaul, they expanded the (then) town
and named it Lutetia. Paris is home to so many deferring styles of building: art
deco, Medieval, Renaissance, and Haussman to today’s modern – including examples
of hyper-modern such as the Beaubourg at the Centre Pompidou. Paris’s numerous
bridges are history unto themselves. Isn’t it ironic that the Pont Neuf is the
oldest bridge connecting the Right and Left Banks of the Seine which dissects
the city?
Shopping is another reason people come to Paris. My bible
is Suzy Gershman’s
One of the ways I like exploring Paris is by purchasing a
one day metro/bus pass and hopping on and off subways and buses. When I first
arrived in Paris, I did that frequently. More than once, I was so lost I thought
I was buried in a maze and might never get home. Keep in mind you’re rarely more
that a five-minute walk between one metro and another and the underground
distance between each stop is only a minute. Going from one neighborhood to
another can mean going from one country to another: North Africa, India, China,
Vietnam and Turkey not to negate France. Every arrondissement differs from the
other and each has a distinct feeling. Some (such as the 16th and 17th
arrondissements may be subtle) but they are real. People can explore at their
own paces and cover as much territory as they like.
As is true in all major cities, Paris is always changing.
Because of the finite amount of land in Paris proper, areas are becoming
yuppified. What is here today may not have been here a couple of years ago and
certain neighborhoods (e.g. the Canal St. Martin in the 10th arrondissement)
have been converted from out-of the-way neighborhoods to the “in” places to buy
and renovate. By the time most foreigners get the idea – the area’s real estate
prices have more than likely already shot up in value so as to no longer be
under priced.