From Paris with Love……

I visited Paris for the first time in 2005 and after only a few hours I had fallen in love - what an amazing city. I headed straight for the Sacré Coeur Basilica in Montmartre which is just magnificent and has the best views across Paris - great to get your bearings too!!

From the wide tree-lined avenues to the quaint little back streets that ooze history and charm, the city is so easy to navigate using the Metro and simply walking. The iconic landmarks that we all want to tick off our ‘seen that' lists are so easy to find and they are even more stunning when viewed in person. I highly recommend a Paris Museum Pass and a Paris Visite Transport card as all that you would want to visit is near a Metro station and the Museum Pass gets you in to the best Parisian museums free without having to stand in line with the masses for a ticket.

Some people may say that Paris is expensive and that the people are unfriendly, I have not found this to be the case. Of course if you want to spend up big then there is every opportunity to do so; shops along the Champs Elysees and Rue du Faubourg St. Honore are designer heaven, but the back streets of the Latin Quarter and the Montmartre are much more fun, cheaper and there are great cafes and brasseries in which to stop and recharge....the patisseries are to die for. Whilst visiting the Latin Quarter you can visit the Notre Dame Cathedral and don't miss the riverside art stalls either - they are really fascinating.

Another typically Parisian thing to do is to go to the local market and buy a baguette, some fresh tomatoes and a hunk of camembert and head to the closest ‘Gardin' (garden or park) for a picnic. Wine is optional and the parks are just beautiful - they usually have water features and plenty of benches and grassy areas to sit and watch the locals go by.

I went back to Paris again this year and I have to say that the highlight of both trips was visiting the Louve - you don't have to be a connoisseur of art to appreciate the exhibitions and everyone should visit the Louve at least once in their lifetime.

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