The café & croissant; watching life happening from a small round table as it if was a movie in black & white; Jim Morrison taking a smoke next to his grave; the City of Lights at midnight. Only the 1920s Peugeot limousine and Ernest Hemingway in the back were missing.
One of the best activities in Paris is to seat at a cafe, on the corner, where narrow coble stone streets or tree lined boulevards and avenues intersect at one point, and just watch. In most of the nicest cafés the tables and chairs are set up like in the movie theatres with the addition of small round tables; and people can seat facing the street and watch life happening at the tune of wine and cafe late sips. Even though to the eye everything is in full color, everything gradually turns black and white, and details become slower and clearer and relaxing.
The neighborhood of Montmartre is a great place to start a trip to Paris. This is where Sacre Coeur Basilique is, an amazing display of (type) architecture. The view from up the hill is awesome, and there are lots of small shops, cafes, restaurants. Around here, life is more down to earth compared to sophisticated Paris down the hill.
After a visit to Basilique du Sacre Coeur, we sat for a glass of Bordeaux wine and mousse au chocolat (tasty!). The café was at an intersection of five narrow streets, and from here we witnessed three photo sessions. Two of them were Asian couples posing for their wedding albums, and one was a photo session for a fashion project. For extra happiness to one of the couples, a miniature Eiffel Tower.
After coffee, we walked two streets down to Place du Tertre, a small square were painters gather and make portraits on the spot, paint scenaries and sell jewelry. During the day, local artists and street performers attempt to recreate the heydays when the district drew famous artists from all over Europe, including Picasso's studio. After sunset, the nightlife around the square and along the way to Mounlin Rouge is fantastic!
We moved on in our quest to find Moulin Rouge down the hill. Along the way we found small specialty shops with nice clothing, antiques, and huts at relatively affordable prices. Champs Elysées is not the way to go... shopping is best around Montmartre. There are lots of small cafes, wine and cheese stores, street vendors, and a way of life that is very appealing.
Paris is a big city at the center, and there is a lot to see in every direction. One of the best walks is from Arc du Triomphe passing through Champs Elysées' tree lined up boulevard and expensive shops; Jardin des Tuileries' statues and fountains; Musée du Louvre's immense collection of art and a tiny Mona Lisa. Then turning left and crossing a bridge full of locks were lovers throw the keys to the river on the way to Ile de la Cité Ile Saint-Louis where Marie Antoinette was jailed not far from where Notre Dame de Paris is - a great one! Tired yet?!
Notre Dame is a great display of fine architecture, and the area around is lively and good for a walk. There are street vendors and stores along La Siene. Here we bought a painting for 2EUR, not bad! A few blocks up the street there are the nieghborhoods of Les Halles and The Marais.
Les Halles is nicknamed "the stomach of Paris" because for centuries is was the great central market. It is a good place to find good and affordable meals, and to see modern architekture. The Marais is known as the "Old Paris". It is around here where the city of Paris started, and now it is the place to find Kosher food and is also the Gay district.
Paris is a big city at the center, and there is a lot to see in every direction. One of the best walks is from Arc du Triomphe passing through Champs Elysées' tree lined up boulevard and expensive shops; Jardin des Tuileries' statues and fountains; Musée du Louvre's immense collection of art and a tiny Mona Lisa. Then turning left and crossing a bridge full of locks were lovers throw the keys to the river on the way to Ile de la Cité Ile Saint-Louis where Marie Antoinette was jailed not far from where Notre Dame de Paris is - a great one! Tired yet?!
Notre Dame is a great display of fine architecture, and the area around is lively and good for a walk. There are street vendors and stores along La Siene. Here we bought a painting for 2EUR, not bad! A few blocks up the street there are the nieghborhoods of Les Halles and The Marais.
Les Halles is nicknamed "the stomach of Paris" because for centuries is was the great central market. It is a good place to find good and affordable meals, and to see modern architekture. The Marais is known as the "Old Paris". It is around here where the city of Paris started, and now it is the place to find Kosher food and is also the Gay district.
Another nice place to visit is Cimetiere Pere Lachaise, a huge cemetery where Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison are RIP. This place looks like a city! There are large graves along the narrow curvey streets and steps. Some of them are big like national monuments, have creative themes, and some even have dark humor. A few of them have their doors open, which proves my theory that eternity might not be as fun as life down here.
I particularly liked Jim's and Edith's graves. There were many tothers with statues of the dead, golden ribbons, dramatic scenes engraved in super-sized stones, right next to the main roads for all to see. Jim and Edith have simple ones, small, their names engraved in medium size letters, and surrounded by other larger graves. Jim's was the best. He had his cigies outside, next to the largest white flowers for whenever he wants to scape eternity and join us in this crazy world of ours.
I particularly liked Jim's and Edith's graves. There were many tothers with statues of the dead, golden ribbons, dramatic scenes engraved in super-sized stones, right next to the main roads for all to see. Jim and Edith have simple ones, small, their names engraved in medium size letters, and surrounded by other larger graves. Jim's was the best. He had his cigies outside, next to the largest white flowers for whenever he wants to scape eternity and join us in this crazy world of ours.
On the last day, we had a small picnic at Champs de Mars, in front of the Eiffel Tower. The morning was warm and sunny, and had time for more sightseeing before getting back to Prague. After a short walk we run into this pedestrian bridge leading to Pont de Bir-Hakeim over New York Avenue. This is the point in the movie Inception where Cobb is following Ariane as she realizes she can control the architekture of the dream, right before Mal kills her..... and then I woke up!
Paris is quite impressive in real life as it is in pictures - black & white during the day, bright and sparklying during the night. It was rainy for the most part. Still, walking under a soft rain is good. Paris is not affordable for the most part, but there are places where prices for coffee and baguette with cheese are decent. Bars close at 2:00 am, but if you know the right person, he can get you in by knocking on a closed door and saying the secret code to a pair of eyes throught a small window: it's me!
Check it out after the visits to the must see points in the guide book.
Photo album