The Eiffel Tower - Go in the...
by tharrison
The Eiffel Tower - Go in the evening at dusk when the crowds are dying off and the true splender of this stunning structure can be fully appreciated. The whole tower lights up and when you reach the top (don't opt for the cheaper lower levels) you will see Paris as it should be seen. Getting lost. You will without doubt get totally lost no matter how good at map reading you think you are. However as with all things unplanned it offers new and exciting sights, sounds and bars, hundreds of them.
Velib' at night
by Nemorino
The Velib' bikes are available 24 hours a day, around the clock, and they all have front and rear lights that go on automatically, day or night, when you start to ride.
Thanks to Velib' lots of people have discovered how exhilarating it is to ride around Paris at night. Public transport schedules get thinned out in the late evening anyway, so by taking a bike you can avoid having long waits for the next train or bus to come.
They say about 25 % of all Velib' rides are taken between 8:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.
Between 1:00 and 4:00 a.m. the trains and buses stop running altogether, so to get home you have to take a bike or a taxi. (A bike is much more fun, and cheaper.)
Second photo: Here some people are checking out and returning bicycles at night at the Place de la Madeleine.
GPS 48°52'9.73" North; 2°19'26.14" East
La Boulangerie
by CALSF
On almost every corner and certainly in every neighborhood is a boulangerie, sometimes more than one. It's great to pop in to get a croissant or a brioche for breakfast. But it's handy when you want a quick snack or a late night dessert back at the hotel.
Oh Garcon!
by asturnut
DON'T EVER, EVER call a waiter 'Garcon', literally translated it means 'boy' (in a servant kind of way) and is extremely rude. In Paris, when you eat at a Restaurant, expect to spend a long time there. Getting attention from the waiter is sometimes difficult, because the French have a different attitude about dining out. So you may have to be vocal to get service, but don't, under any circumstances, call the waiter garcon.
Parisian Leos
by von.otter
“Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
THE GLORIOUS LEO The Little Corporal, as his men called him, is perhaps France’s most famous Leo; he was born on the 15th of August.
Is your astrological sign Leo, the lion? If it is, or if you travel with some who is a Leo as I do, let me suggest a fun way to recognize the Leo in your life and in the process take some unique and fun photos: pose with architectural and decorative lions.
Throughout the City of Light you will find plenty of Parisian lions to pose with, and maybe even one playful cop (see photo #1)! There are indoor and outdoor lions; ancient and modern ones; large and small lions; some are on doors as knockers, while others are integrated into fountains; there’s a lion for every Leo in Paris.
All Leo are in good company with these famous French Leos, Louis XV’s mistress, Madame du Barry, 19.August.1743; Alexandre Dumas, père, 24.July.1802; historian Alexis de Tocqueville 29.July.1805; short story writer Guy de Maupassant 5.August.1850; and fashion designers Cocoa Chanel, 19.August.1882; and Yves St. Laurent, 1.August.1936.
Here is a guide to some lions you might pose with.
Photo #1 — Outside le Musée de l’Orangerie a playful cop spontaneously volunteered to be part of our vacation; this is my favorite photo from the July 2008 trip to France. A bronze version of Antoine-Louis Barye’s 1835 “Lion and Serpent” is in the Louvre; the French are quite permissive about allowing photos to be taken inside museums.
Photo #2 — In Jardin du Luxembourg this lion can be found at the eastern end of the large grassy lawn. He has a companion on the opposite side. Pose with both!
Photo #3 — Pick any one of the four lions to pose with that help to make up the Fountain of the Four Cardinal Points in Place de Saint-Sulpice. You will find this charming, quiet square on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter.
Photo #4 — On the southern quai side of Île de la Cité the doors to Palais de Justice have lion-head knockers.
Photo #5 — Only a croissant could be more French than a Peugeot. They are all around Paris; select an isolated one, as we did.
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traffic on the way to airport, Paris
Avenue des Champs-Elysees
The alter - Apr 2010
The Kiss (marble sculpture)
