Climb the stairs to the...
by lukec
Climb the stairs to the viewing platform at the top of Arc de Triomphe. You'll have a great view of the main Parisian avenues that meet here. Don't forget to see the crazy traffic down below! The thing I remember really well is the bus drive to this big city from Charles de Gaulle airport. We drove through the confuzing maze of streets, and I was like a big kid in a new store, watching my unfamiliar surroundings and hoping to catch a glimpse of one of city's distinctive and world famous landmarks - perhaps the Eiffel Tower, maybe the Louvre or Notre Dame, who knows. Nothing of that happened and the suspense was to last right up to the point where the bus dropped us - just a stone drop away from the Charles de Gaulle - Etoile square. When the bus drove away and Irena and I turned around, my jaw bones dropped in exhilleration. In front of us stood the fabulous Arc de Triopmhe of Paris, lit in the evening sunlight. The scene was magnificent, without a cloud in the sky and for a few moments we just stopped there and watched. I was really impressed by the size of this thing! It looks much much bigger in reality than on postcards (I think it's about 50m high). And so Arc de Triomphe became our first real encounter with Paris and set the stage for an enjoyable week in Paris, one I'll always remember.
Palais du Luxembourg
by barryg23
The Palais du Luxembourg lies at the western end of the Jardin du Luxembourg. Maria De Medecis had this palace and the gardens built to remind her of home. As if Paris didn't have enough things worth seeing! Nowadays it's the home of the French Senate.
Chateau de Fontainebleau
by Lilasel
Situated in the middle of a beautiful forest, Fontainebleau was a favourite hunting residence of the French kings from François 1er to Napoléon III.
Since 1981 the Palace and Park of Fontainebleau is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage.
Use all the French you can. ...
by balderas
Use all the French you can. Some Parisians, especially taxi drivers, hate it if you don't make an effort. One taxi driver said to me and my friends 'it's not so far by foot' ... about our hotel which was 2 hours away by foot! But to be fair, there is also a lot of friendly people who don't blame you for asking questions in English.
Saint-Denis (2003)
by Mikebond
Saint-Denis is a town of 87,000 inhabitants just outside Paris. Just like everything there, it has an ancient and a modern side. The former is best represented by the basilique de Saint-Denis, the latter by the famous Stade de France, the Parisian football stadium.
My parents and I visited only the church. This basilica is the place where all French kings and queens used to be crowned and as a matter of facts, its main attraction, beside all the Gothic architectural features, are the tombs of the royals.
I will not write much in this tip; you will find more explanations and photos in my Saint-Denis page (to come).
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Opera Garnier
Eastern façade - Nov 2010
Museum Louvre
Antique shop in the market and "L'Estaminet" café.
