Best view of the Tower
by surferob
My favorite spot from which to view the Eiffel Tower is across the river near the Trocadero. One way to get there is from the Arc de Triomphe. Look at a map and see which one of the streets of the "Etoile" lead towards the tower - I think it's Avenue Kleber - and just head in that direction. There is also a metro stop nearby. There is a big overlook with great views of the Trocadero Gardens, the Siene and of course the Eiffel Tower. Go at night for best views. Better yet, go near the top of the hour. That's when they really light it up with the beautiful, flickering white lights.
Click on the picture. We came across this friendly group of Americans who were also enjoying this slightly off-the-beaten-path spot. They asked my girlfriend to take a picture, and I took a picture of her doing it. It came out pretty cool. In fact I think they liked this shot more than the picture we took with their camera, and even asked if I would email it to them when I got home.
The Pomidou Center is a must...
by lola-LA
The Pomidou Center is a must see. They have tons of modern art including a thrilling Warhol silkscreen of Liz Taylor. There's also a gargantuan orange plastic vaccuum bag thing that inflates and deflates - it must be twenty feet in ht. and god knows how big around. The escalator is on the outside of the building so you have a great view traveling to the exhibits on the top floor. It's like the Beverly center times 100. You can have a nice lunch nearby. The Luxembourg Gardens are great. You can sit or stroll around and watch those wonderful French school kids in their red sneakers and green jeans- they're really cute!
One of the fountains is murky and black so you get a pleasant sense of mystery in the middle of a soothing park. There's a nice internet cafe across the street - Cafe Orbital so you can email your friends at home.
Lot of people, when they come...
by BenFromParis
Lot of people, when they come in Paris, think that french people are cold. Perhaps, but I don't think so... We are not different at all. The problem is that lot of them don't go where real parisians live.If you really want to meet french people, be curious and don't stay in touristic districts!!! Before you come in France, you have to know that we never go around Eiffel tower or Montmarte, rarely on the Champs Elyssées or around the Louvre. It's always the same in all the cities.Paris is divided by the river 'la Seine', but it's not only a natural limit. The islands are the historical beginning of Paris. After, Paris has growned on the both sides. So, now south part has its heart: 'Saint-Michel'. And north has its heart: 'Les Halles'. Start you trip here, if you really want to understand the way of life in Paris.
BE CURIOUS, Paris is really mysterious, even for us!!! My life will be too short to know everything.
Bûche de Noel
by TheWanderingCamel
The traditional Christmas dessert in France is the Bûche de Noël, a light creamy sponge roll, rather heavy on the cream! There are small ones and large ones, and they come in every flavour of cakes : chocolate, coffee, vanilla, coconut, Grand Marnier (orange taste), Cointreau (lemony peppermint)….
Actually it makes more sense than the British Christmas pudding which one is nearly always too full to appreciate.
"Bûche" means "log" and mainly they are decorated as logs, with perhaps a tiny axe stuck in them and a meringue mushroom and a few flowers in sugar. The larger ones sometimes look like an old style railway engine. But they are all delicious – bon appetite!!!
This photo is of the individual bûche, there are some photos inside of larger ones!
lulu
Wheel it on!
by Zanee
I'm not going to recommend what type of luggage you take -Paris is like most cities ( the pavements aren't extra bumpy or the streets super narrow) so really, whatever you are comfortable with - though I don't know how I managed before wheeled luggage was invented(my boyfriend lets out a snort of derision at this point as I have never actually carried any luggage -but it's better for him!).Although I don't think there are more pick-pockets in Paris than any other large city, I did make sure that I took a shoulder bag with both a top zip and a zipped inner compartment . You do see some fellow visitors with their backpacks at the front, hugging them for dear life - I'm sure nothing short of a flashing light on your head says 'I am a tourist and here is my cash! '
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Père Lachaise entrance
Benjamin Franklin monument, Paris
JumpingFOONA, Paris, France, July 2010
the studio from the garden
