If the resort of Courchevel is a vacation for people who love sports, then a trip to Paris is preferred by romantics and lovers. It is not for nothing that all European artists aspire to the capital of France, songs and poems are dedicated to the city, films are being made about it.
It seems that the rhythm of life in Paris is different from the rhythm in any other city, but Parisians will always find time for gatherings in cafes. For them, this institution is equivalent to a house. The French word “bistro” owes its origin to the Russian military, who so hurried the French waiters: – “Quickly!” Parisian cafes are full of customers from morning to evening, people there are enjoying croissants or pieces of crispy baguette with butter, washed down with fresh morning coffee. They also meet with friends, skip a couple of glasses of red wine, read the press, hold dates. The most famous Parisian cafes are located on the left bank of the Seine River in the Montparnasse district and in the Saint-Germain quarter.
The chic French cuisine is beyond praise, where the main products are poultry and fish, butter, cheese. A trip to Paris will reveal its whole secret to you. Many restaurants offer mussels cooked in the original wine broth, seasoned with garlic. For dessert, you will be offered a huge selection of fine cheeses.
Walking through the streets of Paris, you will see the works of art of the masters of this city everywhere. Ancient architectural monuments and modern constructions merged together and made up exactly the ensemble that attracts tourists from all over the world to France. This is admirable! No wonder Paris is a trendsetter. Every year various fashion shows are held here, and every January there is an international underwear exhibition called the International Underwear Salon.
Traveling in Paris, you will not have to get bored and complain about the lack of entertainment. Night clubs, cabarets, theaters, operas and cinemas are open to visitors all year round. You can learn about the upcoming general cultural event from free leaflets issued by the tourist committee, and buy tickets at ticket offices or special stores. Just keep in mind, if there is an inscription on the ticket “sans visibilit?”, then you will be able to see the scene partially or not at all.
Shops in Paris are open from half past nine to eight in the evening, but on Mondays many shops and local markets are closed. If the trip to Paris fell on January or July, then you can please yourself with purchases with discounts of up to 70%. At this time there are big sales. For connoisseurs of antiques, the real find is the Parisian “hustle”. The largest flea market Saint-Ouen is the most popular and very old market in Paris. There you will find a real rarity. Vernezon market is also in demand among collectors.
Sights of Paris
Paris is a special place in the world. It is an ancient city, the capital of the French Republic, it is a metropolis filled with unsurpassed treasures of history and culture. But it is also some kind of intangible essence, which it is impossible to understand from afar, you need to come to Paris, see it, hear it, feel it.
Everyone who arrives in Paris will try to see the famous Louvre at least out of the corner of his eye, drive under the Arc de Triomphe, take a promenade along the Champs-Elysees, be silent for a minute at Notre Dame de Paris and generally fulfill the mandatory program of a foreign tourist as much as possible. Of course, without all this, Paris is not Paris.
But if you still have a drop of romance in your soul, if time allows, try just walking through the streets, peering into the smiling faces of Parisians, paying attention to the huge chestnuts that give shade. Sit at least a few minutes in an outdoor cafe. After that, you can rent a bike or use the very convenient Paris metro and see Paris, which is usually not noticed by average tourists. To make the way easy, it is good to stand on the top of Montmartre, near the magnificent Sacre Coeur Church. You can recall the heroic history of France on the Place de la Bastille, where a terrifying prison once stood, and now only its outline (several hundred workers spent three years dismantling this symbol of obscurantism on stone). You can walk along the green-lined streets of a peculiar city known as Pere Lachaise, marvel at the greatness of sculptural groups, family cottages-crypts, recall famous surnames – Moliere, Lafontaine, Balzac, Chopin, Modigliani, Piaf, Bernard… And how many heartbreaking legends are associated with this memory park!
In order not to be completely sad, go to the Marais Quarter – three delightful parks with small waterfalls, lakes with ducks. You can also go up in a balloon, see Paris from above. You can also look at Paris from a height from a romantic gazebo in the Botanical Garden, however, for this you will have to climb a long mysterious spiral staircase. And in the Bois de Boulogne, in the Pre-Katelyan Park, there is an amazing, fabulous open-air theater where Shakespeare’s plays are staged.
It is impossible to be in Paris and not wander around the Flea Market. The most interesting, of course, is in Montparnasse. Here you can buy really antique things, both very old and younger. Or not to buy, to walk like in a museum, to breathe in the special spirit of collecting.
Closer to night, over a bottle of real champagne, it will be wonderful to watch a carefully rehearsed exciting program in one of the Parisian cabarets, the most famous are the three – Moulin Rouge, Crazy Horse and Lido.
To remember Paris well, walk across the bridges over the Seine – there are 38 of them and they are located close to each other. Read the names of streets, squares, squares – these names have long been familiar from novels read to holes in your youth! It turns out that we’ve known Paris for a long time, and now we’ve kind of come to visit an old friend.
