Thursday, August 7, 2008

How to (Really) Enjoy Paris

After living in Parisian suburbs a year, I know Paris pretty well but coming back for three weeks I discovered a few more things which enchanted me, all over again.

1) Paris by Night; sitting across from a prof I asked her how to say in French, "I'm going to visit Paris at night." "Paris by Night," she replied. Paris at night is a sweet deal, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the bridges and the Champs Elysee are like nothing you've ever seen before and with the lights glittering, they can never be replaced. It's highly cool and you'll never forget the experience.

2) Chartres; Chartres is a cute little Medieval Town located south of Paris about an hour. It hosts one of the most famous cathedrals in church and architectural history. The stained glass is legendary and underrated, the town isn't visited by many tourists, and the crepes are magnificent.

3) Hit the Champs Elysee...At Night; Friday night is like nothing else with the lights and the people and the feel of life all around you, busy and happy. I didn't know the shops were open until I went at 11pm, and a majority of them are.

4) Enjoy a French movie; If your French is good enough get to a movie (smuggle in your own candy). If it's not, do it anyway because French cinema is distinctly different from American theater and worth noting.

5) Visit the parks; All the parks are second to none. If you only see Parisian parks, the trip has been well worth it. I got to hear a concert at Jardin Luxembourg on a Sunday afternoon. I adore Luxembourg, and the concert was the icing on the cake.

6) Find Paris for yourself; Some call it the City of Love, the City of Life, the City of Lights, (see the L theme, hint, hint, hint). There's a grain of truth in all of these cliches but don't expect any single one to be completely true. Feel Paris, smell it, enjoy it, taste it, get annoyed by it, and then you decide for yourself what sort of city it is.

My closing thoughts of Paris have been thus been recorded, and I return to Asia to absorb in the Far East's richest pleasures.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

BIEN DIT! :) Bravo!