When To Travel Attractions Hotels How To Reach
Paris, the city of lights, is one of the most charming and beautiful cities in the world. The famous artist Pablo Picasso dedicated several years of his life painting the beauty of Paris. While other cities have failed, Paris has managed to preserve its beauty for over 1000 years.
Situated on the banks of river Siene, Paris is the paradise for lovers. The city has reputation as most romantic city in the world. Romance is mixed in the air of Paris like scent. There is no wonder why millions of romantic couples and honeymooners travel to Paris for romantic escape. Paris is also considered as one of the fashion capitals of the world along with New York City and Milan. The Paris Fashion Week is one of the most awaited fashion shows of the year.
Paris is the city of inspiration. Paris inspired to create some of the finest architectural marvels in the world. At the same time Paris worked as inspiration to world-renowned painters like Pablo Picasso to create some fine masterpiece. Paris also brings out the best in the fashion designers thanks to Paris Fashion Week.
There is so much to see and visit while in Paris. The city is paradise of shopping lovers. You can find stores of best fashion houses in the world in Paris. At the same time architecture and history of Paris will win your heart.
WHEN TO TRAVEL
Paris is one of the few cities that you can travel throughout the year. However summer months of July and August are the peak tourist season. During this period Paris is overcrowded by tourists and finding good hotel could become very difficult.
To avoid that try to travel Paris during winter. The snow cover gives a splendid look to this city. Hotels offers discount due to being off season. There are number of festivals that take place during the winter season.
Hardly anyone will argue that Paris looks most beautiful during Spring season (March to May). The blooming flora and breathtaking landscape makes it well worth the visit. Romantic couples will enjoy traveling Paris during the Spring Season.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN PARIS
Eiffel Tower - Architect Gustave Eiffel created the architectural gem which is known as Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel tower is most popular tourist attraction and most photographed monument of Paris. Today this monument has become icon of Paris. The view of Paris from the top of Eiffel Tower is breathtaking. To avoid waiting in long lines to climb top of Eiffel Tower, visit early in the morning. You can book hotels near Eiffel Tower to save money of transportation.
Arc de Triomphe - This grand monument was started constructed by Napolean to celebrate his victories. However he could not live to see Arc de Triomphe as the construction was completed 15 years after his death. The design of 50 meter high monument is inspired from Arch of Titus in Rome.
Louvre Museum - Anyone with slightest interest in art could visit Louvre Museum. The museum is housed in palace that once used to be residence of France's Royal family. There are more than 35,000 objects on display at the Louvre Museum. This include antique, paintings and sculptures from 19th century. The main attraction of Louvre Museum is painting of Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci and Dying Slave by Michelangelo. It is difficult to see all the exhibits in one visit. Tourists should plan 2-3 visits to Louvre Museum to check the best paintings from world-renowned artists.
Parisian Catacombs - One of the unusual and perhaps scary attractions is Catacombs of Paris. Catacombs are network of labyrinthine tunnels that house remains of human skulls and other bones removed from the overcrowded cemeteries in Paris. There is limit of 200 people that are allowed to enter Catacombs at a time.
Notre Dame Cathedral - The classic example of Gothic architecture with its impressive towers and stained glass is the Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral is constructed on very religious spot. Celtics used to consider the spot sacred, later Roman Empire built Temple of Jupiter at this spot, finally in 1163 the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral begin and it was completed after 200 years. The cathedral was restored couple of times but carefully to preserve the architecture of the building.
Jardin du Luxembourg - is a park spread in 55 acres of area. The park remained private till 19th century after which it was opened for the people. Before public opening, Jardin du Luxembourg park went through redesign that while preserving the original layout of the park give it more French look. Today this park is very popular picnic spot for Parisians. There are two very popular fountains inside the park, Fontaine de Medicis and Fontaine de l'Observatoire.
Sacré-Coeur - is a basilica designed in the Roman-Byzantine style located on the highest spot in Paris. The church was built for 2 reasons. Firstly a group of influential people pledge of built a church if Paris comes out without any damage from the Prussian War. Secondly they considered defeat of France in the Prussian War as the condemnation of Paris' sins. The lead to the construction of beautiful white colored Sacré-Coeur.
Opéra de Paris Garnier/Palais Opera - You may recognize it from the famous play - Phantom of the Opera by Paul Leroux. Today this building has been renamed to Palais Opera. The remarkable exterior of Opera with rose marble columns and statues along with even more impressive interior has made it a popular attraction in Paris.
Jardin des Tuileries - Thanks to the central location, Jardin des Tuileries is among most popular parks in Paris. Inside the park are several beautiful fountains and statues that adds to the beauty of Park. There are couple of museums inside the park as well, Musée de l'Orangerie and Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume.
Orsay Museum - home to several impressive paintings and sculptures is Musée d'Orsay also known as Orsay Museum. The museum is housed in the grand railway station of Paris. This impressive architectural piece was abandoned in 1961. In 1978 the grand railway station was decided to turn into a museum. The museum was constructed in 1989 and today it showcase 2300 paintings and 1500 sculptures belonging to some famous artists like Manet, Degas and Van Gogh.
Panthéon - The King Louis XV vowed to built as church dedicated to Sainte-Geneviève if he recovers from the serious illness he was suffering from. After he recovered. King Louis XV started the construction of building that took 34 years to complete. After its construction it was decided to turn into temple to bury remains of French people who died in the French revolution. Later in 1806 it was turned into a church but only to be turned into civic building in 1885. Panthéon is the place where Jean Bernard Léon Foucault proved that earth spins around its axis.
Parc de la Villette - One of the largest parks in Paris however often less visited by tourists because of its location. Despite that Parc de la Villette is one of the finest parks in Paris that should be visited by the tourists. The park is famous for several prairies which means open space , ideal for picnics. During summer popular movies are screened inside the park. The park is also home to popular science museum Cité des Sciences et de L'Industrie.
Père-Lachaise Cemetery - perhaps most popular of all graveyards in Paris. It is the final resting place of several notable personalities like Oscar Wilde, Champollion, Delacroix, Jim Morrison of The Doors etc.
Grand Palais - One of the most remarkable landmark of Paris, Grand Palais was built for the Grand Fair in 1900. It is famous for enormous glass-domed roof. The building is a remarkable combination of stone facade, art-nouveau, ironwork and glass
La Madeleine - one of the most charming and popular churches in Paris is La Madeleine. The church is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. The temple is designed in Greek architecture.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés Church - dating back to 512AD, Saint-Germain-des-Prés Church is the oldest church in Paris. The church went through renovation in 19th century to restore old glory of the church.
Picasso Museum - Art lovers should not forget to visit Picasso Museum that contains some fine masterpiece by one of the greatest artists Pablo Picasso. The museum exhibits some of his work on Paris city.
HOTELS IN PARIS
A rule for tourists in Paris is to book hotel in advance. Paris hotels tend to fill up quite quickly especially during the Spring and peak summer tourist season. During the tourist rush, hotels tend to increase rate by 10 to 20 per cent. All this can be avoided by booking hotel well in advance. The hotels in Paris come in all price range. Generally budget hotels would have small and congested rooms while luxury hotels will offer large rooms with all the amenities. Alternatively you can rent apartment in Paris for shorter stays. But this requires several guarantees including Insurance Policy. Some good hotels in Paris are
Sofitel Paris La Defense ($70), Hotel Scribe Paris ($186), Hotel Le 123 Elysees - Astotel Paris ($96), Le Chat Noir Design Hotel ($65), Hotel George Opera - Astotel Paris ($50), Quality Hotel Opera Saint Lazare, Mercure Paris Montparnasse and Hotel Caumartin Opera. You can book hotels in Paris from here.
HOW TO REACH
By Air - Paris is served my 3 airports: Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Orly International Airport and Beauvais Airport. Charles de Gaulle is the main international airport of Paris. All flights from major airlines land at this airport. There are flights to Paris from New York, London, Delhi, Mumbai, Rome, Tokyo, San Francisco, Bangkok, Melbourne etc.
Orly is the old international airport of the city with very few international airports. Today this airport is used by Air France to connect Paris with domestic destinations, while some European airlines offer flights within Europe. Beauvais Airport is used by low cost airlines like Ryanair and WizzAir.
By Train - Paris can be reached from anywhere in Europe by train very comfortably. Gare du Nord station has trains from Belgium, England, Germany and Netherlands. Gare d'Austerlitz connects Paris with southwest, Spain and Portugal. Gare de l'Est has trains to Switzerland and Germany while Gare de Lyon, will take you to French Alps and major Swiss Cities. Gare de Bercy only offers overnight trains to Italy. Gare Montparnasse has fastest trains to Spain.
By Bus - Most international buses are offered by Eurolines that makes stop at Gare Routiere Internationale du Paris-Gallieni. Traveling by Bus is cheaper comparing to train. Bus passes are also cheaper than train pass and also offer unlimited travel. Only drawback is that bus journey are far longer than train.
By Car - Unless you own a car, there is no point of traveling Paris by Car. Renting a car is expensive and fuel along with high toll will make car journey to Paris expensive. Driving on the streets of Paris is another challenge for people unfamiliar with the streets. You will also face huge traffic especially during rush hour in Paris. International tourists are also required to carry International Driving Permit from local automobile association to drive in France.
To reach Paris you can take several expressway. Take A1 and A3 from North, A5 and A6 from South, A4 from East and A13 and A10 from west. These expressway may have huge traffic during the peak tourist season and summer holidays in France.
By Sea - Ferry and Hydrofoil services connects Paris to England. These services are offered everyday throughout the year. These ferries can easily carry cars to Paris as well.
