The Fabulous World of Paris

Easter 2006 I decided to spend it on holiday in the most romantic city in the world: Paris. My boyfriend and I booked flight+hotel with breakfast for 5 nights at €500.00. As a price we did well: hotel between 2 stops of 2 metro lines near Place de la Bastille, modern Opera area, very nice, it's called Campanile Bastille: the prices are very affordable, friendly people, clean and great breakfast! Departure on Wednesday 12 April with the 7.20 am plane from Malpensa (what an early start) and by 9.00 am we were already at Charles de Gaulle airport! The temperature was only 4 degrees above 0! So: don't go by the season! Paris has crazy weather! Public transport is plentiful with fairly low prices! Several trains leave from the airport taking you to different areas of the city: RER at €8.00. At the station there are lots of ticket machines that let you avoid the queue.

Arriving at the hotel by metro we drop our bags and throw ourselves into the city. We were so full of energy that we walked all the way to Notre Dame. Tip for eating: go to the Boulangeries (our bakeries), with €3 you get an excellent half-metre baguette with a load of fresh things inside like salad, chicken, cheese, tomatoes. From Notre Dame you move on to the first important district of Paris: the Latin Quarter! Full of restaurants of every kind: Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Italian. From here you head towards the famous Sorbonne university which was surrounded by police and armoured vans because it was in the middle of an occupation against job insecurity.

Here the superfans of Star Wars, Star Trek and superheroes of every kind will be happy, because around this university it's full of shops dedicated ONLY and exclusively to selling these things! Our walk continues until we reach the Panthéon. Visit it! It's worth it. But also the little church that pops up on the left! Inside you can't take photos, but it's spectacular: the style of the columns is like that of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona! Along the main avenue in front of the Panthéon you'll find the entrance (one of many) to the wonderful Jardin du Luxembourg: there are woods, tree-lined avenues, tables with chess, rides for children, chairs available for everyone, fountains, lawns.

A harmony of nature! As you'll have gathered, we stopped for a break, given that we'd walked like crazy! We went back to the hotel for a shower and went to dinner in a place I recommend (it's near our hotel, near Rue du Chemin Vert) and which is called "CAFE' DE L'INDUSTRIE": the place is special, big, good food, very normal prices and it's always packed with people (kids from 20 to 30) with jazz music!! (go see the bathrooms!!!) Obviously on the second day A STOP AT THE LOUVRE! We arrived fairly early and in fact, there was no crowd of people to get in yet! For those 25 and under ALWAYS show your ID because you always pay much less (also in other museums).

What can I say about the Louvre??? It's magnificent! Mysterious, fascinating! We went to see the essential and important things, because otherwise you come out with a headache! Obviously the part I didn't miss was: all the Italian sculpture, the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Code of Hammurabi, the Venus de Milo, French sculpture (the part lit by the pyramid glass) and other important paintings. After this great feast of art, we headed towards the Opera.

Pity that at that time there was nothing I was interested in seeing, but take the chance to see some ballet or opera performance because there are truly cheap tickets that even young and poor mortals can afford! Obviously, next to the Opera, there's the very famous "Café de la Paix" so often quoted by Franco Battiato: an ultra-chic place! Third day: the Perdition area of Pigalle! But before that we paid a visit to the Musée d'Orsay because we'd bought the tickets the day before.

Tip: buy the tickets at the Fnac, even if they cost 1 euro more, you won't queue for more than 5 minutes! The Musée d'Orsay can be toured all at your leisure because it's small and there are wonders of all French Impressionism! Afterwards, we took the metro to the exit right by the Moulin Rouge: it changes literally between day and night! We went up one of the many little alleys that lead, in my opinion, to the most beautiful, ancient and fascinating district of Paris: MONTMARTRE! Those who have seen "the famous world of Amélie" will understand me! Obviously we climbed the staircase of the Sacré-Coeur! Among other things it was Good Friday and as soon as you entered the church, they threw you straight out! From the Sacré-Coeur, you get lost in the artists' little square PLACE DU TERTRE where everyone displays their talent.

This little square and the alleys connected to it are all full of lovely little shops. From there a street goes downwards called Rue des Artistes where you find a boulangerie on the corner making exceptional baguettes! If you continue downwards, you reach the 2 famous mills of La Galette. Continuing then along the main street you'll find Amélie's bar "Les Deux Moulins". Walking, always, like crazy people, we arrived at the Centre Pompidou. What can I say about the Centre Pompidou? It's an alien, futuristic construction, very beautiful. Entering is expensive and there are exhibitions of visual avant-garde art, in fact my boyfriend and I came out crying with laughter because we didn't understand ANY of what we saw! So find out about the exhibitions beforehand! (there's a spectacular view!). In the evening, obviously, we went back to dine in Montmartre.

But first we did the round of Pigalle among the sex shops for a few laughs: it was packed with tourists buying silly things to give as gifts to friends. In the evening this district comes alive with people, the places (obviously between sex shops and lap dances) lit up like a little Las Vegas. We head towards Montmartre because I read about a very special place to eat bourguignonne. It's called "Les Refuges des Fondues". The place is a hole in the wall! There are 2 big tables, so you eat with people you don't know! The owners are crazy! Here you only eat meat or cheese bourguignonne, drinks are served in a glass baby bottle and included in the price is an excellent chocolate cake! All at the price of €16 each! Very little because you come out stuffed like a cream brioche! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Following day to the palace of Versailles: wind, cold, big black clouds! Here another tip: in the metro they sell a "package" for Versailles: return train ticket + reserved entry without queuing at €20. DO IT!!! It's true! You don't queue! We had 3 people ahead of us at the entrance to Versailles! Versailles was half closed for restoration (thank goodness I'd already seen it as a child). Here you understand the splendour of the time! In the evening we went to eat in the Latin Quarter in a French restaurant whose name I don't remember! But the French are very good at cooking meat! For 2 evenings I had the steak with black pepper! A JEWEL! Last day unfortunately: we go to visit the Sainte-Chapelle: stupendous! And the Père Lachaise cemetery couldn't be missed. This place outside of any time, any place, seems like a Poe story with a Tim Burton screenplay.

Here rest among the greatest artists, writers and musicians in the world: from Chopin to Oscar Wilde to Jim Morrison. At the entrance of the cemetery you can pick up a map of the cemetery. Careful... the map is well made, but the graves are