Pompidou. Here is the official site. But my favourite description is here (where else?). From the outside, you should guess it must be something related with arts (each colors actually represent something functional).
If you are not so artsy, being around Pompidou is fun enough. There are some free exhibits by the pond, such as La Sirene. Better, you can see tourists acting wild for photograph (i.e. me)
If you have Paris Card, do go in!
Arc de Triomphe. It looks like a Roman Arc. It is indeed. Read more at Wikipedia for more details: Arc de Triomphe.
Go to the top. You have to pay, but if you have Paris Card, it is included. Keep your visit to Arc de Triomphe as the last one, it closes very late. This allows you to maximize your Paris Card. Its locations is great, even in late evening. The metro is just at the corner. So no worry.
You can enjoy many things from the top, but Parisian traffic is sure fun to watch from the top. Arc de Triomphe was meant to be the intersection of the ten roads in Paris. A great rotunda, indeed. The problem is that it was build when human rode motorless vehicles (i.e. carriage and horses). Surely one will not build intersection for automobiles… at least not for 10 main roads.
What was so fun with watching traffic. If you look closely at the last picture, you will wonder why Parisian can survive such traffic. It looks like at any time you can expect accident. In fact, this is the place where cars are the most prone to accident in Paris. Unfortunately, tourists are number one cause of the accidents. (see picture to understand the rule of the road). If you plan to come to Paris and will rent a car, read well the fine print. You will be surprise to find that your insurance may not cover accident at Arc de Triomphe.
Of course you can see more than just Parisian traffic. You can see Eiffel from here. But WHY would you do so?
Still on Notre Dame.
Look: LINE! (Queue)
To enter Notre Dame of Paris means to stand in a line. However, don’t be anxious. As you can see from the pictures, there are usually two lines in front of the church. The left one (in the picture) is to enter the church. The line is usually longer than the other one but move at a speed 10 times faster. Go, wait in the line, and from the speed it moves you even wonder why there is a line to start with.
The other one leads to where I took the picture, the top of the church. This however is every tourist nightmare. Count approximately one hour – if not more. The strategy for those travelling with partners is of course to go into the church alternately while the other one is waiting in the line. Going to the church top (tower) costs you some money. If you are smart, you buy a Paris Card (for one day or more) that includes this attraction.
From the tower you have view of Paris and tired tourists in the line. It might not be as spectacular as the view from Eiffel but given the height you sure see much details. Having view from the top is not the only purpose of waiting in line for hours for the tower, don’t miss the gargoyles. Take your time when you are on top since it is basically a one way trip due to the narrow nature of the walkway. Just don’t tell anybody that I told you to take your time – there is a limit of how many people allowed on the tower at any given time. So, the longer you are up there, the longer the people down there stand in the line.
The beloved church in Paris: Notre Dame (Our Lady) definitely worths your visit. Centrally located in the Ile de la Cite in Paris, there is no way you miss locating this Church. Do study this church prior/during the visit. Know how it was built, read about Victor Hugo and The Hunchback of Notredame, even read a bit about gargoyles. You will definitely get more out of it then simply having your pictures in front of it.
Stand a distance away to have a good look of the church. Don’t forget to walk to the sides and behind to get a completely different views of the church. Notre Dame of Paris is one of the first Gothic Cathedrals. If you know anything about Gothic Cathedral, you will adore the architecural and the structural of this church. Don’t miss the flying butresses.
Walk close to adore the carvings. Most people simply walk through and take pictures. Rare study the meaning behind the beautifully carved figures. If you remember how the old days were, you will know that there are many biblical stories behind the art pieces. The main ones above the entrance door tells the core story of the bible. See if you can find the devil cooking a man (representing Hell). Also find out why this church is called Notre Dame (hint: find the figure representing Mary). Not all paintings are biblical stories – see the figure without head and guess what the story behind it.
If you have time and patience, climb to the top for the view of Paris. And don’t forget to say hi to our cute gargoyle friend who is continuously wondering why tourists wait in such a long line below.
Paris draws million of people each year for various reasons. Fashion, Louvre, Seine river, Eiffel, or simply being in Paris, are some to mention. There are so much to write about Paris; after all none will be bored with Paris for a week – not to mention if you only have a few days to spend in Paris.
The key to visiting Paris in such short time is to know what to visit, how to get there and be sure that you don’t miss important places. Having planned those, always – really always – make sure you see Paris from the eyes of Parisians. Parisians don’t live in Louvre, not climb Eiffel every day. There is much more in Paris than monuments and musems, there are the people. Make sure to include them in your trip.
Paris is easily reached. Either you fly in directly to Paris, which should be considered even when you don’t plan to return from Paris (round trip is not necessary cheaper), or take Thalys, or Eurolines. Consider the no-frill airlines such as RyanAir and Easyjet that fly to (smaller) airports in Paris for substantially much cheaper price. Take Thalys if time is critical. For boot-strapping, do Eurolines – there is no cheaper transportation mean that Eurolines, for exception of hitchiking, which I don’t recommend.
