ChickSpeak

It’s hard to describe Paris. If you have been there before, you know how hard is to find words to explain the feeling of have visited there.

Paris is a charming, beautiful, historical, elegant and romantic city. The city has a great infrastructure as well; the subway system takes you to every corner and there are hotels and restaurants in every block. Even though Paris can be a pricy city, it’s a great experience to be there.

History

Paris is the capital and the largest city of France, with over two million people. The history of Paris goes back thousands of years. In the 3rd century B.C., a Celtic tribe called Parisii first settled Ile de la Cité, founding the city of Paris. But the Roman emperor Julius Caesar, fearing the strategic location in the river by the Parisii, conquered Paris renaming it Lutetia. During the Roman control, the city grew significantly but barbarian invaders destroyed it in 280 and was renamed Paris once again.

Was in the middle age that the Notre Dame Cathedral started to be built and the Louvre Art Museum began life as a fortress by the river. By the 13^th century, Paris was the most populated and richest city in the West. But even though Paris was living a time of prosperity, the French population was discontent with the abuse of power by the royalty.  In 1792, after the fall of the Bastille and the execution of Louis XI and Marie Antoinette, the Republic was proclaimed.

After the Republic was proclaimed, Napoleon was crowned emperor in the Notre Dame. During his period, Paris had a huge urban development. Pavement traffic lanes were constructed, trains stations were founded and the real state prices grew immensely. After the Napoleon Era, Paris went through two world wars but luckily the damages weren’t too severe.

Today Paris is a very developed city and its influence goes from politics and economy to arts and fashion. Paris is also a very diverse gastronomic city, where you can find restaurants, bistros and cafés of any kind. The City of Lights is one of the main cultural centres in the world as well. There are plenty of museums of all kinds of arts and the music scene is great in Paris as well, with many concerts and plays options as well as fantastic night clubs.

Travel, Accommodations and How to Navigate

Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport is the main and largest airport serving the city. Most of the French domestic flights arrive at Orly Airport, which is located in the south of Paris. Travelers can go to the city from the airports through the train system (which has connections to the French metro), use a shuttle or bus services. The fastest and cheapest way to get around in Paris is certainly using the train/metro system and walking. Taxi can be expensive, but it’s handy if you need a ride late at night.

Like every other big-touristic city, Paris can be very expensive in accommodations matter. If you want luxury, Ritz Paris is the right place for you. The hotel has original furniture and chandeliers from Louis XVI and its elegance it’s marvelous. The simplest room is about $500 Euros a night and the fancy suites can cost almost $2,500 Euros per night. The hotel has a restaurant called L’Espadon, where you can enjoy a genuine French cuisine and where you can find a variety of more than 1,000 wines from their wine cellars.

If you want a more affordable hotel in Paris, the more you look and earliest you book, you will be able to find cheaper rates. During my visit to the City of Lights, I stayed at the Timhotel Tour Eiffel. The hotel offers decent furnished rooms with clean-private bathrooms, small but nice breakfast, and free Wi-Fi for about $65 Euros a night. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the hotel location is very good too; it’s only one block from the Dupleix metro station and walking distance from the Eiffel Tower.

If you are going to stay more than one week in Paris, renting an apartment can be a good option. Paris Home has two studios located on rue Amélie in Paris. The cost is about $400 Euros a week; both studios are well furnished, have free internet access and laundry facilities. Loca Flat is an option as well; they offer short term rentals in Paris and you can make reservations online. The night rate usually depends on the apartment location and how many days you are staying.

Places Every Tourist Must See

There are many attractions in Paris to visit and the hard part is choosing the incredible places to go. But besides all the main touristic places, a visit in the City of Lights won’t be complete without a trip to a café or to gourmet restaurants in the city. As mentioned before, the metro and your feet will take you everywhere in Paris.

The Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) is often the first place many tourists want to see. Designed by Gustave Eiffel, the 1,063-ft tower was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889 and to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution. You can go up using the stairs until the second floor or get the elevator, which takes you to the first and second floor and to the top of the tower. The view from the tower is fantastic and is worth seeing both during the day and night.  The Eiffel tower is open daily all year long and its open hours can be found here; the closest metro stations are the Bir Hakeim, Trocadéro and École Militaire.

Just a few blocks and a short walk distance from the Eiffel Tower, there is the Hôtel des Invalides and the Dôme Church. Les Invalides was once the place where wounded and homeless French veterans lived but now there are several museums in it. Inside the Dôme Church, which was built and complemented after the inauguration of the Les Invalides, you will find the tomb of Napoleon.

One of France’s most important Roman Catholic churches, the Sacré-Coeur is located on the hill of Montmartre. The shrine has an incredible façade and inside you can see one of the world’s largest mosaics. I went there in the afternoon and had the chance to watch the sunset from the church hill. The view of Paris under the sunset is definitely a must see. Watch out for some people in the bottom of the Sacré-Coeur stairs trying to make and tie a bracelet on your wrist; they will charge you about 5 to 10 Euros for that. Besides the Sacré-Coeur, it’s nice to walk around the Montmartre neighborhood and check out the shops and the street artists showing their work. To find the Sacré-Coeur, you can stop at the Abbesses or Anvers metro stations.

Another great view can be seen from the Arc de Triomphe in its panoramic terrace. This monument is 164ft high and was finished in 1836.Today many victory celebrations and parades are celebrated there.

In the Ile de la Cité, a boat-shaped island on the Seine, you will find the mighty Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. With its gothic façade, Notre Dame has beautiful windows rich in colors. Was in Notre Dame that important events in French history happened, like the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte and the state funeral of Charles de Gaulle. Also in the Ile de la Cité there is the Sainte-Chapelle, which was built in the Middles Ages. Inside the chapel, there are amazing stained-glass windows. To get in both Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle you can stop at the Cité metro station.

There are plenty of options for art lovers in Paris. One of the most visited museums in Paris is certainly the Musée du Louvre. The museum holds one of the world’s most important arts collections, for example Monalisa from Leonardo DaVinci. The museum is huge and before you go, you should get a map and decide what you want to see inside the museum, because one day it’s not enough to see everything.

Another interesting museum is the Musée d’Orsay. The building was a rail terminus before, but now in 1986 was transformed in the museum. There you will finds paintings and sculptures from 1848 to 1914. Art works from Claude Monet, Renoir, Thomas Couture and Delacroix can be found at Musée d’Orsay.

Shopping for Fabulous Chicks

Paris breaths fashion and glamour and so for the city provide a great shopping scene. In Paris you can find everything from high couture to outlets shops and department stores. The best time to shop in Paris in on January, February, July and August because is when the big sales take place.

Bon Marché, Galeries Lafayettes and Printemps are the three main department stores in Paris. There are stores from famous designers but also from young-beginner designers. All three department stores have a great touristic structure, with currency exchange places, translators, restaurants and cafés.

The main design shops are located on the chic and expensive avenue Montaigne. There you will find designers stores like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint-Laurent, Christian Dior, Versace, Gucci and others. On avenue Montaigne there is also many restaurants and cafés, which is great to sit outside, eat or maybe have an ice cream while walking through the avenue and streets.

On the way to Disneyland Paris, there is the outlet shopping La Vallée Village. There are outlets from Burberry, Armani, Blanc Bleu and many others; on sale season, you can find great deals!

What Made This Chick Fall in Love with Paris

The first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, I couldn’t believe I was in Paris. Paris of my dreams, dream that seemed so far away. To me, walking to the streets of Paris is like being in a movie. Watching how the Parisians walk, dress and the way they live their lives impresses me. Paris has it charm and I love the fact that the city has a great artistic scenario. There is art in all its form: music, theater, cinema, paintings, thousands of museum, etc. And the food, of course! The food was one of the reasons this chick fell in love with Paris. All the sweet and pastry shops, all different kinds of pies and candies definitely amazed me. I just can’t wait to be back in the City of Lights.

Débora Biasutti, an international student in the U.S., loves sitting in a café or in a Häagen-Dazs shop in Paris while watching the Parisians walk with a baguette in their arms. She usually imagines what adventure is reserved next for them.

Photo can be found here.