Paris



I arrived in Paris late March afternoon to attend a major Tourism Conference hosted by Maison de La France, responsible for tourism in France. A well organized event that let me discover lovely new properties and new people and services to provide interesting and unique things to see and do for our visitors to France.  How about a wine tour in Paris - visiting neighbourhood wine bars, sampling special wines in each? interested... give us a call ( 1 888 830 9650); Paris by night on a river boat - with wonderful dinner and a live music to create the atmosphere? Horse and carriage ride through Paris?



Some wonderful villas in Provence, ideas for Nice and a spa retreat on the coast near St Tropez.





 I stayed at the small hotel just a few blocks from the Musée d’Orsay, a little three star hotel that I first stayed in already in the 70’s. Originally the small rooms decorated with gingerbread wall paper only had a sink, the toilet down the hall; gradually over the years the hotel added and restored, then merged with the hotel next door. It is still a 3 star – and has nice simple rooms, breakfast is brought to your room, great location for walking everywhere in Paris.



As it was Sunday afternoon, and the conference did not start till the next day, I walked to the Tuillerie Gardens; right out the hotel door, down the street to the Musée d’Orsay and over the pedestrian bridge right into the gardens. Parisian families strolled the gardens; children played with the sail boats in the Bassin- just like in Impressionist painting.













 What I like most about Paris- is the vistas – when you stand in the middle of the gardens and look one way – you can see the Place de la Concorde and the obelisk,  all the way to the end of the Champs Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe and through the arch the Defense far down the Avenue to repeat the arch in modern style. Face the other way and you see the  Carrousel Arch and the classical lines of the Louvre palace. ( not the best photo - as there  was some construction that day)











This same view at night – but from the Place de La Concorde is a must see for everyone who comes to Paris, no matter how many times you have been here there is nothing like the Eiffel Tower lit up in one corner of the view, behind the gold shimmering statues of the Pont Alexandre, the majestic Academie Nationale on the left bank, the Arc de Triomphe lit from below at the top of the Champs Elysées, and the pyramid of the Louvre glowing behind, to the right the Place Vendôme column reaching for the sky… ah Paris…



Why not stay longer in Paris - enjoy being a Parisian for just a short time! Buy a fresh baguette, some wonderful cheese from the Bon Marche food emporium, a bottle of Bordeaux...and enjoy the Parisian rooftops from your own apartment.  Next time - learn about some wonderful apartments I saw in Paris...



Meanwhile - check the webpage http://www.classicvacationrental.com/dest/listing.asp?region=Paris