Page 146 - Off The Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 2 of 2)

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CITIES Less-Explored
Paris

Lauded for its dizzying array of monuments, museums, sweeping boulevards, and alluring
cafés, the world’s most romantic city still has a few surprises up its perfumed sleeve ABOVE Tourists queuing for a trip up the Eiffel Tower, Paris
FORGET THE PARIS

A stroll through Belleville, one of the city’s most TOURIST TRAIL?
NEED TO KNOW
multicultural and working-class quarters, provides
LOCATION Paris is in 6/*5&% an antidote (if you need it) to seriously stylish Paris, THE BUILD-UP Paris is an urban delight replete
the Île de France region ,*/(%0. -JMMF with world-renowned museums and art galleries,
of north-central France and its eccentric Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is a
1"3*4 4USBTCPVSH elegant churches and iconic monuments. Bustling
POPULATION remarkable reinvention of an old gypsum pit. The
Around 2.2 million bistros and funky bars line market streets teeming
'3"/$& neighboring 10th arrondissement also harbors with mismatched stalls. Belle époque, Art Deco,
VISITORS PER YEAR 48*5;&3-"/% reminders of industrial Paris, with the imposing
Around 28 million #BZ PG Art Nouveau, high-tech, and shabby-chic – this
#JTDBZ -ZPO *5"-: railway stations of Gare de l’Est and Gare du Nord,
DAYTIME city has style and substance galore.
#PSEFBVY
TEMPERATURES .BSTFJMMF and the meandering Canal St-Martin, the banks of
Jan: 39°F (4°C); Apr: 52°F (11°C); which are now home to cool cafés and quirky shops. THE LETDOWN The snaking lines. Visiting the
Jul: 68°F (20°C); Oct: 54°F (12°C) .FEJUFSSBOFBO
41"*/ 4FB As the birthplace of couture, Paris knows a thing city in the peak seasons (Jul–Aug, Christmas
or two about shops – the department store was, and New Year) will test even the most patient of
It’s a long way from the plains of Africa, but Paris after all, a French invention. But before these grand sightseers, so take a tip from the ladies at the
has its own “Big Five”, and everyone who visits the retail dames came the dainty passages couverts – guillotine and bring your knitting! Some small
shops and restaurants are closed in August when
City of Lights morphs into a modern-day big-game glass-covered, iron-columned shopping arcades that
Parisians take time off, and before this, at the
hunter, intent on bagging a glimpse. No trip to the still dazzle with their old-world atmosphere and
end of a long season, staff can get grumpy.
French capital is complete without a safari around eclectic, occasionally designer, tenants. Just as
the mother of all museums, the Louvre, a gallop diverse are the city’s many markets, each of which DOING IT ANYWAY? Buy a Paris Museum
down the aisles of the gloriously Gothic Notre-Dame has a distinct personality and flavor, from vast flea Pass online from www.parisinfo.com, which
and a pause on the terrace of the sculptured cloud markets brimming with glossy antiques promises no lines, repeat visits, and access to
that is Sacré-Cœur. Gustave Eiffel’s masterpiece of and funky bric-a-brac to open-air food markets 60 museums. Be sure to book online for a
19th-century engineering, the Eiffel Tower, with groaning with seasonal goodies. guided tour of the Eiffel Tower (www.tour-
its extraordinary views across the city – and down Roam the city’s serpentine backstreets, bustling eiffel.fr) or get there by 9 am to beat the crowds.
into its magnificent belly – still provokes gasps bridges, quais, and handsome boulevards and you’ll Paris is a city made for walking, so just set out;
of disbelief. And the exultant Arc de Triomphe, chance upon the haunts of artists, writers, poets and there’s always a park or a bench nearby for a rest.
a monument to military might, is famed for its photographers, dusty bookstores, gossipy bars and
commanding view of the elm-lined Champs-Elysées cafés, hidden squares and pretty gardens – the
and the other avenues that radiate from its base. lesser-known side of this legendary metropolis.
All this, however, is just the tip of the iceberg.
The city is made up of 20 arrondissements PRACTICAL INFORMATION
(districts), and many of these are captivating sights
in their own right. The Marais, to the east of the Getting There and Around within strolling distance of Sacré-
center, is as bewitching as the Mona Lisa. Unique Paris is served by two airports: Cœur and Opéra. The chic Hôtel
Charles de Gaulle (CDG), 19 miles Verneuil (www.hotel-verneuil.
boutiques, slick art galleries, gay bars, and Jewish
(30 km) northeast of the city, and com) is located near to galleries,
falafel shops line the streets, while regal mansions- Orly, 11 miles (18 km) south of cafés, and shops, while Le
turned-museums recall the ancient aristocracy’s the city. Trains and shuttle buses Meurice (www.meuricehotel.
penchant for this once-swampy piece of Paris. run from both into the city center. com), a plush hotel overlooking
the Jardin des Tuileries, has a
Where to Eat
The city’s restaurants are reason Michelin-starred restaurant and
enough to visit. Au Bon Accueil the most romantic of all rooms
(tel. +33 1 47 05 46 11) dishes up – the Marco Polo.
tasty bistro fare and Eiffel Tower When to Go
views, while Chez Michel (tel. For lovely weather and shorter
+33 1 44 53 06 20) champions lines, visit in spring or fall.
hearty food from the north. The Budget per Day for Two
classy Table de Joël Robuchon Paris can be very expensive, but if
(www.joel-robuchon.com) serves you stay in a mid-range hotel, eat
modern French food with flair. out once a day and take the Métro,
expect to spend US$250–350.
Where to Stay
The hip Hôtel Arvor Saint Georges Website
(www.arvor-hotel-paris.com) is www.parisinfo.com
ABOVE Tree-lined path on the bank of the Canal St-Martin, Paris

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