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| Sunday, July 05, 2009, 08.23 PM | |||||
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Home » FeatureStory
Paris is a moveable feast indeed, in all respects from its food to art to music and to its stately boulevards and grand buildings. Like Hemingway, most visitors to the French capital will fall in love with all that they see and experience and these lasting memories will no doubt lure many back time and time again. It’s a sad person who tires of Paris. While the lyrics of a song goes “I like Paris in the springtime”, this city is, however, for all seasons. Even on the gloomiest winter day, it’s a city full of life and vitality. Christmas in Paris is especially colourful and illuminating, as the city is lit up for the festive period. The famous Avenue des Champs Elysées is the city’s best-known boulevard but there are many other grand avenues to traverse and admire. The leafless plane trees that line either side of the avenue are ablaze with fairy lights all the way from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. On the other side of the River Seine, the Assemblée Nationale (the National Assembly) is illuminated by electric blue lights. Grand Noël Another big attraction in Paris at this time is of course shopping (an all-year attraction for many visitors). The department stores are decked out with Christmas decorations and brimming with every conceivable Christmas goodie. The most famous store is Galeries Lafayette (www.galerieslafayette.com) and the main store on Boulevard Haussmann is where shoppers should head but be warned - the store is packed on most days but especially around Christmas. Noël Grand is the theme for this year’s celebrations. The large street-side windows are jammed packed as shoppers crane to view the animations installed for the festive season. Raised platforms in front of each ensure that young children don’t miss out on the action. Inside the domed building, a huge Christmas tree reaches up four floors. Its exterior is also a blaze of colourful lights making it a destination in its own right. The new Champagne Bar (La Bara Bulles) on the first floor is a smart space for a glass of bubbly with foie gras and fresh salmon. For more serious dining, choose Chênevert, serving gastronomic cuisine in a cosy but relaxed setting or a delicious snack in the celebrated Maxim’s Café. Paris On Foot Central Paris is one of the world’s best walking cities as it is mostly flat and around every corner there’s something to photograph. Head out in the morning for the Musée du Louvre and then across to the famous cathedral Notre-Dame on the other side of the Seine. A bronze marker in front of the cathedral is inscribed “zero kilometre” and is the centre of the country from where all measurements to other cities are made. Climb the 422 steps to the top and you might just get a sense of Quasimodo (the hunchback of Notre-Dame). Head across into the Quartier Latin on the Left Bank and make note of the most interesting student café or bar to return to after the sun has set. A walking tour of central Paris can be combined with using the extensive underground rail network or Metro. Single tickets can be bought or a book of 10 tickets provides a more economical option. Ride the Metro from St-Michel Notre-Dame Station to Concorde Station and start the next phase of a walking tour along the famous shopping precinct of Avenue des Champs Elysées. Walk the 2km to the busy intersection dominated by the Arc de Triomphe. Continue on foot down to the riverbank and Eiffel Tower and wait until the early evening to discover why Paris is known as the City of Lights. Just as the sun recedes below the Seine River, the Eiffel Tower is illuminated with azure blue lights. Thousands of twinkling fairy lights are also turned on for a few minutes on the hour so plan to be here then to absorb the full impact. Stay And Indulge Culture vultures need look no further than the grand Hôtel du Louvre (www.concorde-hotels.com) immediately opposite the Louvre. Take breakfast here in the Brasserie du Louvre and adjourn to the world’s most famous and largest museum to take in the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo (a sculpture not a health drink!). At day’s end, enjoy a night cap in the hotel’s famous Defender Bar. For something completely different, check into one of the new, hip designer hotels. Just opened is Mama Shelter (www.mamashelter.com), a collaborative effort by Serge Trigano (son of the Club Méditerranée founder), architect Roland Castro and celebrity interior designer Philippe Starck. Breakfast diners can catch up on the latest news on benches made from a battery of flat screen TV monitors incorporated as table tops. Café, Café Cafés are the backbone of French dining and drinking and while most don’t offer haute-cuisine, cafés are places to sit, drink coffee, meet people and most importantly, to be seen. Invariably the seats are arranged facing the street to ensure maximum exposure to passers-by. During the festive season, the more touristy cafés along the Avenue des Champs Elysées are elaborately decked-out with Christmas pine trees, fake snow and Santa images. Drop into centrally-located cafés here to soak up the ambience. Try cafés like George V, Chez Clément or the Café Very (Dame Tartin) in the Jardin des Tuileries for a little peace and quiet. The noted and late French black and white photographer Robert Doisneau commented that “Paris is a theatre where you book your seat by wasting time”. Paris is no doubt one of the best cities in the world to take a seat in a sidewalk café and waste a little time. How To Get There Air France KLM (Tel: 03-7712 4556, website: www.airfrance.com) offers one of the best connections and services to Paris with daily flights departing late in the evening from Singapore and via connecting flights from Kuala Lumpur. Their on-board service is exceptional with good options for food and wines of France. In business class, dine on pan-seared fillet of beef, a selection of fine cheeses and lemon tart. Wash this down with Duval-Leroy Fleur de Champagne Premier Cru, and a crisp Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Peyre Blanche. After this, stretch out on Air France’s near-flat bed and wake up in time for a light breakfast and an early morning start to sightseeing in Paris. Contact Maison de la France (French Tourist Office), Singapore, Tel: +65-6737 5822 or log on to www.franceguide.com/sg
 
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