Short breaks in Paris France
This may not be the definitive guide to the best way to see Paris, but these days out certainly worked for us and we managed to squeeze in a really good number of Paris' main attractions in just three days away while taking plenty of time out for romantic meals, strolls and so forth. We took in the Paris sights at somewhat of a breathtaking pace, so if you fancy yourself as a bit of a flaneur, then this is probably not the right Paris guide for you.
Paris Sight seeing - Day 1
One our first day we decided to do most of it on foot. The Metro is straightforward to use and pretty cheap to get around on, but we wanted to properly soak up the atmosphere and get a feel for the place before we made things too easy for ourselves. We walked from our hotel (just by the Pernety Metro in Montparnesse) up Rue Raymond Losserand (cheeky little restraunt here called Monsieur Lapin) and then up to Gare Montparnasse which took us on a nice direct route to the Eiffel Tower and surrounding attractions. The weather was splendid for most of the day with clear blue skies and touching 30 celsius.
Our first stop was the Musee de l'Armee and then on through the Hotel des Invalides, and from there we took a stroll down through the Ecole Militaire and approached the Tower through Parc Du Champs de Mars. Already we'd seen far too much to absorb in one go.
The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel)
The view approaching the Eiffel tower is perhaps one of the best things about it. Paris' Boulevards and wide, open avenues have a really pleasant feel about them and create a sense of freedom and space lacking in many cities - we rarely felt crowded in even the busiest of spots, and this all contributed towards the relaxed romance of the experience which is a far cry from the cramped streets and claustrophobic humidity of Venice with space only for American tourists in single file. In fact, by comparison I would say that Venice is about as romantic as a deep-fried badger on toast.
We went up the south tower where you have to climb the stairs. I think we made it up about 360 steps. Getting up the Eiffel Tower this way only costs 4 Euros and is good exercise. We had planned to go up the lift for a night time visit but we didn't make it unfortunately. We did get to visit a second time during the day though and had a picnic in the Parc du Champ de Mars.
Eiffel Tower cons
There seem to be many Eiffel tower cons kicking around, and we came across a couple: the gold ring scam, and the 'please can I have some food for my starving children?' scam. Of these the gold ring scam is by far my favorite. A lady approaching you looks like she has just found a gold ring on the ground and asks your opinion whether it's real gold. Then when you've had a look and seen the hallmark she insists you take it and walks away - very generous indeed. Thirty seconds later she comes pounding back down the street asking for money for a cup of coffee - twenty Euros no less. There must be more gold in the coffee than there is in the ring.
Eiffel Tower Sellers
The guys who go about selling little statues and ornaments of the Eiffel tower are amusing. Whereas Spain has the 'Lucky Lucky' men Paris has the 'Regarde regarde men, or the 'Bling Bling' men, as they can also be heard to shout. There are thousands of them, and everytime one of them sees a member of the gendarmerie heading in their direction they all scatter like pigeons.
Paris from the Seine
From the Eiffel Tower we headed across to the Seine and had some lunch by the side of the river (beware the pigeons), and then got ourselves a river cruise which stops off at eight of the main attractions in Paris. The Seine is spectacular and probably one of my favorite memories of Paris. To catch a river cruise on the Seine look for the Batobus signs - the boats stops at Tour Eiffel, Musee d'Orsay, St Germain des Pres, Notre Dame, Jardin Des plantes, Hotel De Ville, the Louvre and the Champs Elysees. Tickets cost 12 Euros for a day pass or 14 Euros for a two day pass.
Musee d'Orsay 
Our first stop on our Seine river cruise was at the Musee d'Orsay where there are plenty of magnificent sculptures to explore. This was the only time we really took in any fine detail, and most of the trip was dedicated to emersing ourselves in the broader brush strokes of Parisian culture and attractions. I really enjoyed the sculptures, some of which were playful, cheeky and superbly executed. Particularly impressive was Carpeaux's Ugolin. We also took a look at the collection of dageurrotypes at the D'Orsay - not my thing to be honest, and these little dainty three-dimensional wotnots don't contrast well with with the bold forms of the sculptures on display. we missed loads here unfortunately owing to the fact that we didn't realise that there is an entire upper level replete with masterpeices by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Renoir and others.
Notre Dame
We loved Notre Dame. This was by far our favorite place to stroll around and we were also pretty taken with the surrounding area with beatiful views across the Seine and some great little quiet bars down secluded alleys away from the crowds If you know where to look. also check out the Shakespeare Book shop if you get the chance - its a great little place with a good stock of second hand English novels.
From here we'd run out of energy pretty much and got lost a few times, so we decided to get a taxi back to Montparnasse and headed off in search of food and drink. This evening was our least Parisian of all, as we found ourselves in a little Portuguese owned bar where we had to speak Spanish to make ourselves understood, and then we ate in a little Lebanese restaurant next door. The food here was wonderful but we were too tired to finish it, and we felt pretty guilty since the service was exceptionally helpful and friendly.
Paris sight seeing - DAY 2
Having taken in Paris from above ground and on foot, on our second day we decided to brave the train, which was surprisingly easy to figure out. Starting off at Pernety we changed at Gare Montparnasse and then got off at Bir Hakeim, right on the doorstep of the Eiffel Tower (tickets cost 1 Euro 60 cents). We'd pick up a picnic earlier that morning and sat on the grass in the Parc Du Champ de Mars to marvel at the scenery while stuffing our faces.
The Eiffel Tower, Jardins De Trocadero and Palais De Chaillot
After our picnic we took a stroll under the tower and over the Seine across to the Jardins De Trocadero and Palais De Chaillot. Just had a quick look around here and took some pictures of the Eiffel Tower looking across over the Parc du Champ de Mars. We also stoppped to watch some street dancers mining scenes from the Revenge of the Sith.
The Loney Planet describes the Palais De Chaillot as a:
bastardized neo-classical-modernist monster [that] wouldn't look out of place in Fascist Rome
I quite liked it, though.
Arc de Triomphe
It's a nice walk from the Jardin's De Trocadero down to the Arc de Triomphe and well worth doing on foot. Ahhh, the Arc de Triomphe - you don't realised just what an iconic building this is until you're stood in front of it, or trying to get a good view of it for a photo while trying not to be knocked over by the 6 or 7 lanes of traffic wending their way around the round about. We didn't go up the Arc de Triomphe whixch meant that we missed out on some supposedly great views of the Champs Elysees. In fact we managed to miss the Champs Elysees altogether - I think we just walked passed it without noticing - maybe too busy eating an icecream or gazing into each other's eyes or something.
The Louvre
From the Arc de Tiromphe to the Louvre you walk down the Avenue Des Champs Elysees thorugh some of the most well-heeled shops and boutiques in Paris which start at the top with the most exclusive then then work their way gradually more down market as you keep going, from Cartier and Christian D'ior at the top through to Benneton and then right down to Addidas at the bottom. The Louvre itself is such an impressive place. I could have happily stayed there for days wondering around the Jardin des Tulliere's and just soaking up the statues, the architecture, the ambience - this is a fantasitc place to relax and forget all your troubles for an hour or two. Best to sit down and take it all in for a while here though after all our promendaing and flaneur-ing around Paris, by now we were getring a little foot sore and exhausted.Paris sight seeing - DAY 3
On our final day we decided to stay fairly close to Montparnasse in order to catch a few of the local attractions, filling up first on Croque Monsieur and a mixed omelette and stopping about every ten minutes to grab yet another cafe au lait or ice cream (parfait).
Montparnasse Cemetary (Cimetiere de Montparnasse)
Here we saw the grave of Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. We couldn't find Beckett's grave, but it was nonetheless a worthwhile visit.
Jardin Du Luxemburg
The Jardin Du Luxemburg was a pleasant surprise indeed, a lovely relaxing place to sit out in the sunshine with fountains, ponds with toy yachts for hire and beautiful gardens to admire. This supposed haunt of Hemmingway was fairly quiet while we were there, but apparently it can get quite crowded during the summer.
Notre Dame
From the Jardin Du Luxemburg we headed off down Boulevard st Michel for one last look at the georgous Notre Dame before heading back to our hotel to pick up our cases, down a beer in a cafe and head back for Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport. Magic!
Paris Travel notes
Eating out in Paris
We found that in Paris its much better to stick to the small, quiet restaurants. The service is great and we found everyone very friendly indeed. This goes for everything from upmarket restuarants to smaller cafes and bistros.
Prices are not too bad when you go for a full meal. Most of meals were two courses with at least a bottle of wine and maybe a few side dishes and they generally came to 70-80 Euros, which with Paris being reputedly expensive and the poor exchange rate, still felt pretty reasonable. For cheap eating though the best way is to pick up some supplies from one of the supermarkets and take a picnic - two people can eat well for about 14 Euros this way.
Hotel accommodation Montparnasse - Paris
We stayed at the Hotel Kyriad on Rue de Plaissance, and had no real complaints. The staff were helpful and freindly enough and the room vas very nice and also clean. The best thing about our room was the bed which was gigantic and the worst thing was the bath which was tiny. The location is superb, has a real Parisian flavour and is very tourist-free while still being in easy reach of all the main tourist centres and attractions. I would say though that I did expect Montparnasse to be a little more Bohemian, but that would be my only quibble.
Getting to Montparnasse (Rue De Plaisance) from CDG Airport.
This is quite straightforward. Get the RER B Train from terminals 1 and 2 at the Charles de Gaulle Airport - tickets only cost about 8 Euros, as opposed to 60 Euros in a taxi. Then change at Denfert Rochereau, and catch a train for Gare Montparnasse. Now change again and get off at Pernety.