Paris

Paris, c’est la ville de l’amour!

In a nutshell…

Paris can lay fair claim to being the most romantic place on earth, and continues to get voted the most romantic city in Europe by Valentine couples.

A glance at the city’s folklore soon explains the attraction. The setting for Victor Hugo’s tragic love story, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the final resting‐place of doomed lovers Abelard and Eloise, Paris is steeped in passion and poetry, from the bloodthirsty revolutions of centuries past to the bohemian glamour of 1920s Montparnasse and 1950s St Germain.

Magnetic attractions

• Eiffel Tower Built in 1889, the tower remains one of the world’s great romantic sights as well as a technological masterpiece. It’s a hair‐raising lift‐ride to the top, so hang on tight!
• Notre Dame Take the 238 steps up the west façade of this river‐side Gothic cathedral and you’ll be rewarded with excellent views of the city ‐‐ especially at dusk. Inside, pause for a moment together beneath the famously beautiful illuminated rose windows.
• Champs Elysees Who could resist an early evening stroll down one of the most famous (and busiest) avenues in the world? Put on those glad‐rags and join the parade!
• Arc de Triomphe In the middle of the Place Charles de Gaulle, the largest roundabout in the world, the arch was commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate his victories. A memorial flame is lit each evening for an Unknown Soldier from WW1 buried under the arch.
• Centre Georges Pompidou Marvel at this gallery’s extraordinary ‘inside‐out’ architecture, before browsing through its wonderful collection of modern art inside.

Romantic rendezvous

• Rodin Museum Looking for an oasis of calm? Check out Rodin’s celebrated sculpture, The Kiss, before slipping into the wonderfully peaceful gardens for a little canoodling of your own…
• Place Dauphine Just a stone’s throw from the delightfully romantic Pont Neuf, the Place Dauphine is a hidden gem located at the tip of the Ile de la Cite. All chestnut trees, benches, cafes and bicycles, it’s the perfect place to pass a perfect hour.
• Pere Lachaise cemetery This is the most visited cemetery in the world and the famous resting place of poets, revolutionaries, and musicians: Chopin, Moliere, Edith Piaf, Yves Montand, not to mention Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison. Go early in the morning when the mist is still rising.
• Canal St Martin Well off the beaten track in north‐east Paris, this three‐mile stretch of leafy canal lends itself to a shady romantic stroll. It’s especially pretty when the sun is streaming through the plane trees.

Love bites and love potions

If it’s aphrodisiacs and rich, sensuous cooking you’re after, you’ve come to the right place. Start with a glass of champagne at the Hotel Costes, one of the hippest hotels in the world with its opulent lobby and cosy, curtained‐off enclaves where you can whisper sweet nothings. Looking for oysters? Why not head for La Coupole with its huge fruits de mer counter and intimate booths. Go to Les Deux Magots for a croissant and coffee and you might find yourself sitting in Simone de Beauvoir or Jean‐Paul Sartre’s seat (though the privilege doesn’t come cheap!). And for the most sumptuous belle epoque interior in town don’t miss Le Train Bleu restaurant, right above the entrance to the Gare de Lyon. Nip in for a drink and you’ll feel like you’re on a film‐set…

Propose here

Paris offers plenty of opportunities for popping the question, but when Tom Cruise proposed to Katie Holmes, he probably picked the ultimate venue ‐‐ atop the Eiffel Tower, preferably looking out over the city lights by night. The tower is open until 11pm every night.

To get you in the mood

Where to start? For a jaunty spin round the sites ‐‐ in the company of the timelessly watchable Gene Kelly ‐‐ treat yourself to a night in with An American in Paris. Jean‐Jacques Beineix’s stylish thriller Diva exposes a quirky side of the city (and contains one of the most thrilling motorbike chases on celluloid). And Jack Lemmon’s comic masterpiece Irma La Douce, set in 1950s Les Halles is a masterpiece.

For books ‐‐ Victor Hugo might be a tad weighty, but Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are seminal works nevertheless. Patrick Suskind’s marvellously warped and unputdownable Perfume comes heavily scented with malevolent intrigue. George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer are two classic portraits of the bleak bohemian existence of the starving artist in this most written‐about of cities.

Language of love

Bon anniversaire de mariage = Happy anniversary

Je t’aime = I love you

Felicitations! = Congratulations!

Veux tu m’épouser? = Will you marry me?

Stags and hens

How about an underground itinerary? Les Catacombes, a collection of tight, skeleton‐strewn tunnels accessed just south of the river at Denfert‐Rocherau, make for good, dark fun. Then there’s the Paris Sewers ‐‐ a suitably disgusting subterranean network that reflects the layout of the city streets, not to mention the spooky Notre Dame Crypt.

For a good boozy night out, head for the huge concentration of happening bars around the Bastille area ‐‐ start at Rue Lappe or Rue de Charonne, and don’t worry about where you end up.

Just outside town, there’s more party fun to be had at Euro‐Disney. High‐speed thrill rides include Space Mountain, Mission 2 and Big Thunder Mountain ‐‐where you’ll shake, rattle and roll on a runaway mine train.