Tag: #Paris

Holiday destinations: Paris during the winter, France

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A few weeks ago I travelled to Paris with one of my best friends – Natasha.

Paris is a capital city of France and it has a population of 12 million (2014) which covers 18 percent of the residents of France. In 2015 Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the world’s top tourist destinations.

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Travel:

We decided to go to Paris by Eurostar as it is the easiest way to travel to Paris from London. It takes under 2.5 hours and trains depart from King’s Cross Station in central London every hour. Prices vary from £29 for a standard single ticket booked in advance to £249 for a business premiere ticket including an access to the Executive Lounge and some complementary drinks and a meal on-board.

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Attractions:

Paris is wonderful and it doesn’t matter whether you travel there during the winter or during the summer.

The Central area of Paris along the Seine River is classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site, and includes many notable monuments. In addition, Paris is the home of many important museums and cultural institutions. There are many places worth seeing however if you are in Paris for a limited time (we were there for 3 days) then you should definitely visit:

  • The Eiffel Tower – an iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars that was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
  • The Louvre – the most visited and the largest art museum in the world.
  • Arc de Triomphe – is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.
  • Notre Dame Cathedral – is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité built in the 12th century.

Furthermore, I would definitely recommend that you either take a walk down the river or alternatively you can take one of many mini-cruises especially if the weather is nice.

In addition, if you love live-shows and cabaret then you should definitely visit Moulin Rouge but be prepared-tickets for a show and dinner are quite expensive and start at 190 Euros per person thus we decided to skip it this time.

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Hope you enjoyed reading this review.

X

Pauline

Dinner at Le Petit Pointoise in Paris, France

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A few weeks ago I was in Paris with one of my best friends and I decided to return to a lovely, small traditional French restaurant – Le Petit Pointoise.

Location:

Le Petit Pontoise is located on a quiet street just a few minutes’ walk from Notre Dame Cathedral in the center of Paris.

Address:

9, rue de Pontoise, 75 005 PARIS

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Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 7:30 p.m. When we arrived the restaurant was almost full and buzzing with tourists and some regular dinners. We were greeted by a friendly waitress-Boom that I met a while ago when I was in Paris with my husband last year. She took us to our table in the corner of restaurant and made us feel welcomed. She attended our table and looked after us well throughout the evening.

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The menu:

The menu at this gourmet bistro offers an impressive selection of dishes that are all built around traditional French recipes. The Head Chef-François Récapet works at Le Petit Pontoise for  14 years and provides his dinners with a high quality, traditional French cuisine with a twist. Before we ordered our starters, I ordered some house white wine that was really fruity and sweet.

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Starters:

To start with I decided to have some signature ‘Petit Pontoise’ roasted shrimps. They were divine! I loved how juicy they were.

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My friend Natasha had some amazing Parmesan Dauphine Ravioles that were cooked to perfection and very cheesy.

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Mains:

There was a nice choice of mains but as I love fish I decided to have a fillet of sea bass roasted with vanilla sauce. It was absolutely perfect. Wow! Wow! Wow! It was the best fish I had in a while. I loved the sweet sauce and veggies that accommodated the fish.

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My friend had a Rack of lamb with some garlic crust that was accompanied by some vegetables and gravy. It was delectable and she cleared the plate which is always a good size.

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Desserts:

As I have a bad sweet tooth, I was looking forward to the last part of our meal. Last time when I was in Le Petit Pontoise I had some amazing Tiramisu ‘Veronese’. This time, i decided to have some gramdms’s secret Tart Tatin. I really enjoyed my little treat that was served with some vanilla ice-cream! Yummy!

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Natasha had some Chocolat Amadeus. With a liquid chocolate in the middle and vanilla ice-cream on top, this cake was divine.

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Overall experience:

We both had a great time at this traditional French gourmet bistro. You should definitely go there if you wish to discover and enjoy some great home-made French cuisine. All dishes were of good size and presented nicely so if you wish to have a good-quality meal in a typical Parisian atmosphere then look no further. I will definitely visit again during my next trip to this magical city.

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For more information and to book visit:

http://www.lepetitpontoise.fr/en/

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

X

Pauline

Hotel Gustave in Paris, France

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A few weeks ago, I travelled to Paris with one of my best friends, Natasha for a girl’s weekend away to celebrate her birthday. As she hasn’t been to Paris for a while we decided to book Hotel Gustave that is overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

Location:
Hotel Gustave is perfectly located on a quiet street just around a corner from the Dupleix metro station. It is served by public transport and located and a short 15 minutes’ walk from the Eiffel Tower. The whole of Paris is within quick and easy reach if you are staying here.

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Atmosphere:

As soon as we entered Hotel Gustave, we were welcomed by a friendly receptionist. He was extremely helpful and assisted us with designing of our ‘sightseeing itinerary’. The reception had a beautiful, modern décor and as soon as we entered we could fully immerse ourselves in our luxurious surroundings. In front of reception, there was a large relaxation area, a bar and terrace.

Rooms and Facilities:

Hotel Gustave has a 24-hours reception. During the afternoons, hotel’s in-house bar opens for a ‘honestly bar’ with a vast selection of alcoholic beverages if you fancy a drink or a bit of socialising in the evening. Other services include:

  • a dry-cleaning service
  • a laundry service,
  • room service.

This beautiful boutique hotel has only 32 rooms and 6 of these rooms offer spectacular views of the Eiffel Tower. Our room had a modern and chic design. As Hotel Gustave is located closely to the Eiffel Tower the room décor displayed a wonderful picture of that monument that starts above the beds and ends at the ceiling.

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The room was of a reasonable size and featured a typical Parisian French window offering an exceptional view of the legendary Iron Lady.

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Our king-size bed was extremely comfortable and equipped with an LED flat-screen television, free Wi-Fi, direct telephone line, mini-bar, safe and a bathroom with a shower or bath.

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The bathroom had a modern, white décor. It was spacious, clean and bright.

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Overall:

If you like staying at boutique hotels then you should consider hotel Gustave. It would be perfect for your weekend breaks, business trips or holidays in Paris. It is in the heart of the city, has lovely, modern rooms and all facilities you need while away from home.

You can find out some more details on the hotel’s official website:

https://www.hotelgustave.com/en/

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

X

Pauline

 

Our lunch at Dessirier restaurant, Paris

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On our last day of our mini-moon in Paris, we decided to have a lunch at one of the best fish and seafood restaurants – Dessirier. The restaurant was firstly opened  in 1883 by Louis Dessirier and his small Parisian café became a big oyster bar and the Cadoret family was running it for 5 generations. In 1996  chef  Michel Rostang  took over  ‘Dessirier’ and refurbished it completely  with a help of the architects Hélène and Olivier Lempereur, upon Michel Rostang’s 2 passions, cooking and contemporary art. Today the restaurant stands out as one of the best fish and seafood restaurant in Paris and celebrates its 20 years old offering its emblematic dishes, still going with seafood rigorously selected and whole fish to share.

Location:

Dessirier by Michel Rostang is located just a minute away from Porte de Champerret tube station and around 15 minutes walk to the Arc de Triomphe.

Address:

9 Place du Maréchal Juin, 75017 Paris, France

Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 1 p.m. On our arrival, we were greeted by a restaurant Manager-Philippe. He took us to our table and made us feel welcomed and comfortable. Once we sat down, he introduced us to our waiter – Francois who was friendly and attentive.

The menu:

As the restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary since the famous chef Michel Rostang opened it and renewed it in 1996, we decided to choose our lunch from a special 20th anniversary menu.

Before we received our starters we got a small complimentary creamy pate.

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For a starter my husband had some oysters that were fresh and I ordered a marinated salmon with some fennel preserve with gravlax sauce. It was amazing and extremely tasty.

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Mains:

For my main I decided to have some fried Colbert that was served with a tartare sauce and grilled rice. James had some cod with garlic mayonnaise. Both dishes were full of flavour and delectable.

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Desserts:

It was unquestionable what I would have for my dessert as soon as I saw the strawberries and raspberries fraisier cake served with a scoop of Basil ice cream on the menu. Let me tell you, I eat out a lot but that was THE BEST Fraisier cake I have ever tasted in my life. If you like light and fruity desserts than you would definitely love it.

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My husband went for ‘Rum baba’ with nuts and red fruit  which he really enjoyed.

It was full-flavoured and great for rum lovers!

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Just before we left, I had some coffee latte which was a perfect end to this delicious meal.

Overall experience:

If you like seafood than you should definitely visit Michel Rostang’s Dessirier dishes. We both really enjoyed our lunch at the Dessirier-food was excellent, service was very attentive and surroundings were modern. The area where the restaurant is located was lively and buzzing so great if you want to visit a typical Parisian coffee or bar for a drink afterwards.

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For more information and to book visit:

http://www.restaurantdessirier.com/

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

X

Pauline

Our dinner at Le Petit Pontoise in Paris, France

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After a day of sightseeing, on the second day of our mini-moon in Paris, we wanted to have some more traditional French cuisine thus we booked a dinner at Le Petit Pointoise.

I wore one of my white cocktail dresses from COAST with some Karen Millen hills and accessorized it with some silver jewellery and my Furla handbag that I took with me for our trip.

Location:

Le Petit Pontoise is located just 5 minutes’ walk from Notre Dame Cathedral in the center of Paris.

Address:

9, rue de Pontoise, 75 005 PARIS

Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 7 p.m. When we arrived only one other table was taken but within 30 minutes the restaurant was full and buzzing with tourists and some regular dinners.

On our arrival, we were greeted by a friendly waitress-Boom. She took us to our table and made us feel welcomed and comfortable.

Service:

We were mainly served by Boom however there were also a few different staff members who attended our table. They were all friendly and looked after us well.

The menu:

The menu at this gourmet bistro offers an impressive selection of dishes that are all built around traditional French recipes. The Head Chef-François Récapet works at Le Petit Pontoise for more than 14 years and provides his dinners with a high quality, traditional French cuisine with a twist. Some of his traditional recipes are treasured since his childhood in Périgord and all dishes are made with fresh, seasonal products.

 

 

Starters:

To start with I decided to have some roasted Camenbert cheese with almond and honey crust. I love melted cheese so it was just what I needed to re-charge after a full day of sightseeing.

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My husband had some signature ‘Petit Pontoise’ roasted shrimps. They were cooked to perfection and tender.

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Mains:

There was a nice choice of mains but as I love fish I decided to have some Roasted monkfish with prosciutto. It was delectable!

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My husband had a Rack of lamb with some garlic crust. Both dishes were of good size and were presented nicely.

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Desserts:

I have a very bad sweet tooth and I decided to have one of my favourite desserts-Tiramisu ‘Veronese’. I love, love, love tiramisu and could have it for breakfast, lunch and dessert so I really enjoyed my little treat!

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James was slightly more adventurous and he had a fruit salad with Armagnac. He really liked it as it was served with some homebrewed Armagnac.

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Overall experience:

We both enjoyed our time at this traditional French gourmet bistro. You should definitely go there if you wish to discover and enjoy some great home-made French cuisine. If you wish to have a good-quality meal in a typical Parisian atmosphere then look no further. I would advise to book it in advance as Le Petit Pontoise is a relatively small, popular restaurant so it tends to be fully booked often (especially during the weekends and the peak tourist season).

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For more information and to book visit:

http://www.lepetitpontoise.fr/en/

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

X

Pauline

Our lunch at La Régalade Restaurant at  Hôtel de NELL in Paris

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Two weeks ago, on our arrival to Paris we decided to have some lunch at La Régalade Restaurant at  Hôtel de NELL in Paris.

I wore one of my Karen Millen dresses with some Jones hills and accessorized it with some silver white gold jewellery and Furla handbag.

Location:

La Régalade Restaurant is located at  Hôtel de NELL in Paris. The Hôtel de Nell has designed a variety of spaces to meet the needs of every guest with luxury, discretion and quality. It is located just 15 miutes walk from Gare de North station. It is also 5 minutes away from the Poissonniere station in the center of Paris.

Address:

9 Rue du Conservatoire, 75009 Paris, France

Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 12:30 p.m. and arrived just a couple of minutes before. Some would say that it was a perfect timing as I was able to take some photos before the arrival of all other dinners. As we went there straight after arriving to Paris, a friendly concierge took our suitcases and escorted us to the restaurant that is located opposite of the main reception area at the hotel. In order to get through it you need to walk through modern and spacious lobby and game room which I loved.

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What a perfect place to unwind at after a day of sightseeing!

When we entered the restaurant, we were welcomed by a friendly waiter. He offered us to choose our own table as we were the first dinners that arrived. We choose a table next to the bar area as it provided a romantic setting. Within minutes of sitting down the restaurant was full.

Service:

We were served by a few different staff members who were all professional and attentive. One of the staff members- a French waiter of Turkish origin was very friendly and had great customer service skills. He explained our menu in detail and provided his recommendations. Throughout our visit he was attentive and looked after us well.

The menu:

La Régalade Restaurant at  Hôtel de NELL serves a great traditional French cuisine with a twist. All ingredients are locally sourced and purchased on a daily basis from the local market.We choose a 3 course lunch from the special menu (37 euros per person). We had a glass of champagne to start with to celebrate our mini-moon trip to Paris.

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Starters:

Before our starters arrived, we got some traditional french pattee served with some pickles.

To start with I decided to go for some ‘half cooked’ tuna, eggplant caviar and baby roquette salad.

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My husband had a cold tomato soup, served with some fresh goat cheese, olive oil, pine nuts and Espelette chilli pepper. Both of these dishes were extremely tasty.

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Mains:

There was a great choice of mains I decided to have some Cod from Brittany, roasted eggplant and candied vegetables.

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My husband had some pork belly with a selection of seasonal vegetables.

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Both of our mains were cooked to perfection and I think that my cod was one of the best cods that I have ever tasted. I loved it.

Desserts:

Desserts are often my favorite part of any meal. I decided to go for some red fruits, verbena infusion and white cheese sorbet-it was yummy!

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My husband had some blanc-manger – a peach, peach sorbet in Bellini emulsion. It was heavenly.

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Overall experience:

We both had a lovely time at La Régalade Restaurant at  Hôtel de NELL. All food was delicious, beautifully presented and reasonably priced (only 37 Euros for 3 course meal which is very reasonable for Paris!). Service was great, location is perfect so if you are traveling to Paris anytime soon then you should definitely check it out!

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For more information and to book visit:

http://www.hoteldenell.com/index.php?cat=14&ID=14&nom=La+R&lang=eng

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Our stay at Hotel Balmoral in Paris

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As our honeymoon is planned for December, we decided to go for a couple of mini-moons before the trip of our lifetime to Asia.

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To start with, we decided to travel to the most romantic city in the world – Paris. We both love staying in centrally located, boutique hotels so the Balmoral Hotel seemed like a perfect choice for our luxurious mini-moon break.

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Location:

Hotel Balmoral is located just one minute away from the Arc De Triomphe and just around a corner Champs Elysées on a quiet street – Rue du Général Lanrezac between the renowned Avenue Carnot and Avenue MacMahon. We couldn’t have dreamt of more ideal location. It is situated in a characteristic Haussman-style street with blocks that were designed as homogeneous architectural wholes dating back to the 19th century.

A couple of years ago, in 2014 Hotel Balmoral was completely renovated by Michel Jouannet who is internationally recognised for his work on revamping the design of hotels, spas, restaurants as well as some work on residences of his VIP clients. I really enjoyed the chic and beautiful décor created by this interior designer that reflected the Parisian elegance.

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Service:

As soon as we entered the hotel, we were welcomed by extremely helpful and smiley Anne-Claire. I have stayed in many hotels but she was definitely one of the friendliest receptionists I’ve ever met and she made us feel at ease – almost like at our own home throughout our stay. Her customer service skills were exceptional. Once we checked in, we walked through a stunning lounge and were taken to our room by a friendly porter who dropped our luggage a couple of minutes later.

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Rooms:

Hotel Balmoral has 50 elegant Bedrooms and Suites as well as 2 Prestige Apartments. We stayed at the Prestige room no. 35 on the 3rd floor.

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Our room was spacious, bright and stylish. It was perfectly equipped with Air-Con, flat-screen TV with 50 satellite channels, minibar, hospitality tray with coffee and tea as well as Nespresso coffee machine and safe.

Above our bed, there was a huge, modern painting by a French artist-Arnaud Franc.

The Room had a lot of storage space and we both had a separate wardrobe to store our clothes in.

Our room featured a typical Parisian French window leading to a mini balcony with drapes and sheers to help us to create a romantic atmosphere at the end of the day and reduce any noise from the street. Our king-size bed was extremely comfortable and after a day of sightseeing we felt asleep almost immediately.

Bathroom:

Our bathroom had a modern décor with a grey and white colour scheme. It had a bath and a double washbasin, which I prised as we didn’t need to fight for sink space. I definitely need to redesign my bathroom in London and get a double washbasin fit in. It also had a make-up mirror and heated towel rail. In addition to soft towels we were also provided with some slippers and bath gowns which were made from the Egyptian cotton-perfect for lounging in before and after our sightseeing.

Facilities:

The reception desk is open 24 hours.The hotel has a huge lobby area leading onto the street and to the garden where you can sit down and relax.

Breakfast is offered for a surcharge and provides a selection of cold and warm dishes to choose from.

During the afternoons and evenings, the breakfast room is transformed into a bar serving a selection of hot and cold drinks as well as some wines, champagne, spirits and beer.

Overall experience:

We both really enjoyed our stay at the beautiful, chic boutique Hotel Balmoral. From day one, we could see that the hotel not only had chic, designer interiors but the service was of great quality. Its original features dating back to 19th century worked perfectly with its  contemporary yet elegant décor. Our room had all that we could ask for and provided us with comfort away from our home. The location was perfect and service was faultless so I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who plans to travel to Paris.

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Website:

For more information and to book visit:

http://www.balmoral-paris-hotel.com/en/

Address:

6 Rue du Général Lanrezac, 75017 Paris, France

Phone: +33 1 43 80 30 50

Hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Pauline

Holiday destinations: Paris, France

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Last weekend we went for our mini-moon to the most romantic city in the world – Paris. It is a capital city of France and it has a population of 12 million (2014) which covers 18 percent of the residents of France. In 2015 Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the world’s top tourist destinations.

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Travel:

We travelled to Paris by Eurostar as it is the easiest way to travel to Paris from London. It takes under 2.5 hours and trains depart from King’s Cross Station in central London every hour. Prices vary from £29 for a standard single ticket booked in advance to £249 for a business premiere ticket including an access to the Executive Lounge and some complementary drinks and a meal on-board. Our meal was disappointing both during our morning and evening journeys and on our way back the service was extremely slow so I am not sure if it was worth paying £1000 for 2 return tickets…

Attractions:

The Central area of Paris along the Seine River is classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site, and includes many notable monuments. In addition, Paris is the home of many important museums and cultural institutions. There are many places worth seeing however if you are in Paris for a limited time (we were there for 3 days) then you should definitely visit:

  • The Eiffel Tower – an iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars that was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.

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  • The Louvre – the most visited and the largest art museum in the world.
  • Arc de Triomphe – is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.
  • Notre Dame Cathedral – is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité built in the 12th century.
  • Pont Alexandre III Bridge – is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower.
  • Basilica du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre – is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that opened in 1914.

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Furthermore, I would definitely recommend that you either take a walk down the river or alternatively you can take one of many mini-cruises especially if the weather is nice. We were extremely lucky with the weather and we decided to have a romantic walk around the River Seine on our way from The Eiffel Tower back to our hotel which was located just a minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe. In addition, if you love live-shows and cabaret then you should definitely visit Moulin Rouge but be prepared-tickets for a show and dinner are quite expensive and start at 190 Euros per person.

Hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Pauline