Springtime In Paris
By Marianne Gray
Constructed with 425
spiralling bas relief
plates made out of
cannons, it’s just like an
elaborate comic book of
battles.
P
aris is a great city to
visit any time of year.
It’s a city full of charm and
beauty, full of delights. But it
is, bien sûr, best in
springtime. Think of Cole
Porter’s enduring song I
Love Paris in the Springtime
from the film Can-Can. It has
astounding architecture,
richly endowed museums,
chic boutiques, a huge
amount of gastronomic
excitements and is studded
with hidden gardens.
You can do a lot in a weekend
in Paris. A good way to start is
to take a batteaux mouches, or
riverboat, along the Seine and
check out everything.
The city is divided into two
Banks … either side of the
River Seine.
The Left Bank has the Eiffel
Tower, Luxembourg Gardens,
the Pantheon in the heart of
the Latin Quarter, d’Orsay
Museum, Rodin Museum and
Le Bon Marché. Shopaholics
will go straight to Le Bon
Marché, the world’s first
department store … opened
in 1852.
Elysées, the Opera and stores
like Printemps which opened in
1865. Here you will also find
Galeries Lafayette which reign
supreme in the HaussmannOpera district, Les Halles and
the old Marais district, ‘marais’
meaning ‘marshes’ and once
the market garden area.
Then there are the two islands,
Île de la Cité with Notre Dame
and the elegant Île St Louis.
I chose to spend some of my
time on my weekend in Paris in
the Musée d’Orsay, a belle
époque railway station built in
1898 and now a cavernous
gallery full of some of the
greatest paintings you can
imagine. While the old station
clock with giant hands ticks
away, half a day can slip by.
I also set off north-east to take
a cappuccino in the restored
Canal St Martin district where
life is buzzing and cool. It was
either that or a cup of tea in
one of the sublime salons de
thé around the beautiful Place
des Vosges (1606-12). Next
time!
I only scratched the surface.
Many more weekends are
needed to see the Catacombs
(at Denfert Rochereau) −
underground ossuaries with the
In the grand Bois de Boulogne
to the west of the city is
hidden the new Frank Gehry
designed Louis Vuitton
Museum. Built in glass like a
ship on a high sea and
perched on a cascade of water,
it is a mad fantasy. To get
there take the navette
(minibus) (cost Euro 1) from
Ave de Friedland and expect to
rub your eyes in disbelief.
Also on my list of things to do
was to walk through the
Tuileries Gardens, across the
rue de Rivoli and up Castiglione
to go into the Place
Vendôme and follow the
Napoleonic victories celebrated
on the column there.
Across the other side of
the river there’s the
Louvre, the Arc de
Triomphe, the Champs
canning. Paris never sleeps.
You can eat, drink and be
merry throughout the night,
just watching the world go by.
As the night draws in, head for
Les Halles (metro line No 4),
lively with late night bars and
jazz clubs. Or be more brazen
and go north, direction
Montmartre, to the Boulevard
de Clichy for the twirling neon
sails of the Moulin Rouge
above Pigalle for a bit of can-
bones of six millions people in
the ancient mines of Paris’
underground network − or
watch the sun go down in Parc
des Buttes-Chaumont in the
north-eastern 19th
arrondissement with it’s lake
temple and suspension bridge.
Have lunch in Bistrot Littéraire
Les Cascades, 82 Rue des
Cascades in leafy Belleville,
one of the last of the bohemian
cafes, and visit the Musée des
Arts et Métiers (industrial
design) housed in the deserted
priory of St Martin des Champs
which contains items like Louis
Bleriot’s XI plane and the first
mechanical calculator.
Eurostar operates a high-speed train service from
London St Pancras International to Paris Gare Du Nord
in just over two hours. Fares start from £34.50 one way in
Standard Class.
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