Planning your luxury vacation to paris

Planning your luxury vacation to paris


Whether you're strolling along the Seine or soaking up city life from a sidewalk café, you'll see why Paris is synonymous with the word style. Of course, you can't miss the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Versailles and the Louvre. But be sure to spend a quiet moment in the Jardin de Tuileries and savor an éclair from a patisserie or a glass of Beaujolais in a romantic bistro. From culinary delights to cultural sights, haute couture to heady romance, Paris will tempt every one of your senses.

Getting to Know Paris

Ernest Hemingway called the many splendors of Paris a "moveable feast" and wrote, "There is never any ending to Paris, and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other." It's this aura of personal discovery that has always been the most compelling reason to come to Paris. Perhaps that's why France has been called le deuxième pays de tout le monde

(everybody's second country).

The Seine not only divides Paris into the Right Bank and the Left Bank, but also seems to split the city into two vastly different sections and ways of life. Depending on your time, interest, and budget, you may quickly decide which section of Paris suits you best.

The old clichés about the Left Bank being for poor, struggling artists and the Right Bank being for the well-heeled were broken down long ago. The very heart of the Left Bank, including the areas around Odéon and St-Germain-des-Prés, are as chic as anything on the Right Bank -- and just as expensive.

The history of Paris repeats itself. In the old days, Montmartre was the artists' quarter until prices and tourism drove these "bohemians" to less expensive quartiers such as Montparnasse. But Montparnasse long ago became gold-plated real estate.

So where does the struggling artist go today? Not to the central core of the Right or Left Bank, but farther afield. First, it was the Marais, until that district, too, saw rents spiral and the average visitor carrying a gold American Express card. Now it's farther east, into the 11th Arrondissement, a blue-collar neighborhood between the Marais, Ménilmontant, and République. The heartbeat of this area is rue Oberkampf.

Fast Facts

American Express -- The office at 11 rue Scribe, 9e (tel. 01-47-77-79-28) is open as a travel agency, a tour operator, and a mail pickup service every Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 6:30pm, Saturday 9am to 5:30pm. Its banking section can fill most needs and, for issues involving American Express credit cards, transfers of funds, and credit-related issues, it's open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6:30pm.

Area Codes -- The area code for Paris is 01. In some special cases, such as for certain transportation information, it might be 08.

Babysitters -- The best deal comes from Babychou Services, 31 rue Moulin de la Pointe, 13e (tel. 01-43-13-33-23; fax 01-43-13-33-20. You pay 16€ ($19) for the booking, plus 8€ ($9.60) per hour for one kid, 9€ ($11) per hour for two kids, and 10€ ($12) for three.

Business Hours -- Opening hours in France are erratic, as befits a nation of individualists. Most museums close one day a week (often Tues) and national holidays; hours tend to be from 9:30am to 5pm. Some museums, particularly the smaller ones, close for lunch from noon to 2pm. Most museums are open Saturday, but many close Sunday morning and reopen in the afternoon. Generally, offices are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but don't count on it -- always call first. Large stores are open from 9 or 9:30am (often 10am) to 6 or 7pm without a break for lunch. Some shops, particularly those operated by non-native French owners, open at 8am and close at 8 or 9pm. In some small stores, the lunch break can last 3 hours, beginning at 1pm.

Drugstores After regular hours, have your concierge contact the Commissariat de Police for the nearest 24-hour pharmacy. French law requires one pharmacy in any given neighborhood to stay open 24 hours. You'll find the address posted on the doors or windows of all other drugstores. One of the most central all-nighters is Pharmacy Les Champs "Derhy," 84 av. des Champs-Elysées, 8e (tel. 01-45-62-02-41; Métro: George V).

Electricity -- In general, expect 200 volts AC (60 cycles), though you'll encounter 110 and 115 volts in some older establishments. Adapters are needed to fit sockets. Many hotels have two-pin (in some cases, three-pin) sockets for electric razors. It's best to ask at your hotel before plugging in any electrical appliance.

Embassies & Consulates -- If you have a passport, immigration, legal, or other problem, contact your consulate. Call before you go -- they often keep odd hours and observe both French and home-country holidays. The Embassy of the United States, 2 av. Gabriel, 8e (tel. 01-43-12-22-22; Métro: Concorde), is open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm. The Embassy of Canada is at 35 av. Montaigne, 8e (tel. 01-44-43-29-00; Métro: F-D-Roosevelt or Alma-Marceau), open Monday to Friday 9am to noon and 2 to 5pm. The Embassy of the United Kingdom is at 35 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, 8e (tel. 01-44-51-31-00; Métro: Concorde or Madeleine), open Monday to Friday 9:30am to 1pm and 2:30 to 5pm. The Embassy of Ireland is at 12 av. Foch, 16e (tel. 01-44-17-67-00; Métro: Etoile), open Monday to Friday 9:30am to 1pm and 2:30 to 5:30pm. The Embassy of Australia is at 4 rue Jean-Rey, 15e (tel. 01-40-59-33-00; Métro: Bir Hakeim), open Monday to Friday 9:15am to noon and 2:30 to 4:30pm. The Embassy of New Zealand is at 7 ter rue Léonard-de-Vinci, 16e (tel. 01-45-01-43-43; Métro: Victor Hugo), open Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm and 2:30 to 6pm. The Embassy of South Africa, 59 quai d'Orsay, 7e (tel. 01-53-59-23-23; Métro: Invalides), is open Monday to Friday 9am to noon.

Emergencies -- For the police, call tel. 17; to report a fire, call tel. 18. For an ambulance, call tel. 15 or 01-45-67-50-50.

Etiquette & Customs -- The French are known for a certain classic stylishness and conservatism in dress. What looks good on a holiday in Jamaica might instantly mark you out as a foreigner on the Right Bank of Paris. Parisians like pleasantries: Say Bonjour Madame/Monsieur when entering an establishment and Au Revoir when you depart. Always say Pardon when you accidentally bump into someone. Bread is served with each meal, and it's polite to wipe your plate with it. Waiters will not bring the check until asked. French etiquette requires you to keep your hands above the table and not below, in your lap. For more information, refer to The Global Etiquette Guide to Europe: Everything You Need to Know for Business and Travel Success by Dean Foster (Wiley Publishing).

Holidays -- Major holidays are January 1 (New Year's Day), Easter, Ascension Day (40 days after Easter), Pentecost (seventh Sunday after Easter), May 1 (May Day), May 8 (VE Day), July 14 (Bastille Day), August 15 (Assumption of the Virgin Mary), November 1 (All Saints Day), November 11 (Armistice Day), and December 25 (Christmas).

Hospitals -- Open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 7pm, Central Médical Europe, 44 rue d'Amsterdam, 9e (tel. 01-42-81-93-33; Métro: Liège or St-Lazare), maintains contacts with medical and dental practitioners in all fields. Appointments are recommended. Another choice is the American Hospital of Paris, 63 bd. Victor-Hugo, Neuilly, 17e (tel. 01-46-41-25-25; Métro: Pont de Levallois or Pont de Neuilly; Bus: 82), which operates 24-hour medical and dental services. An additional clinic is the Centre Figuier, 2 rue du Figuier, 4e (tel. 01-49-96-62-70; Métro: St-Paul). Call before visiting.

Hotlines S.O.S. Help tel. 01-46-21-46-46. 24-hr. Pharmacy Hotline tel. 01-45-62-02-41. S.O.S. Dentaire tel. 01-43-37-51-00.

Language -- English is widely understood. It is said that everyone who lives in the 6th Arrondissement speaks English. It is more understood by young people than their elders. English is common in all the tourist areas -- museums, hotels, restaurants, cafes, and nightclubs. A good phrasebook is Berlitz French CD Pack with Book.

Legal Aid -- In an emergency, especially if you get into trouble with the law, your country's embassy or consulate will provide legal advice. For serious emergencies, perhaps the staff will even advance you some money.

Liquor Laws -- Supermarkets, grocery stores, and cafes sell alcoholic beverages. The legal drinking age is 16, but persons under that age can be served alcohol in a bar or restaurant if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Wine and liquor are sold every day of the week, year-round. Hours of cafes vary. Some open at 6am, serving drinks to 3am; others are open 24 hours. Bars and nightclubs may stay open as late as they wish. The Breathalyzer test is used in France, and a motorist is considered "legally intoxicated" with .5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood (the more liberal U.S. law varies among states, with many states in the range of .6 to .8g per liter). If convicted, a motorist faces a stiff fine and a possible prison term of 2 months to 2 years. If bodily injury results, sentences can range from 2 years to life.

Lost & Found -- Be sure to tell all of your credit card companies the minute you discover your wallet has been lost or stolen and file a report at the nearest police precinct. Your credit card company or insurer may require a police report number or record of the loss. Most credit card companies have an emergency toll-free number to call if your card is lost or stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash advance immediately or deliver an emergency credit card in a day or two. The emergency numbers in Paris are: American Express, tel. 01-47-77-72-00; MasterCard, tel. 08-00-90-13-87 (toll-free); Visa, tel. 08-00-90-11-79 (toll-free). If you need emergency cash over the weekend when all banks and American Express offices are closed, you can have money wired to you via Western Union (tel. 800/325-6000; www.westernunion.com).

Mail -- Most post offices in Paris are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm and every Saturday from 8am to noon. One of the biggest and most central of them is the main post office for the 1st Arrondissement, at 52 rue du Louvre (tel. 01-40-28-76-00; Métro: Musée du Louvre). It maintains the hours noted above for services including the sale of postal money orders, mail collection and distribution, and the expedition of faxes. For the purposes of selling stamps and accepting packages, it's open on a limited basis 24 hours a day. If you find it inconvenient to go to the post office to buy stamps, they're sold at the reception desks of many hotels and at cafes designated with red TABAC signs.

Newspapers & Magazines -- English-language newspapers are available at nearly every kiosk. Published Monday to Saturday, the International Herald-Tribune is the most popular paper with visiting Americans and Canadians; the Guardian provides a British point of view. For those who read in French, the leading domestic newspapers are Le Monde, Le Figaro, and Libération; the top magazines are L'Express, Le Point, and Le Nouvel Observateur. Kiosks are generally open daily from 8am to 9pm.

Passports -- Allow plenty of time before your trip to apply for a passport; processing normally takes 3 weeks but can take longer during busy periods (especially spring). And keep in mind that if you need a passport in a hurry, you'll pay a higher processing fee. When traveling, safeguard your passport in an inconspicuous, inaccessible place like a money belt, and keep a copy of the critical pages with your passport number in a separate place. If you lose your passport, visit the nearest consulate of your native country as soon as possible for a replacement.

For Residents of Australia: You can pick up an application from your local post office or any branch of Passports Australia, but you must schedule an interview at the passport office to present your application materials. Call the Australian Passport Information Service at tel. 131-232, or visit the government website at www.passports.gov.au.

For Residents of Canada: Passport applications are available at travel agencies throughout Canada or from the central Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (tel. 800/567-6868; www.ppt.gc.ca).

For Residents of Ireland: You can apply for a 10-year passport at the Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/671-1633; www.irlgov.ie/iveagh). Those under age 18 and over 65 must apply for a 3-year passport. You can also apply at 1A South Mall, Cork (tel. 021/272-525) or at most main post offices.

For Residents of New Zealand: You can pick up a passport application at any New Zealand Passports Office or download it from their website. Contact the Passports Office at tel. 0800/225-050 in New Zealand or 04/474-8100, or log on to www.passports.govt.nz.

For Residents of the United Kingdom: To pick up an application for a standard 10-year passport (5-yr. passport for children under 16), visit your nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency or contact the United Kingdom Passport Service at tel. 0870/521-0410 or search its website at www.ukpa.gov.uk.

For Residents of the United States: Whether you're applying in person or by mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S. State Department website at http://travel.state.gov. To find your regional passport office, either check the U.S. State Department website or call the National Passport Information Center toll-free number (tel. 877/487-2778) for automated information.

Police -- In an emergency, call tel. 17. For non-emergency situations, the principal préfecture is at 9 bd. du Palais, 4e (tel. 01-53-73-53-73; Métro: Cité).

Restrooms -- If you're in dire need, duck into a cafe or brasserie to use the toilet. It's customary to make some small purchase if you do so. In the street, the domed self-cleaning lavatories are a decent option if you have small change; Métro stations and underground garages usually have public lavatories, but the degree of cleanliness varies.

Smoking -- Smoking is acceptable at most restaurants and cafes, but not in museums and other public areas.

Taxes -- As a member of the European Union, France routinely imposes a value-added tax (VAT in English; TVA in French) on many goods and services. The standard VAT is 19.6% on merchandise, including clothing, appliances, liquor, leather goods, shoes, furs, jewelry, perfumes, cameras, and even caviar. Refunds are made for the tax on certain goods and merchandise, but not on services. The minimum purchase is 175€ ($210) at one time for nationals or residents of countries outside the EU. Hotel taxes in Paris range from around .70€ to around 1.50€ (85¢ to $1.80) (Ritz rate) per person per day.

Telephones -- Public phones are found in cafes, restaurants, Métro stations, post offices, airports, and train stations, and occasionally on the streets. Finding a coin-operated telephone in France is an arduous task. A simpler and more widely accepted method of payment is the télécarte, a prepaid calling card available at kiosks, post offices, and Métro stations and costing 7.50€ to 15€ ($9 to $18) for 50 and 120 units, respectively. A local call costs one unit, which provides you 6 to 18 minutes of conversation, depending on the rate. Télécarte is good for local calls in Paris or anywhere else in France, but is not valid for international calls. Avoid making calls from your hotel, which may double or triple the charges.

To call long distance within France, dial the 10-digit number (9-digit in some cases outside Paris) of the person or place you're calling. To reach the long-distance operator for AT&T, the Direct Access Number is: tel. 0800-99-0011 or 0805-701-288; for Canada, dial tel. 0800-99-00-16 or 0800-99-02-16.

If you have a phonecard, you can recharge it anywhere, anytime, with eKit, via the Web. You can recharge over the phone using a self-service recharge menu. If you prefer to speak to someone, you can call eKit's 24-hour Customer Service: tel. 888/310-4168 in the U.S.; tel. 0800-028-2402 in Britain; tel. 800/094-747 in Australia; and tel. 866/626-9724 in Canada. With eKit, you can save up to 70% on calls in 200 countries worldwide, including France. One of the many advantages is that family and friends can leave you messages at not cost to them.

To call Paris:

1. Dial the international access code: 011 from the U.S.; 00 from the U.K., Ireland, or New Zealand; or 0011 from Australia.

2. Dial the country code 33.

3. Dial the city code 1 and then the number.

To make international calls: To make international calls from Paris, first dial 00 and then the country code (U.S. or Canada 1, U.K. 44, Ireland 353, Australia 61, New Zealand 64). Next you dial the area code and number. For example, if you wanted to call the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., you would dial tel. 00-1-202-588-7800.

For directory assistance: For numbers inside and outside France, dial tel. 118-008.

For operator assistance: With the inauguration of increasing numbers of cellphones (each of which has a different carrier), and with the decentralization of what used to be the P. T. T., local operators within France are less and less widespread. Even if you dial "0," depending on where you are within France, it might not get you a live body. Everyone automatically expects, according to the director of phone services in Paris, that dialers know the codes of the countries or regions they're trying to reach.

As for reaching an operator for the placement of calls outside of France, the system involves bypassing French operators completely, and relying on the operators based within the country you're trying to call. In any event, the prefix for accessing a foreign (i.e., non-French) operator involves dialing the access codes 0800-99-00 followed by the country code.

Toll-free numbers: Numbers beginning with 0800 within France are toll-free, but calling a 1-800 number in the States from France is not toll-free. In fact, it costs the same as an overseas call.

Time -- France is usually 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time and 9 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time in the United States. French daylight saving time lasts from around April to September, when clocks are set 1 hour ahead of the standard time.

Tipping -- By law, all bills show service compris, which means the tip is included; additional gratuities are customarily given as follows: For hotel staff, tip the porter 1.05€ to 1.50€ ($1.25 to $1.80) per item of baggage and 1.50€ ($1.80) per day for the chambermaid. You're not obligated to tip the concierge, doorman, or anyone else unless you use his or her services. In cafes and restaurants, waiter service is usually included, though you can leave some small change, if you like. Tip taxi drivers 12% to 15% of the amount on the meter. In theaters and restaurants, give cloakroom attendants at least .75€ (90¢) per item. Give restroom attendants in nightclubs and such places about .30€ (35¢). Tip the hairdresser about 15%, and don't forget to tip the person who gives you a shampoo or a manicure 1.50€ ($1.80). For guides for group visits to museums and monuments, .75€ to 1.50€ (90¢ to $1.80) is a reasonable tip.

Useful Phone Numbers -- U.S. Dept. of State Travel Advisory tel. 202/647-5225 (manned 24 hrs.). U.S. Passport Agency tel. 202/647-0518. U.S. Centers for Disease Control International Traveler's Hotline tel. 404/332-4559. Postal info tel. 01-40-28-20-40. Federal Express tel. 01-40-06-90-16.

Water -- Drinking water is generally safe, though some who were unused to it have gotten diarrhea. If you ask for water in a restaurant, it will be bottled water (for which you'll pay) unless you specifically request une carafe d'eau (tap water).

Orientation

Visitor Information

The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau (tel. 08-92-68-30-00; .34€/45¢) per minute; www.paris-info.com) has offices throughout the city, with the main headquarters at 25-27 rue des Pyramides, 1er (Métro: Pyramides). It's open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm, Sunday and holidays from 11am to 7pm. Less comprehensive branch offices include Opéra-Grands Magasins, 11 rue Scribe, 9e (Métro: Opera), open from 9am to 6:30pm Monday to Saturday; Espace Tourisme Ile-de-France, in the Carrousel du Louvre, 99. Rue de Rivoli, 1er (Métro: Palais-Royal-Louvre), open daily from 9am to 7pm; in the Gare de Lyon, 20. Boulevard Diderot, Paris 12. (Métro: Gare de Lyon), open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 6pm; in the Gare du Nord, 18. Rue de Dunkerque, 10e (Métro: Gare du Nord), open daily from 12:30 to 8pm; and in Montmartre, at 21 Place du Tertre, 18e. (Métro: Abbesses or Lamarck-Caulaincourt). Any of these branches will make hotel reservations for walk-in clients: The service charge is free for hostels and between 2€ ($2.60) and 6€ ($7.80) for hotels, depending on their category and price range. Be warned that these offices are extremely busy year-round, and especially in midsummer, so be prepared to wait in line.

Country & City Telephone Codes--The country code for France is 33. The city code for Paris (as well as for all cities in the Ile de France region) is 1; use this code if you're calling from outside France. If you're calling Paris from within Paris or from anywhere else in France, use 01, which is now built into all phone numbers in the Ile de France, making them 10 digits long.

City Layout

Paris is surprisingly compact. Occupying 105 sq. km (41 sq. miles), it's home to more than 2.15 million people. The city is divided into 20 municipal wards called arrondissements, each with its own mayor, city hall, police station, and central post office. Some even have remnants of market squares.

The river Seine divides Paris into the Rive Droite (Right Bank) to the north and the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) to the south. These designations make sense when you stand on a bridge and face downstream; watching the water flow out toward the sea, to your right is the north bank, to your left, the south. Thirty-two bridges link the banks of the Seine, some providing access to the two small islands at the heart of the city, Ile de la Cité, the city's birthplace and site of Notre-Dame, and Ile St-Louis, a moat-guarded oasis of sober 17th-century mansions. These islands can cause some confusion to walkers who think they've just crossed a bridge from one bank to the other, only to find themselves caught up in an almost medieval maze of narrow streets and old buildings.

The "main street" on the Right Bank is the Champs-Elysées, beginning at the Arc de Triomphe and running to place de la Concorde. Haussmann also created avenue de l'Opéra (as well as the Opéra), and the 12 avenues that radiate starlike from the Arc de Triomphe, giving it its original name, place de l'Etoile (star); it was renamed place Charles de Gaulle following the general's death and is often referred to as place Charles de Gaulle-Etoile.

Finding an Address--The key to finding any address in Paris is looking for the arrondissement number, rendered either as a number followed by "e" (1e, 2e, and so on) or more formally as part of the postal code (the last two digits indicate the arrondissement -- 75007 indicates the 7th Arrondissement, 75017 the 17th). Numbers on buildings running parallel to the Seine usually follow the course of the river -- east to west. On north-south streets, numbering begins at the river.

If you're staying more than 2 or 3 days, buy one of the inexpensive little books that include the plan de Paris by arrondissement, available at all major newsstands and bookshops. If you can find it, the forest-green "Paris Classique l'Indispensable" is a thorough, well-indexed, and accurate guide to the city and its suburbs. Most map guides provide you with a Métro map, a foldout map of the city, and indexed maps of each arrondissement, with all streets listed and keyed.

Neighborhoods in Brief

Each of Paris's 20 arrondissements possesses a unique style and flavor. You'll want to decide which district appeals most to you and then try to find accommodations there. Later on, try to visit as many areas as you can so you get the full taste of Paris.

1st Arrondissement (Musée du Louvre/Les Halles) "I never knew what a palace was until I had a glimpse of the Louvre," wrote Nathaniel Hawthorne. Perhaps the world's greatest art museum, the Louvre, a former royal residence, still lures visitors to the 1st Arrondissement. Walk through the Jardin des Tuileries, Paris's most formal garden (laid out by Le Nôtre, gardener to Louis XIV). Pause to take in the classic beauty of place Vendôme, the opulent home of the Hôtel Ritz. Zola's "belly of Paris" (Les Halles) is no longer the food-and-meat market of Paris (traders moved to the new, more accessible suburb of Rungis); today the Forum des Halles is a center of shopping, entertainment, and culture.

2nd Arrondissement (La Bourse) Home to the Bourse (stock exchange), this Right Bank district lies between the Grands Boulevards and rue Etienne-Marcel. From Monday to Friday, brokers play the market until it's time to break for lunch, when the movers and shakers of French capitalism channel their hysteria into the area restaurants. Much of the eastern end of the arrondissement (Le Sentier) is devoted to wholesale outlets of the Paris garment district, where thousands of garments are sold (usually in bulk) to buyers from clothing stores throughout Europe. "Everything that exists elsewhere exists in Paris," wrote Victor Hugo in Les Misérables, and this district provides ample evidence of that.

3rd Arrondissement (Le Marais) This district embraces much of Le Marais (the swamp), one of the best-loved Right Bank neighborhoods. (It extends into the 4th as well.) After decades of decay, Le Marais recently made a comeback, though it may never again enjoy the prosperity of its 17th-century aristocratic heyday; today it contains Paris's gay neighborhood, with lots of gay/lesbian restaurants, bars, and stores, as well as the remains of the old Jewish quarter, centered on rue des Rosiers. Two of the chief attractions are the Musée Picasso, a kind of pirate's ransom of painting and sculpture the Picasso estate had to turn over to the French government in lieu of the artist's astronomical death duties, and the Musée Carnavalet, which brings to life the history of Paris from prehistoric times to the present.

4th Arrondissement (Ile de la Cité/Ile St-Louis & Beaubourg) It seems as if the 4th has it all: Notre-Dame on Ile de la Cité, Ile St-Louis and its aristocratic town houses, courtyards, and antiques shops. Ile St-Louis, a former cow pasture and dueling ground, is home to dozens of 17th-century mansions and 6,000 lucky Louisiens, its permanent residents. Seek out Ile de la Cité's two Gothic churches, Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame, a majestic structure that, according to poet E. E. Cummings, "doesn't budge an inch for all the idiocies of this world." You'll find France's finest bird and flower markets along with the nation's law courts, which Balzac described as a "cathedral of chicanery." It was here that Marie Antoinette was sentenced to death in 1793. The 4th is also home to the freshly renovated Centre Pompidou, one of the top three attractions in France. After all this pomp and glory, you can retreat to place des Vosges, a square of perfect harmony and beauty where Victor Hugo lived from 1832 to 1848 and penned many of his famous masterpieces. (His house is now a museum )

5th Arrondissement (Quartier Latin) The Latin Quarter is the intellectual heart and soul of Paris. Bookstores, schools, churches, clubs, student dives, Roman ruins, publishing houses, and expensive boutiques characterize the district. Discussions of Artaud or Molière over cups of coffee may be more rare than in the past, but they aren't out of place. Beginning with the founding of the Sorbonne in 1253, the quarter was called Latin because students and professors spoke the language. You'll follow in the footsteps of Descartes, Verlaine, Camus, Sartre, James Thurber, Elliot Paul, and Hemingway as you explore. Changing times have brought Greek, Moroccan, and Vietnamese immigrants, among others, offering everything from couscous to fiery-hot spring rolls and souvlaki. The 5th borders the Seine, and you'll want to stroll along quai de Montebello, inspecting the inventories of the bouquinistes (secondhand-book dealers), who sell everything from antique Daumier prints to yellowing copies of Balzac's Père Goriot in the shadow of Notre-Dame. The 5th also has the Panthéon, built by Louis XV after he recovered from gout and wanted to do something nice for St. Geneviève, Paris's patron saint. It's the resting place of Rousseau; Gambetta; Zola; Braille; Hugo; Voltaire; and Jean Moulin, the World War II Resistance leader whom the Gestapo tortured to death.

6th Arrondissement (St-Germain/Luxembourg) This is the heartland of Paris publishing and, for some, the most colorful Left Bank quarter, where waves of young artists still emerge from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The secret of the district lies in discovering its narrow streets, hidden squares, and magnificent gardens. To be really authentic, stroll with an unwrapped loaf of sourdough bread from the wood-fired ovens of Poilâne at 8 rue du Cherche-Midi. Everywhere you turn, you'll encounter historic and literary associations, nowhere more so than on rue Jacob. At no. 7, Racine lived with his uncle as a teenager; Richard Wagner resided at no. 14 from 1841 to 1842; Ingres lived at no. 27 (now it's the office of the French publishing house Editions du Seuil); and Hemingway once occupied a tiny upstairs room at no. 44. The 6th takes in the Jardin du Luxembourg, a 24-hectare (59-acre) playground where Isadora Duncan went dancing in the predawn hours and a destitute Ernest Hemingway went looking for pigeons for lunch, carrying them in a baby carriage back to his humble flat for cooking.

7th Arrondissement (Eiffel Tower/Musée D'Orsay) Paris's most famous symbol, la Tour Eiffel, dominates Paris and especially the 7th, a Left Bank district of residences and offices. The tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, despite the fact that many Parisians (especially its nearest neighbors) hated it when it was unveiled in 1889. Many of Paris's most imposing monuments are in the 7th, like the Hôtel des Invalides, which contains Napoleon's Tomb and the Musée de l'Armée, and the Musée d'Orsay, the world's premier showcase of 19th-century French art and culture, housed in the old Gare d'Orsay. But there's much hidden charm here as well. Rue du Bac was home to the swashbuckling heroes of Dumas's The Three Musketeers and to James McNeill Whistler, who moved to no. 110 after selling Mother. Auguste Rodin lived at what's now the Musée Rodin, 77 rue de Varenne, until his death in 1917.

8th Arrondissement (Champs-Elysées/Invalides) The showcase of the 8th is the Champs-Elysées, stretching from the Arc de Triomphe to the Egyptian obelisk on place de la Concorde. By the 1980s, the Champs-Elysées had become a garish strip, with too much traffic, fast-food joints, and panhandlers. In the 1990s, Jacques Chirac, then the Gaullist mayor, launched a cleanup, broadening the sidewalks and planting new trees. Now you'll find fashion houses, elegant hotels, restaurants, and shops. Everything in the 8th is the city's best, grandest, and most impressive: It has the best restaurant (Taillevent), the sexiest strip joint (Crazy Horse Saloon), the most splendid square (place de la Concorde), the grandest hotel (the Crillon), the most impressive arch (Arc de Triomphe), the most expensive residential street (avenue Montaigne), the world's oldest subway station (Franklin-D.-Roosevelt), and the most ancient monument (the 3,300-year-old Obelisk of Luxor).

9th Arrondissement (Opéra Garnier/Pigalle) From the Quartier de l'Opéra to the strip joints of Pigalle (the infamous "Pig Alley" of World War II GIs), the 9th endures, even if fashion prefers other addresses. Over the decades, the 9th has been celebrated in literature and song for the music halls that brought gaiety to the city. The building at 17 bd. de la Madeleine was where Marie Duplessis, who gained fame as the heroine Marguerite Gautier in Alexandre Dumas the younger's La Dame aux camellias, died. (Greta Garbo played her in the film Camille.) Place Pigalle has nightclubs but is no longer home to cafe La Nouvelle Athènes, where Degas, Pissarro, and Manet used to meet. Other attractions include the Folies-Bergère, where cancan dancers have been high-kicking since 1868. It is the rococo Opéra Garnier (home of the Phantom) that made the 9th the last hurrah of Second Empire opulence. Renoir hated it, but generations later, Chagall did the ceilings. Pavlova danced Swan Lake here, and Nijinsky took the night off to go cruising.

10th Arrondissement (Gare du Nord/Gare de l'Est) The Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est, along with porno houses and dreary commercial zones, make the 10th one of the least desirable arrondissements for living, dining, or sightseeing. We try to avoid it except for two longtime favorite restaurants: Brasserie Flo (tel. 01-47-70-13-59), 7 cour des Petites-Ecuries, best known for its formidable choucroute, a heap of sauerkraut garnished with everything; and Julien (tel. 01-47-70-12-06), 16 rue du Faubourg St-Denis, called "the poor man's Maxim's" for its Belle Epoque interiors and moderate prices.

11th Arrondissement (Opéra Bastille) For many years, this quarter seemed to sink lower and lower into decay, overcrowded by working-class immigrants from the far reaches of the former Empire. The opening of the Opéra Bastille, however, has given the 11th new hope and new life. The facility, called the "people's opera house," stands on the landmark place de la Bastille, where on July 14, 1789, 633 Parisians stormed the fortress and seized the ammunition depot, as the French Revolution swept across the city. Over the years, the prison held Voltaire, the Marquis de Sade, and the mysterious "Man in the Iron Mask." The area between the Marais, Ménilmontant, and République is now being called "blue-collar chic," as the artistes of Paris have been driven from the costlier sections of the Marais and can now be found walking the gritty sidewalks of rue Oberkampf. Hip Parisians in search of a more cutting-edge experience are now found living and working among the decaying 19th-century apartments and the 1960s public housing with graffiti-splattered walls.

12th Arrondissement (Bois de Vincennes/Gare de Lyon) Very few out-of-towners came here until a French chef opened a restaurant called Au Trou Gascon. The 12th's major attraction remains the Bois de Vincennes, sprawling on the eastern periphery of Paris. This park is a longtime favorite of French families, who enjoy its zoos and museums; its royal châteaux and boating lakes; and its Parc Floral de Paris, a celebrated flower garden boasting springtime rhododendrons and autumn dahlias. Venture into the dreary Gare de Lyon for Le Train Bleu (tel. 01-43-43-09-06), in the Gare de Lyon, 12e, a restaurant whose ceiling frescoes and Art Nouveau decor are national artistic treasures; the food's good, too. The 12th, once a depressing urban wasteland, has been singled out for budgetary resuscitation and is beginning to sport new housing, shops, gardens, and restaurants. Many will occupy the site of the former Reuilly rail tracks.

13th Arrondissement (Gare d'Austerlitz) Centered around the grimy Gare d'Austerlitz, the 13th might have its devotees, but we've yet to meet one. British snobs who flitted in and out of the train station were among the first of the district's foreign visitors and wrote the 13th off as a dreary working-class counterpart of London's East End. The 13th is also home to Paris's Chinatown, stretching for 13 square blocks around the Tolbiac Métro stop. It emerged out of the refugee crisis at the end of the Vietnam War, taking over a neighborhood that had held mostly Arab-speaking peoples. Today, recognizing overcrowding in the district, the Paris civic authorities are imposing new, not particularly welcome, restrictions on population densities.

14th Arrondissement(Montparnasse) The northern end of this large arrondissement is devoted to Montparnasse, home of the "Lost Generation" and stamping ground of Stein, Toklas, Hemingway, and other American expats of the 1920s. After World War II, it ceased to be the center of intellectual life, but the memory lingers in its cafes. One of the monuments that sets the tone of the neighborhood is Rodin's statue of Balzac at the junction of boulevards Montparnasse and Raspail. At this corner are some of the world's most famous literary cafes, including La Rotonde, Le Select, La Dôme, and La Coupole. Though Gertrude Stein avoided them (she loathed cafes), other American expatriates, including Hemingway and Fitzgerald, had no qualms about enjoying a drink here (or quite a few of them, for that matter). Stein stayed at home (27 rue de Fleurus) with Alice B. Toklas, collecting paintings, including those of Picasso, and entertaining the likes of Max Jacob, Apollinaire, T. S. Eliot, and Matisse.

15th Arrondissement (Gare Montparnasee/Institut Pasteur) This is a mostly residential district beginning at Gare Montparnasse and stretching to the Seine. In size and population, it's the largest quarter of Paris but draws few tourists and has few attractions except for the Parc des Expositions, the Cimetière du Montparnasse, and the Institut Pasteur. In the early 20th century, many artists -- like Chagall, Léger, and Modigliani -- lived here in a shared atelier known as "The Beehive."

16th Arrondissement(Trocadé ro/Bois de Boulogne) Originally the village of Passy, where Benjamin Franklin lived during most of his time in Paris, this district is still reminiscent of Proust's world. Highlights include the Bois de Boulogne; the Jardin du Trocadéro; the Maison de Balzac; the Musée Guimet (famous for its Asian collections); and the Cimetière de Passy, resting place of Manet, Talleyrand, Giraudoux, and Debussy. One of the largest arrondissements, it's known today for its well-heeled bourgeoisie, its upscale rents, and some rather posh (and, according to its critics, rather smug) residential boulevards. The arrondissement also has the best vantage point to view the Eiffel Tower: place du Trocadéro.

17th Arrondissement (Parc Monceau/Place Clichy) Flanking the northern periphery of Paris, the 17th incorporates neighborhoods of bourgeois respectability (in its west end) and less affluent neighborhoods in its east end. It boasts two of the great restaurants of Paris, Guy Savoy and Michel Rostang.

18th Arrondissement (Montmartre) The 18th is the most famous outer quarter of Paris, containing Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge, Sacré-Coeur, and ultratouristy place du Tertre. Utrillo was its native son, Renoir lived here, and Toulouse-Lautrec adopted the area as his own. The most famous enclave of artists in Paris's history, the Bateau-Lavoir of Picasso fame, gathered here. Max Jacob, Matisse, and Braque were all frequent visitors. Today, place Blanche is known for its prostitutes, and Montmartre is filled with honky-tonks, souvenir shops, and terrible restaurants. You can still find pockets of quiet beauty, though. The city's most famous flea market, the Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt, is another landmark.

19th Arrondissement (La Villette) Today, visitors come to what was once the village of La Villette to see the angular Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, a spectacular science museum and park built on a site that for years was devoted to the city's slaughterhouses. Mostly residential and not at all upscale, the district is one of the most ethnically diverse in Paris, the home of people from all parts of the former Empire. A highlight is Les Buttes Chaumont, a park where kids can enjoy puppet shows and donkey rides.

20th Arrondissement (Père-Lachaise Cemetery) The 20th's greatest landmark is Père-Lachaise Cemetery, the resting place of Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Isadora Duncan, Sarah Bernhardt, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Colette, Jim Morrison, and many others. Otherwise, the 20th arrondissement is a dreary and sometimes volatile melting pot comprising residents from France's former colonies. Though nostalgia buffs sometimes head here to visit Piaf's former neighborhood, Ménilmontant-Belleville, it has been almost totally bulldozed and rebuilt since the bad old days when she grew up here.

Getting Around

Paris is a city for strollers who enjoy rambling through unexpected alleyways and squares. Only when you're dead tired and can't walk another step, or have to go all the way across town in a hurry, should you consider using the Métro, a swift but dull means of urban transport.

By Metro & RER

The Métro (tel. 08-92-68-77-14) is the most efficient and fastest means of transportation in Paris. All lines are numbered, and the final destination of each line is clearly marked on subway maps, in the underground passageways, and on the train cars. The Métro runs daily from 5:30am to 1:15am. It's reasonably safe at any hour, but beware of pickpockets.

Transfer stations are correspondances -- some require long walks; Châtelet is the most difficult -- but most trips require only one transfer. When transferring, follow the orange CORRESPONDANCE signs to the proper platform. Don't follow a SORTIE (exit) sign, or you'll have to pay again to get back on the train.

Many of the larger stations have maps with push-button indicators that light up your route when you press the button for your destination.

On the urban lines, one ticket for 1.40€ ($1.80) lets you travel to any point. On the Sceaux, Boissy-St-Léger, and St-Germain-en-Laye lines to the suburbs, fares are based on distance. A carnet (book of coupons) is the best buy -- 10 tickets for 11€ ($14).

At the turnstile entrances to the station, insert your ticket and pass through. At some exits, tickets are also checked, so hold onto yours. There are occasional ticket checks on trains and platforms and in passageways, too.

Discount Transit Passes--The Paris-Visite (tel. 08-92-68-77-44) is valid for 1, 2, 3, or 5 days on public transport, including the Métro, buses, the funicular ride to Montmartre, and RER trains. For access to Zones 1-3, which includes central Paris and its nearby suburbs, its cost ranges from 8.35€ ($11) for 1 day to 27€ ($35) for 5 days. Get it at RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) offices, the tourist office, and Métro stations.

Another discount pass is Carte Mobilis, which allows unlimited travel on all bus, subway, and RER lines during a 1-day period for 5.30€ to 18 eu] ($6.90-$24), depending on the zone. Ask for it at any Métro station.

Most economical, for anyone who arrives in Paris early in the week, is a Carte Orange. Sold at large Métro stations, it allows 1 week of unlimited Métro or bus transit within central Paris and its immediate outskirts for 15€ ($20). The pass is valid from any Monday to the following Sunday, and it's sold only on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. You'll have to submit a passport-sized photo.

By Bus

Buses are much slower than the Métro. The majority run from 7am to 8:30pm (a few operate until 12:30am, and 10 operate during early-morning hours). Service is limited on Sundays and holidays. Bus and Métro fares are the same; you can use the same tickets on both. Most bus rides require one ticket, but some destinations require two (never more than two within the city limits).

If you intend to use the buses a lot, pick up an RATP bus map at the office on place de la Madeleine, 8e, or at the tourist offices at RATP headquarters, 54 Quai de La Rapée, 12e. For detailed recorded information (in English) on bus and Métro routes, call tel. 01-58-76-16-16.

The same organization that runs the Métro and the buses, the RATP (tel. 08-92-68-77-14), also operates the Balabus, big-windowed orange-and-white motor coaches that run only during limited hours: Sunday and national holidays from noon to 9pm, from April 15 to the end of September only. Itineraries run in both directions between Gare de Lyon and the Grande Arche de La Défense, encompassing some of the city's most beautiful vistas. It's a great deal -- two Métro tickets for 1.40€ ($1.80) each will carry you the entire route. You'll recognize the bus and the route it follows by the Bb symbol emblazoned on each bus's side and on signs posted beside the route it follows.

By Car

Don't even think about driving in Paris. The streets are narrow, with confusing one-way designations, and parking is next to impossible. Besides, most visitors don't have the ruthlessness required to survive in Parisian traffic. Think about renting a car only if you plan to explore the Ile de France and beyond.

To rent a car, you'll need to present a passport, a driver's license, and a credit card. You'll also have to meet the company's minimum age requirement. (For the least expensive cars, this is 21 at Hertz, 23 at Avis, and 25 at Budget. More expensive cars might require that you be at least 25.)

Note: The best deal is usually a weekly rental with unlimited mileage. All car-rental bills in France are subject to a 19.6% government tax. Though the rental company won't usually mind if you drive your car into, say, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, or Spain, it's often forbidden to transport your car by ferry, including across the Channel to England.

In France, collision damage waiver (CDW) is usually factored into the overall rate quoted, but you should always verify this, of course, before taking a car on the road. At most companies, the CDW waiver provision won't protect you against theft, so if this is the case, ask about purchasing extra theft protection.

Automatic transmission is a luxury in Europe, so if you want it, you'll pay dearly.

Budget (tel. 800/472-3325 in the U.S.; in Canada tel. 800/268-8900; www.budget.com) has about 30 locations in Paris and at Orly (tel. 01-49-75-56-00) and Charles de Gaulle (tel. 01-48-62-70-21). For rentals of more than 7 days, you can usually pick up a car in one French city and drop it off in another, but there are extra charges. Drop-offs in cities within an easy drive of the French border (including Geneva and Frankfurt) incur no extra charge; you can arrange drop-offs in other non-French cities for a reasonable surcharge.

Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131 in the U.S. and Canada; www.hertz.com) maintains about 15 locations in Paris, including offices at the city's airports. The main office is at 27 place St-Ferdinand, 17e (tel. 01-45-74-97-39; Métro: Argentine). Be sure to ask about promotional discounts.

Avis (tel. 800/331-1212 in the U.S. and Canada; www.avis.com) has offices at both Paris airports and an inner-city headquarters at 5 rue Bixio, 7e (tel. 01-44-18-10-50; Métro: Ecole Militaire), near the Eiffel Tower.

National (tel. 800/CAR-RENT in the U.S. and Canada; www.nationalcar.com) is represented in Paris by Europcar, whose largest office is at 165 bis rue de Vaugirard, 15e (tel. 01-44-38-61-61; Métro: Pasteur). It has offices at both Paris airports and at about a dozen other locations. For the lowest rates, reserve in advance from North America.

Two U.S.-based agencies that don't have Paris offices but act as booking agents for Paris-based agencies are Kemwel Holiday Auto (tel. 800/678-0678; www.kemwel.com) and Auto Europe (tel. 800/223-5555; www.autoeurope.com). They can make bookings in the United States only, so call before your trip.

By Taxi

It's virtually impossible to get one at rush hour, so don't even try. Taxi drivers are organized into a lobby that limits their number to 15,000.

Watch out for common rip-offs: Always check the meter to make sure you're not paying the previous passenger's fare; beware of cabs without meters, which often wait outside nightclubs for tipsy patrons; or settle the tab in advance. You can hail regular cabs on the street when their signs read LIBRE. Taxis are easier to find at the many stands near Métro stations.

The flag drops at 4.24€ ($5.50), and from 7am to 7pm you pay 1€ ($1.30) per kilometer. From 7pm to 7am, you pay 1.20€ ($1.55) per kilometer. On airport trips, you're not required to pay for the driver's empty return ride.

You're allowed several pieces of luggage free if they're transported inside and are less than 5 kilograms (11 lb.). Heavier suitcases carried in the trunk cost 1€ to 1.50€ ($1.30-$1.95) apiece. Tip 12% to 15% -- the latter usually elicits a merci. For radio cabs, call Les Taxis Bleus (tel. 08-25-16-10-10) or Taxi G7 (tel. 01-47-39-47-39) -- but note that you'll be charged from the point where the taxi begins the drive to pick you up.

By Bicycle

To bike through the streets and parks of Paris, perhaps with a baguette tucked under your arm, might've been a fantasy of yours since you saw your first Maurice Chevalier film. In recent years, the city has added many miles of right-hand lanes designated for cyclists as well as hundreds of bike racks. (When these aren't available, many Parisians simply chain their bikes to fences or lampposts.) Cycling is especially popular in the larger parks and gardens.

Fat Tire Bike Tours, 24 rue Edgar Faure, 75015 Paris (tel. 01-56-58-10-54; www.fattirebiketours.com/bikes/services/bike-rental.shtml; Métro: Blvd. de Grenelle), rents bicycles hourly, by the day, week, or month, charging 2€ ($2.60) per hour; 15€ ($20) per day/24 hours; 25€ ($33) 2 consecutive days/48 hours; 50€ ($65) weekly; and 65€ ($85) monthly. You must leave a 200€ ($260) deposit. This company (formerly Mike's Bike Tours) also provides bike tours, as well as Segway tours.

By Boat

The Batobus (tel. 01-44-11-33-99) is a 150-passenger ferry with big windows. Every day between April and December, the boats operate along the Seine, stopping at points of interest: the Eiffel Tower, Musée d'Orsay, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and the Hôtel de Ville. Unlike the Bâteaux-Mouche, it does not provide recorded commentary. Although it originated in the mid-1990s as a service to move Parisians from one part of the city to another, it has evolved since then into something of a sightseeing attraction in its own right, often hauling passengers who remain in place for an hour or more, merely soaking up the sights of riverfront Paris. The only option available is a day pass valid for either 1 or 2 days, each allowing as many entrances and exits as you want. A 1-day pass costs 11€ ($14) for adults, 5€ ($6.50) for students and children under 16; a 2-day pass costs 13€ ($17) for adults, 6€ ($7.80) for students and persons under 16. Boats operate daily from 10am to 7pm (in June, July, and Aug they operate daily from 10am to 9pm).

introduction to Paris

Discovering the City of Light and making it your own has always been the most compelling reason to visit Paris. If you're a first-timer, everything, of course, will be new to you. If you've been away for a while, expect changes: Taxi drivers may no longer correct your fractured French but address you in English -- tantamount to a revolution. More Parisians have a rudimentary knowledge of the language, and France, at least at first glance, seems less xenophobic than in past years. Paris, aware of its role within a united Europe, is an international city. Parisians are attracted to foreign music, videos, and films, especially those from America, even though most French people violently disagree with the political dictates emerging from George Bush's Washington.

Though Paris is in flux culturally and socially, it lures travelers for the same reasons it always has. You'll still find classic sights like the Tour Eiffel, Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacré-Coeur, and all those atmospheric cafes, as well as daringly futuristic projects like the Grande Arche de La Défense, the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, the Cité de la Musique, and the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand. And don't forget the parks, gardens, and squares; the Champs-Elysées and other grand boulevards; and the river Seine and its quays. Paris's beauty is still overwhelming, especially at night, when it truly is the City of Light.

Frommer's Favorite Experiences

Whiling Away an Afternoon in a Parisian Cafe: The cafe is where passionate meetings of writers, artists, philosophers, thinkers, and revolutionaries once took place -- and perhaps still do. Parisians stop by their favorite cafes to meet lovers and friends, to make new ones, or sit in solitude with a newspaper or book.

Taking Afternoon Tea à la Française: Drinking tea in London has its charm, but the Parisian salon de thé is unique. Skip the cucumber-and-watercress sandwiches and delve into a luscious dessert like the Mont Blanc, a creamy purée of sweetened chestnuts and meringue. The grandest Parisian tea salon is Angélina, 226 rue de Rivoli, 1er (tel. 01-42-60-82-00; Métro: Tuileries or Concorde).

Strolling Along the Seine: Such painters as Sisley, Turner, and Monet have fallen under the Seine's spell. On its banks, lovers still walk hand in hand, anglers cast their lines, and bouquinistes (secondhand-book dealers) peddle their mix of postcards, 100-year-old pornography, and tattered histories of Indochina.

Spending a Day at the Races: Paris boasts eight tracks for horse racing. The most famous and the classiest is Hippodrome de Longchamp, in the Bois de Boulogne, the site of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Grand Prix. These and other top races are major social events, so you'll have to dress up (buy your outfit on rue du Faubourg St-Honoré). Take the Métro to Porte d'Auteuil and then a bus from there to the track. The racing newspaper Paris Turf and weekly entertainment magazines have details about race times.

Calling on the Dead: You don't have to be a ghoul to be thrilled by a visit to Europe's most famous cemetery, Père-Lachaise. You can pay your respects to the earthly remains of Gertrude Stein and her longtime companion, Alice B. Toklas; Oscar Wilde; Yves Montand and Simone Signoret; Edith Piaf; Isadora Duncan; Abélard and Héloïse; Frédéric Chopin; Marcel Proust; Eugène Delacroix; Jim Morrison; and others. The tomb designs are intriguing and often eerie. Laid out in 1803 on a hill in Ménilmontant, the cemetery offers surprises with its bizarre monuments, unexpected views, and ornate sculpture.

Checking Out the Marchés: A daily Parisian ritual is ambling through one of the open-air markets to buy fresh food -- perhaps a properly creamy Camembert or a pumpkin-gold cantaloupe -- to be eaten before sundown. Our favorite market is on rue Montorgeuil, beginning at rue Rambuteau, 1e (Métro: Les Halles). During mornings at this grubby little cluster of food stalls, we've spotted some of France's finest chefs stocking up for the day.

Window-Shopping in the Faubourg St-Honoré: In the 1700s, the wealthiest Parisians resided in the Faubourg St-Honoré; today the quarter is home to stores catering to the rich, particularly on rue du Faubourg St-Honoré and avenue Montaigne. Even if you don't buy anything, it's great to window-shop big names like Hermès, Dior, Laroche, Courrèges, Cardin, and Saint Laurent. If you want to browse in the stores, be sure to dress the part.

Exploring Ile de la Cité's Flower Market: A fine finish to any day (Mon-Sat) spent meandering along the Seine is a stroll through the Marché aux Fleurs, place Louis-Lépine. You can buy rare flowers, the gems of the French Riviera -- bouquets that have inspired artists throughout the centuries. Even the most basic hotel room will feel like a luxury suite once you fill it with bunches of carnations, lavender, roses, and tulips. On Sundays, the area is transformed into the Marché aux Oiseaux, where you can admire rare birds from around the world.

Going Gourmet at Fauchon: An exotic world of food, Fauchon offers more than 20,000 products from around the globe. Everything you never knew you were missing is in aisle after aisle of coffees, spices, pastries, fruits, vegetables, rare Armagnacs, and much more. Take your pick: Tonganese mangoes, Scottish smoked salmon, preserved cocks' combs, Romanian rose-petal jelly, blue-red Indian pomegranates, golden Tunisian dates, larks stuffed with foie gras, dark morels from France's rich soil, Finnish reindeer's tongue, century-old eggs from China, and a Creole punch from Martinique reputed to be the best anywhere.

Attending a Ballet or an Opera: In 1989, the Opéra Bastille was inaugurated to compete with the grande dame of the music scene, the Opéra Garnier, which then was solely for dance and soon closed for renovations. The Garnier reopened a few years ago, and opera has joined dance in the rococo splendor created by Charles Garnier, beneath a controversial ceiling by Chagall. The modern Bastille, France's largest opera house, with curtains by designer Issey Miyake, features opera and symphony performances in four concert halls (its main hall seats 2,700). Whether for a performance of Bizet or Tharp, dress with pomp and circumstance.

Sipping Cocktails at Willi's: Back in the early 1970s, the first-timer to Paris might have arrived with a copy of Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and, taking the author's endorsement to heart, headed for Harry's Bar at "Sank roo doe Noo." Harry's is still around but now draws an older, more conservative clientele. Today's chic younger expats head for Willi's Wine Bar, 13 rue des Petits-Champs, 1er (tel. 01-42-61-05-09; Métro: Bourse). Here the longhaired young bartenders are mostly English, as are the waitresses, who are dressed in Laura Ashley garb. The place is like an informal club for Brits, Australians, and Yanks, especially in the afternoon. Some 300 wines await your selection.

Best Dining Bets

Le Grand Véfour (17 rue de Beaujolais, 1er; tel. 01-42-96-56-27). Seductively and appropriately time worn, this is where Napoleon sat at table wooing Joséphine. Its Louis XVI-Directoire interior is a protected historic monument. This haute cuisine dining room has been the haunt of celebrities since 1760. Its cuisine, mercifully, is even better than ever because it insists on hiring only the world's leading chefs. This monument to the past still tantalizes 21st-century palates.

Aux Lyonnais (32 rue St-Marc, 2e; tel. 01-42-96-65-04). Paris's bistro of bistros has been taken over by Alain Ducasse, the six-star Michelin chef and self-proclaimed "greatest in the world." In spite of that takeover, Aux Lyonnais remains the quintessential Parisian dining choice for Lyonnais specialties. And as any city dweller of Lyon will tell you, his or her city is the gastronomic capital of France. The market-fresh produce is as new as the 1890s bistro is old, with its backdrop of potted palms, etched glass, and globe lamps in the best of the Belle Epoque style.

Au Pied de Cochon (6 rue Coquillière, 1er; tel. 01-40-13-77-00). For years it's been a Paris tradition to stop off at this joint in Les Halles for the famous onion soup at three o'clock in the morning after a night of revelry. The true Parisian also orders the restaurant's namesake -- grilled pig's feet with béarnaise sauce. You can also do as your grandpa did and wash down a dozen different varieties of oysters at the time-mellowed bar -- along with champagne, but of course.

Taillevent (15 rue Lammennais, 8e; tel. 01-44-95-15-01). Forget about sending the kids to college, and have what may be one of the most memorable meals of your life at what is consistently hailed as Paris's temple of haute cuisine. Named after a 14th-century chef to the king and the author of the first French cookbook, this restaurant comes as close to perfection as perhaps any in the world. In all of our years of dining here, we've never found the chef experiencing a bad hair day. This is a true temple of grand cuisine with one of the world's top ten wine lists. Although we've enjoyed much of the innovative cuisine of Alain Solivères, we are also grateful that he's kept that airy, sausage-shaped lobster soufflé on the menu.

La Tour d'Argent (15-17 quai de la Tournelle, 5e; tel. 01-43-54-23-31). If there were a better view from a table at this swanky restaurant -- a national legend -- God would have to invent one. It's that special. From your table at night, you can see the floodlit flying buttresses of Notre-Dame at night and barges silently cruising the Seine. The Tour d'Argent legend lives on, even though it no longer serves the best cuisine in Paris (the competition today is too great for that honor). Skirt-chasing Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, escaped dear old mum (Queen Victoria) by fleeing to Paris. In 1890 he started the tradition of ordering pressed duck flambé, and the tradition continues today.

Closerie des Lilas (171 bd. Du Montparnasse, 6e; tel. 01-40-51-34-50). Paris is not just about haute cuisine, as served in some of the restaurants above. It is also about nostalgia. If things literary interest you, follow in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway to Montparnasse and the famous "Pleasure Garden of the Lilacs" (its name in English). At a table where Gertrude Stein might have sat, even Picasso or Lenin, enjoy the world's best champagne julep while looking at the menu and soaking up the evocative atmosphere. The food's not bad either, but essentially it's a place to add to your memory bank.

Cremerie-Restaurant Polidor (41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, 6e; tel. 01-43-26-95-34). A longtime favorite of students, artists, and the literari such as James Joyce and Jack Kerouac, this bistro in St-Germain-des-Prés has been around since 1845. We've been such regulars that our favorite waitress used to store our linen napkins in a wooden drawer for use on another night. One habitué we met here claimed he'd been dining at Polidor two or three nights a week for half a century. The pumpkin soup, the boeuf bourguignon, the blanquette de veau -- yes, the same recipes that delighted Hemingway are still served here.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (5-7 rue de Montalembert, 7e; tel. 01-42-22-56-56). What a discovery. When Joël Robuchon retired in the mid-1990s, he was hailed as the greatest chef in France, which might as well mean the world. Bored with retirement, he made a more modest comeback with this 7th Arrondissement delight. His innovative dishes are far less elaborate than they were in days of yore, but he still makes the best mashed potatoes the world has ever known, along with other market-fresh concoctions that will win your heart. We're talking the likes of such dishes as caramelized quail glazed with a shallot-perfumed sauce.

La Petite Chaise (36 rue de Grenelle, 7e; tel. 01-42-22-13-35). Even on the most rushed of visits to Paris, we always drop in here for one of the best fixed-price menus among the more affordable restaurants of Paris. "The Little Chair" (its English name) first opened as an inn in 1680, when it was used for both food and for its bedrooms upstairs, where discretion for afternoon dalliances was virtually assured. The time-honored cuisine is as French as Charles de Gaulle -- and that is as it should be.

Best Chef: Proud owner of six Michelin stars, Alain Ducasse, at the Restaurant Plaza Athénée, 25 av Montaigne, 8e (tel. 01-53-67-66-65), has taken Paris by storm, dividing his time between his restaurant here and the one in Monte Carlo. He combines produce from every French region in a cuisine that's contemporary but not quite new, embracing the Mediterranean without abandoning France.

Best Modern French Cuisine: A temple of gastronomy is found at Carré des Feuillants, 14 rue de Castiglione, 1e (tel. 01-42-86-82-82), near place Vendôme and the Tuileries. Alain Dutournier is one of the leading chefs of France, and he restored this 17th-century convent, turning it into a citadel of refined cuisine and mouthwatering specialties.

Best Provençal Cuisine: With two of Michelin's coveted stars, Les Elysées du Vernet, 25 rue Vernet, 8e (tel. 01-44-31-98-98), hosts tout Paris (all of Paris) and the media. Montpellier-born chef Alain Solivérès has emerged as one of the greatest in Paris, challenging some big-name chefs. His Provençal cookery is the freshest and among the best in the whole country.

Best Old-Fashioned Bistro: Established in 1931 and bouncing back from a period of decline, Allard, 41 rue St-André-des-Arts, 6e (tel. 01-43-26-48-23), is better than ever, from its zinc bar to its repertoire of French classics -- escargots, frogs' legs, foie gras, boeuf à la mode (marinated beef), and cassoulet. This is a good bet for real Left Bank bistro ambience.

Best Provincial Restaurant: The cuisine of the Auvergne in central France is showcased at Bath's, 9 rue de la Trémoille, 8e (tel. 01-40-70-01-09). In a cozy, elegant setting, you can dine on the best dishes of this province, including ravioli stuffed with Cantal cheese and filet of beef with lentils.

Best for Stargazing: No, it's not Taillevent or even Alain Ducasse. On the see-and-be-seen circuit, the star is still the Buddha Bar, 8 rue Boissy d'Anglas, 8e (tel. 01-53-05-90-00). The crowd doesn't come for the cuisine, though its fusion of French and Pacific Rim is exceedingly well executed. If you don't want to eat, stop by the hip, lacquered bar across from the dining room.

Best Brasserie: Head for the Left Bank and the Brasserie Balzar, 49 rue des Ecoles, 5e (tel. 01-43-54-13-67), which opened in 1898. If you dine on the familiar French food here, you'll be following in the footsteps of Sartre and Camus and others. You can even have a complete dinner in the middle of the afternoon.

Best Seafood: The fattest lobsters and prawns in the Rungis market emerge on platters at Goumard, 9 rue Duphot, 1e (tel. 01-42-60-36-07), so chic that even the toilets are historic monuments. Nothing interferes with the taste of the sea: You'd have to fly to the Riviera to find a better bouillabaisse.

Best Kosher Food: If corned beef, pastrami, herring, and dill pickles thrill you, head to rue des Rosiers in the 4th Arrondissement (Métro: St-Paul). John Russel wrote that rue des Rosiers is the "last sanctuary of certain ways of life; what you see there in miniature is Warsaw before the ghetto was razed." North African overtones reflect the long-ago arrival of Jews from Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. The best time to go is Sunday morning: You can wander the streets eating as you go -- apple strudel; Jewish rye bread; pickled lemons; smoked salmon; and merguez, a spicy smoked sausage from Algeria.

Best Vegetarian Cuisine: One of the best-known veggie restaurants in the Marais is Le Marais, 54 rue Ste-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, 4e (tel. 01-48-87-48-71). Choose from the array of soups and salads, or have a mushroom tart or a galette (a flat pastry) of wheat with raw vegetables. In this rustic 17th-century setting, you can expect flavorful, wholesome, and generous meals.

Best Wine Cellar: At the elegant Lasserre, 17 av Franklin D. Roosevelt, 8e (tel. 01-43-59-53-43), you'll find not only wonderful food, but also one of the great wine cellars of France, with some 160,000 bottles.

Best Hotel Bets

Best for Families: An affordable Left Bank choice is the Hôtel de Fleurie, 32-34 rue Grégoire-de-Tours, 6e (tel. 01-53-73-70-00), in the heart of St-Germain-des-Prés. The accommodations are thoughtfully appointed, and many connecting rooms with two large beds are perfect for families. Children under 12 stay free with a parent.

Best Value: Not far from the Champs-Elysées, the Résidence Lord Byron, 5 rue de Chateaubriand, 8e (tel. 01-43-59-89-98), is a classy little getaway that's far from opulent but is clean and comfortable and worth every euro.

Best Location: Only a 2-minute walk from Paris's most historic and beautiful square, Hôtel de la Place des Vosges, 12 rue de Birague, 4e (tel. 01-42-72-60-46), is a little charmer. In a building 350 years old, it is small and inviting, with some decorative touches that evoke the era of Louis XIII.

Best View: Of the 33 rooms at the Hôtel du Quai Voltaire, 19 quai Voltaire, 7e (tel. 01-42-61-50-91), 28 open onto views of the Seine. If you stay here, you'll be following in the footsteps of Wilde, Baudelaire, and Wagner. This 17th-century abbey was transformed into a hotel back in 1856 and has been welcoming guests who appreciate its tattered charms ever since.

Best for Nostalgia: If you yearn for a Left Bank "literary" address, make it the Odéon Hôtel, 3 rue de l'Odéon (tel. 01-43-25-90-67), in the heart of the 6th Arrondissement, filled with the ghosts of Gide, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce, and Stein and Toklas. Evoking a Norman country inn, this charming hotel lures guests with its high crooked ceilings, exposed beams, and memories of yesterday.

Best-Kept Secret: Built in 1913 and long in a seedy state, the fully restored Terrass Hôtel, 12 rue Joseph-de-Maistre, 18e (tel. 01-44-92-34-14), is now the only four-star choice in Montmartre, an area not known for luxury accommodations. Its rooms take in far-ranging views of the Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe, and Opéra Garnier.

Best Historic Hotel: Inaugurated by Napoleon III in 1855, the Hôtel du Louvre, place André-Malraux, 1e (tel. 800/888-4747 in the U.S. and Canada), was once described by a French journalist as "a palace of the people, rising adjacent to the palace of kings." Today, the hotel offers luxurious accommodations and panoramic views down avenue de l'Opéra.

Most Trendy Hotel: A converted town house, the Hôtel Costes, 239 rue St-Honoré, 1e (tel. 01-42-44-50-50), evokes the imperial heyday of Napoleon III. Fashion headliners especially like it -- Costes is the choice of many a model, as the Paris offices of Harper's Bazaar are close at hand. If you're into swags, patterned fabrics, jewel-tone colors, and lavish accessories, this can be your Gilded Age address.

The Best Luxury Hotels

Hotel Ritz (15 place Vendôme, 1er; tel. 800/223-6800 or 01-43-16-30-30; www.ritzparis.com). The hotel, which gave the world the word "ritzy," meaning posh, occupies a magnificent palace overlooking the octagonal borders of one of the most perfect squares in the world. The decor is pure opulence. Marcel Proust wrote parts of Remembrance of Things Past here, and the world's greatest chef, Georges-Auguste Escoffier, perfected many of his recipes in the Ritz kitchens.

Four Seasons Hotel George V (31 av. George V, 8th; tel. 800/332-3442 or 01-49-52-70-00; www.fourseasons.com). Humorist Art Buchwald once wrote, "Paris without the George V would be Cleveland." The swanky address has long been a favorite of celebrities in every field, including Duke Ellington, who once wrote in his memoirs that his suite was so big he couldn't find the way out. Its public and private rooms are decorated with a vast array of antiques and Louis XIV tapestries worth millions.

Hotel de Crillon (10 place de la Concorde, 8th; tel. 800/223-6800 or 01-44-71-15-00; www.crillon.com). The 18th-century architect, Jacques-Ange Gabriel, designed this hotel's majestic exterior, which forms part of the backdrop for the elegant place de la Concorde. The decor covers the reigns of Cardinal Richelieu and Marie Antoinette, and a battalion of super-trained attendants and smartly uniformed attendants polishes every surface weekly. Royalty, wealthy foreigners, diplomats on expense accounts, and movie stars such as Tom Cruise still check in here, looking out windows that open onto the site where the guillotine chopped heads during the French Revolution.

Hotel Pershing Hall (49 rue Pierre Charron, 8th; tel. 01-58-36-58-00; www.pershing-hall.com) is not as well known as the previous hotels, but it too ranks among Paris's pockets of posh. Converted from an elegant town house from the 19th century, it was drastically altered by Andrée Putnam, one of France's most celebrated modern designers, into this citadel of fine living. Built for the Comte de Paris and his mistress, it was the Paris headquarters for General John Pershing in World War I -- hence, its namesake. It's lavish, lush, and luxurious.

Plaza Athenée (25 av. Montaigne, 8th; tel. 866/732-1106 or 01-53-67-66-65; www.plaza-athenee-paris.com) is still the favorite lunchtime hangout for Parisian couturiers. It's also a lot more than that, providing luxurious accommodations for the likes of the Rockefellers and super wealthy Brazilians. This swanky citadel is graced with potted palms, crystal chandeliers, and elegant furnishings -- you name it: Louis XV, Louis XVI, Regency, whatever. Its ivy-covered courtyard is a slice of heaven.

Hotel d'Aubusson (33 rue Dauphine, 6th; tel. 01-43-29-43-43; www.hotelaubusson.com) lies in the heart of St-Germain-des-Prés and is our favorite boutique hotel of Paris. It takes its name from the original Aubusson tapestries gracing its elegant public rooms. Antiques and luxurious accessories make a stay here evocative of a visit to a classy private home, filled with tasteful, beautifully decorated bedrooms and intimate public salons with baronial furnishings evocative of the era of Louis XV. You can sleep under an exposed ceiling in a canopied bed.

L'Hotel (13 rue des Beaux-Arts, 6th; tel. 01-44-41-99-00; www.1-hotel.com) is precious -- just precious -- the Left Bank's most charming little town house hotel. And, yes, this former fleabag was where the great Oscar Wilde died disgraced and penniless. That was Glenn Close or Robert de Niro you saw walking through the lobby, but not Elizabeth Taylor, because the rooms were too small for her luggage. The hotel is a triumph of Directoire architecture, and the ambience is oh, so seductive.

The Best Moderately Priced Places to Stay

Axial Beaubourg (11 rue du Temple, 4th; tel. 01-42-72-72-22; www.axialbeaubourg.com) is a winner in the increasingly fashionable Marais district, convenient to the Picasso Museum and the Centre Pompidou. Parisian fashionistas have made this a favorite nesting place. The old architecture, including time-worn stones and exposed beams, has been respected; otherwise, the place is as up to date as tomorrow. A member of the staff jokingly suggested to us that this sophisticated rendezvous is "not for virgins."

Hotel des Deux-Iles (59 rue St-Louis-en-l'Ile, 4th; tel. 01-43-26-13-35; www.2iles.com). There exists no more platinum real estate, at least in our view, than the Ile St-Louis, Paris's most beautiful isle in the Seine. For a charming, yet unpretentious, hotel on this island, we'd nominate this restored 18th-century town house. We like its abundance of fresh flowers and its fireplace in the cellar bar. The rooms are a bit small, but then, one of the city's greatest locations for a hotel has got to count for something.

Hotel Saint-Louis (75 rue St-Louis-en-l'Ile, 4th; tel. 01-46-34-04-80; www.hotelsaintlouis.com). Like Hotel des Deux-Iles, this cozy nest, a restored 17th-century town house, occupies a "world apart" location on a tiny island in the middle of the Seine. The rooms may be petit, but the charm of the place compensates, with its exposed ceiling beams, wooden Louis XIII furnishings, and modern bathrooms. Opt for a fifth-floor bedroom for a panoramic view over the rooftops of Paris.

Galileo Hotel (54 rue Galilee, 8th; tel. 01-47-20-66-06). In the super-expensive 8th Arrondissement, site of the Champs-Elysées and France's most expensive street, avenue Montaigne, this is a holdout in that it's actually affordable to many visitors. In the epicenter of Paris, this is a restored town house imbued with Parisian elegance and charm. Though understated, the bedrooms are tastefully furnished and most comfortable, a few choice ones coming with a glass-covered veranda.

Hotel Torcadéro La Tour (5 bis rue Massenet, 16th; tel. 01-45-24-43-03; www.trocadero-la-tour.com). In a tony district known for its well-heeled bourgeoisie and upscale rents, this restored late-19th-century town house charges reasonable prices -- for Paris, that is. Subdued elegance and refined comfort are just part of its allure, that and its view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. From its tree-filled courtyard to its elegant, tastefully decorated bedrooms, this one is a winner and not as well known as it should be.

Hotel de l'Abbaye Saint-Germain (10 rue Cassette, 6th; tel. 01-45-44-38-11; www.hotel-abbaye.com). For those who'd like to stay in the heart of the Latin Quartier in the 5th Arrondissement, this charming boutique hotel, originally a convent in the 1700s, has been restored with a certain grace and sophisticated flair. Brightly painted rooms with traditional French furnishings are inviting and comfortable, and the maintenance is first rate. Grace notes include a courtyard with a fountain, along with flowerbeds and climbing ivy. Try for the upper-floor room with a terrace overlooking Paris.

Residence des Arts (14 rue Git-le-Coeur, 6th; tel. 01-55-42-71-11; www.arts-arts-residence.paris.com). If your own "studio" in Left Bank Paris has always been a dream, you can rent one here, or else a tastefully decorated suite or apartment -- all at an affordable price. In the heart of the Quartier Latin, this hotel was carved from a former apartment building to which two upper floors were added in 1998. Some of the units come with kitchenettes, and a bistro and restaurant are on site.

The Best Museums

Musée du Louvre (34-36 quai du Louvre, 1er; tel. 01-40-20-53-17). The Louvre's exterior is a triumph of French architecture, and its interior shelters an embarrassment of art, one of the greatest treasure troves known to Western civilization. Of the Louvre's more than 300,000 paintings, only a small percentage can be displayed at one time. The museum displays its staid dignity and timelessness even though thousands of visitors traipse daily through its corridors, looking for the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo. I.M. Pei's controversial Great Pyramid nearly offset the grandeur of the Cour Carrée, but it has a real functional purpose, as you will soon see.

Musée d'Orsay (1 rue de Bellechasse, 7e; tel. 01-40-49-48-14). The spidery glass-and-iron canopies of an abandoned railway station frame one of Europe's greatest museums of art. Devoted mainly to paintings of the 19th century, d'Orsay contains some of the most celebrated masterpieces of the French Impressionists, along with sculptures and decorative objects whose design forever changed the way European artists interpreted line, movement, and color. In case you didn't know, d'Orsay is also where Whistler's Mother sits in her rocker.

Centre Pompidou (Place Georges-Pompidou, 4e; tel. 01-44-78-12-33). "The most avant-garde building in the world," or so it is known, is a citadel of modern art, with exhibitions drawn from more than 40,000 works. Everything seemingly is here -- from Calder's 1928 Josephine Baker (one of his earliest versions of the mobile) to a re-creation of Brancusi's Jazz Age studio.

Musée Jacquemart-André (158 bd. Haussmann, 8e; tel. 01-45-62-11-59). The 19th-century town house, with its gilt salons and elegant winding staircase, contains the best small collection of 18th-century decorative art in Paris. The building and its contents were a bequest to the Institut de France by the late Mme. Nelié Jacquemart-André, herself an artist of note. To her amazing collection of rare French decorative art, she added a rich trove of painting and sculpture from the Dutch and Flemish schools, as well as paintings and objets d'art from the Italian Renaissance.

Musée National du Moyen Age hermes de Cluny (in the Hotel de Cluny, 6 place Paul-Painlevé, 5e; tel. 01-53-73-78-00). This is an enchantress of a museum, housing some of the most beautiful medieval art extant. The museum occupies one of the two Gothic private residences of the 15th century still left in Paris. Dark, rough-walled, and evocative, the Cluny is devoted to the church art and castle crafts of the Middle Ages. It is more celebrated for its tapestries -- among them the world-famed series of The Lady and the Unicorn, gracefully displayed in a circular room on the second floor. Downstairs you can visit the ruins of Roman baths, dating from around A.D. 200.

Musée Marmottan-Claude Monet (2 rue Louis-Boilly, 16e; tel. 01-44-96-50-33). On the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, this once-rarely-visited museum is now one of the most frequented in Paris. It was rescued from obscurity on February 5, 1966, when the museum fell heir to more than 130 paintings, watercolors, pastels, and drawings of Claude Monet, the "father of Impressionism." A gift of Monet's son, Michel, the bequest is one of the greatest art acquisitions in France. Had an old widow in Brooklyn suddenly inherited the fortune of a J.P. Morgan, the event would not have been more startling. Exhibited here is the painting, Impression, that named the artistic movement.

Musée Picasso (in the Hotel Salé, 5 rue de Thorigny, 3e; tel. 01-42-71-25-21). Deep in the heart of the Marais, this museum has been hailed in the press as a repository "for Picasso's Picassos." The state acquired the world's greatest collection in lieu of a $50 million inheritance tax: 203 paintings, 158 sculptures, 16 collages, 19 bas-reliefs, 88 ceramics, and more than 1,500 sketches and 1,600 engravings. The work spans 75 years of Picasso's life.

Musée Rodin (in the Hotel Biron, 77 rue de Varenne, 7e; tel. 01-44-18-61-10). Auguste Rodin, the man credited with freeing French sculpture of classicism, once lived at and had his studio in this charming 18th-century mansion across from Napoleon's Tomb. Today the house and its garden are filled with his works, a soul-satisfying feast for the Rodin enthusiast. In the cobbled Court of Honor, within the walls as you enter, you'll see The Thinker crouched on his pedestal. The Burghers of Calais are grouped off the left; and, to the far left, the writhing Gates of Hell can be seen, atop which another Thinker once more meditates. In the almost-too-packed rooms, men and angels emerge from blocks of marble, hands twisted in supplication, and the nude torso of Balzac rises from a tree.

The Best Walks

Montmartre. Striding a hill atop Paris, Montmartre used to be a village of artists, glorified by masters such as Utrillo, painted, sketched, sculpted, and photographed by 10,000 lesser lights. Today it's overrun by tourists, building speculators, and nightclub entrepreneurs who moved in as the artists moved out. But a few still linger. And so does much of the village-like charm of this place. Of all the places for wandering the cobbled streets of old Paris, Montmartre, especially in its back streets and alleyways, gets our vote. The center point is the Place du Tertre, where you can head out on your journey of exploration. Gleaming through the trees from here is the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur, built in an oddly Oriental neo-Byzantine style. Behind the church and clinging to the hillside below are steep and crooked little streets that seem -- almost -- to have survived the relentless march of progress. Rue des Saules still has Montmartre's last vineyard. The rue Lepic still looks -- almost -- the way Renoir, the melancholic Van Gogh, and the dwarfish genius Toulouse-Lautrec saw it.

Quartier Latin. Over the Seine on the Left Bank, the Latin Quarter lies in the 5th Arrondissement and consists of streets winding around the Paris University, of which the Sorbonne is only a part. The logical starting point is place Saint-Michel, right on the river, with an impressive fountain. From here you can wander at leisure, getting lost as you make the discovery of a warren of dogleg alleys adjoining the river -- rue de la Huchette, rue de la Harpe, rue St-Severin. Each generation makes discoveries of its own, and everything is new again. End up by strolling along Boulevard St-Germain, lined with sophisticated cafes and some of the most avant-garde fashion shops in Paris.

Le Marais. Very few cities on earth boast an entire district that can be labeled a sight. Paris has several, including the vaguely defined maze of streets north of Place de la Bastille, known as Le Marais, or "the marshland." During the 17th century, this was a region of aristocratic mansions, which lost their elegance when the fashionable set moved elsewhere. The houses lost status, but they remain standing and restored today, as the once-decaying Marais has been gentrified. Today it's one of the most fashionable districts in Paris, home to funky shops, offbeat hotels, dozens of bistros, hot bars, and "gay Paree."

Ile St-Louis. A footbridge behind Notre-Dame leads to another enchanting island in the Seine, a world of tree-shaded quays, town houses with courtyards, and antique shops. This smaller and more tranquil of the Seine islands has remained much as it was in the 17th century. Over the years many illustrious French have called St-Louis home, none more famous than Voltaire. Sober patrician houses stand along the four quays, and the fever-beat of Paris seems a hundred miles away. This is our favorite real estate for wandering in all of the city.

Ile de la Cité. "The cradle of Paris," where the city was born, is actually an island shaped like a great ship in the middle of the Seine. Home to France's greatest cathedral, Notre-Dame, it invites exploration and wandering. Home to French kings until the 14th century, Cité still has a curiously medieval air, with massive gray walls rising up all around you, relieved by tiny patches of parkland. The island is home to Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie. After these stellar attractions, save time for wandering about and discovering Cité's secrets, such as the square du Vert Galant.

Les Halles. Emile Zola called the site of the great marketplace "the belly of Paris." That market has moved on to more modern quarters today, but the charm and enchantment of this district of Right Bank Paris remain. Le trou (the hole), site of the former marketplace, was filled with an underground shopping mall known as the Forum des Halles. The old streets of Paris, in spite of the long-gone market, are still left to explore and get lost in as you wander about. Somewhere in your walk, drop in to visit Eglise de St-Eustache, former stamping ground of Richelieu, Molière, and Mme. De Pompadour.

Best Free Things to Do

Meeting the Natives. There will be no page number to turn to for guidance here. You're on your own. But meeting the Parisians, and experiencing their cynical metropolitanism, is one of the adventures of traveling to Paris -- and it's free. Tolerance, gentleness, and patience are not their strongest point, and they don't suffer fools gladly but adore eccentrics. Visitors often find Parisians brusque to the point of rudeness and preoccupied with their own affairs. But this hard-boiled crust often protects a soft center. Compliment a surly bistro owner on her cuisine, and -- nine times out of ten -- she'll melt before your eyes. Admire a Parisian's dog or praise a window display, and you'll find a loquaciously knowledgeable companion for the next five minutes. Ask about the correct pronunciation of a French word (before you mispronounce it), and a Parisian might become your language teacher. Try to meet a Parisian halfway with some kind of personalized contact. Only then do you learn their best qualities: their famed charm, their savoir-faire -- and, yes, believe it or not, their delightful courtesy that marks their social life.

Trailing Les Américains. At 35 rue de Picpus, a few blocks from the place de la Nation, is a spot over which the Stars and Stripes have flown for more than a century and a half. It lies in a small secluded cemetery, marking the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette -- the man who forged the chain during the American Revolution that has linked the two countries ever since. Col. Charles E. Stanton came here to utter the famous words, Lafayette, nous voila! ("We are here!") to announce the arrival of the World War I Doughboys on French soil. At the Pont de Grenelle, at Passy, you'll find the original model of the Statue of Liberty that France presented to the people of the United States. One of the most impressive paintings in the Musée de l'Armee shows the Battle of Yorktown which -- however you learned it in school -- was a combined Franco-American victory. And throughout the city you'll keep coming across statues, monuments, streets, squares, and plaques commemorating George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt, Generals Pershing and Eisenhower, and scores of lesser Yankee names.

Attending a Free Concert. Summer brings a Paris joy: free concerts in parks and churches all over the city. Pick up an entertainment weekly for details. Some of the best concerts are held at the American Church in Paris, 65 quai d'Orsay, 7e (tel. 01-40-62-05-00; Métro: Invaliders or Alma-Marceau), which sponsors free concerts from September to June on Sunday at 5pm. You can also attend free concerts at Eglise St-Merri, 78 rue St-Martin, 4e (tel. 01-42-74-59-39; Métro: Hôtel-de-Ville). These performances are staged based on the availability of the performers, from September to July on Saturday at 9pm and again on Sunday at 4pm.

Hanging Out at the place des Vosges. Deep in the Marais, place des Vosges is more an enchanted island than a city square. This serenely lovely oasis is the oldest square in Paris and the most entrancing. Laid out in 1605 by order of Henry IV, it was the scene of innumerable cavaliers' duels. In the middle is a tiny park where you can sit and sun, listen to the splashing waters of the fountains, or else watch the kids at play. On three sides is an encircling arcaded walk, supported by arches and paved with ancient, worn flagstones. Sit sipping an espresso as the day passes you by. It's our all-time favorite spot in Paris for people-watching.

Viewing Avant Garde Art. Space is too tight to document the dozens of art galleries that abound in Paris, but the true devotee will find that not all great art in Paris is displayed in a museum. There is a tendency, however, for owners to open galleries around major museums, hoping to lure the art lover in. This is especially true around the Musée Picasso and the Centre Pompidou, both in the Marais. Our favorite gallery in the Marais is Galerie 213, 58 rue de Charlot, 3rd (tel. 01-43-22-83-23; Métro: Filles du Calvaire), which is devoted not to painting but to the art of some of France's leading photographers. A real treasure is Galerie Yvon Lambert, 108 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 3rd (tel. 01-42-71-09-33; Métro: St-Sebastien Froissart). Its owners are hailed as the discoverers of minimalism and conceptual art. The more traditional galleries are found in St-Germain-des-Prés, with Galerie Adrien Maeght, 42 rue du Bac, 7e (tel. 01-45-48-45-15;) being the market leader.

Seeing Paris from a Bus. Most tours of Paris are expensive, but for only 1.30€ ($1.70) you can ride one of the city's public buses traversing some of the most scenic streets. Our favorite is no. 29, which begins at historic Gare St-Lazare (Métro: St-Lazare), subject of Monet's painting La Gare St-Lazare at Musée d'Orsay. Featured in Zola's novel La Bête Humaine, the station also has a bus line. Aboard no. 29, you pass the famous Opera Garnier (home of the Phantom), proceeding into the Marais district, passing by Paris's most beautiful square, place des Vosges. You end up at the Bastille district, home of the new opera. What we like about this bus is that it takes you along the side streets of Paris and not the major boulevards. It's a close encounter with back-street Paris and a cheap way to see the city without commentary.

Strolling the World's Grandest Promenade. Pointing from place de la Concorde like a broad, straight arrow to the Arc de Triomphe at the far end, the Champs-Elysées (the main street of Paris) presents its grandest spectacle at night. Guidebook writers to Paris grow tired of repeating "the most in the world," but, of course, the Champs-Elysées is the world's most famous promenade. For the first third of the stroll from place de la Concorde, the avenue is hedged by chestnut trees. Then it changes into a double row of palatial hotels and shops, movie houses, office buildings, and block after block of sidewalk cafes. The automobile showrooms and gift stores have marred the Belle Epoque elegance of this stretch, but it's still the greatest vantage point from which to watch Paris roll by.

Cooling Off in the Jardin des Tuileries. Right Bank Parisians head to the Tuileries to cool off on a hot summer day. The park stretches from the Right Bank of the Seine from the place de la Concorde to the doorstep of the Louvre. This exquisitely formal garden was laid out as a royal pleasure ground in 1564 but was thrown open to the public by the French Revolution. Filled with statues, fountains, and mathematically trimmed edges, it's a bit too formal for English gardeners who like their green spaces a little wilder. Its nicest feature is a series of round ponds on which kids sail armadas of model boats. Stand on the elevated terrace by the Seine, enjoying panoramic views over Paris, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Cour Napoléon of the Louvre. The sculptures by Rodin aren't bad either. Food stands or cafes with refreshing drinks await you.

Planning a Trip

This section provides the nuts-and-bolts details you need before setting off for Paris -- everything from information sources to money matters to the major airlines and how to save money on your flight.

Destination Paris: Red-Alert Checklist

If you purchased traveler's checks, have you recorded the check numbers and stored the documentation separately from the checks?

Did you stop the newspaper and mail delivery, and leave a set of keys with someone reliable?

Did you pack your camera and an extra set of camera batteries, and purchase enough film? If you packed film in your checked baggage, did you invest in protective pouches to shield film from airport X-rays?

Do you have a safe, accessible place to store money?

Did you bring your ID cards that could entitle you to discounts, such as AAA and AARP cards, student IDs, and so on?

Did you bring emergency drug prescriptions and extra glasses and/or contact lenses?

Did you find out your daily ATM withdrawal limit?

Do you have your credit card PIN numbers? Is there a daily withdrawal limit on credit card cash advances?

If you have an E-ticket, do you have documentation?

Did you leave a copy of your itinerary with someone at home?

Do you have the measurements for those people you plan to buy clothes for on your trip?

Do you have the address and phone number of your country's embassy with you?

Paris Attractions

Paris is a city where taking in the street life -- shopping, strolling, and hanging out -- should claim as much of your time as sightseeing in churches or museums. Having a picnic in the Bois de Boulogne, taking a sunrise amble along the Seine, spending an afternoon at a flea market -- Paris bewitches you with these kinds of experiences. For all the Louvre's beauty, you'll probably remember the Latin Quarter's crooked alleyways better than the 370th oil painting of your visit.

The "Beach" of Paris--Relaxing under a palm tree on a chaise longue sounds more Caribbean than Parisian, but a nearly 4.8km (3-mile) stretch of sandy shore has opened along the Seine. With the Eiffel Tower looming in the background, visitors and locals can splash in fountains, swing in hammocks, play volleyball, or enjoy a picnic. Just don't go into the polluted water of the murky Seine. The Paris beach opened in the late summer of 2003, after tons of sand were poured into concrete bases along the river.

Museums

If you're a culture buff, consider buying a Carte Musées et Monuments, which admits you to some 70 museums in Paris and its environs. If you plan to visit three or four museums, the card is usually worth the investment. A pass good for 1 day costs 18€ ($23); for 3 consecutive days, 36€ ($47); and for 5 consecutive days, 54€ ($70). Cards are available at all major museums and Métro stations. For more information, contact Association InterMusees, 4 rue Brantôme, 3e (tel. 01-44-61-96-60; www.intermusees.com; Métro: Rambuteau). Also, the Paris-Visite pass, valid for 1 to 5 days on the public transport system, including the Métro, the city buses, the RER (regional express) trains within Paris city limits, and even the funicular to the top of Montmartre.

A Time-Saving Tip--Museums require you to check shopping bags and book bags, and sometimes lines for these can be longer than the ticket lines. If you value your time, leave your bags in your hotel room, or don't go shopping before hitting the museums: Some lines can take 30 minutes. Ask if a museum has more than one check line, and if so, go to the less-frequented ones.

Especially for Kids

If you're staying on the Right Bank, take the children for a stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries, where there are donkey rides, ice cream stands, and a marionette show; at the circular pond, you can rent a toy boat. On the Left Bank, similar treats exist in the Jardin du Luxembourg. After a visit to the Eiffel Tower, you can take the kids for a donkey ride in the Champ de Mars.

A Paris tradition, puppet shows are worth seeing for their colorful productions; they're a genuine French child's experience. At the Jardin du Luxembourg, puppets reenact plots set in Gothic castles and Oriental palaces; many critics say the best puppet shows are held in the Champ de Mars.

On Sunday afternoon, French families head to the Butte Montmartre to bask in the fiesta atmosphere. You can join in: Take the Métro to Anvers, and walk to the funiculaire (the cable car that carries you up to Sacré-Coeur). Once up top, follow the crowds to place du Tertre, where a Sergeant Pepper-style band will usually be blasting off-key and you can have the kids' pictures sketched by local artists. You can take in the views of Paris from the various vantage points and treat your children to ice cream.

Your kids may want to check out the Gallic versions of Mickey Mouse and his pals at Disneyland Paris.

Nightlife

When darkness falls, the City of Light lives up to its name -- the monuments and bridges are illuminated, and the glow of old-fashioned and modern street lamps, the blaze of sidewalk-cafe windows, and the glare of neon signs flood the avenues and boulevards. Parisians start the serious part of their evenings as Anglos stretch, yawn, and announce it's time for bed. Once the workday is over, most people go to a cafe to meet with friends over a drink and perhaps a meal; then they may head home or proceed to a restaurant or the theater; and much later, they may show up at a bar or a dance club.

In this section, we describe Paris's after-dark diversions -- from attending a Molière play at the Comédie-Française to catching a cancan show at the Moulin Rouge to sipping a sidecar at Harry's New York Bar to partying at Le Queen with all the boys.

The Performing Arts

Listings -- Announcements of shows, concerts, and operas are plastered on kiosks all over town. You'll find listings in the weekly Pariscope, an entertainment guide with a section in English, or the English-language bimonthly Boulevard. Performances start later in Paris than in London or New York -- from 8 to 9pm -- and Parisians tend to dine after the theater. You may not want to do the same, because many of the less expensive restaurants close as early as 9pm.

Tickets -- Paris has many ticket agencies, most near the Right Bank hotels. Avoid them if possible. You can buy the cheapest tickets at the box office of the theater or at discount agencies that sell tickets at discounts of up to 50%. One is the Kiosque Théâtre, 15 place de la Madeleine, 8e (no phone; www.kiosqutheatre.com; Métro: Madeleine), offering leftover tickets for about half-price on the day of performance. Tickets for evening performances are sold Tuesday through Friday from 12:30 to 8pm and Saturday from 2 to 8pm. For matinees, tickets are sold Saturday from 12:30 to 2pm and Sunday from 12:30 to 4pm. Other branches are in the basement of the Châtelet-Les Halles Métro station and in front of Gare Montparnasse.

Students with ID can often get last-minute tickets by applying at the box office an hour before curtain time.

The easiest (and most expensive) way to get tickets, especially if you're staying in a first-class or deluxe hotel, is to ask your concierge to arrange for them. A service fee is added, but it's a lot easier if you don't want to waste precious hours in Paris trying to secure often-hard-to-get tickets.

Tickets for festivals, concerts, and the theater are easy to obtain through one of these locations of the FNAC record store chain: 136 rue de Rennes, 6e (tel. 01-49-54-30-00; Métro: St. Placide); or 1-7 rue Pierre-Lescot, in the Forum des Halles, 1er. (tel. 01-40-41-40-00; Métro: Châtelet-Les Halles).

A Stateside Ticket Agency--Selling tickets to cultural events throughout Europe, Global Tickets maintains headquarters in the United States at 234 W. 44th St., Suite 1000, New York, NY 10036 (tel. 800/223-6108; www.keithprowse.com). Its Paris office is at 7 rue de Clichy, 9e (tel. 01-42-81-88-98; Métro: Place Clichy). The company will mail tickets (usually in the form of a voucher) to you, or they'll fax you a confirmation and leave tickets at the box office for pickup prior to the performance. There's a markup of about 25% over box-office prices on each ticket, which includes the handling charges. The organization is particularly good at acquiring tickets to either of the Paris opera houses, to any of the big-league cabarets (including the Moulin Rouge, Crazy Horse, and Chez Michou), and to any of the sightseeing tours or cruises recommended within this guide. Hotel packages are also available.

The Music of Angels--Some of the most moving music in Paris echoes through its churches, with sounds that can take you back to the Middle Ages. At Eglise de St-Eustache, rue Rambuteau (tel. 01-42-36-31-05; Métro: Les Halles), High Mass with the organ playing and the choir singing is at 11am on Sunday. In summer, concerts are played on the organ, marking the church's role in holding the premiere of Berlioz's Te Deum and Liszt's Messiah. Tickets to these special concerts sell for 12€ to 30€ ($16-$39).

The American Church in Paris, 65 quai d'Orsay, 7e (tel. 01-40-62-05-00; Métro: Invalides or Alma-Marceau), sponsors free concerts from September to June on Sundays at 5pm. You can also attend free concerts at Eglise St-Merri, 78 rue St-Martin, 4e (tel. 01-42-74-59-39; Métro: Hôtel-de-Ville). These performances are staged with variables based on the availability of the performers, from September to July on Saturdays at 9pm, and again on Sundays at 4pm.

The Club & Music Scene

Paris is still a late-night mecca, and both the quantity and the variety of nightlife exceed that of other cities. Nowhere else will you find such a huge, mixed array of nightclubs, bars, dance clubs, cabarets, jazz dives, music halls, and honky-tonks.

Chansonniers--Chansonniers (literally, songwriters) provide a bombastic musical satire of the day's events. This combination of parody and burlesque is a time-honored Gallic amusement and a Parisian institution. Songs are often created on the spot, inspired by the "disaster of the day."

Nightclubs & Cabarets--Decidedly expensive, these places give you your money's worth by providing lavishly spectacular floor shows. They generally attract an older crowd. They are definitely not youth oriented.

Dance Clubs--The nightspots listed are among hundreds of places where people in their 20s or early 30s go to dance -- distinct from others where the main attraction is the music. The area around the church of St-Germain-des-Prés is full of dance clubs, but they come and go so quickly, you could arrive to find a hardware store in the place of last year's white-hot club -- but like all things in nature, the new spring up to replace the old. Check Time Out: Paris or Pariscope to get a sense of current trends. Most of these clubs don't really get going until well after 10pm.

Wine Bars--Many Parisians now prefer wine bars to traditional cafes or bistros. The food is often better, and the ambience, more inviting.

Bars, Pubs & Clubs--These "imported" places trying to imitate American cocktail bars or British pubs mostly strike an alien chord. But that doesn't prevent fashionable Parisians from barhopping (not to be confused with cafe-sitting). Many bars in Paris are youth oriented. But if you're an older traveler who prefers to take your expensive drink in one of the grand-luxe bars of the world, Paris has those as well. The bars at the Plaza Athénée, Crillon, and Ritz, for example, are among the grandest in the world and provide a uniquely Parisian experience to those who want to don their finest apparel and take along a gold-plated credit card. In general, bars and pubs are open daily from 11am to 1:30am.

Jazz, Salsa, Rock & More--The great jazz revival that long ago swept America is still going strong here, with Dixieland, Chicago, bop, and free-jazz rhythms being pounded out in dozens of jazz cellars, mostly called caveaux. Most clubs are between rue Bonaparte and rue St-Jacques on the Left Bank. The crowds attending clubs to hear rock, salsa, and the like are definitely young, often in their late teens, 20s, or early 30s. The exception to that is in the clubs offering jazz nights -- lovers of jazz span all ages.

Gay & Lesbian Bars--Gay life is centered around Les Halles and Le Marais, with the greatest concentration of gay and lesbian clubs, restaurants, bars, and shops between the Hôtel de Ville and Rambuteau Métro stops. Gay dance clubs come and go so fast that even the magazines devoted to them, like Illico -- distributed free in the gay bars and bookstores -- have a hard time keeping up. For lesbians, there is Lesbian Magazine. Also look for Gai Pied's Guide Gai and Pariscope's regularly featured English-language section, "A Week of Gay Outings." Also important for both men and women is Têtu Magazine, sold at most newsstands.

For more on Paris's gay and lesbian scene, try Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe.

Café Cox, 15 rue des Archives, 4e (tel. 01-42-72-08-00), gets so busy in the early evening that the crowd stands on the sidewalk. This is where you'll find the most mixed gay crowd in Paris -- from hunky American tourists to sexy Parisian men. A hot new place in Les Halles is Le Tropic Café, 66 rue des Lombards, 1er. (tel. 01-40-13-92-62; Métro: Châtelet-Les Halles), where the trendy, good-looking crowd parties until dawn. A restaurant with a bar popular with women is Okawa, 40 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4e (tel. 01-48-04-30-69; Métro: Hôtel de Ville), where trendy lesbians (and some gay men) enjoy happy hour. Les Scandaleuses, 6 rue des Ecouffes, 3e (tel. 01-48-87-39-26; Métro: St-Paul), is a bar for gay women where an unattached female can usually find a drinking buddy to tell her troubles to.

More After-Dark Diversions

On a Paris night, the cheapest entertainment, especially if you're young, is "the show" staged at the southeastern tip of Ile de la Cité, behind Notre-Dame. A sort of Gallic version of the Sundowner Festival in Key West, it attracts just about everyone who ever wanted to try his or her hand at performance art. The entertainment is spontaneous and usually includes magicians, fire-eaters, jugglers, mimes, and music makers from all over, performing against the backdrop of the illuminated cathedral. This is one of the greatest places in Paris to meet other young people in a sometimes moderately euphoric setting.

Also popular is a stroll along the Seine after 10pm. Take a graveled pathway down to the river from the Left Bank side of pont de Sully, close to the Institut du Monde Arabe, and walk to the right, away from Notre-Dame. This walk, which ends near place Valhubert, is the best place to see spontaneous Paris in action at night. Joggers and saxophone players come here, and many Parisians show up to take part in impromptu dance parties.

To quench your thirst, wander onto Ile St-Louis and head for the Café-Brasserie St-Regis, 6 rue Jean-du-Bellay, 4e, across from pont St-Louis (tel. 01-43-54-59-41; Métro: Pont Marie). If you want to linger, you can order a plat du jour or a coffee at the bar. But try doing as the Parisians do: Get a 3€ ($3.90) beer to go (une bière à emporter) in a cup, and take it with you on a stroll around the island. The cafe is open daily until 2am.

If you're caught waiting for the Métro to start running again at 5am, try the Sous-Bock Tavern, 49 rue St-Honoré, 1er (tel. 01-40-26-46-61; Métro: Les Halles or Louvres-Rivoli), open daily from 11am to 5am. Young drinkers gather here to sample 400 varieties of beer. If you want a shot of whiskey, you have a choice of 60 varieties. The dish to order is a platter of mussels -- curried, with white wine, or with cream sauce; they go well with the brasserie-style fries.

If you're looking for the most flamboyant drag in Paris, head to Madame Arthur, 75 bis rue des Martyrs, 18e (tel. 01-42-54-40-21 or 01-42-64-48-27; Métro: Abbesses or Pigalle). It's the longest-running show in town, attracting both straights and gays. The creative force behind the affair is Mme Arthur, who's no lady and whose stage name during her shticks as emcee is Chantaline. The performances include 9 to 11 artists with names like Vungala, Lady Lune, and Miss Badabou. You can visit just to drink or dine from a fixed-price menu (reservations required). The club is open daily from 8:30 to 10:30pm for dinner, with the show beginning at 10:30pm. Additional shows, according to demand, are Friday and Saturday at 7pm, with dinner beginning at 6pm. After the last show, around 12:30am, the place becomes a disco. Cover (including one drink) is 26€ ($34); dinner and the show is 47€ ($61) Sunday to Thursday, 63€ ($82) Friday and Saturday.

If drag shows aren't your cup of tea, how about Last Tango in Paris? At Le Tango, 11 rue au Maire, 3e (tel. 01-42-72-17-78; Métro: Arts et Métiers), memories of Evita and Argentina live on. This dive with bordello decor features zouk music from the French Caribbean and Africa, as well as house, garage, and virtually every form of high-energy music. Most patrons are gay and lesbian and in their 20s and 30s. The cover is 8€ ($9.20). It's open Friday and Saturday from midnight to 5am.

If you're looking for a sophisticated, laid-back venue, consider the Sanz-Sans, 49 rue du Faubourg St-Antoine, 4e (tel. 01-44-75-78-78; Métro: Bastille or Ledru Rollin). It's a multiethnic playground where the children of prominent Parisians mingle, testifying to the unifying power of jazz. In this red-velvet duplex, the most important conversations seem to occur over margaritas on the stairway or the back-room couches. The later it gets, the sexier the scene becomes. There's no cover.

Shopping A-Z

An Open-Air Canvas Gallery

The Paris Art Market is "the place to go" on a Sunday. At the foot of Montparnasse Tower, this market is like an open-air gallery and has done much to restore the reputation of Montparnasse (14e) as a quartier for artists. Some 100 artists participate, including painters, sculptors, and photographers, even jewelers and hat makers. Head for the mall along the boulevard Edgar Quinet for the best work. Go any time on Sunday between 10am and 7:30pm (Métro: Montparnasse).

Books

If you like rare and unusual books, patronize one of the bouquinistes, the owners of those army-green stalls that line the Seine. This is where tourists in the 1920s and 1930s went to buy "dirty" French postcards. You might get lucky and come across some treasured book, like an original edition of Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer, which was banned for decades in the United States.

Department Stores

In addition to the stores listed, BHV, 52 rue de Rivoli, 4e (tel. 01-42-74-90-00; Métro: Hôtel-de-Ville), offers the department-store experience at slightly lower prices.

Designer Boutiques & Fashion Flagships

There are two primary fields of dreams in Paris when it comes to showcasing the international big names: rue du Faubourg St-Honoré and av. Montaigne. Though the Left Bank is gaining in status, with recent additions like Dior, Armani, and Vuitton, the heart of the international designer parade is on the Right Bank.

Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré is so famous and fancy, it's simply known as "the Faubourg." It was the traditional miracle mile until recent years, when the really exclusive shops shunned it for the wider and even more deluxe av. Montaigne at the other end of the arrondissement. (It's a long but pleasant walk from one fashion strip to the other.) Av. Montaigne is filled with almost unspeakably fancy shops, but a few of them have affordable cafes (try Joseph at no. 14), and all have sales help that's almost always cordial to the well dressed.

The mix is quite international -- from British (Joseph) to German (Jil Sander) to Italian (Krizia). Chanel, Lacroix, Porthault, Ricci, Dior, and Ungaro are a few of the big French names. Also check out some of the lesser-known creative powers. And don't miss a visit to Caron. Most of the designer shops sell men's and women's clothing. The Faubourg hosts other traditional favorites: Hermès; Lanvin; Jaeger; Rykiel; and the upstart Façonnable, which sells preppy men's clothing in the United States through a business deal with Nordstrom. Lanvin has its own men's shop (Lanvin Homme), which has a cafe that's perfect for a light (and affordable) lunch.

Food Markets

Outdoor markets are plentiful in Paris. Some of the better known are the Marché Buci; the rue Mouffetard market, open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30am to 1pm and Tuesday to Saturday from 4 to 7pm (6e; Métro: Monge or Censier-Daubenton); and the rue Montorgueil market, behind the St-Eustache church, open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm (1er; Métro: Les Halles). The trendiest market is Marché Biologique, along boulevard Raspail, a tree-lined stretch lying between rue de Rennes and rue du Cherche-Midi, 6e. It's open Sunday 8:30am to 6:30pm (Métro: Montparnasse).

Perfumes & Makeup

If there's one reason international shoppers come to Paris, it's cosmetics -- after all, the City of Light is the world capital of fragrances and beauty supplies. These are a few of our favorite perfume and makeup shops:

While you can buy Parfums Caron scents in any duty-free or discount parfumerie, it's worth visiting the source of some of the world's most famous perfumes. The tiny shop is at 34 av. Montaigne, 8e (tel. 01-47-23-40-82; Métro: Franklin-D.-Roosevelt), boasting old-fashioned glass beakers filled with fragrances and a hint of yesteryear. Fleur de Rocaille, a Caron scent, was the featured perfume in the movie Scent of a Woman. Store hours are Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6:30pm.

While there are other branches, and you can test Goutal bathroom amenities at many upscale hotels, the sidewalk mosaic tile and the unique scents make the Annick Goutal, at 14 rue Castiglione, 1e (tel. 01-42-60-52-82; Métro: Concorde), worth stopping by. Try Eau d'Hadrien for a unisex splash of citrus and summer. Store hours are Monday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm.

Shiseido, the world's fourth-largest maker of cosmetics and skin-care goods, has become more prominent thanks to the efforts of the Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido, 142 Galerie de Valois, Palais Royal, 1e (tel. 01-49-27-09-09; Métro: Palais-Royal). In addition to an awesome array of skin-care products and makeup, it stocks 21 exclusive unisex fragrances created by the company's artistic director, Serge Lutens, including its latest, Chêne (Oak), which was introduced in September of 2004. Don't be afraid to wander in and ask for some scent strips. Open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm.

The City's Most Historic Shopping Arcade

When one of history's greatest shoppers, Thomas Jefferson, wanted, say, an ivory-handled knife or a timepiece, he headed for the Palais Royal, 1e (Métro: Louvre-Palais-Royal), just across rue de Rivoli from the Louvre. Even before the Revolution, the arcades of the Palais Royal were known for their sheltered shops and cafes.

Paris is rich in iron-and-glass galleries, the first "shopping malls" of the Western world, but some are a bit seedy. In our view, none has the charm of the Palais Royal. You can enter, among other choices, the arcades from the rue de Montpensier behind the Comédie-Française.

You can spend a lovely afternoon following in the footsteps of former residents Colette or Jean Cocteau. The merchandise? Almost anything. As you wander, here's a sampling of what might await you: military medals, traditional lead-made French toy soldiers, vintage clothes from any number of fashionistas (perhaps creations of Patou or Balenciaga), silk vests, wooden toys, music boxes, accessories for women, bronze sculptures, china, cobalt glass, perfumes, antiques (mainly neoclassical), autographs of famous French celebrities, handcrafted shoes -- you name it.

Expensive Le Grand Véfour, one of the greatest restaurants of Paris, is recommended in chapter 7. You can dine much more modestly at restaurant du Palais Royal, 110 galerie de Valois (tel. 01-40-20-00-27), which is closed Sunday. In summer the restaurant's tables spread out into the garden. Or you can order tea at La Muscade, 67 galerie de Montpensier (tel. 01-42-97-51-36), with its restored garden. Treat yourself to the orange-and-chocolate tart. Closed Monday.

Sign of the Times

A shop like La Plaque Emaillées et Gravée Jacquin stands in sharp contrast to the mass merchandise in most department stores. Established in 1908, when the Art Nouveau craze swept Paris, the outfit has done a respectable business promoting turn-of-the-20th-century Parisian charm ever since. Its specialty is the custom manufacture of cast-iron plaques, enameled and baked, commemorating virtually any event, person (including yourself), or piece of real estate that appeals to you. Phillippe Jacquin, the owner, offers a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors for the finished product. Expect to pay around 140€ ($182) for a street sign-size plaque and much more for plaques that can measure up to about 2m (6 1/2 ft.) wide, suitable perhaps for a storefront. It will take 3 to 4 weeks for your plaque to be manufactured, after which it can be shipped. Shipping can be expensive and, in our opinion (because of the cast-iron nature of what's in the package), complicated. Much smaller plaques, some ready-made, are also available. It's located at 18 bd. des Filles-du-Calvaire, 11e (tel. 01-47-00-50-95; Métro: St-Sébastien).

A Touch of Africa in the Marais

A stroll down Rue Elzévir in the Marais is like a trip to Senegal. Valeria Schlumberger, a Frenchwoman who lives for part of the year on Ile de Gorée, off the coast of Dakar, has opened up several storefronts on this street in the Marais, all under the umbrella organization of La Compagnie du Sénégal et de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (www.csao.fr). You can find beautiful hand-woven and hand-dyed bolts of cloth that make fabulous curtains, cushion covers, or quilts. Many decorative items are made of recycled material where metallic bits and pieces are turned into decorative objects from tins, cans, or even aerosol sprays. Multicolored carpets are sold, along with basketwork and paintings. The leading outlets, all in the 3rd Arrondissement, include The Boutique, 1-3 Rue Elzévir (tel. 01-44-54-55-88); and La Gallery, 15 rue Elzévir (tel. 01-44-54-90-50). La Jokko, 5 rue Elzévir (tel. 01-42-74-35-96), is a languid bar, ideal for drinking between rounds of shopping. At the association's restaurant, le Petit Dakar, 6 rue Elzévir (tel. 01-44-59-34-74), you can order such native specialties as grouper with cassava and rice, topped off by lychee ice cream.

The Shopping Scene

Best Buys

Perfumes, Make-up, & Beauty Treatments -- A discount of 20% to 30% makes these items a great buy; qualify for a VAT refund , and you'll save 40% to 45% off the Paris retail price, allowing you to bring home goods at half the U.S. price. Duty-free shops abound in Paris and are always less expensive than the ones at the airports.

For bargain cosmetics, try out French dime-store and drugstore brands like Bourjois (made in the Chanel factories), Lierac, and Galenic. Vichy, famous for its water, has a skin-care and makeup line. The newest retail trend in Paris is the parapharmacie, a type of discount drugstore loaded with inexpensive brands, health cures, beauty regimes, and diet plans. These usually offer a 20% discount.

Foodstuffs -- Nothing makes a better souvenir than a product of France brought home to savor later. Supermarkets are located in tourist neighborhoods; stock up on coffee, designer chocolates, mustards (try Maille or Meaux brand), and perhaps American products in French packages for the kids.

Fun Fashion -- Sure you can buy couture or prêt-à-porter (ready to wear), but French teens and trendsetters have their own stores where the latest looks are affordable. Even the dime stores in Paris sell designer copies. In the stalls in front of the department stores on boulevard Haussmann, you'll find some of the latest accessories, guaranteed for a week's worth of small talk once you get home.

Shopping Etiquette

When you walk into a French store, it's traditional to greet the owner or sales clerk with a direct address, not a fey smile or even a weak "Bonjour." Only a clear and pleasant "Bonjour, madame/monsieur" will do.

And if you plan to enter the rarefied atmospheres of the top designer boutiques (to check out the pricey merchandise, if not to buy anything), be sure to dress the part. You don't need to wear couture, but do leave the sneakers and sweatsuit back at your hotel. The sales staff will be much more accommodating if you look as if you belong there.

Getting a VAT Refund

The French value-added tax (VAT -- TVA in French) is 19.6%, but you can get most of that back if you spend 182€ ($209) or more in any store that participates in the VAT refund program. Most stores participate.

Once you meet your required minimum purchase amount, you qualify for a tax refund. The amount of the refund varies with the way the refund is handled and the fee some stores charge you for processing it. So the refund at a department store may be 13%, whereas at a small shop it may be 15% or even 18%.

You'll receive VAT refund papers in the shop; some stores, like Hermès, have their own, while others provide a government form. Fill in the forms before you arrive at the airport, and expect to stand in line at the Customs desk for as long as half an hour. You must show the goods at the airport, so have them on you or visit the Customs office before you check your luggage. Once the papers are mailed, a credit will appear, often months later, on your credit card bill. All refunds are processed at the point of departure from the European Union (EU), so if you're going to another EU country, don't apply for the refund in France.

Be sure to mark the paperwork to request that your refund be applied to your credit card so you aren't stuck with a check in euros that's hard to cash. This also ensures the best rate of exchange. In some airports, you're offered the opportunity to get your refund back in cash, which is tempting. But if you accept cash in any currency other than euros, you'll lose money on the conversion rate.

To avoid refund hassles, ask for a Global Refund form ("Shopping Checque") at a store where you make a purchase. When leaving an EU country, have it stamped by Customs, after which you take it to a Global Refund counter at one of more than 700 airports and border crossings in France. Your money is refunded on the spot. For information, contact Global Refund, 230 Park Ave., Suite 1000-PMB, New York, NY 10169-1067.

Duty-Free Boutiques

The advantage of duty-free shops is that you don't have to pay the VAT, so you avoid the red tape of getting a refund. Both Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports have shopping galore (de Gaulle has a virtual mall with crystal, cutlery, chocolates, luggage, wine, pipes and lighters, lingerie, silk scarves, perfume, knitwear, jewelry, cameras, cheeses, and even antiques). You'll also find duty-free shops on the avenues branching out from the Opéra Garnier, in the 1st Arrondissement. Sometimes bargains can be found, but most often not.

Business Hours

Usual shop hours are Monday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm, but hours vary, and Monday mornings don't run at full throttle. Small shops sometimes close for a 2-hour lunch break and may not open at all until after lunch on Monday. Thursday is the best day for late-night shopping, with stores open to 9 or 10pm.

Sunday shopping is limited to tourist areas and flea markets, though there's growing demand for full-scale Sunday hours. The department stores are now open on the five Sundays before Christmas. The Carrousel du Louvre, a mall adjacent to the Louvre, is hopping on Sunday but closed on Monday. The tourist shops lining rue de Rivoli across from the Louvre are open on Sunday, as are the antiques villages, flea markets, and specialty events. Several food markets enliven the streets on Sunday. The Virgin Megastore on the Champs-Elysées, a big teen hangout, pays a fine to stay open on Sunday.

Great Shopping Neighborhoods

Here are the best of the shopping arrondissements:

1st & 8th Arrondissements -- These two arrondissements adjoin each other and form the heart of Paris's best Right Bank shopping strip -- they're one big hunting ground. This area includes the rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, where the big designer houses are, and the Champs-Elysées, with hot mass-market and teen scenes. At one end of the 1st is the Palais Royal, one of the best shopping secrets in Paris, where an arcade of boutiques flanks each side of the garden of the former palace.

Also here is av. Montaigne, Paris's most glamorous shopping street, boasting 2 blocks of ultrafancy shops, where you float from big name to big name and in a few hours can see everything from Dior to Caron. Av. Montaigne is also the address of Joseph, a British design firm, and Porthault, maker of the poshest sheets in the world.

2nd Arrondissement -- Right behind the Palais Royal is the Garment District (Sentier), as well as a few sophisticated shopping secrets, such as place des Victoires.

In the 19th century, this area became known for its passages, glass-enclosed shopping streets -- in fact, the world's first shopping malls. They were also the city's first buildings to be illuminated by gaslight. Many have been torn down, but a dozen or so have survived. Of them all, we prefer Passage den Grand Cerf, between 145 rue St-Denis and 10 rue Dussoubs (Métro: Bourse), lying a few blocks from the Beaubourg. It's a place of wonder, filled with everything from retro-chic boutiques and (increasingly) Asian-themed shops. What's exciting is to come upon a discovery, perhaps a postage-stamp-size shop with a special jeweler who creates unique products such as jewel-toned safety pins.

3rd & 4th Arrondissements -- The border between these two arrondissements gets fuzzy, especially around place des Vosges, center stage of the Marais. The districts offer several dramatically different shopping experiences.

On the surface, the shopping includes the "real people stretch" (where all the nonmillionaires shop) of rue de Rivoli and rue St-Antoine, featuring everything from Gap and a branch of Marks & Spencer to local discount stores and mass merchants. A "real people" department store is in this area, BHV; there are also Les Halles and the Beaubourg neighborhood, which is anchored by the Centre Pompidou.

Hidden in the Marais is a medieval warren of twisting streets chockablock with cutting-edge designers and up-to-the-minute fashions and trends. Start by walking around place des Vosges for galleries, designer shops, and special finds; then dive in and lose yourself in the area leading to the Musée Picasso.

Finally, the 4th is the home of the Bastille, an up-and-coming area for artists and galleries, where you'll find the newest entry on the retail scene, the Viaduc des Arts (which actually stretches into the 12th). It's a collection of about 30 stores occupying a series of narrow vaulted niches under what used to be railroad tracks. They run parallel to av. Daumesnil, centered around boulevard Diderot.

6th & 7th Arrondissements -- Though the 6th is one of the most famous shopping districts in Paris -- it's the soul of the Left Bank -- a lot of the good stuff is hidden in the zone that turns into the residential district of the 7th. Rue du Bac, stretching from the 6th to the 7th in a few blocks, stands for all that wealth and glamour can buy.

9th Arrondissements -- To add to the fun of shopping the Right Bank, the 9th sneaks in behind the 1st, so if you choose not to walk toward the Champs-Elysées and the 8th, you can head to the city's big department stores, all built in a row along boulevard Haussmann in the 9th. Department stores include not only the two big French icons, Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, but also a large branch of Britain's Marks & Spencer.

The Centers & Malls

The City's Most Historic Shopping Arcade

When one of history's greatest shoppers, Thomas Jefferson, wanted, say, an ivory-handled knife or a timepiece, he headed for the Palais Royal, 1e (Métro: Louvre-Palais-Royal), just across rue de Rivoli from the Louvre. Even before the Revolution, the arcades of the Palais Royal were known for their sheltered shops and cafes.

Paris is rich in iron-and-glass galleries, the first "shopping malls" of the Western world, but some are a bit seedy. In our view, none has the charm of the Palais Royal. You can enter, among other choices, the arcades from the rue de Montpensier behind the Comédie-Française.

You can spend a lovely afternoon following in the footsteps of former residents Colette or Jean Cocteau. The merchandise? Almost anything. As you wander, here's a sampling of what might await you: military medals, traditional lead-made French toy soldiers, vintage clothes from any number of fashionistas (perhaps creations of Patou or Balenciaga), silk vests, wooden toys, music boxes, accessories for women, bronze sculptures, china, cobalt glass, perfumes, antiques (mainly neoclassical), autographs of famous French celebrities, handcrafted shoes -- you name it.

Expensive Le Grand Véfour, one of the greatest restaurants of Paris, is recommended in chapter 7. You can dine much more modestly at restaurant du Palais Royal, 110 galerie de Valois (tel. 01-40-20-00-27), which is closed Sunday. In summer the restaurant's tables spread out into the garden. Or you can order tea at La Muscade, 67 galerie de Montpensier (tel. 01-42-97-51-36), with its restored garden. Treat yourself to the orange-and-chocolate tart. Closed Monday.

In Depth

History--Paris emerged at the crossroads of three major traffic arteries on the muddy island in the Seine that today is known as Ile de la Cité.

By around 2000 B.C., the island served as the fortified headquarters of the Parisii tribe, who called it Lutétia. The two wooden bridges connecting the island to the river's left and right banks were among the region's most strategically important, and the settlement attracted the attention of the Roman Empire. In his Commentaries, Julius Caesar described his conquest of Lutétia, recounting how its bridges were burned during the Gallic War of 52 B.C. and how the town on the island was pillaged, sacked, and transformed into a Roman-controlled stronghold.

Within a century, Lutétia became a full-fledged Roman town, and some of the inhabitants abandoned the frequently flooded island in favor of higher ground on what is today the Left Bank. By A.D. 200, barbarian invasions threatened the stability of Roman Gaul, and the populace from the surrounding hills flocked to the island's fortified safety. Over the next 50 years, a Christian community gained a foothold there. According to legend, St. Denis served as the city's first bishop (around 250). By this time the Roman Empire's political power had begun to wane in the region, and the cultural and religious attachment of the community to the Christian bishops of Rome grew even stronger.

During the 400s, with the decline of the Roman armies, Germanic tribes from the east (the Salian Franks) were able to invade the island, founding a Frankish dynasty and prompting a Frankish-Latin fusion in the burgeoning town. The first of these Frankish kings, Clovis (466-511), founder of the Merovingian dynasty, embraced Christianity as his tribe's religion and spearheaded an explicit rejection of Roman cultural imperialism by encouraging the adoption of Parisii place names like "Paris," which came into common usage during this time.

The Merovingians were replaced by the Carolingians, whose heyday began with Charlemagne's coronation in 800. The Carolingian Empire sprawled over western Germany and eastern France, but Paris was never its capital. The city remained a commercial and religious center, sacred to the memory of St. Geneviève, who reputedly protected Paris when the Huns attacked it in the final days of the Roman Empire. The Carolingians came to an end in 987, when the empire fragmented because of the growing regional, political, and linguistic divisions between what would become modern France and modern Germany. Paris became the seat of a new dynasty, the Capetians, whose kings ruled France throughout the Middle Ages. Hugh Capet (938-996), the first of this line, ruled as comte de Paris and duc de France from 987 to 996.

History

In the Beginning--Paris emerged at the crossroads of three major traffic arteries on the muddy island in the Seine that today is known as Ile de la Cité.

By around 2000 B.C., the island served as the fortified headquarters of the Parisii tribe, who called it Lutétia. The two wooden bridges connecting the island to the river's left and right banks were among the region's most strategically important, and the settlement attracted the attention of the Roman Empire. In his Commentaries, Julius Caesar described his conquest of Lutétia, recounting how its bridges were burned during the Gallic War of 52 B.C. and how the town on the island was pillaged, sacked, and transformed into a Roman-controlled stronghold.

Within a century, Lutétia became a full-fledged Roman town, and some of the inhabitants abandoned the frequently flooded island in favor of higher ground on what is today the Left Bank. By A.D. 200, barbarian invasions threatened the stability of Roman Gaul, and the populace from the surrounding hills flocked to the island's fortified safety. Over the next 50 years, a Christian community gained a foothold there. According to legend, St. Denis served as the city's first bishop (around 250). By this time the Roman Empire's political power had begun to wane in the region, and the cultural and religious attachment of the community to the Christian bishops of Rome grew even stronger.

During the 400s, with the decline of the Roman armies, Germanic tribes from the east (the Salian Franks) were able to invade the island, founding a Frankish dynasty and prompting a Frankish-Latin fusion in the burgeoning town. The first of these Frankish kings, Clovis (466-511), founder of the Merovingian dynasty, embraced Christianity as his tribe's religion and spearheaded an explicit rejection of Roman cultural imperialism by encouraging the adoption of Parisii place names like "Paris," which came into common usage during this time.

The Merovingians were replaced by the Carolingians, whose heyday began with Charlemagne's coronation in 800. The Carolingian Empire sprawled over western Germany and eastern France, but Paris was never its capital. The city remained a commercial and religious center, sacred to the memory of St. Geneviève, who reputedly protected Paris when the Huns attacked it in the final days of the Roman Empire. The Carolingians came to an end in 987, when the empire fragmented because of the growing regional, political, and linguistic divisions between what would become modern France and modern Germany. Paris became the seat of a new dynasty, the Capetians, whose kings ruled France throughout the Middle Ages. Hugh Capet (938-996), the first of this line, ruled as comte de Paris and duc de France from 987 to 996.

Recommended Books

Numerous books exist on all aspects of French history and society -- ranging from the very general, such as the section on France in the Encyclopedia Americana, International Edition (Grolier, 1989), which presents an excellent illustrated overview of the French people and their way of life, to the very specific, such as Judi Culbertson and Tom Randall's Permanent Parisians: An Illustrated Guide to the Cemeteries of Paris (Chelsea Green, 1986), which depicts the lives of famous French and expatriates who are buried in Paris.

History -- In addition to the encyclopedia reference above, a broad overview of French history can be found in other encyclopedias and general history books. One very good one is History of France, by Guillaume de Bertier de Savigny and David H. Pinkney (Forum Press, 1983), a comprehensive history with illustrations and plenty of obscure but interesting facts.

Two books that present French life and society in the 17th century are Warren Lewis's The Splendid Century (William Morrow, 1978) and Madame de Sévigne's Selected Letters, edited by Leonard W. Tancock (Penguin, 1982), which contains imaginative and witty letters written to her daughter during the reign of Louis XIV.

Moving into the 20th century, Pleasure of the Belle Epoque: Entertainment and Festivity in Turn-of-the-Century France, by Charles Rearick (Yale University Press, 1985), depicts public diversions in the changing and troubled times of the Third Republic. Paris Was Yesterday, 1925-1939 (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988) is a fascinating collection of excerpts from Janet Flanner's "Letters from Paris" column of The New Yorker. Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre have written a popular history of the liberation of Paris in 1944 called Is Paris Burning? (Warner Books, 1991).

Finally, two unusual approaches to French history are Rudolph Chleminski's The French at Table (William Morrow, 1985), a funny and honest history of why the French know how to eat better than anyone and how they go about it, and Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978, by Normal Evenson (Yale University Press, 1979), a notable study of the urban development of Paris.

Travel -- Since 1323, some 10,000 books have been devoted to exploring Paris. One of the latest is Paris: Capital of the World, by Patrice Higonnet (Harvard University, 2002). This book takes a fresh, social, cultural, and political look at this City of Lights. Higonnet even explores Paris as "the capital of sex" and, in contrast, the "capital of art." The gang's all here, from Balzac to Zola.

Showing a greater fondness for gossip is Alistair Horne in his Seven Pages of Paris (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002). From the Roman founding up to the student riots of 1968, this is one of the most amusing books on Paris we've ever read. Horne is not a timid writer. He calls the Palais de Chaillot fascistic and hideous; the Pompidou Center, a horror. We even learn that a woman once jumped off the Eiffel Tower, bounced off the roof of a parked car, and survived. In The Flâneur, A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris (Bloomsbury, 2001), Edmund White wants the reader to experience Paris as Parisians do. Hard to translate exactly, a flâneur is someone who strolls, loafs, or idles. With White, you can circumnavigate Paris as whim dictates.

Biography -- You can get a more intimate look at history through biographies of historical figures. The best book yet on the architect who changed the face of Paris is Haussmann: His Life and Times and the Making of Modern Paris, by Patrick Camiller (Ivan R. Dee, 2002).

A Moveable Feast (Collier Books, 1987), Ernest Hemingway's recollections of Paris during the 1920s, and Morley Callaghan's That Summer in Paris: Memories of Tangled Friendships with Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Some Others (1963), an anecdotal account of the same period, represent the early part of the last century. Another interesting read is The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, by Gertrude Stein (Vintage Books, 1990). It's not only the account of 30 years in Paris, but also the autobiography of Gertrude Stein.

Simone de Beauvoir, by Deirdre Bair (Summit Books, 1990), was described by one critic as " . . . a biography 'à l'Americaine' -- that is to say, long, with all the warts of its subject unsparingly described." The story of the great feminist intellectual was based in part on tape-recorded conversations and unpublished letters.

Colette: A Life, by Herbert R. Lottman (Little, Brown, 1991), is a painstakingly researched biography of the celebrated French writer and her fascinating life -- which included not only writing novels and appearing in cabarets, but also dabbling in lesbianism and perhaps even collaborating with the enemy during the Nazi occupation.

The Arts -- Much of France's beauty can be found in its art. Three books that approach France from this perspective are The History of Impressionism, by John Rewald (Museum of Modern Art, 1973), which is a collection of writings about and quotations from the artists, illuminating this period in art; The French Through Their Films, by Robin Buss (Ungar, 1988), an exploration of more than 100 widely circulated films; and The Studios of Paris: The Capital of Art in the Late Nineteenth Century, by John Milner (Yale University Press, 1988). In the last, Milner presents the dynamic forces that made Paris one of the most complex centers of the art world in the early modern era.

Olympia: Paris in the Age of Manet, by Otto Friedrich (Harper-Collins, 1992), takes its inspiration from the celebrated artwork in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. From here, the book takes off on an anecdote-rich, gossipy chain of historical associations, tracing the rise of the Impressionist school of modern painting but incorporating social commentary, too, such as the pattern of prostitution and venereal disease in 19th-century France.

Fiction -- The Chanson de Roland, edited by F. Whitehead (2nd ed.; Basil Blackwell, 1942), written between the 11th and 14th centuries, is the earliest and most celebrated of the "songs of heroic exploits." The Misanthrope and Tartuffe (Harcourt, Brace and World, 1965) are two masterful satires on the frivolity of the 17th century by the great comic dramatist Molière. François-Marie Arouet Voltaire's Candide (Bantam Classics, 1981) is a classic satire attacking the philosophy of optimism and the abuses of the ancient regime.

A few of the masterpieces of the 19th century are Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert (Random House, 1982), in which the carefully wrought characters, setting, and plot attest to Flaubert's genius in presenting the tragedy of Emma Bovary; Victor Hugo's Les Misérables (Modern Library, 1983), a classic tale of social oppression and human courage set in the era of Napoleon I; and Selected Stories by the master of short stories, Guy de Maupassant (New American Library, 1984).

Honoré de Balzac's La comédie humaine (Centre d'Exportation du Livre, Francais, 1999) depicts life in France from the fall of Napoleon to 1848. Henry James's The Ambassadors (Penguin USA, 1987) and The American (Oxford University Press, 1999) both take place in Paris. The Vagabond (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2001), by Colette, evokes the life of a French music-hall performer.

Tropic of Cancer (Grove Press, 1989) is the semiautobiographical story of Henry Miller's years in Paris. One of France's leading thinkers, Jean-Paul Sartre, shows individuals struggling against their freedom in No Exit and Three Other Plays (Vintage Books 1989).

Side Trips

Paris is the center of a curious landlocked island known as the Ile de France. Shaped roughly like a saucer, it's encircled by a thin ribbon of rivers: the Epte, Aisne, Marne, and Yonne. Fringing these rivers are forests with famous names -- Rambouillet, St-Germain, Compiègne, and Fontainebleau. These forests are said to be responsible for Paris's clear, gentle air and the unusual length of its spring and fall. This may be debatable, but there's no argument that they provide the capital with a fine series of day trips, all within easy reach.

The forests surrounding Paris were once the domain of royalty and the aristocracy, and they're still sprinkled with the magnificent châteaux of their former masters. Together with ancient villages, glorious cathedrals, and cozy country inns, they make the Ile de France irresistible. In this chapter, we offer only a handful of the possibilities for day jaunts. For a more extensive list, see Frommer's France 2006.

A Weekend in London--Of course, Paris offers a seemingly endless list of wonderful things to see and do, but now that transit between the French capital and the British capital is easier than ever, why not take a weekend jaunt to London?

The Eurostar (tel. 08-92-35-35-39) train roars through the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel), reducing the travel time between Paris's Gare du Nord and London's Waterloo Station to 3 hours. With some restrictions, fares between London and Paris begin at 90€ ($117) or 255€ ($332) for one-way transport (depending on day and time) and at 390€ ($507) for round-trip in second class. First-class transit begins at 344€ ($447) one-way and 689€ ($896) round-trip, per person. Additional discounts, in many cases, are offered to holders of Eurail and Britrail passes, youths under 26, students, and persons over 60. And for passengers looking for additional perks to first-class transport, packages can be bought beginning at 450€ ($585) per person each way that allow access to first-class waiting lounges in Paris and London, enhanced cuisine onboard, and taxi service between the station of your final destination and your hotel. If you need a hotel in London or Paris, the staff at one of Eurostar's affiliates can set up a rail/hotel package at a discounted rate. For round-trip transport plus a night in a hotel in London or Paris and a sightseeing package, rates begin at 775€ ($1,008) per person in first class and 555€ ($722) per person in second class. Ask Eurostar about special promotions, and you may discover some surprising discounts. Examples include a departure from and a return to either city on the same day at round-trip rates that can be about the same as a one-way ticket.

From North America, call the Eurostar division of Rail Europe at tel. 877/257-2887 in the United States, 800/361-RAIL in Canada. For details about hotel packages, contact EuroVacations at tel. 877/471-3876; www.eurovacations.com. If you're already in Paris, contact any travel agency, talk to your concierge, or check www.raileurope.com.

Organized Tours

By Bus

Tours are offered by Cityrama, 149 rue St-Honoré, 1er (tel. 01-44-55-61-00; Métro: Palais Royal or Musée du Louvre), which operates double-decker red-and-yellow buses with oversize windows and multilingual recorded commentaries giving an overview of Paris's history and monuments.

A double-decker bus with enough windows for Versailles takes you on a 2-hour ride through the city. You don't go inside any attractions, but you get a look at the outside of Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower, among other sites, and it helps you get a feel for the city. There's commentary in 16 languages on earphones. Tours depart daily at 10am, 11:30am, 2pm, and 3:30pm. A 1 1/2-hour orientation tour is 15€ ($20) adults and 7.50€ ($9.75) children.

A morning tour with interior visits to the Louvre costs 39€ ($51). Half-day tours to Versailles (56€/$73) and Chartres (53€/$69) are a good value and relieve some of the hassle associated with visiting those monuments. A joint ticket that includes Versailles and Chartres costs 93€ ($121). A tour of the nighttime illuminations leaves daily at 10pm in summer, 7pm in winter, and costs 20€ ($26); it tends to be tame and touristy.

Cruises on the Seine

A Seine boat tour provides sweeping vistas of the riverbanks and some of the best views of Notre-Dame. Many of the boats have open sun decks, bars, and restaurants. Bateaux-Mouches cruises (tel. 01-40-76-99-99; www.bateaux-mouches.fr Métro: Alma-Marceau) depart from the Right Bank, next to pont de l'Alma, and last about 75 minutes, costing 7€ ($9.10) for adults and 4€ ($5.20) for children 4 to 13. May to October, tours leave daily at 20- to 30-minute intervals, beginning at 10am and ending at 11:30pm; November to April, there are at least nine departures daily from 11am to 9pm, with a schedule that changes according to demand and the weather. Three-hour dinner cruises are one of the most dramatic ways to see Paris at night while enjoying a first-rate meal. They depart daily at 8:30pm and cost 125€ ($163), depending on which prix fixe menu you order; jackets and ties are required for men.

Some people enjoy excursions on the Seine and its canals. The 3-hour Seine et le Canal St-Martin tour, offered by Paris Canal (tel. 01-42-40-96-97), requires reservations. The tour begins at 9:30am on the quays in front of the Musée d'Orsay (Métro: Solférino) and at 2:30pm in front of the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie at Parc de La Villette (Métro: Porte de La Villette). Excursions negotiate the waterways of Paris, including the Seine, an underground tunnel below place de la Bastille, and the Canal St-Martin. Tours are offered twice daily from mid-March to mid-November; the rest of the year, on Sunday only. As you glide along the waterways that built 19th-century Paris, recorded commentary in French and English relates how building supplies and food staples were hauled, with relative efficiency, into central Paris during the capital's building boom during the Napoleonic age. The cost is 16€ ($21) for adults, 13€ ($17) for seniors over 60 and students ages 12 to 25, and free for children under 4.

Bike Tours

Some of the best-orchestrated bike tours in Paris are offered by Fat Tire Bike Tours (tel. 01-56-58-10-54; www.fattirebiketoursparis.com), which depart from a spot that's immediately adjacent to the south leg (pilier sud) of the Eiffel Tower. (Look for a large yellow sign advertising the tours.) Between mid-February and mid-December, bike tours depart daily at 11am, and between May and September, an additional tour is offered at 3:30pm. Between April and October, an additional tour is offered at night, departing at 7pm from the same spot. The cost of any tour includes use of a bike and a protective helmet. Hint: If you're interested in participating in one of these bike tours, we recommend scheduling your ascent to the upper levels of the Eiffel Tower for either immediately before or after your bike tour and that you arrive in clothing that's appropriate for a four-wheeled, self-propelled jaunt through the monumental avenues of central Paris. The cost is 24€ ($31) per person for the day tour and 28€ ($36) for the night tour. The night tour is more festive than the day tour and includes a complimentary ride aboard the Bateaux Mouches, the big-windowed panoramic boats that chug along the Seine beneath some of the most famous bridges in Europe. Tours, which during clement weather sometimes incorporate between 50 and 80 cyclists at a time, incorporate an English-speaking experience that's conducted almost entirely on the pavements, parks, and riverfront quays of Paris, taking in views of the city's most famous landmarks.

Walking Tours & Audio-Guided Tours

The first audio-guided tours of Paris have been launched by Audio Visit, which takes you through such famous neighborhoods as the Champs Elysées district, the Louvre/Opéra, and Montmartre. English commentaries are available, costing 8€ ($10) per half=day or 15€ ($20) for both audioguide and bike during the same time frame. Rentals of the audioguide are available at the Syndicat d'Initiative de Montmatre, 21 place du Tertre, 18th; Paris Story, 11 bis, rue Scribe, 9th; and Maison Roue Libre, Forum des Halles, 1 Passage Montdétour, 1er. For more information call tel. 04-78-29-60-72.

Context: Paris (tel. 06-130-96-711, in the U.S.: 888/467-1986, www.contextparis.com) is an organization of grad students and art history professors who lead thematic walking tours of the city. Being academics, the guides try to create a college-seminar feeling without being too obtuse and scholarly. Context: Paris also rents cell phones, arranges transportation, and organizes culinary excursions. For more information and greater detail, refer to their website. Walking itineraries include Paris Palimpsest:, a three-hour exploration of l'Ile de la Cité; Learned City:, a three-hour walk of the Left Bank, focused on Paris as an intellectual center; Marais: The Evolving Quartier:, a two-hour overview of the Marais; and the Louvre:, a four-hour, in-depth exploration. Prices vary widely, depending on what itinerary you select, but many tours cost 50€ ($65) per person.

Walking Tours

The best way to discover Paris is on foot. Our favorite walks are along the Seine and down the Champs-Elysées from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre. In this section we highlight the attractions of Montmartre, the Latin Quarter, and the Marais.

For more walking tours in the City of Light, see Frommer's Memorable Walks in Paris.

Walking Tour 1

Montmartre

Start: Place Pigalle (Métro: Pigalle).

Finish: Place Pigalle.

Time: 5 hours, more if you break for lunch. It's a 4km (2 1/2-mile) trek.

Best Time: Any day it isn't raining. Set out by 10am at the latest.

Worst Time: After dark.

Soft-white three-story houses and slender barren trees stick up from the ground like giant toothpicks -- that's how Utrillo, befogged by absinthe, saw Montmartre. Toulouse-Lautrec painted it as a district of cabarets, circus freaks, and prostitutes. Today Montmartre remains truer to the dwarfish Toulouse-Lautrec's conception than it does to Utrillo's.

Before all this, Montmartre was a sleepy farm community with windmills dotting the landscape. The name has always been the subject of disagreement, some arguing it originated from the "mount of Mars," a Roman temple at the top of the hill, others asserting it's "mount of martyrs," a reference to the martyrdom of St. Denis, who was beheaded here with fellow saints Rusticus and Eleutherius.

Turn right after leaving the Métro station and go down boulevard de Clichy; turn left at the Cirque Medrano, and begin the climb up rue des Martyrs. On reaching rue des Abbesses, turn left and walk along this street, crossing place des Abbesses. Go uphill along rue Ravignan, which leads to tree-studded place Emile-Goudeau, in the middle of rue Ravignan. At no. 13, across from the Timhôtel, is the:

1. Bateau-Lavoir (Boat Washhouse)

Though gutted by fire in 1970, this building, known as the cradle of cubism, has been reconstructed by the city. While Picasso lived here (1904-12), he painted one of the world's most famous portraits, The Third Rose (of Gertrude Stein), as well as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Other residents were van Dongen, Jacob, and Gris; Modigliani, Rousseau, and Braque had studios nearby.

Rue Ravignan ends at place Jean-Baptiste-Clément. Go to the end of the street and cross onto rue Norvins (on your right). Here rues Norvins, St-Rustique, and des Saules collide a few steps from rue Poulbot, a scene captured in a famous Utrillo painting. Turn right and go down rue Poulbot. At no. 11 you come to:

2. Espace Dalí Montmartre

The phantasmagoric world of Espace Dalí Montmartre (tel. 01-42-64-40-10) features 300 original Dalí works, including his famous 1956 lithograph of Don Quixote.

Rue Poulbot crosses tiny:

3. Place du Calvaire

Here you find a panoramic view of Paris. On this square once lived artist/painter/lithographer Maurice Neumont (a plaque marks the house).

From place du Calvaire, head east along rue Gabrielle, taking the first left north along the tiny rue du Calvaire, which leads to:

4. Place du Tertre

This old town square is tourist central. All around the square are terrace restaurants with dance floors and colored lights, while Sacré-Coeur gleams through the trees. The cafes overflow with people, as do the indoor and outdoor art galleries. Some of the "artists" still wear berets (you'll be asked countless times if you want your portrait sketched). The square is so loaded with local color that it can seem gaudy and inauthentic.

Take a Break--Many restaurants in Montmartre, especially those around place du Tertre, are unabashed tourist traps. An exception is La Crémaillère 1900, 15 place du Tertre, 18e (tel. 01-46-06-58-59). As its name suggests, this is a Belle Epoque dining room, retaining much of its original look, including many paintings. You can sit on the terrace opening onto the square or retreat to the courtyard garden. A full menu is served throughout the day, including a standard array of French classics. Go any time daily from noon to 12:30am.

Right off the square fronting rue du Mont-Cenis is:

5. St-Pierre

Originally a Benedictine abbey, this church has played many roles: a Temple of Reason during the Revolution, a food depot, a clothing store, and even a munitions factory. These days, one of Paris's oldest churches is back to being a church.

Facing St-Pierre, turn right and follow rue Azaìs to:

6. Sacré-Coeur

The basilica's Byzantine domes and bell tower loom above Paris and present a wide vista. Behind the church, clinging to the hillside, are steep, crooked little streets that have survived the march of progress.

Facing the basilica, take the street on the left (rue du Cardinal-Guibert); then go left onto rue du Chevalier-de-la-Barre and right onto rue du Mont-Cenis. Continue on this street to rue Cortot; then turn left. At no. 12 is the:

7. Musée de Vieux Montmartre

Musée de Vieux Montmartre (tel. 01-46-06-61-11) presents a collection of mementos of the neighborhood. Luminaries like Dufy, van Gogh, Renoir, and Suzanne Valadon and her son, Utrillo, occupied this 17th-century house, and it was here that Renoir put the final touches on his Moulin de la Galette .

From the museum, turn right, heading up rue des Saules past a winery, a reminder of the days when Montmartre was a farming village on the outskirts of Paris. A grape-harvesting festival is held here every October. The intersection of rue des Saules and rue St-Vincent is one of the most-visited and -photographed corners of the butte. Here, on one corner, sits what was the famous old:

8. Cabaret des Assassins

This was long ago renamed Au Lapin Agile. Picasso and Utrillo frequented this little cottage, which numerous artists have patronized and painted. On any given afternoon, French folk tunes, love ballads, army songs, sea chanteys, and music-hall ditties stream out of the cafe and onto the street.

Turn left on rue St-Vincent, passing the Cimetière St-Vincent on your right. Take a left onto rue Girardon and climb the stairs. In a minute or two, you'll spot on your right two of the moulins (windmills) that used to dot the butte. One of these, at no. 75, is the:

9. Moulin de la Galette

This windmill (entrance at 1 av. Junot) was built in 1622 and was immortalized in oil by Renoir (the painting is in the Musée d'Orsay). When it was turned into a dance hall in the 1860s, it was named for the galettes (cakes made with flour ground inside the mills) that were sold here. Later, Toulouse-Lautrec, van Gogh, and Utrillo visited the dance hall. A few steps away, at the angle of rue Lepic and rue Girardon, is the Moulin Radet, now part of a restaurant.

Turn right onto rue Lepic and walk past no. 54. In 1886, van Gogh lived here with his brother, Guillaumin. Take a right turn onto rue Joseph-de-Maistre and then left again on rue Caulaincourt until you reach the:

10. Cimetière de Montmartre

This final resting place is second in fame only to Père-Lachaise and is the haunt of Nijinsky, Dumas fils, Stendhal, Degas, and Truffaut, among others.

From the cemetery, take avenue Rachel; turn left onto boulevard de Clichy; and go to place Blanche, where stands a windmill even better known than the one in Renoir's painting, the:

11. Moulin Rouge

One of the world's most-talked-about nightclubs, Toulouse-Lautrec immortalized the Moulin Rouge. The windmill is still here, and so is the cancan, but the rest has become an expensive, slick variety show with an emphasis on undraped females.

From place Blanche, you can begin a descent on:

12. Boulevard de Clichy

En route, you'll have to fight off the pornographers and hustlers trying to lure you into sex joints. With some rare exceptions, notably the citadels of the chansonniers (songwriters), boulevard de Clichy is one gigantic tourist trap. But everyone who comes to Paris invariably winds up here.

The boulevard strips and peels its way down to where you started:

13. Place Pigalle

The center of nudity in Paris was named after a French sculptor, Pigalle, whose closest brush with nudity was a depiction of Voltaire in the buff. Toulouse-Lautrec had his studio right off the square at 5 av. Frochot. Of course, place Pigalle was the notorious "Pig Alley" of World War II. When Edith Piaf was lonely and hungry, she sang in the alleyways, hoping to earn a few francs for the night.

Walking Tour 2

The Latin Quarter

Start: Place St-Michel (Métro: St-Michel).

Finish: The Panthéon.

Time: 3 hours, not counting stops.

Best Time: Any weekday from 9am to 4pm.

Worst Time: Sunday morning, when everybody is asleep.

This is the precinct of the Université de Paris (known for its most famous branch, the Sorbonne), where students meet and fall in love over café crème and croissants. Rabelais named it the Quartier Latin after the students and the professors who spoke Latin in the classroom and on the streets. The sector teems with belly dancers, restaurants, cafes, bookstalls, caveaux (basement nightclubs), clochards (bums), chiffonniers (ragpickers), and gamins (kids).

A good starting point for your tour is:

1. Place St-Michel

Balzac used to draw water from the fountain (Davioud's 1860 sculpture of St-Michel slaying the dragon) when he was a youth. This was the scene of frequent skirmishes between the Germans and the Resistance in the summer of 1944, and the names of those who died here are engraved on plaques around the square.

Take a Break--Open 24 hours, Café le Départ St-Michel, 1 place St-Michel (tel. 01-43-54-24-55), lies on the banks of the Seine. The decor is warmly modern, with etched mirrors reflecting the faces of a diversified crowd. If you want to fortify yourself for your walk, opt for one of the warm or cold snacks, including sandwiches.

To the south, you find:

2. Boulevard St-Michel

Also called by locals Boul' Mich, this is the main street of the Latin Quarter as it heads south. This is a major tourist artery and won't give you a great insight into local life. For that, you can branch off onto any of the streets that feed into the boulevard and find cafes, bars, gyro counters, ice cream stands, crepe stands, and bistros like those pictured in movies set in Paris in the 1950s. The Paris Commune began here in 1871, as did the student uprisings of 1968.

From place St-Michel, with your back to the Seine, turn left down:

3. Rue de la Huchette

This typical street was the setting of Elliot Paul's The Last Time I Saw Paris (1942). Paul first wandered here "on a soft summer evening, and entirely by chance," in 1923 and then moved into no. 28, the Hôtel Mont-Blanc. Though much has changed, some of the buildings are so old, they have to be propped up by timbers. Paul captured the spirit of the street more evocatively than anyone, writing of "the delivery wagons, makeshift vehicles propelled by pedaling boys, pushcarts of itinerant vendors, knife-grinders, umbrella menders, a herd of milk goats, and the neighborhood pedestrians." (The local bordello has closed, however.) Today you see lots of Greek restaurants.

Branching off from this street to your left is:

4. Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche

This is said to be the shortest, narrowest street in the world, containing not one door and only a handful of windows. It's usually filled with garbage or lovers or both. Before the quay was built, the Seine sometimes flooded the cellars of the houses, and legend has it that an enterprising cat took advantage of its good fortune and went fishing in the confines of the cellars -- hence the street's name, which means "Street of the Cat Who Fishes."

Now retrace your steps toward place St-Michel and turn left at the intersection with rue de la Harpe, which leads to rue St-Séverin. At the intersection, take a left to see:

5. St-Séverin

A flamboyant Gothic church named for a 6th-century recluse, St-Séverin was built from 1210 to 1230 and was reconstructed in 1458, over the years adopting many of the features of Notre-Dame, across the river. The tower was completed in 1487 and the chapels from 1498 to 1520; Hardouin-Mansart designed the Chapelle de la Communion in 1673 when he was 27, and it contains some beautiful Roualt etchings from the 1920s. Before entering, walk around the church to examine the gargoyles, birds of prey, and reptilian monsters projecting from its roof. To the right, facing the church, is the 15th-century "garden of ossuaries." The stained glass inside St-Séverin, behind the altar, is a stunning adornment using great swaths of color to depict the seven sacraments.

After visiting the church, go back to rue St-Séverin and follow it to rue Galande; then continue on until you reach:

6. St-Julien-le-Pauvre

This church is on the south side of square René-Viviani. First, stand at the gateway and look at the beginning of rue Galande, especially the old houses with the steeples of St-Séverin rising across the way; it's one of the most frequently painted scenes on the Left Bank. Enter the courtyard, and you'll be in medieval Paris. The garden to the left offers the best view of Notre-Dame. Everyone from Rabelais to Thomas Aquinas has passed through the doors of this church. Before the 6th century, a chapel stood on this spot. The present church goes back to the Longpont monks, who began work on it in 1170 (making it the oldest church in Paris). In 1655, it was given to the Hôtel Dieu and in time became a small warehouse for salt. In 1889, it was presented to the followers of the Melchite Greek rite, a branch of the Byzantine church.

Return to rue Galande and turn left at the intersection with rue St-Séverin. Continue until you reach rue St-Jacques, turn left, and turn right when you reach boulevard St-Germain. Follow this boulevard to rue de Cluny, turn left, and head toward the entrance to the:

7. Musée de Cluny

Even if you're rushed, see The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and the remains of the Roman baths.

After your visit to the Cluny, exit onto boulevard St-Michel, but instead of heading back to place St-Michel, turn left and walk to place de la Sorbonne and the:

8. Sorbonne

One of the most famous academic institutions in the world, the Sorbonne was founded in the 13th century by Robert de Sorbon, St. Louis's confessor, for poor students who wished to pursue theological studies. By the next century it had become the most prestigious university in the West, attracting such professors as Thomas Aquinas and Roger Bacon and such students as Dante, Calvin, and Longfellow. Napoleon reorganized it in 1806. The courtyard and galleries are open to the public when the university is in session. In the Cour d'Honneur are statues of Hugo and Pasteur. At first glance from place de la Sorbonne, the Sorbonne seems architecturally undistinguished. In truth, it was rather indiscriminately reconstructed in the early 1900s. A better fate lay in store for the:

9. Eglise de la Sorbonne

Built in 1635 by Le Mercier, this church contains the marble tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, a work by Girardon based on a design by Le Brun. At his feet is the remarkable statue Learning in Tears.

From the church, go south on rue Victor-Cousin and turn left at rue Soufflot. At the street's end lie place du Panthéon and the:

10 Panthéon

Sitting atop Mont St-Geneviève, this nonreligious temple is the final resting place of such distinguished figures as Hugo, Zola, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Curie.

Walking Tour 3

The Marais

Start: Place de la Bastille (Métro: Bastille).

Finish: Place de la Bastille.

Time: 4 1/2 hours, with only brief stops en route. The distance is about 4.5km (2 3/4 miles).

Best Time: Monday to Saturday, when more buildings and shops are open. If interiors are open, often you can walk into courtyards.

Worst Time: Toward dusk, when shops and museums are closed and it's too dark to admire the architectural details.

When Paris began to overflow the confines of Ile de la Cité in the 13th century, the citizenry began to settle in Le Marais, a marsh that used to be flooded by the Seine. By the 17th century, the Marais had become the center of aristocratic Paris, and some of its great hôtels particuliers (mansions), many now restored or still being spruced up, were built by the finest craftsmen in France. In the 18th and 19th centuries, fashion deserted the Marais for the expanding Faubourg St-Germain and Faubourg St-Honoré. Industry took over, and once-elegant hotels deteriorated into tenements. There was talk of demolishing the neighborhood, but in 1962 the community banded together and saved the historic district.

Today, the 17th-century mansions are fashionable once again. The International Herald Tribune called this area the latest refuge for the Paris artisan fleeing the tourist-trampled St-Germain-des-Prés. (However, that doesn't mean the area doesn't get its share of tourist traffic -- quite the contrary.) The "marsh" sprawls across the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, bounded by the Grands Boulevards, rue du Temple, place des Vosges, and the Seine. It has become Paris's center of gay/lesbian life, particularly on rues St-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, des Archives, and Vieille-du-Temple, and is a great place for window-shopping at trendy boutiques, up-and-coming galleries, and more.

Begin your tour at the site that spawned one of the most celebrated and abhorred revolutions in human history:

1. Place de la Bastille

On July 14, 1789, a mob attacked the Bastille prison located here, igniting the French Revolution. Now, nothing of this symbol of despotism remains. Built in 1369, it loomed over Paris with eight huge towers. Within them, many prisoners, some sentenced by Louis XIV for "witchcraft," were kept, the best known being the "Man in the Iron Mask." Yet when the revolutionary mob stormed the fortress, only seven prisoners were discovered. (The Marquis de Sade had been shipped to the madhouse 10 days earlier.) The authorities had discussed razing it, so the attack meant little. But what it symbolized and what it unleashed can never be undone, and each July 14 the country celebrates Bastille Day with great festivity. Since the late 1980s, what had been scorned as a grimy-looking traffic circle has become an artistic focal point, thanks to the construction of the Opéra Bastille on its eastern edge.

It was probably easier to storm the Bastille in 1789 than it is now to cross over to the center of the square for a close-up view of the:

2. Colonne de Juillet

The July Column doesn't commemorate the Revolution but honors the victims of the July Revolution of 1830, which put Louis-Philippe on the throne after the heady but wrenching victories and defeats of Napoleon Bonaparte. The winged God of Liberty, whose forehead bears an emerging star, crowns the tower.

From place de la Bastille, walk west along rue St-Antoine for about a block. Turn right and walk north along rue des Tournelles, noting the:

3. Statue of Beaumarchais

Erected in 1895, it honors the 18th-century author of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, set to music by Rossini and Mozart, respectively.

Continue north for a long block along rue des Tournelles; then turn left at medieval-looking rue Pas-de-la-Mule (Footsteps of the Mule), which will open suddenly onto the northeastern corner of enchanting:

4. Place des Vosges

This is Paris's oldest square and once its most fashionable, boasting 36 brick-and-stone pavilions rising from covered arcades that allowed people to shop no matter what the weather. The buildings were constructed according to a strict plan: The height of the facades is equal to their width, and the height of the triangular roofs is half the height of the facades. In 1559, Henri II was killed while jousting on a spot near the Hôtel des Tournelles; his widow, Catherine de Médicis, had the place torn down. The current square was begun in 1605 on Henri IV's orders and called place Royal; the king intended the square to be the scene of businesses and social festivities and even planned to live there, but Ravaillac had other plans and assassinated Henri 2 years before its completion in 1612. By the 17th century, the square was the home of many aristocrats. During the Revolution, it was renamed place de l'Invisibilité, and its statue of Louis XIII was stolen (and probably melted down). A replacement now stands in its place.

In 1800, the square was renamed place des Vosges because the Vosges département (an administrative unit) was the first in France to pay its taxes to Napoleon. The addition of chestnut trees sparked a controversy; critics say they spoil the perspective. Even though its fortunes waned when the Marais went out of fashion, place des Vosges is back big-time. Over the years, the famous often took up residence: Descartes, Pascal, Cardinal Richelieu, courtesan Marion Delorme, Gautier, Daudet, and Mme de Sévigné all lived here. But its best-known occupant was Victor Hugo (his home, now a museum, is the only house open to the public).

Place des Vosges is the centerpiece of many unusual, charming, and/or funky shops. At 20 place des Vosges is one of the best of these:

5. Deborah Chock

This shop (tel. 01-48-04-86-86) sells reproductions of the colorful and contemporary paintings of Deborah Chock, who is noted for the pithy phrases on the background of her paintings that reflect insights from the worlds of poetry, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. Use it as a debut before you explore the many other art galleries in the neighborhood. The staff is English speaking and well versed in the currents of the Paris art scene.

Take a Break--Two cafes hold court from opposite sides of place des Vosges, both serving café au lait, wine, eaux de vie (brandies), sandwiches, pastries, and tea: Ma Bourgogne at no. 19 (tel. 01-42-78-44-64), on the western edge, and La Chope des Vosges at no. 22 (tel. 01-42-72-64-04).

Near the square's southeastern corner at 6 place des Vosges, commemorating the life and times of a writer whose works were read with passion in the 19th century, is the:

6. Maison de Victor Hugo

Hugo's former home is now a museum (tel. 01-42-72-10-16) and literary shrine. Hugo lived there from 1832 to 1848, when he went into voluntary exile on the Channel Islands after the rise of the despotic Napoleon III.

Exit from place des Vosges from its northwestern corner (opposite the Maison de Victor Hugo) and walk west along rue des Francs-Bourgeois until you reach the intersection with rue de Sévigné; then make a right. At no. 23 is the:

7. Musée Carnavalet

This 16th-century mansion is now a museum (tel. 01-44-59-58-32) devoted to the history of Paris and the French Revolution.

Continue to a point near the northern terminus of rue de Sévigné, noting no. 29 (now part of the Carnavalet). This is the:

8. Hôtel le Peletier de St-Fargeau

The structure bears the name of its former occupant, who was considered responsible for the death sentence of Louis XVI. It's used as offices and can't be visited.

At the end of the street, make a left onto lovely rue du Parc-Royal, lined with 17th-century mansions. It leads to place de Thorigny, where at no. 5 you'll find the:

9. Musée Picasso

The museum occupies the Hôtel Salé, built by a salt-tax collector. You can visit the museum now or come back at the end of the tour.

Walk northeast along rue Thorigny and turn left onto rue Debelleyme. After a block, near the corner of rue Vieille-du-Temple, at 108 rue Vieille-du-Temple, is a particularly worthwhile art gallery (among dozens in this neighborhood):

10. Yvon Lambert

This gallery (tel. 01-42-71-09-33) specializes in contemporary and sometimes radically avant-garde art by international artists. The art is displayed in a cavernous main showroom, spilling over into an annex room. An excellent primer for the local arts scene, it provides an agreeable contrast to the 17th-century trappings all around you.

Continue north for 2 short blocks along rue Debelleyme until you reach rue de Bretagne. Anyone who appreciates a really good deli will want to stop at 14 rue de Bretagne:

11. Les Iles Grecques

This deli (tel. 01-42-71-00-56) is the most popular of the area's ethnic take-out restaurants, a perfect place to buy picnic supplies before heading to square du Temple (up rue de Bretagne) or place des Vosges. You'll find moussaka, stuffed eggplant, stuffed grape leaves, olives, tarama (a savory paste made from fish roe), and both meatballs and vegetarian balls. It's open Monday from 4 to 8pm and Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 2pm and 3:30 to 8pm.

After you fill up on great food, note that at the same address is:

12. Hier, Aujourd'hui, et Demain

At this shop (tel. 01-42-77-69-02) you can appreciate France's love affair with 1930s Art Deco. Michel, the owner, provides an array of bibelots and art objects, with one of the widest selections of colored glass in town. Works by late-19th-century glassmakers such as Daum, Gallé, and Legras are shown. Some items require special packing and great care in transport; others can be carted home as souvenirs.

Now walk southeast along rue Charlot to no. 10 at the corner of rue Pastourelle, where you'll be tempted by the fabrics of:

13. Dominique Picquier

Looking to redo your settee? This stylish shop (tel. 01-42-72-39-14) sells a wide roster of fabric (50% cotton, 50% linen) that stands up to rugged use. Most patterns are based on some botanical inspiration, like ginkgo leaves, vanilla pods and vines, and magnolia branches. Most cost 46€ ($53) per meter (3 1/4 ft.), although some particularly plush velvets can go as high as 128€ ($147) per meter.

Nearby, at 9 rue Charlot, adjacent to the corner of rue Charlot and rue du Perche, is the Marais's large experimental art gallery, the:

14. Passage de Retz

Opened in 1994, this avant-garde gallery (tel. 01-48-04-37-99) has about 630 sq. m (6,781 sq. ft.) of space to show off its highly amusing exhibits. It has shown Japanese textiles, American abstract expressionist paintings, modern Venetian glass, contemporary Haitian paintings, and selections from affiliated art galleries in Québec.

Walk 1 block farther along rue Charlot, turn left for a block onto rue des 4 Fils; then go right on rue Vieille-du-Temple to no. 87, where you'll come across Delamair's:

15. Hôtel de Rohan

The fourth Cardinal Rohan, the larcenous cardinal of the "diamond necklace scandal" that led to a flood of destructive publicity for Marie Antoinette, once lived here. The first occupant of the hotel was reputed to be the son of Louis XVI. The interior is usually closed to the public except during an occasional exhibit. If it's open, check out the amusing Salon des Singes (Monkey Room). Sometimes you can visit the courtyard, which boasts one of the finest sculptures of 18th-century France, The Watering of the Horses of the Sun, with a nude Apollo and four horses against a background of exploding sunbursts. (If you want to see another Delamair work, detour to 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois to see the extraordinary Hôtel de Soubise, now housing the Musée de l'Histoire de France)

Along the same street at no. 47 is the:

16. Hôtel des Ambassadeurs de Hollande

Here, Beaumarchais wrote The Marriage of Figaro. It's one of the most splendid mansions in the Marais and, despite its name, was never occupied by the Dutch embassy.

Continue walking south along rue Vieille-du-Temple until you reach:

17. Rue des Rosiers

Rue des Rosiers (Street of the Rosebushes) is one of the most colorful and typical streets remaining from Paris's old Jewish quarter, and you'll find an intriguing blend of living memorials to Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions. The Star of David shines from some of the shop windows; Hebrew letters appear, sometimes in neon; couscous is sold from shops run by Moroccan, Tunisian, or Algerian Jews; restaurants serve kosher food; and signs appeal for Jewish liberation. You'll come across many delicacies you might've read about but never seen, such as sausage stuffed in a gooseneck, roots of black horseradish, and pickled lemons.

Take a Break--The street offers a cornucopia of ethnic eateries that remain steadfast to their central European, Ashkenazi origins.

Take a left onto rue des Rosiers and head down to rue Pavée, which gets its name because it was the first street in Paris, sometime during the 1300s, to have cobblestones placed over its open sewer. At this "Paved Street," turn right and walk south until you reach the St-Paul Métro stop. Make a right along rue François-Miron and check out no. 68, the 17th-century:

18. Hôtel de Beauvais

Though the facade was damaged in the Revolution, it remains one of Paris's most charming hotels. A plaque announces that Mozart lived there in 1763 and played at the court of Versailles. (He was 7 at the time.) Louis XIV presented the mansion to Catherine Bellier, wife of Pierre de Beauvais and lady-in-waiting to Anne of Austria; she reportedly had the honor of introducing Louis, then 16, to the facts of life. To visit the interior, apply to the Association du Paris Historique on the ground floor.

Continue your walk along rue François-Miron until you come to a crossroads, where you take a sharp left along rue de Jouy, cross rue Fourcy, and turn onto rue du Figuier, where at no. 1 you'll see the:

19. Hôtel de Sens

The structure was built between the 1470s and 1519 for the archbishops of Sens. Along with the Cluny on the Left Bank, it's the only domestic architecture remaining from the 15th century. Long after the archbishops had departed in 1605, the wife of Henri IV, Queen Margot, lived here. Her new lover, "younger and more virile," slew her old lover as she looked on in amusement. Today, the hotel houses the Bibliothèque Forney (tel. 01-42-78-14-60). Leaded windows and turrets characterize the facade; you can go into the courtyard to see more ornate stone decoration -- the gate is open Tuesday to Friday from 1:30 to 8:15pm and Saturday from 10am to 8:15pm.

Retrace your steps to rue de Fourcy, turn right, and walk up the street until you reach the St-Paul Métro stop again. Turn right onto rue St-Antoine and continue to no. 62:

20. Hôtel de Bethune-Sully

Work began on this mansion in 1625, on the order of Jean Androuet de Cerceau. In 1634, it was acquired by the duc de Sully, once Henri IV's minister of finance. After a straitlaced life as the "accountant of France," Sully broke loose in his declining years, adorning himself with diamonds and garish rings and a young bride, who's said to have had a thing for very young men. The hotel was acquired by the government just after World War II and is now the seat of the National Office of Historical Monuments and Sites, with an information center and a bookshop inside. Recently restored, the relief-studded facade is especially appealing. You can visit the interior with a guide on Saturday or Sunday at 3pm and can visit the courtyard and the garden any day; chamber-music concerts are frequently staged here.

Active Pursuits

Friday Night "Rando" Fever--The Paris Roller Rando takes over the city on Friday nights, "rando" being short for randonnée, meaning tour or excursion. The starting time is around 10pm at the place de l'Italia (also the name of the Métro stop). Roller folk from Paris and throughout Ile de France amass here to begin their 3-hour weekly journey through the city on rollerblades. Every Friday three motorcycle policemen lead the way with dome lights flashing, signaling moving cars to get out of the way. First-aid wagons follow the "rollers." On an average night in Paris, some 20,000 rollers show up. Many visitors like to stay up late that night to watch these "mad, mad Parisians" in all their crazed "rollermania."

Suggested Itineraries

For visitors on the run, who are forced by their schedules to see Paris in anywhere from 1 to 3 days, we've devised a trio of self-guided tours, written as three 1-day itineraries. With these ready-made itineraries, you can have a complete, unforgettable trip, even though time is short.

"It's not possible!" a Parisian might warn you. Actually, seeing Paris in 1 to 3 days is possible but calls for some discipline and fast moving on your part.

Of course, even as we present these itineraries for "conquering" Paris in a nutshell, we must warn that you'll need a month to develop even a passing acquaintance with Paris. Save that for another day when, perhaps, you'll have more time. Start your voyage of discovery right outside your hotel door.

In Three Days

Having survived two days in the capital of France, you are by now a veteran Parisian. Now it's time to "Hit the Road, Jack" (or Jill) and head for the single most glorious monument to pomp and pomposity that France ever saw erected to royal pretensions and kingly vanity. Start: RER line C to Versailles Rive Gauche station.

1. Château de Versailles

There is nothing in all of Paris to equal this regal wonder, former stamping ground of everyone from Madame de Pompadour, the royal mistress, to Marie Antoinette, the Austrian princess doomed to marry a French king about to lose his head. The palace opens at 9am, so try to get here at that time because it will take a minimum of 3 hours to see just some of the highlights.

A first-time visitor will want to concentrate on the Grands Appartements, the glittering Hall of Mirrors, and the Petits Appartements where Louis XV died in 1774 of smallpox. Other "don't miss" attractions include the Opéra that Gabriel designed for Louis XV in 1748 and the Royal Chapel that Hardouin-Mansart didn't live to complete. There's more. For your final hour, wander through Le Nôtre's "Garden of Eden" -- in other words, the Gardens of Versailles, paying a visit to the Grand Trianon, where Nixon once slept in the room where Madame de Pompadour died, and the Petit Trianon, which Louis XV used for his trysts with his mistress, Madame du Barry.

2. Le Potager du Roy

This is one of the best of the middle-bracket restaurants of Versailles. Philippe Letourneur makes it easy for you by offering one of the best, most generous, and well-prepared prix fixe menus in Versailles, although it's rather pricey. The choice of ingredients is skillful and the preparation inventive. The menu is adjusted to take advantage of the best produce of any season.

1 rue du Maréchal-Joffre. tel. 01-39-50-35-34.

NOTE: Should you regard your time too precious for a sit-down meal, you can have a fast lunch on the run and save those dwindling hours to see more of Paris itself. You could visit a deli in the morning before leaving Paris and secure the makings of a piquenique, which you can enjoy by the canal in the Gardens of Versailles after you tour the palace. Within various corners of the gardens you'll also encounter snack bars discreetly tucked away. There's even a McDonald's on the walk back from the palace to the train station, which you'll need to visit anyway to take the RER back to Paris.

Once in Paris, take the Métro to Rambuteau, Hôtel-de-Ville, or Châtelet-Les Halles to visit:

3. Centre Pompidou

The exterior is controversial, called daringly innovative and avant-garde or else "the eyesore of Paris." But inside, virtually everyone agrees that this museum dominating Beaubourg is a repository of one of the world's greatest collections of modern art. Amazingly, more art lovers visit Pompidou per day than they do the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower. Beginning with Rousseau's Snake Charmer and ending with the latest acquisition from the 21st century, you can view the greatest modern artists of the 20th century: the inevitable Picassos, but also Chagall, Francis Bacon, Calder, Magritte, Matisse, Mondrian, Pollock, Kandinsky -- and the beat goes on. Allow at least 2 hours.

Take the Métro to:

4. Place des Vosges

Having tasted the glories of such districts as Montmartre and Ile St-Louis, it's time to discover the charms of one of Paris's most enchanting neighborhoods, the Marais. Place des Vosges, one of the world's most perfectly designed and harmonious squares, is found at the very center of the Marais. For those with extra time, we've designed a complete walking tour of the Marais. But most 3-day visitors, especially if they visited Versailles, will not have time to see the entire district.

The oldest square in Paris is flanked by 36 matching pavilions with red and gold brick and stone facades. Architecturally, this square represents the first time in Paris that an arcade was used to link houses. Balconies were also designed for use for the first time -- not just for decorative reasons. The most famous resident of this square (no. 6) was the French writer Victor Hugo, who lived here from 1833 to 1848 until Napoleon III came to power and Hugo fled into voluntary exile to the Channel Islands. His home is now a museum, which at this point may have to be saved until your next trip to Paris.

Arm yourself with a good map and spend at least an hour wandering the narrow Marais streets to the west of place des Vosges. You can make discoveries on every block as you explore trendy cafes and funky shops. At the northern tier of the place des Vosges, head west along rue des Francs Bourgeois, one of the most historic streets. At some point, dip south to visit the parallel street:

5. Rue des Rosiers

"The Street of Rose Bushes" (its English name) remains from the heyday of the old Jewish ghetto that once flourished here. The street, deep in the heart of the Marais, is still packed with kosher butchers, bakeries, and falafel shops. In the 1960s the waves of North African Sephardim radically changed the street. After an attempt at extermination in World War II, Jewish families are still surviving in the Marais. A synagogue is at 25 rue des Rosiers.

One more famous neighborhood awaits discovery.

6. Montparnasse

Take the Métro to Montparnasse-Bienvenüe. Once Montparnasse was the retreat of bohemian artists and the working class. Today it's been as successfully gentrified with urban renewal projects as the Marais. The district teems with cafes (many of literary fame), cinemas, and nightclubs, along with artisan shops and bars. For a description of some of the highlights of the area. For the best overview, take an elevator to the 56th floor of Tour Montparnasse (tel. 01-45-38-52-56), which, when it was built, was accused of bringing Manhattan to Paris. The tower, completed in 1973, rises 206m (676 ft.) above the Parisian skyline.

After taking in the view, descend on the most famous cafe of Montparnasse.

7. La Coupole

One doesn't see as many writers and publishers as before, but this is still the best viewing platform for Montparnasse life. In this citadel to the bohemian life of Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, Hemingway, Picasso, and Louis Armstrong once scribbled, sketched, or composed here. Chanteuse Josephine Baker would show up accompanied by her lion cub, and Jean-Paul Sartre would dine here. Eugène Ionesco always ordered the café liegeois. Henry Miller came for his morning porridge, and the famous "Kiki of Montparnasse" picked up tricks here to service back in her hotel room. James Joyce patronized the joint, as did F. Scott Fitzgerald when he didn't have much money; when the royalty check came in, he fled to the Ritz Bar. Join the local fauna for the memories if for no other reason.

102 bd. Du Montparnasse, 14. tel. 01-43-20-14-20.

You can order drinks here and sit back to enjoy the cafe scene in Montparnasse, perhaps not as colorful as in days gone by but still a lively, bustling place to be at night.

For dinner on your final night, head for a restaurant that is a virtual sightseeing attraction as well as a place for food, the:

8. Closerie des Lilas

After taking the Métro Port Royal or Vavin, descend on this legend that has been wining and dining some of the most famous figures of the past two centuries since it opened back in 1847. It is "The Pleasure Garden of the Lilacs" (its English name), a virtual French monument. Follow the sounds of a jazz pianist and enter its hallowed precincts, heading for the bateau (boat) section for a champagne julep (the bartender's special). You can dine more expensively in the main restaurant with formal service or else enjoy the more democratically priced brasserie. Should you be on the strictest of budgets, you can order a coffee or a beer at the bar and soak up the atmosphere, the way Hemingway did between royalty checks when he was broke and having to kill a pigeon in the park for his dinner. Today the lilacs of its namesake no longer bloom; Trotsky has long been assassinated, and Henry James is a mere skeleton of himself (if that). But young Parisians, including rising film stars, models, the pretty and the chic, still patronize the place, giving you a close encounter with Paris after dark. And, yes, it's still going in August when the rest of the town shuts down. Have a nightcap at the bar and promise a return to Paris.

171 bd. Du Montparnasse, 6e. tel. 01-40-51-34-50.

In Two Days

If you've already made your way through "The Best of Paris in One Day," you'll find that your second full-day tour takes in other fascinating sections of Paris, including Ile St-Louis (the most beautiful island in the Seine), along with such areas as Montmartre, the hill crowning Paris, and such major attractions as an array of the greatest works of the Impressionists in the Musée d'Orsay, along with Napoleon's Tomb and other amusements. Start: the Pont-Marie Métro stop.

1. Ile St-Louis

The neighboring island to La Cité is Ile St-Louis, lying to the larger island's immediate east. Beautiful antique town houses with charming courtyards, tree-shaded quays opening onto the Seine, mansions that once housed such famous literati as Voltaire and his mistress, antique shops, and little restaurants and cafes fill the narrow streets of this platinum island of expensive real estate. Wandering its streets and quays in the early morning before the museums and attractions open is a great way to break in your second day in Paris. After arriving at Pont-Marie on the Right Bank, head south across the bridge, Pont-Marie, to Ile St-Louis. Cut immediately to your right and walk along Quai de Bourbon. We suggest that you circle the entire Seine-bordering quays, including those south of the island, Quai d'Orléans and Quai de Béthune. When you reach Square Barye in the far southeastern corner, take in the scenic view down river before crossing by Pont de Sully. At this point you can cut inland and walk the entire length of rue St-Louis-en-l'Ile, which will take you along the "main street" and the most historic of the island.

After your stroll, take the Métro to Solférino.

2. Musée d'Orsay

This splendid museum will take up the rest of your morning, at least two hours. It shelters the world's greatest collection of the Impressionists, including all the old masters, such as Manet, Monet, and van Gogh. You'll even get to see the fabled painting of Whistler's Mother -- and it's by an American. This former railway station also presents a vast array of sculpture and decorative arts, with other departments devoted to architecture, photography, and cinema. Most of the works span the period from 1848 to 1914 and the beginning of World War I. To speed you on your way, English-language information is available at the entrance. Audio guides offer analyses of more than 50 masterpieces on display.

Since it's time for lunch, we suggest you eat on site.

3.Restaurant du Musée d'Orsay

Serving first-class cuisine, this elegant restaurant should be visited if only for its setting, although the food is excellent. Gabriel Ferrier designed this Belle Époque room with its panoramic vista of the Seine and its splendid chandeliers. Main dishes are reasonably priced at 9€ to 15€ ($12 to $20). Lunch is also offered Tuesday to Sunday 11:30am to 2:30pm, afternoon tea Friday to Wednesday 3:30 to 5:30pm, and dinner only Thursday 7 to 9:30pm. If you want something cheaper, you can patronize Café des Hauteurs, on the fifth floor behind one of the former train station's huge iron clocks. It is open Tuesday to Wednesday and Friday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, Thursday 10am to 9pm. For food on the run, patronize a self-service food stand directly above the cafe; it's open Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 5pm.

1 rue de Bellechasse, 7e. tel. 01-40-49-48-14.

After lunch, take the Métro to:

4. Hotel des Invalides/Napoleon's Tomb

Still beloved by many French people, the little megalomaniac who tried to conquer Europe lies locked away (or at least his remains are) in six coffins of red Finnish porphyry -- a lot of tombs for such a small man. All his remains are here, with one exception: Someone cut off his penis and made off with it. After seeing the tomb in Église du Dome, you can leave at once or else take a quick look at the Musée de l'Armée located here. This is a gaudy celebration of French military history, but most first-timers to Paris skip it.

From Invalides take the Métro over to the Right Bank, getting off at the Alma-Marceau stop. Here, you can embark on one of the:

5. Bateaux-Mouche Cruises of the Seine

We know of no better way to enjoy Paris than from the deck of one of these scenic boat tours that take in Paris from the riverbank point of view, including the most dramatic vistas of Notre-Dame. Tours depart every 20 to 30 minutes during the day and are in English, lasting about 75 minutes. First you sail east all the way to Ile St-Louis, returning west past the Eiffel Tower.

As the afternoon fades, head for "the top of Paris," the legendary Montmartre district, reached by Métro going north to the stop at Abbesses.

6. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur

Before heading for the church, you can wander around the legendary square place du Tertre. Dozens of young artists are waiting for you to give them the nod to paint your portrait. This may sound corny to some sophisticated travelers, but thousands upon thousands of visitors view one of these portraits as their most memorable souvenir of Paris. Perhaps your portrait will be painted by tomorrow's Toulouse-Lautrec. The Church of the Sacred Heart, with its many cupolas, is a brilliant white and as much a part of the Paris skyline as the Eiffel Tower. Ascend to the dome at 80m (262 ft.) for one of the greatest panoramas in all of Europe, extending for 48km (30 miles) on a clear afternoon. After coming down from the dome, we always like to sit with dozens of other visitors on the steps of Sacré-Coeur, watching the afternoon fade and the lights go on all over Paris.

After dinner, perhaps in one of the little bistros that surround place du Tertre, head for a Paris landmark for your final toast to the City of Light. Take the Métro to Opéra or Pyramides.

7. Harry's New York Bar

This is the official headquarters of the International Bar Flies. Such cocktails as the Bloody Mary, the Sidecar, and the White Lady were created here. The bar looks much as it did at the time of the Liberation, when Hemingway was one of its patrons. The main bar attracts sports fans, especially rugby rooters, but the downstairs piano bar is more attuned to a romantic conversation over a cocktail.

A final stroll through the streets of Paris before turning in will be your adieu to the favorite city of everybody (well, almost).

In One Day

Since time is wasting, arise early and begin your day with some live "theater" by walking the streets around your hotel -- Right Bank or Left Bank; it doesn't matter at this point. This walk can acclimate you faster than anything to the sights, sounds, and smells of the City of Light, and it gets you centered before you catch a taxi or hop aboard the Métro for a ride underground to your first attraction.

We suggest you duck into a cafe for breakfast. It doesn't matter which one. On virtually every street in Paris you'll find a cafe, often more than one.

Any neighborhood will provide a slice of Parisian life, as you order breakfast as thousands of locals do. Sit back, enjoy, and breathe deeply before beginning your descent on Paris. Start: Métro to Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre.

1. Musée du Louvre

You know you have to see the Louvre, perhaps the greatest museum of art in all the world. You wouldn't dare go home without that citadel having been stormed. Since it opens at 9am, be among the first in line.

We've been going to this repository of art for years, and we discover on every visit something we've overlooked before. The palatial treasure trove is that richly endowed, and some of its art is the most acclaimed on earth. With your clock ticking, at least call on the "great ladies of the Louvre": the Mona Lisa with her enigmatic smile, the sexy Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory (alas, without a head). Try to allot at least 2 hours of viewing time for some world-class masterpieces. Around 11am, go for a walk along:

2. The Quays of the Seine

After leaving the Louvre, walk south toward the river and head east for a stroll along the Seine. You'll encounter the most splendid panoramic vistas that Paris has to offer. Trees shade the banks of the river, and 14 bridges span the Seine. So much of the city's fortune has depended on this river, and you'll be in the very nerve center of Paris life as you stroll along.

You'll see Paris's greatest island in the Seine, the Cité, emerging before you. Cross over the:

3. Pont Neuf

The oldest and most evocative of the bridges of Paris, Pont Neuf dates from 1578 and looks much as it did then. From the bridge, the view down (or up) the river is perhaps the most memorable in Paris. Walk down the steps emerging on your right along Pont Neuf to:

4. Vert-Galant Square

The steps take you behind the statue dedicated to Henri IV to Vert-Galant Square at the western tip of Ile de La Cité. The square takes its designation from the nickname given Henry IV, meaning "gay old spark." The square is the best vantage point for viewing Pont Neuf and the Louvre. As you stand on this square, you'll be at the "prow" of Cité if you liken the island to a giant ship. After taking in that view, continue east, pausing at the:

5. Place Dauphine

This square -- perfect for a picnic -- was named in honor of the Dauphin, the future Louis XIII. It faces the towering mass of La Conciergerie, whose gloomy precincts and memories of the French Revolution you can save for another visit to Paris.

With time moving on, head east along:

6. Quai des Orfèvres

This Seine-bordering quay leads east to Notre-Dame. It was the former market of the jewelers of 17th and 18th century Paris. Marie-Antoinette's celebrated necklace, subject of countless legends, was fashioned here. The quay leads you to:

7. Sainte-Chapelle

This Gothic chapel is sublime, its upper chapel like climbing into Tiffany's most luxe jewel box. As the colored light from the 13th century bathes you, take in what are perhaps the most brilliantly colored "walls of glass" in the world. We rank taking in the deep glow of these astonishing windows as one of the great joys of a visit to the City of Light. The windows, the oldest in Paris, are not known just for the vividness of their brilliant colors, but also for the vitality of their characters, depicting everybody from Adam and Eve to St. John the Baptist and the life of the Virgin.

After a visit, it's time for lunch. Since first-day visitors might not have time to absorb Left Bank life, here's your chance.

Continue east along Quai des Orfèvres until you come to the Pont St-Michel. Cross the bridge to the Left Bank of Paris, arriving at the Latin Quarter centering around:

8. Place St-Michel

One of the inner chambers of Left Bank life, this square was named in memory of the ancient chapel of St-Michel that stood here once upon a time. The square, a bustling hub of Sorbonne life, centers around a fountain from 1860 designed by Gabriel Davioud, rising 229m (75 feet) high and stretching out to 4.6m (15 feet), a "monster" spouting water. A bronze statue depicts Saint Michael fighting the dragon.

Why not lunch in one of the most evocative of all Left Bank bistros?

9.Allard

Arm yourself with a good map to reach Allard, which lies only a 5-minute walk southwest of Place St-Michel. You could easily get lost in the narrow maze of Left Bank streets. Little has changed at this classic bistro with its mellow decor and traditional menu. Against a nostalgic ambience of Paris of the 1930s, you can join cosmopolitan patrons enjoying the sole meunière or the duck with olives, finishing off with that most divine pastry known to all Parisians as tarte Tatin. And, yes, if you've never tried them before, you'll find frogs' legs on the menu.

41 rue St-André-des-Arts, 6e. tel. 01-43-26-48-23.

After lunch, walk back to Place St-Michel.

Still on the Left Bank, continue east along Quai St Michel until it becomes Quai de Montebello. At the "green lung" or park, Square Rene Viviani, pause to take in the most dramatic view of Notre-Dame across the Seine. Then cross the bridge, Pont au Double, to visit the cathedral itself.

10. Cathedrale Notre-Dame

In so many ways, the exterior is more exciting than the vast and hollow interior, which since its denuding during the French Revolution is almost tomblike. One of the supreme masterpieces of Gothic art, Notre-Dame still evokes Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. You stand in awe, taking in the majestic and perfectly balanced portals. After a walk through the somber interior, climb the towers (around to the left facing the building) for a close encounter with tons of bells and the most eerie inspection of what are history's most bizarre gargoyles, some looking so terribly impish it's as if they're mocking you.

After Notre-Dame, take Métro to the:

11. Place de la Concorde

This octagonal traffic hub, built in 1757, is dominated by an Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, the oldest object made by humans in Paris, circa 1200 B.C. In the Reign of Terror at the time of the French Revolution, the dreaded guillotine was erected on this spot to claim thousands of heads. For a spectacular view, look down the Champs-Elysées.

The grandest walk in Paris begins here, leading all the way to the Arc de Triomphe . It's a distance of 3.2km (2 miles) and is the most popular walk in Paris.

But since your afternoon is short, you may want to skip most of it, taking the Métro to F.D. Roosevelt and then continuing west from here. At least you'll see the busiest and most commercial part of the:

12. Champs-Elysées

Called "the highway of French grandeur," this boulevard was designed for promenading. It's witnessed some of the greatest moments in French history and some of its worst defeats, such as when Hitler's armies paraded down the street in 1940. Louis XIV ordered the construction of the 1.8km (1.1-mile) avenue in 1667. Without worrying about any particular monument, stroll along its avenue of sidewalk cafes, automobile showrooms, airline offices, cinemas, lingerie stores, and even hamburger joints. The Champs has obviously lost its fin-de-siècle elegance as evoked by Marcel Proust in Remembrance of Things Past. But then, what hasn't?

At the end of the broad boulevard, you approach:

13. Arc de Triomphe

The greatest triumphal arch in the world, the 49m (161-ft.) arch can be climbed for one of the most panoramic views of Paris. The arch marks the intersections of the 8th, 16th, and 17th arrondissements. Sculptures, including François Rude's famous La Marseillaise, depicting the uprising of 1792 are embedded in the arch.

After a visit, and with the afternoon fading, take the Métro to the Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel for an ascent up the:

14. Eiffel Tower

It's open until 11pm or midnight, so don't worry about missing it. A close encounter with this tower, a 10,000-ton dark metal structure, is more inspiring up close than when seen from afar. A source of wonder since the 1889 World Exposition, this 317m (1,040-ft.) tower was the world's tallest building until the Chrysler Building went up in New York in 1930. If the afternoon is clear, you can see for 65km (40 miles).

articles : http://www.frommers.com

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