France Airfares

The essence of Paris is best experienced with good walking shoes, a laminated map of the city, knowing how to say “pouvez-vous m’indiquer” (“can you show me on the map”)…and a pack of cigarettes and bottle of champagne. Nothing screams out the need to sip champagne and dangle burning cigarettes from your lips more, than crowded, sidewalk cafés enveloped in French language conversations.

Unfortunately, our trip to France didn’t include any cities outside of Paris, so I missed out on the Celtic influenced Brittany, the haunting shores of Normandy and the Mediterranean cities of Nice, St. Tropez and Cannes (in the South of France). That’s ok, though, because the “City of Lights” is a good starting point, and the next time I visit France I’ll hit those other areas before I revisit Paris.

When you’re in Paris for 3 days you have no choice but to stay on course with the most popular attractions and that means strolls down the lovely Champs Elysees (your wife/girlfriend will love you for this), visiting the mighty Arc de Triomphe, the magnificent Louvre museum, the historic Eiffel Tower and the ancient Notre-Dame cathedral.

The Musee du Louvre has a history dating back to the medieval era, having originally been built as a fortress against Viking intruders in the early 13th century. It was rebuilt in the mid 16th century to house royalty. Today, it houses immense collections of art including such prominent pieces as Leonardo Di Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the armless Venus De Milo and the tomb of Philippe Pot. Equally enjoyable was seeing the groups of French schoolchildren throughout the museum capturing the museums brilliance in their sketchbooks.