Paris in March

Sacre Couer-- great photo spot, very romantic Walk along the Seine by the "New bridge", which is actually Paris's oldest bridge. For great art, visit the art market in Montparness on Sundays. Try to see at least one museum, but don't try to see them all. Pick one and try to savor it, rather than rushing through. Check out the Catacombs for an unusual experience. If you're choosing one church to see, I'd recommend St. Chappelle over Notre Dame. Truly more beautiful, smaller and less crowded. (Also, not near the hike to the tower.

Quick Tips:

Here's our "tip list" In March, make sure you pack gloves, a scarf and a hat. Also, an umbrella. We found the weather unpredictable and changeable. We also wore thin long underwear on most days, to make being outside more enjoyable.

Learn the metro system, and buy (or at least research) a Carte Orange for travel on the metro. (We saved a TON of money on this weekly pass)Under no circumstances would we advise driving in Paris!

Try to go with the fixed price menus--not only do you save money, but they offer great variety and are often the chef's special.

Many musuems/attractions are closed on Sunday and/or Monday, so plan your trip accordingly. Don't save your #1 activity for a Sunday, unless you're sure of the hours.

Plan on some late nights. Most restaurants don't open for dinner until around 7:30, so bedtime is often late, as dinner can take three hours!

Best Way To Get Around:

METRO, METRO, METRO. I can't say it enough! Cheap convenient and easy!

Although, you also need to make sure to get out and walk around!

Standard room...very small, but comfortable and clean. The location is great-- close to metro and some great sights, including Sacre Coeur. Staff was not overly friendly or helpful. Avoid the Tati department store nearby on heavy shopping days -- the pedastrian traffic is insane.

Wonderful staff-- very helpful with the menu. Great atmosphere, and truly delicious food. The menu is varied, and everyone in our party had a wonderful meal, including the dessert and coffeee.

GREAT OYSTERS!!!! That's the first thing. A great fixed-price menu, with a wide choice of appetizers, main course and dessert. Also, they had an English menu, which was of great assistance, since some of the seafood preparation methods we were unfamiliar with. I recommend the oysters and the "floating island" dessert, which is amazing meringue and raspberry sauce.

The only drawback is that the lighting makes it seem a little "diner"-like-- very, very bright!! So, I wouldn't recommend it for a romantic dinner for two.

The building itself is a work of art. The great hall is a vast space, which fits the grandeur of the works presented there. Interesting layout, which spreads the crowds over a wide area, with smaller rooms to highlight certain artists or artistic styles. But, the Impressionist gallery upstairs, highlighting Monet, Matisse, Van Gogh, etc. was just amazing. And the restaurant is great, with a great view, and the gift shop provided some interesting, non-touristy gifts for folks back home. A true highlight of our trip.

A sight to behold! Two full stores, each over six stories, of the most amazing (and expensive) merchandise. It's worth a trip just to browse through the lingerie section (for both men and women!) and to look down onto the first floor and the huge cosmetic/perfume department, and gaze up to a stained-glass dome!

The store clerks are mostly aspiring models, so they are a sight to behold as well. With everything from electronics to Chanel, it's a great day to spend a rainy day in Paris. It's like no other shopping on earth!

This is an interesting museum. Even if you're not too fond of Picasso (like me), the museum is a great building, in an old renovated hotel.

As for the art, I was able to appreciate Picasso's greatness, variety of work, and talent, but it's not really my style if I'm totally honest. I really enjoyed the other museums much more. It is, however, a good sampling of Picasso's works, and it's well organized by time period (or phase) which helps the novice.

One of the most interesting walks in the city! Famous graves (i.e., Jim Morrison, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, Eugene Delacroix) and also a great glimpse into French history (i.e., monuments erected to French Holocaust victims). Some uphill, some level, and all truly beautiful. Great scenery, flowers, trees and graves! A great way to spend an afternoon. You don't even feel like you're in the city anymore!

The monument itself-- A little overrated, but the view was great (it reminded me a little of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery here in the US). I highly advise going to the top during rush hour and watching the INSANE traffic. It was also at sunset, so it was an amazing view.

It's also a good way to get your bearings in the city/

The Catacombs occupy only a portion of the Parisian netherworld. Basically, over the last 500 years, cemeteries were emptied and the remains deposited, quite artfully, underground. At the start, we descended a tight, spiral staircase of about 100 steps. At the bottom is a small gallery. And beyond the gallery is a very long, narrow tunnel. Neither the staircase nor this tunnel is for claustrophobics, although the Catacombs themselves are not uncomfortable.

Ultimately, we reached an opening in the tunnel, and we saw the sign at the top of this page--which translates: "Stop! Here is the empire of the dead." The stacks of bones can be seen beyond the sign. They're arranged in some interesting ways. I won't attempt to describe to you my feeling of the Catacombs--I'll let you make up your own minds. But, one hour after entering the mass grave, we emerged to the city again through another long, winding staircase. Unexpectedly, we didn't exit the Catacombs at the same place where we had entered.

One of my favorite places! Go after a rainstorm, since the cathedral is built with a type of stone that seems to glow after it's been rained on. An amazing, and romantic view, both looking up at Sacre Coeur and looking down on the gardens and the city below. A little bit of a hike, since it's on the highest point in the city, but truly worth it. We stopped afterwards and bought crepes from a street vendor and just gazed up at the church. It's like a jewel… not to be missed. (We went there three different times-- morning, sunset and on a cloudy day!)

One other interesting item-- one of the times we were there was about midnight, right as they turned the lights off, and we ran into one of the stars from E.R. there. I can't remember his name, but he's the guy that plays Luca. He was there with a group of friends. The really strange thing is that we had watched a little TV earlier that evening while getting ready for dinner, and we watched an episode of ER (called Urgency in France) in French, and it was an episode that he starred in. Just a bizarre little Sacre Coeur story!

A VERY interesting place! Filled with erotic art that spans the ages. Everything from ancient Egypt to modern day photography. Six floors of fascinating displays-- everything from kitchenware fashioned into erotic forms, fetishes, a history of the corset/bra, and truly amazing (artful) photographs.

The collection is housed in what was once a brothel, so even the building has an erotic history. Exhibits were truly very tastefully and artfully displayed, and I learned a great deal about censorship. The museum was definitely erotic---rather than exploitative---but not a place for the kids unless you want to do some serious explaining of some very detailed sexual practices.

Also-- there is a small gift shop selling erotic art, including great postcards and trinkets, but no sex toys... you have to walk next door to one of the traditional sex shops for those!

BTW-- I can't really post any of the photos that we took here, for obvious reasons, but let's just say that we got a couple of pretty funny ones!

Another thing-- it's open until about 10:00 PM, which makes it a great evening activity before a nice dinner out.