Paris - a romantic city.

Cruise the river Siene, visit the Eiffel Tower, dine out in a typical Parisian restaurant, and see a revue.

Quick Tips:

The second level of the Eiffel Tower offers a superb view. Miss the next level and spend extra time admiring the view from here. If you want to see a Parisian revue, try La Nouvelle Eve. Cheaper than the more well-known Moulin Rouge, but excellent value. Great food. Fantastic show! Caught short? Loos cost, but the McDonalds near the Arc de Triomphe is clean and free!

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking and the train. Road traffic was chaotic, and without a good knowledge of French, getting lost would be easy.

By far the largest and most comfortable rooms on our European Tour. The breakfast menu offered a good variety of cereals and hot food, along with traditional French pastries (could feel the kilos piling on!). The design was unusual, with an almost closed U-shape. The first couple of times we went to our room, we used a lift that was as far as possible from our room, yet was separated in the lobby by a check-in counter. Friends who visited managed to get lost in the corridors!

The hotel was close to a metro station, so transport to the city sights was nearby. A free shuttle bus is available but must be booked the day before. The hotel was used by one of the airlines and seemed to be rather full. A lot of uniformed hostesses and pilots coming and going.

This is the perfect French bistro, as typical as can be. But Les Noces de Jeannette ("Jeannette's Marriage") is also a wedding of fine cooking (with brasserie-style dishes), a setting that couldn't be more Parisian (decor and customers), and the opera comique (opera with spoken dialogue) that is right across the street and gives the venue its name.

The menu when we were there offered a choice of snails (escargots), egg-and-bacon pie (quiche lorraine), or pink and white terrine of fish. Mains offered a choice of leg of duck in orange sauce (cuisse de canard a l'orange), burgundy beef stew (beuf bourguignon), or codfish in butter cream sauce, all followed by the pastry of the day.

The atmosphere was as good as the food, with a wandering musician/singer to keep us entertained (he responded well to encouragement, returning frequently when tipped!). This restaurant seemed to attract a fair number of locals -- a good indication that the restaurant is a good one!

You can't really visit Paris without going to a revue. Although Moulin Rouge is more famous, we were told that this one offered better value. We were certainly not disappointed. The food was superb, and we had a table right in front of the stage (did I mention the girls in skimpy costumes?).

The entertainment was first-rate, from the dancing and singing through to a very entertaining acrobat (with a very funny laugh!). The costumes were impressive, or at times, the distinct lack of costumes (or at least costumes reduced to a bare minimum for decency!), as it were. One of our friends was called onto the stage and received a souvenir t-shirt for his efforts (how good is that -- he gets a closer look and a new t-shirt). I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking for a typically Parisian revue that also offers fine food and all-around entertainment. The entertainment included the can-can, typically associated with Parisian revues.

For more details on what to expect, try http://www.lanouvelleeveparis.com/en/index.asp

On the day of our cruise, the weather was overcast, and unfortunately, it started to rain as the boat left the dock. The roof was closed, limiting our view and photo opportunities somewhat. I moved out to the deck at the rear of the boat to get some photographs, but I missed some of the commentary. I also had to deal with cigarette smoke.

Still, it is worth taking a look at Paris from the Seine. Great views of the buildings lining the river and, of course, a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower from the river. The dock was just below the Eiffel Tower, so there was a chance to do both a cruise and a climb up the tower.

We ascended to the second level of the tower to find an absolutely stunning view. For an additional price, you could go up another level from 115 metres to 276 metres. The view from level two was so good, we couldn't justify the extra expense of going to the top (the cost was quite reasonable).

The lifts to the second level (there are three elevators in the north, west, and east pillars) go up at an angle (if you look at any photographs of the tower, you will understand why). It was a bit like riding the cog railway in Lucerne. Queues were quite long for both the ascent and descent. It is, after all, a very popular tourist attraction.

The views from the second level were quite stunning. The day was overcast, with a few showers, so although the conditions were not ideal, the weather did little to reduce the view. I was certainly relieved that I had a digital camera with a large storage card. I would have used far too much film!

Having just read the Da Vinci Code, a visit to the Louvre was a must. The glass pyramid was, as expected, impressive, and we did see the Mona Lisa. We did not, however, lift a painting from the wall to test the security!

It was impossible to get more than a taste of the Louvre in the short time we were there, but what we did see was unforgettable. The Venus de Milo statue was particularly impressive.