First things get this clear, Paris is not France, they are distinct, there is a lot to France than just Paris. But of course you can expect what to see once you land in Paris. Most importantly, its not just a tick mark item, you are insulting a city like Paris if you come here just for tick on your bucketlist.
We landed in UFO-ish airport of CDG (Charles de Gaulle) Paris with tubes and tunnels taking us from one terminal to other and then through the metro to our destination. The first thing which was pleasant about Paris was its climate, coming from Indian sub-continent, that was much relief.
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| Did you know this airport is also called as Roissy Airport before it was renamed on great Charles de Gaulle |
I think, France owes a lot to axis forces during world War II. Lot of its historical monuments and culture are intact today because of its friendship with them. The history is sowed in every nook and corner of Paris and its sub-urban areas. France is a blessed country with Paris sitting at the helm like a charming ageless princess. Paris was worth all the hype and fame it commands. It's one of the places in the world, where you point camera in any direction and you get a picture to cherish. Earlier such place I visited was New Zealand, pure raw nature and beautiful serenity. Paris is meticulously planned in an exquisite setting, bestowed by amazing climate.
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| 1 - View from Arc De Triomph, not a single structure is uneven, obstructing the view. You can view the city scape from here and details of city planning. If you are an architect student, then you can get a lot of ideas from here. |
First day was bit tiring, jet-lagged, as we had just landed. Settling in the hotel to plan what to see in a city that offers you so much is really difficult - its a problem of plenty 😃. Good thing about our hotel Yooma was it is walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, just 10 minutes crossing the Bir Hakeim metro station which is situated over the bridge. Highly recommended as its quite modernish looking hotel in city filled with Romanesque and Gothic architectures.
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| 2 - The Lourve, inside view. I thought the I would get to see "The Monalisa" in much bigger size, but was disappointing. My view - Monalisa is too much hyped.But Lourve is a must see, you can spend an entire day inside this museum and the courtyard vicinity above. You got that, the entire museum is underground. |
Thanks to the Big Bus in Paris, you are able to see the vast architectural beauty of Paris by spending lot of time at each place, be it a palaces, churches, administrative buildings or monuments. You can just hop on & hop-off them from anywhere and frequency is amazing.
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| 3 - All the statues on top must be in gold, its like a unwritten rule. This monstrous face caught my eyes on top of the Academie Nationale De Musique, mind you there was an entire army of them peeping from the roof top, watching down straight in your eyes. Each of these terrifying faces are unique. |
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4 - When you enter such a museum, with such an exquisite art, you keep on circling yourself looking up and around, confused what to click and which art to leave. Must see if you are an art lover, even if you're not you will be spell bound by the artifacts on display the richness of the French past. #Lourve
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5 - The street artists of Paris are omnipresent, this grand old man had a sweet sorrow in his violin tune, just hear, he plays the magic on the one of the many bridges on Seine river. I recalled the story of Joshua Bell, this person is worth $1000 ticket !
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| 6 - I was always fascinated by the electric vehicles (EV) from my childhood and I found them in abundance in France. Small cars, bikes, mopeds, three-wheeler's, bicycles and buses. Paris has charging points at almost all public places which shows the importance given to EV's. There are lot of app based public electric bikes which you can hire to do sightseeing. It is the best way to roam around the city, moreover you can pick up and drop these vehicles from any point and drop. |
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| 7 - You will find such strange looking faces on almost all the buildings, structures and monuments. Some directly looking at you, some smiling, laughing, some in pain. Observe their expression details on each of these faces. You will find monsters, common people, angels, gods, kings and so on. It is really interesting to note the stories behind each one of them. |
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| 8 - This structure doesn't need an introduction. Tried to capture it in full, but if you dont have a wide angle lens its impossible to capture entire tower from its immediate vicinity. As soon as you land in Paris get the tickets, since its one of the seven wonders of the world, there's a lot of rush no matter which day of the week it is. If you have strong legs you can climb up to the level 1 and then take elevator. Make sure you visit every corner of the tower and spend good amount of time on top. |
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| You can reserve your place on the lawns for hours and just imbibe the scenery around this magnificent structure. Truly worth your entire day. |
The two things which are very common in Paris city, points 9 and 10 below
9 -
On the left, the lamp post with locks galore. No its not locked because it valuable, these symbols of lasting love, locked and left to withstand time.
These can be found on almost every bridge, lamp posts, on boat anchors along the Seine river walkway, ancient grill of door, you name it. Since Paris is a "city of romance" this is so very common.
It is a dream of every couple to visit Paris and to do take vows for life. You will see people locking (and of course lip locking too) and throwing the keys in the river, so nobody finds it and their love will be "locked" in these locks forever!
9 -
On the left, the lamp post with locks galore. No its not locked because it valuable, these symbols of lasting love, locked and left to withstand time.
These can be found on almost every bridge, lamp posts, on boat anchors along the Seine river walkway, ancient grill of door, you name it. Since Paris is a "city of romance" this is so very common.
It is a dream of every couple to visit Paris and to do take vows for life. You will see people locking (and of course lip locking too) and throwing the keys in the river, so nobody finds it and their love will be "locked" in these locks forever!
10
On the right, well not a face-palm but a typical street artist covering his face when you point a camera to him. Duh Camera shy ! You will find talented street artists everywhere in Europe, and Paris is not an exception.
The amount of professionalism can be seen in their acts and also the money they spend on their costumes. Its really noteworthy, the way they perform with full passion on streets everyday. Unfortunately, not everyone notices them unless its really a famous tourist place flocked by thousands of tourists.
We spotted this guy with golden colored appearance, just across the Eiffel on the Seine sidewalk. He was quick to cover his face as soon as he spotted a camera pointing to him.
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| 11 - The Seine river cuts through most of the Paris, a very systematic transport system with organised cruise trip is like a siesta. Take a wholesome continental meal and get on one of these cruise. Its a must if you're short on time and want to cover Paris in a days' time. |
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| 12 - Something for the foodies. Your Paris trip is a waste if you do not eat out local continental food at a road side cafe or restaurant sipping French wine. By the way water is expensive than wine or beer, so you know what to do 😉 |
16 - Indian restaurants (owned by South Asians), they will have all Indian names. Accept the fact that Indian cuisine is world famous and is liked by everyone. Indians craving for home food and Non-Indians alike, come here to taste that spicy food and to get the feel of India. You will find them everywhere with little efforts but mind you they are not cheap.
We met Nepali, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi chefs who cooks great Indian cuisine in their respective restaurants.
For the vegetarian (and vegan) travelers, such restaurants are delight, since they cannot have everything that is on offer in the restaurants.
Refer to the my blog Time Lapse Europe, have mentioned all the Do's and Don't for the travelers.
19 - The entire city is a ramp-walk, with models walking down the street with their designer outfits with or without make-up and in style. The fashion capital, doesn't need to try too hard to be one.
You will easily find a person in an Armani carrying a Louis Vuitton bag and getting down from a Ferrari or a Porsche.
The streets leading to the Arc De Triomphe are shoppers haven. Around Avenue des Champs-Élysées, you can find numerous international fashion and lifestyle brands.
Hope you will have some more observations or if you're planning to visit Paris, then you can try these places and just observe. Your feedback is welcome and you can comment below for your views.
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That's a brilliant virtual tour of Europe. Loved the pictures. Article is really bringing in the best of places I would consider to visit in my next Europe Trip
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