Ah, Paris! Si belle qu’elle me fait souffrir!

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The City of Lights is certainly one of the most magnificent places in the world. Ancient architecture and modern comfort combine on the river Seine in the north of France to offer an experience like no other. For those who have never been, or those who want to return, I say do it! Get your passport, beret and striped shirt to (re)live the joie de vivre that fills this city.

Paris has accommodations from the Ritz to the rubble for travelers who seek the world-class comfort and service offered by the Castille and the Hotel de Crillon. If you’d rather spend your money in the town rather than on the room, there are some good hostels located around the city and reasonable hotel rates found outside the city centre. You’ll have to take the metro to get into the city if you stay in one of these places, but Paris metro might just be the best in the world. It’s certainly the densest and services nearly every nook and cranny of the city. Just walk into any station, pay at a kiosk, wink at the girl behind the glass for good luck and off you go!

For first timers, Paris is certainly overwhelming. Crowds push past and have no tolerance for foolishness or goofy tourists, so make sure you have an idea of what you want to do before you get there. Luckily, there is something to do around every corner.

Notre Dame is right in the middle of the city making it the best place to start. There is a restaurant right next to the Cathédrale called Aux Tours which makes for a perfect breakfast spot. It’s not cheap – a café with milk will run you about € 5,50 – but will provide you with a very Parisian start to the day. In front of Notre Dame you’ll see tourists, street performers, and townies trying to get away from tourists and street performers. If you like, there are tours to take within the Cathédrale which will reveal the storied past of one of mankinds greatest creations. Also, they give out chocolate!

Take a short walk across the river to the Shakespeare & Co., an internationally renown English language bookstore established in 1919 and linked to “Lost Generation” writers like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. In all its incarnations, the store has served as a meeting point for some of the most celebrated authors of the past century, and you can do it, too! Thousands of books are crammed into the space, lining every surface and spilling from shelves and tables. The only organization is by genre and sometimes language, so be ready to discover some new titles. Each purchase is stamped with the seal of the ancient store which is a souvenir in itself. Certainly a fiscally responsible destination in the heart of Paris.

There are millions of people who can tell you about the Tour Eiffel and its majesty and the cool African dudes who sell lighters at its feet (Don’t pay more than €10for 2), but I can give you the real scoop. First up, if you’re taking the metro to the Eiffel Tower, get off at the “Trocadero” stop instead of “Tour Eiffel”. The benefit is that once you get out of the Trocadero station, you’ll go up some stairs, turn a corner a slowly the twoer will come into view, straight ahead of you. It is the best way to see the tower for the first time. Bizarrely, Trocadero is also closer to the tower and you can avoid the influx and exodus of the bustling crowds that flood metro cars at the Tour stop.

Bonus round: The Eiffel Tower Spin

1. When you get to the tower walk directly under it and look up

2. Start to spin in a circle focusing on the center of the tower

3. Have someone time how long it takes for you to collape into a dizzy heap in the dust

There are, of course, a world of other attractions: Harry’s Bar where Hemingway drank and wrote, La Closerie de Lilas with their famous glass of artisan milk, The Moulin Rouge if you’re into that sort of thing. Though be warned on that last one, if you want to go see some French kicks be my guest, but staying out too late in that area of town might also get you stabbed. So either stay away or look into some international travel medical insurance, but whatever you do, have a ball. It’s Paris!