Night or day, Paris lives. It's a city for lovers and a city to fall in love with. Every thing you do in Paris seems to be touched by the glow of romance, whether it is queuing for croissants or sitting on a café terrace sipping an aperitif and watching the world go by. As ever, the art gallery and museum business is booming, but Parisians aren't stuck in the past.
The future is where the Pompidou Center and fantastic new science museum at la Villette. On the other hand, locals lament the loss of one of the world's most famous streets, the Champs-Elysees, to the fast-food and fast-money trade. But other sites, such as the Marais, a rundown district now being restored to former glory, and the trendy Bastille make up for it. When is the best time to visit Paris? Any time bar August when the Parisians head south. Visit Paris whenever the mood takes you - preferably now. YOU SHOULDN'T MISS.
Most people don't spend enough time in Paris to do it justice. This is just a small selection of musts. The Louvre is the worlds largest museum, home of the Mona Lisa. You'll either love or hate the Pompidou Center, which has been linked to ba building's air-conditioning system. It houses the National Museum of Modern Art and has great views from it's glass-walled escalators. Outside in the square there's a constant pageant of street theatre, clowns, trick cyclists and buskers. By night, the lights of the windmill flashing outside the Moulin Rouge burn as brightly as ever.
Nightclubbing is an institution: try the Folies Bergere, Crazy Horse or Paradis Latin or Lido. Climb up the white-domed Sacre Coeur for the view.Then stroll around Montmartre, where Toulouse-Lauttec, Vincent van Gough and the like painted. Notre-Dame Cathedral and the lie de la Cite are historically significant and beautiful. They also provide a pedrestrian link between the right and left banks of the romantic scene.
The Bois de Boulogne on the city's western fringe has seven lakes, two race tracks, a tennis stadium, polo field, children's zoo, camp grounds and gardens (but don't go there after dark- strange types lurk there). Cruise the scene by bateau mouche, a glass-windowed tourist boat. Tour the Tuileries Gardens amd the Orangerie, which has a wonderful permanent show of the works of Claude Monet, including waterlilies.
Climb the Eiffle Tower - but of course, this is the ultimate sight to see! ODBALL ADVENTURES! Tired of the same old tourist round? Try these rather more offbeat attractions. Visit the Pere Lachaise cemetery to view the tombs of Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Chopin, Victor Hugo, Jean-Paul Sartre and many more. Bring a tourch to your tour of the Gallo-Roman catacombs under the left bank.
Visit the wine museum on rue des Eaux, set in wine cellars dating from the 13th century. Tours of the sewers start in the Place de Resistance. For the price of a drink, you can enjoy the views from the Montparnasse tower. BON APPETIT! It's difficult to find a bad meal in Paris; easy to overspend on food.
Look for the magic words prix fixe or menu, eat your main meal at lunchtime, and dine in student haunts, such as the Latin Quarter on the left bank. Restaurants are required by law to post their menus outside, so you can window shop before you step inside. If you plan to take a picnic or a packed lunch on a trip to Versaiilles, the choice is bountiful. Select cheeses, gateaux, pates and terrines. For the best picnic money can buy (and the dearest), shop at Madeleine. A Tunisian sandwich- a huge bun filled with meat or fish, vegetables and pickles - costs no more than a couple of dollars.
UTA French Airlines offers an unbeatable free four-day stop over in Paris if you fly to any of its European destinations. The package includes three nights accommodation in a, breakfast, a coach tour to Versailles or a Seine cruise, a one-day museum and monument pass and first-class bus and metro pass.
Fares start at $2299 per person from Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane. Australians need a visa to visit France. Where to stay! Café Couette is the French equivalent of bread and breakfast. In Paris, the average price is $108 double, phone French and International Travel, (02)5211915. Getting around! Walk as much as possible or use the metro, bus and regional train service. Information and maps are available from the Paris Tourist Office, 127 Chaps-Elysees. What to buy The Paris flee market at Cligancourt is the biggest in Europe. For clothing bargains, visit the Marche Aux Vetements at Le Carreau du Temple. Top department stores are Printemps, La Samaritaine and Galeries Lafayette.
The Forum Des Halles is a galaxy of modern boutiques in an area which once boused the largest food market in Paris. Stroll along the Rue Faubourg St Honore - home of top Couturiers - but stick to window shopping unless you are of independent means!