Finding your way Around Paris

Paris is a huge city with so much to see and do, but despite its size, it's so easy to get around. The public transport system is excellent so it's possible to hop from one attraction to the next without any trouble, meaning that you can pack lots of great activities into a short weekend break. Here's a short guide to getting around quickly and easily, from your arrival right up to your departure.

Arriving by air: Paris has two major airports - Orly and Charles de Gaulle. All the big airlines fly into these two airports. There's another airport called Beauvais, which is quite a bit further out of Paris. It's served mainly by budget airlines such as Ryanair. If you don't mind a rather long journey into Paris, it can be a good cheap way to fly to the city.... [Read more]

A Guide to The Louvre, Paris

The Musée du Louvre is undoubtedly one of the world's finest art collections, and there would be nowhere more fitting to house such a collection than the magnificent Louvre Palace, an immense Renaissance complex once used as the residence of French royalty

There's so much to see that it would be possible to spend a whole day or more exploring it. Here's a guide to the building and the splendid works of art within it, to help plan a visit to the Louvre and see the best of what it has to offer.

History: The original building on this site was a fortress constructed by King Phillipe-Auguste in the 12th century to protect the city from the Vikings. The Louvre then evolved over the centuries to meet the needs of its various inhabitants. The first significant alterations were made by Francois I, who had a brand new Renaissance palace built, and from then a succession of monarchs and rulers all left their mark, extending and altering it until it became the stunning vast complex that it is today.... [Read more]

Eating out in Paris on a Budget

This is Paris and it is raining, which is as it should be. Paris rain is not as the rain of other cities. It is softer, benevolent. It caresses, rather than soaks.

Perhaps the main reason I come to Paris is because of the food. Not that I am a true gourmet. More a gourmand. It is perfectly possible to spend an arm and a leg on food in Paris. I am still in a state of shock after paying $17.50 for a single glass of beer. Granted, I was sitting on the pavement on the Champs Elysees and granted, I could have sat there all day. But I am still in shock. Normally I steer well away from such high-priced nonsense

When you go to Paris - and you should go at least once in a lifetime - make your own discoveries. I am assured it is possible to get a bad meal in Paris. It simply has never happened to me. At the following restaurants you will only get great meals.... [Read more]

Budget Travel to Beautiful Paris

My first draft of this article began something like, "here are the top ten things to do and see when you travel to Paris." My plan was to show how to plan a cheap travel excursion to Europe in general and France in particular. But three drafts later, I finally realized that the entire City of Paris is a stunning and unforgettable attraction

Sure, there are a few places you have to see when you go there, or else one of your coworkers will make you feel like a dope because you traveled to Paris and didn't see the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower.... [Read more]