Paris Breaks

Le Buci

Originally uploaded by Andyroberts

Le Buci is the name of the restaurant bar you can see in this picture which was taken from the hotel room in le Petit Trianon which is one of my favourite hotels for Paris breaks. The road streching into the distance leads to Pont Neuf and La Samaritaine while to the right is the rue St Andre Des Arts with leading to place St Michel.

So this is downtown Paris, the latin quarter, left bank, rive gauche.

It’s a lively area with plenty going on at night but not just for tourists. Lots of people actually live here. To the left there are some fabulous seafood stalls and restaurants. and to the far right, the famous pub St Germain and the main Boulevard St Germain with the cinemas and metro station at Odeon.

You can get here by RER metro from Gare du Nord in about twenty minutes so quite doable for overnight Paris breaks.

Flickr: Discussing All Night Shoot to Paris

Originally uploaded by AndyRoberts

Paris is probably the most photogenic city in the world so any photographer would want to spend some free time in the Parisian streets, especially Londoners. Keen photographers who congregate on the Flickr photosharing site have formed into groups for arranging meetups and photoshoot events and the London Flickr group is one of the best organised. Now they’re even making arrangements to take a trip to Paris together, taking advantage of the special Eurostar deals for clubbers.

Instead of dancing the night away in some ‘boite de nuit’ they’ll be walking along the banks of the Seine in the middle of the night then catching the early Eurostar home in the morning. Perhaps some of them on the first visit will fall in love with the city, as many do, and want to return again and again for longer Paris breaks than just a quick overnighter.

Passengers on the Eurostar to Paris these days are just as likely to be Parisians going home for a break as visiting Londoners. The number of French people living and working in London has exploded in recent years, fueled by demand for their skills in the finance sector, and a preference for setting up business in a less regulated environment. An estimate came up in a report about the two Mayors of the twin capitals, with London elections on Thursday May 1st and a visit from Ken Livingstone’s Parisian counterpart:

Mayor of Paris comes out to support Ken - from Pink News

It is estimated that over 300,000 French people live in London, all of whom are eligible to vote in the election on May 1st.

Pont Neuf

Originally uploaded by juliaclairejackson

The Pont Neuf is my favourite bridge in Paris for a number of reasons. It’s beautiful to look at from all vantage points, and there are great views of the Seine from on the bridge itself.

It’s located as an extension of the Rue Dauphine not far from the Hotels and cafes I like near the Odeon metro station and Boulevard St Germain, so that’s convenient for crossing the Seine from the Odeon direction or getting home early by hopping off the Metro at Pont Neuf and walking across the bridge instead of changing trains at the busy Chatelet intersection.

But the best reason is because you can go down the steps from the busy road above and enter a nice quiet spot to relax down by the river. On a sunny afternoon there will be a small crowd of people just sitting around enjoying the cool breeze, the view and the tranquility of the trees and small garden, away from the busy city above.

It’s also quite spectacular at night to see the buildings along the banks of the Seine all lit up as you cross the bridges on a warm evening. In the distance you will catch the lights at the top of the Eiffel tower as well, although they are a bit silly these days with colours and flashing.

Sacre Coeur, Paris

Originally uploaded by Andyrob

The Sacre Coeur has become one of the iconic landmarks of Paris, because of its unusual eastern style architecure, white stonework and the location at the top of la butte de Montmartre.
But as a ‘must see’ destination for short Paris breaks I’d have to give a few warnings. There’s not so much to do or see as you might think. The interior of the church is dark, because the stones from which is was made have the peculiar characteristic of being white only when exposed to sunlight. And the church is not really that old.

On the other hand the view from the top presents one of the few opportunities to look out over Paris, spot the eiffel tower, chatelet, Montparnasse tower, the Opera and the rest of the parisian skyline.

So on a sunny day it may be worth climbing all the steps for the view and the sense of being outdoors above the city. There is a funicular railway which is sort of part of the metro system but last time I was there it was closed for safety reasons, a bit like La Samaritaine.

rest2.jpg

Originally uploaded by jaycross

Another top restaurant associated with a railway station - le train bleu is at Gare de Lyon, boulevard Diderot, 75012 Paris. Tel.: 01 43 43 09 06 or 08 26 10 07 86

The decor is “Belle Epoque” with gilded arches and ceiling, all decorated with beautifully painted scenes from the French regions which are served by the mainline station.

The original blue train was a luxury express which took British aristocrats from Calais to the Mediterranean Cote d’Azur ( Calais-Mediterranee Express ) with blue sleeping cars.

The Musee D’Orsay is a favourite destination for short Paris Breaks, especially if you’ve never been there before. There are three attractions.

The Museum contents

Art, sculpture, great expressionists, art nouveau furniture and classics to say the least.

The building itself.

One of the most impressive railway stations ever built, comparable with King Cross St Pancras, Paddington or Grand Station Central. And it hasn’t been spoilt at all by the conversion into a museum when the trains from Orleans and the West stopped arriving here.

The restaurant

In a beautifully decorated grand setting, with an affordable but classy menu.

kiss

Originally uploaded by Andyrob
Unmissable on Paris breaks if you’ve never been is the Rodin museum. The garden and house are full of this famous sculptors creations including The Kiss as illustrated, the Gates of Hell and the Burgers of Calais.

There’s also an excellent cafe in the garden of the Rodin Museum, so you don’t need to let hunger or thirst curtail a visit. It’s about fifteen minutes walk from the Bateaux Bus stop at Musee D’Orleans, which will be the subject of further Paris Breaks articles here.

Take the train from St Pancras to Gare du Nord and enjoy a short break in Paris this springtime.