The Trocadero in Paris is sadly best known as the nearest metro station to the Eiffel Tower, as people on Eurostar breaks hurry to conquor the iconic landmark. I say sadly, only because there is so much more to the Trocadero area than that, and besides it’s actually nearer to get there via Metro Bir-Hakeim.

Trocadero is in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, which is an upmarket area with some very prestigious properties and lots of expensive hotels, which is great for Paris breaks where money is no object. The cafes and restaurants in the area tend to be a tad more expensive than other districts of Pars too, but don’t let that put you off – it’s always going to be possible to find an affordable side street establishment if you’re on a more modest budget .

Trocadero Metro Paris

Paris Trocadero History

The Trocadero lies across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. It’s another area of Paris named after a famous French war victory. The French won the Battle of Trocadero in 1823 protecting the autocratic Spanish King Ferdinand VII. Some forty years later they honored this victory by renaming the square called Place du Roi de Rome (King of Rome Square). Next year, the Palais de Trocadero (Trocadero Palace) was built on the site as the centerpiece of a world fair celebrating France’s recovery from its defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. The Palace was built like a concert hall in mixed Moorish and Byzantine style with a large aquarium occupying the lower level. For the Exposition Internationale World Fair of 1937 the old Palais du Trocadero was demolished and replaced by the modernist Palais de Chaillot.

The complex now includes several museums.

• The Musee national de la Marine (Naval Museum)
• The ethnological Musee de l’Homme (Museum of Man)
• The Musee national des Monuments francais (National Museum of French Monuments)
• Theatre National de Chaillot (Chaillot National Theater).

At the Palais de Chaillot the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The esplanade was renamed the esplanade des droits de l’homme (esplanade of human rights).

So there are plenty of cultural and educational destinations in this arrondissment to greatly enrich any length Eurostar Breaks to Paris  -  after you’ve been up the Eiffel tower of course !

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.

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.