LindaH’s picture on Flickr about April Paris Breaks manages to capture the idea of getting totally involved with paris by not wanting to take a camera. There’s a map of Paris on which are cards from the Hotel Le Petit Trianon, A Breton cafe where you can eat gallettes and breton cider, and a few other mementos from a short break easter holiday in Paris.

Lot’s of people do take cameras though, and that’s fine too. Both approaches work for me. Sometimes I must admit I do like to take lots of pictures, especially when chugging along on thr Batobus for example, or in a dramatic visual environment such as la Defense. But I do get the point about living in the moment and getting totally immersed in Paris breaks as if it were part of a lifestyle rather than just a holiday. In any case, holidays anywhere, not just in Paris, are to be savoured for the relaxation and mind broadening stimulation they provide, and I think far too many tourists seem to get wrapped up in getting the best value by seeing as many sights as possible in the short time available and trying to steal enough images for later, to try and prove to someone – goodness know who – themselves maybe? that they had a great time or at least that they did actually make it all the way to Paris.

As well as the most famous Paris landmarks such as Tour Eiffel there is some great footage of parts of the Latin quarter so try and watch the whole video and see how many Parisian arrondissments you can recognise.

Vélib, Paris

Originally uploaded by batigolix

After arriving by Eurostar or other means, Paris breaks are usually spent wandering around the city on foot supplemented by rides on the metro or bus. Here’s a way to discover other parts of Paris which you might not encounetr otherwise. The vélib or “vélo libre” is a public bicycle rental programme in Paris, It is a great way of exploring the city. The system was launched in July 2007and has grown to 20,000 bicycles and 1,450 stations, roughly one station every 300 metres throughout Paris city centre, making Vélib’ the largest system of its kind in the world.

To use the system, you need to take out a subscription, which then allows an unlimited number of rentals. Subscriptions cost €1 per day, €5/week or €29/year. With a subscription, bike rental is then free for the first half hour of each trip and you can make an unlimited number of free trips each day so long as you return the bike to a station within half an hour of each rental. Any trip that lasts longer than 30 minutes incurs a charge of one to four euros for each subsequent 30-minute period. The increasing price scale is intended to keep the bikes in circulation. So you just use the bike to get from one part of the city to another, then you put it back into the system and keep doing that for only €1 a day or less! Brilliant for getting to places like Pere Lachaise cemetery or the the Bois de Boulogne.

With the free bicycle scheme you can turn Paris breaks into a little home from home.

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.

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.

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.