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.

Notre Dame from the rear

Originally uploaded by Andyrob

Notre Dame de Paris is probably the most famous cathedral in the world so naturally a lot of tourists on Paris breaks no matter how short want to see it in real life for themselves. Fortunately the reality and location is such that it won’t be a disappointment at all. You can combine a visit to Notre Dame with a walk along the banks of the Seine and lunch in the latin quarter, or a river trip on the batobus.

The architecture of the Notre Dame is remarkable enough, but it’s definitely worth walking around from the big open space at the front of the building in order to view Notre Dame from the rear, exposing the magnificent flying buttresses and gargoyles.

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.