I recently read - and enjoyed - Pauline Lawless’s new novel A Year Like No Other which is set in none other than Paris! There are lots of Paris-based books around, and I’ve definitely become a fan of the French city, despite admitting a while back I’m not a fan of France or French people. Pauline offered to write us an article and I figured, what else can Pauline write about but Paris itself. Take it away, Pauline!

I fell in love with Paris when I was ten years old. I didn’t visit there at that time but my parents did. It was their first trip abroad (this was the fifties) and listening to them talk about this beautiful city, fired my imagination and made me want to experience it for myself.

When I did get to go there finally, I fell hopelessly in love all over again with what I consider the most beautiful city in the world. So when I was looking for a foreign location for my latest book ‘A Year Like No Other’ there was really only one possible choice – Paris!

The city is cleverly laid out, in 20 arrondissements starting with the 1st in the centre and spiralling outwards. All are easily reached by the wonderful Paris Metro. It is a city for walking and good comfortable shoes are a must, not least to make your way on the metro.
Paris is, after all, the City of Love so a visit there will be more special if it’s with someone you love.

If you are on a first visit to Paris, then the open-top tourist bus is a must. This gives you a great overall view of the city and you can hop on and off doing all the tourist things that you absolutely must see like the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elyseé etc. The right bank, north of the Seine is the more upmarket and therefore expensive area. Here lies the Louvre, Tuileries and the famous designer shopping streets Rue de Rivoli and Rue St Honoré. The famous Ritz Hotel, forever associated with Princess Diana, is situated on the Place Vendôme in the 1st arr. It is well worth a visit, whether for afternoon tea or a glass of champagne. Not cheap, but the selection of nibbles and pastries that come with it make it very worthwhile. The sheer opulence of the place will take your breath away and make you feel like a princess.

One tourist jaunt I would recommend is a trip up to Sacré-Coeur, not to see the basilica but to savour the bohemian atmosphere of the Place du Tertre where artists have been painting for centuries. Sitting sipping a glass of wine outside one of the many cafés, you’ll see people from every corner of the world stroll by. Walking across the wonderful bridges of the Seine is an experience, not least to admire the fine architecture.
The heart of Paris is the Île de La Cité one of two islands in the middle of the Seine. The other smaller one is the Île St Louis. The atmosphere on the bridge between the two is electric with music and entertainers galore and you absolutely must queue for the famous Berthillon ice-cream. Yummy! Our favourite restaurant, Au Sergent Recruteur, is here. Very typically Parisian, all hustle and bustle, good non-pretentious food and not expensive but one must book in advance.

But Paris is so much more than just its tourist attractions. The real Paris is an exciting place. Let me take you there. For me, the real Paris is to be found south of the Seine on the Left Bank (Rive Gauche). This Latin Quarter is so much nicer than the touristy one and I love to sit outside the café’s Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore and watch the world go by. A short stroll to the wonderful Luxembourg Gardens is worth the effort. Here, Parisians, who mostly live in apartments, treat the gardens as their own. Watch them play bridge in the open air, or boules (the French bowling type game) or just lounge on the chairs reading and smoking the inevitable Gauloises.

A stroll by the Seine to poke in the stalls of the bouqinistes always unearths some treasures and in summer one can admire the Parisians sunning themselves on the beaches by the Seine. I kid you not! The wily French have shipped in tons of sand so Parisians can enjoy the pleasures of the beach, replete with deckchairs, parasols and volleyball, right in the centre of the city. Or make your way to the open-air dancing held every night on the Quai St Bernard from 9pm-12.

Renting an apartment on the left bank is a wonderful way to become part of the real Paris. The French are, after all, the gourmands of the world. Join them in the early morning at the open-air markets of the 7th arr. See how French housewives shop daily for the most wonderful fresh produce. The sheer choice and quality on display will take your breath away. The Rue Cler is a pedestrian market and well worth an early morning visit. Open every day and Sunday mornings. One can’t visit Paris and not taste the famous French macaroons or macarons as they call them. In every possible flavour and colour the two most famous are Ladurée and Pierre Hermé both on Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arr.

If you do want to do some shopping in Paris (and why waste time when there are so many wonderful things to see) Galeries Lafayette is a beautiful department store. Printemps is cheap and there is also a big shopping complex at Forum Les Halles. Much better to drool over the wonderful gourmet foods in Fauchon, 8th arr. and spend your money on something you can’t find back home.

For the energetic, PariRoller.com organise skating/rollerblading tours around the city on Friday nights. Parisrandovelo.com organise cycling tours on Friday nights also – 9.30 at the Hotel de Ville. Good just to watch also.

I could go on and on about the pleasures of Paris. For me it’s a never-ending delight. It draws me back, like a magnet, year after year. I hope you come to know and love my Paris too. Only problem is, I want to base every book I write there so that I can live the Paris dream every day!

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