The Perfect Paris Summer Vacation
by Jaime Carroll
Follow Jaime on Twitter at @JaimeLC
While many people think a summer vacation should be filled with sand, surf and sun, my favorite place to spend a week in the summer is in the city of romance, magic and lights: Paris.A good many other people may think that Europe in the summer is only going to be crowded and sweltering hot, and they would be right. However the difference between the seemingly mile long lines and tour hawkers in other European cities, in Paris you can find quiet, once traveled streets by the likes Dali and Degas like Rue de Veron in the majestic Montmarte, which we were able to call home.We found a lovely apartment on a vacation rental website that fit all our needs. Our Parisian home away from home was located right around the corner from the Moulin Rouge, however, enough steps away so that the red lights of the “red windmill” were just a flicker. It was totally worth investing in an apartment for our stay, especially since we cooked two amazing dinners while there. We were also a few cobble stone steps and steep hills away from the Sacré-Coeur, one of the oldest churches in Paris that sits atop of Montmarte, with a panoramic view of the city.
On our first full day in the city we headed to the Eiffel Tower. The lines were extremely long around dusk so we headed to the Seine River and hopped on the river cruise boat tour. With just enough light left we were able to get a great overview of the city that helped get us situated and plan for the week ahead. The best part of the tour was pulling back into the dock just as the Eiffel Tower lights came on – 20,000 flashing lights that last for ten whole romantic and enchanting minutes. Once back under the Tower, we opted for the 600 stair climb to the middle level for 360 degree views of the city of lights.
When in Paris, especially for the first time, hitting all of the major hot spots is a must. The Louvre Museum for the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, the Orsay Museum full of Impressionism art from Monet, Van Gogh and Renoir, the gargoyles of the Notre Dame cathedral, the center of Paris called Point Zero (in front of the Notre Dame), the Champs-Elysées for shopping and the Arc de Triomphe.
My favorite hot spot that is worth a visit every time I go to Paris is the Pompidou Center, a modern art museum with rotating exhibitions. This summer there was an entire floor containing a tribute to India through the eyes of Indian and French artists called Paris-Delhi-Bombay. The pieces covered everything from politics, identity, to urban development, from the enormous gold leaf goddess head when you walk in the door to the mini-replica landscape of the slums displayed sideways on the side of a wall.
Everyday we made sure to mix in one hot spot with what became our everyday Parisian life – picnicking and strolling. In Paris there really is no sense of time; it stays light out until 11pm over the summer and the best part of Paris is seeing it at night. Therefore our days never ended. The best picnic spot in the city is Pont Neuf (the “new bridge”) which is now Paris’ oldest, and is located on the west end of the Ile de la Cité, an island in the middle of the Seine River. This is the western most tip of the island where you have views of the Louvre Museum on the right and the Orsay Museum on the left. This end of the island is the best place to see the sunset in Paris, especially with a loved one and some wine.
We finished off our week long stay in Paris with a Sunday bike ride through the entire city. We had seen everything on our hot spot list as well as off the beaten path so now it was time to enjoy it all with one last trip around the city of love. One of the major roadways along the river is closed off just for bikes on Sunday afternoon which made for an unforgettable experience and view of the river and Eiffel Tower. We kissed Paris goodbye and vowed to return.
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