Last May my husband and I embarked on a ten day trip to Paris. I’ll try to write about something besides the food we ate during our stay, . . . but I make no promises.
We arrived in Paris by the R.E.R. train from Charles de Gaulle airport in the morning -- a convenient and inexpensive way to get into the city at 45 minutes and $10.00 per person. We had reserved a room in advance at a simple two-star hotel called the Grand Hotel des Balcons (3 Rue Casimir-Delavigne, fax: 011-33-1-46-34-06-27). We had chosen it because of good reviews in a number of Paris hotel guides, but mainly for its central location off the Place de l’Odeon, near the Odeon Metro stop, and its reasonable price ($78 per double, with private bath in high season!). We were not disappointed. The lobby was lovely and tended by helpful, friendly Parisians (no, not an oxymoron), a tiny elevator took us up to the third floor, and our room, though simple, was spotlessly clean and made charming by lace-covered french doors opening out to a small, private balcony. The street below was quiet and peaceful, and afforded us lovely views of the Odeon Theater.
A block from our hotel the first morning, we found ourselves beside the main gates of the Jardin du Luxembourg. The lush gardens were already crowded with Parisians on their way to work, walking their dogs, or nibbling on buttery croissants. The Palais du Luxembourg, built in 1631, lords over the park and is fronted by an octagonal fountain and acres of elegant gardens and courtyards. Today, it serves as the chambers of the French Senate. The gardens are a delightful place for a picnic or a lazy afternoon of people-watching. But be warned-the cafes that line the streets across from the gardens are very over-priced and unabashedly gauge tourists with $5 cups of coffee. The small bistro around the corner on a side street (still with a clear view of the Gardens) served us a perfect café au lait and croissant every morning of our stay at half the price.
We used our first day to get our bearings around our hotel in St. Germain, but thereafter we toured the city by foot and Metro (tip: to cut transportation costs nearly in half, buy a carnet, or book, of ten Metro tickets for 46 francs, instead of individual tickets at 8 francs each). On our second day, we made a long loop through the Right Bank; beginning in the courtyard of the Louvre (where we were put under a curse by a flamboyantly dressed gypsy woman) and strolling westward through the Tuilleries. We paused alongside a fountain between the twin museums the Orangerie and the Jeu du Paume for a refreshing lemon sorbet before venturing to the Place de la Concorde and the 3,200 year old Egyptian obelisk at its center. From there we walked along the Champs-Elysees, stopping in the main office of the Visitor’s Information Bureau (127 Ave. des Champs-Elysees) to buy a five-day museum pass. For about $40 a person, the Carte Musees grants you access to most of the museums and monuments in Paris and even some outside the city. This card is a must for museum goers and pays for itself after your third stop.