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Now more than ever before, Paris is a cosmopolitan blend of cultures from all around the world - which isn't really surprising given that 20% of the people living in the centre of the city happen to be immigrants. Despite that fact however, old-fashioned French flavors have not been lost, or even hidden from view – men in berets still play boules on the quai de la Seine, and bourgeois Madames still feed tasty titbits to their poodles from the restaurant table. The L'Ouvre is still home to the Mona Lisa and the Cathedral of Notre Dam still cuts a stunning vision as it overlooks the Seine. Paris is the city of light - and its a great place to go backpacking with good quality, cheap wine served all day and all night at the endless strings of Cafes and Bars and food that is second to none. Add to this mix the endless opportunities for sightseeing and an impressive range of low cost accommodation and its very little wonder that Paris is one of the "Must Do's" of Europe.

It is impossible not to fall in love with Paris. The city's people are stylish and flirtatious, its architecture seductive, its restaurants and nightlife devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and its streets are scattered with dreams.

There is no 'best time' to visit Paris; in every season the city is always alive. Summer days are spent lazing on the banks of the Seine, sipping coffee at a sidewalk café, or idling in one of the city's many gardens or forests. In autumn afternoons the brisk walk from the Eiffel Tower through the Parc du Champ de Mars and up to the glittering Champs Elysées is accompanied with a carpet of leaves crunching underfoot. Winter nights induce a warm glow ice-skating in the outdoor rink at the Hotel de Ville, and in spring the passions of performers fill the air outside the Pompidou Centre and the nose is tickled with the subtle scents of flowering gardens.

There is an otherworldliness to this city, where beauty and elegance are favoured over purpose and practicality. Centuries of urban development have the appearance of having being mastered by a single hand with a strong sense of balance, contrast and aesthetics. The views from the Eiffel Tower or Sacré Coeur reveal hundreds of iconic attractions for the snapshot visitor, but the best way to see this city is by tucking your map back in your pocket and allowing yourself to get lost on its streets and avenues, discovering the city for yourself.

Paris is the city of a thousand clichés, the ‘City of Lights’ and Hemmingway’s much quoted ‘Moveable Feast’ amongst them, but for once it is also a city that justifies the hype. The French capital is one of the world’s truly great cities, a metropolis that lavishly satisfies the desires of tourists and business people alike and manages to retain a standard of living that makes becoming a Parisian so alluring.

The city dramatically wears its history on its sleeve and today it is still centred around the Ile de la Cité, where over two thousand years ago Celtic tribes first eked out a living. The Romans were later drawn to this strategic location in the middle of the Seine, a natural crossroads between Germany and Spain, and took control in 52BC. Despite English rule between 1420 and 1436, a series of French kings brought about the centralisation of France, with Paris at its cultural, political and economic heart.

 

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