Paris Weekend City Break Travel Guide

Here are a few tips to help you plan your next weekend city break holiday to Paris. Each page has a different Paris photo of a tourist landmark so just click the NEXT button to view them. There are lots of cheap Paris Hotels available in the city. Many airlines offer cheap flights to Paris. Eurostar high speed trains leave London St Pancras International Railway for Gare du Nord Paris

Paris bridge

Saint-Germaine-Des-Pres

After a quick metro ride you can find yourself strolling around the once bohemian now posh Latin Quarter which is home to the Sorbonne University and streets of chic boutiques ideal for window shopping. At 21 Rue Bonaparte there is a branch of a legendary cafe and cake shop called Laduree. It is not cheap but you are only in Paris for a short time sop splash out on a coffee and a colourful light as a feather cake or macaroon.

Musee D'Orsay

The splendid Art museum is housed in a turn of last century former train station. It houses a wonderful collection of impressionist, post impressionist and art nouveau masterpieces. The entrance fee is expensive. In London entrance to this type of museum is free. It is a shame the French have not got around to the same idea

boat trips in Paris

Open deck boat trip

I like boat trips. The River Seine offers some splendid views of many Parisian landmarks. For the photographer being on the water, lower than street level, adds more drama to your images. There are a number of companies that run boats from Notre Dame and head off towards the Eiffel Tower. You can but a return trip or just a single. It is a very pleasant way to travel

Hotel de Ville (City Hall) and La Marais

It is a short stroll from the Hotel de Ville to enter the area known as La Marais. It is a lively district full of cool boutiques, funky bars and restaurants. It is the centre of the Jewish and Gay communities. Take a walk past the very modernist Centre Pompidou which is a museum and library.

Boulevard Haussmann

For the shopper just a short distance from the Boulevard Haussmann Metro Station you will find two famous French department stores Printemps and Galeries Lafayette

Musee de l'Orangerie Jardin des Tuileries

An 1852 former orange-tree greenhouse in a corner of the Tuileries garden, l'Orangerie was transformed into a museum in 1927 to house Claude Monet's Water-Lilies, giant panels inspired by his pond in Giverny. The existing skylights let in natural light. Other art works include those by Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Renoir.

Napoleonic door grill

Grand Palais and the Petit Palais avenue Winston Churchill

These are the sister palaces, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais were built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The Petit Palais is a flamboyant, domed confection of gilded wrought iron and Italian mosaics. It is home to the Musee des Beaux-Arts, which has permanent works by Delacroix and Courbet. In the half-moon garden courtyard, palm trees have been replanted. Across the street the renovated Grand Palais glass-and-steel exhibition hall houses temporary exhibits.

Aquarium du Trocadero 2 avenue des Nations Unies

If you are in Paris with children take them to the Aquarium du Trocadero, It is on the hill facing the Eiffel Tower. It has over 10,000 fish, three cinemas, and an underground glass tunnel that is supposed to simulate an undersea swim.

Musee du Quai Branly 37 quai Branly

The only museum in Paris dedicated to ethnography and indigenous peoples is the Musee du Quai Branly. France used to have a large Empire. The building, designed by Jean Nouvel, is intended to resemble a giant footbridge; what looks from afar like a long elevated strip is surrounded by a garden with 178 types of trees, including sugar maples, cherry trees, and magnolias.

Modern Art Museum

The Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, in the east wing of the Palais de Tokyo, now lets guests wander around until 10 p.m. on Wednesdays. As part of a two-and-a-half-year renovation completed in February, exhibition space was added in the basement, and a special 'black room' was built to screen art videos. Work was also done to Raoul Dufy's 1937 La Fee Electricite, an epic celebration of electricity. The 6,450-foot oil mural, composed of 250 wood panels, had its asbestos backing stripped off, and is mounted on curved walls and illuminated from the floor, carrying out the artist's original vision.

Catch the No.24 bus

If your feet are aching do not pay for an expensive sightseeing bus. Hop on the number 24 bus. It runs through Paris' most beautiful areas. It does a circuit around central Paris, mostly hugging the Seine, from the Gare St-Lazare to the Ecole Veterinaire de Maisons-Alfort. Along the way, you'll cross the Seine six times and pass by place de la Concorde, the Louvre, Pont-Neuf, Notre-Dame, Ile St-Louis, and place St-Michel. You'll then head down boulevard St-Germain and pass the Arab Institute and the Musee d'Orsay.

A grand view for free

Head up to the rooftop terrace of La Samaritaine department store (rue de la Monnaie at rue de Rivoli, 1st arr., Metro: Pont-Neuf or Chatelet). Monday through Saturday. Entrance is free and you can feast your eyes and camera lens one of the prettiest views in the city.

Paris fashion shows

You can go to a real live Paris fashion show. Le Printemps and Galeries Lafayette department stores have free runway shows with live models showing off the latest from Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and other famous designers. Galeries Lafayette can be found at 40 blvd. Haussmann. The nearest Metro station is Chausee d'Antin or Havre-Caumartin. Printemps Mode building can be found at 64 blvd. Haussmann. Check their website via Google for times

Flea markets

If you like poking around flea markets to find a bargin follow savvy Parisians to the Porte de Vanves. The locals call it the 'the real flea market' - for antique cutlery, dishes, vases, books, jewelry, clothing, and more. It's at avenues Marc Sangnier and Georges-Lafenestre. The nearest Metro station is Porte de Vanves. It is open weekends from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The other more pricy Flea market is Puces de Saint Ouen at the Porte de Clignancourt.

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