#The sun sets over the
Seine, viewed from the Pont Alexandre III
JUST A STROLL ALONG
THE BANKS of the Seine is a reminder of the special hold the French capital
has on all our imaginations, and even its most visited sights have kept their
magic.
Direct flights from Singapore
Airlines and Air France are available in Singapore; Malaysian Airlines
flies direct to Paris from Kuala Lumpur.
Metro stations are dotted everywhere around Paris A carnet
of 10 tickets cost US$18, but it’s often worth buying a Paris Visite card,
which allows unlimited public transport use within a set time period, and also
gives a range of discounts (ratp.fr). For more information, see parisinfo.com
Many city-run museums in Paris are free (for a list, see paris.fr). One of the best is the Musee Carnavalet, which sings a poetic
ode to Parisian history through exhibits including an Art Nouveau shop interior
(carnavalet.paris.fr). The
botanic gardens at Le jardin des Plantes
have a history dating back to 1626. Stroll through sections ranging from Alpine
rockeries and rose gardens to tropical hothouses (some areas free, jardindesplantes.net). Pick up
where the Louvre leaves off at the Musee
d’Orsay, which covers art from around 1848 to the early 20th century,
including Manet’s epoch-making painting Dejeuner sur l’herbe, which turns 150
this year (muse-orsay.fr). Briliant value and just footsteps fro mthe
bars, cafes and clubs of Rue Jean-Piere Timbaud, Cosmos Hotel is a shiny star with retro style on the budget-hotel
scene, recently given a makeover (cosmos-hotel-paris.com).
Au Sourire de Montmartre is a
charming b&b with five rooms individually decorated with either French antiques
or Moroccan riad-style motifs (sourine-de-montmartre.com).
Hotel Verneuil is a
17 century townhouse renovated in 2012, which mixes dark tones and opulent
touches to create a discreet pied-a-terre in fashionable St-Germain-des-Pres (hotel-verneuil-saint-germain.com).
Classic bistro dishes such as lentil salad, duck confit and tarte are on the
menu at tiny, charming au Pied de Fouet – the St-Germain-des-Pres branch is one
of three in town ( Rue St-Benoit; 00 33 1 42 96 59 10). Flavours fro mthe Maghreb are matched by
Thousand and One Night décor at 404 in the Marais. Afterwards, repair
to the multicoloured Casablanca-meets-Andy Warhol cocktail lounge ( 69 Rue des
Gravilliers; 404-resto.com). Set in the
Grand Palais, Minipalais serves creative French and
world cuisine and has a splendid colonnade (Ave Winston Churchill; minipalais.com).
