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Paris, City Of Romance

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By Sue Wendt

Paris . . . city of romance, restau rants and the arts. Of glorious gar dens and the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysee, the Left Bank and the cathedrals of Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur. . . .

Paris is croissants and coffee to start the day; onion soup, French bread and carafes of good, cheap wine; frogs’ legs, fromages, crepes and Chantilly cream. It’s can-can and gorgeous girls, fountains and fashion, bidets, joie de vivre and “fly boats” on the Seine. It’s an extraordinary city, with something for everyone.

TTie French capital can sate any appetite at all, simple or luxurious.

With a choice of several thousand restaurants, it’s an epicure’s paradise.

You can spend a small fortune on satisfying the inner man—or you can wine and dine in the quaintest little cafes, soaking up the atmosphere and the music of the wandering trouba dours for a few dollars.

If you’re seeking more voluptuous entertainments, Paris offers nightclubs and cabarets, not to mention sex shops, striptease and nude shows and “adult” movie houses. Even the French flock to see the glittering bare-breasted spectacle of the Folies Bergere and the Casino de Paris and if your budget allows for only one real splurge, a night out at somewhere like the Folies is worth the expense.

Prefer more elevated pursuits? The French capital boasts no less than 362 art galleries and 25 museums. A visit to the Louvre is a must on any visitor’s itinerary and even those who prefer to leave antiquity to the his torians can’t help but thrill to the priceless exhibits in this vast treasure house.

For anyone with even the vaguest recollection of “school French”, com munication isn’t really a problem in Paris. The French appreciate efforts to speak their language and visitors with some knowledge of the con ventions shouldn’t be afraid to try.

It’s a good idea though to equip yourself with a pocket dictionary and phrase book. Taking a stab at a

menu can result in some surprises.

How was I to know that ‘merguez’ was a concoction of rice and piquant sauce and something very much akin to cabanossi sausage? And that ‘croque monseur’ was actually a pan fried cheese sandwich?

But if you can’t speak any French at all, don’t be discouraged from visiting Paris. If the vocabulary escapes you, there’s always someone in a shop or restaurant or in the street to help you out. After all, communication is largely attitude of mind. One guide book advises: “Don’t be afraid to be lavish with the word ‘pardon’ on all conceivable occa sions”. In other words, be polite. And that’s good advice for tourists in any country!

It’s said that Parisians suffer from a particularly virulent form of xenophobia and maybe it’s true. Cer tainly, at the height of the summer season when the city is bursting at the seams with foreign visitors, some restaurateurs actually close up shop and take off on their own holiday pursuits. Since they obviously prefer to cater for a regular clientele, who return faithfully during the less hectic months, they can’t be accused of being greedy for the tourist dollar.

Surely a very civilised attitude!

There are certainly more than enough superb eating-places left open to satisfy the stay-at-home Parisians and the millions of visitors who descend on the city in the European summer.

Visitors to London can avail them selves of numerous package tours across to Paris and some of them are surprisingly inexpensive. Paris is un deniably one of the world’s most expensive cities, but you don’t have to be a millionaire to enjoy it.

For the equivalent of SA9S, 1 booked an excursion offering six nights’ accommodation (plus con tinental breakfast) and including the return air fare from London to Paris.

I fully expected bedbugs at that price, since it was the peak of the tourist season, but I’d been listening to too many stories. The hotel, off the Rue de la Fayette, was spotless, comfort able, centrally-situated and what’s more, I had a private bath and a balcony. And the inevitable bidet.

Like numerous Paris hotels, this one had its own cosy little bar which never seemed to close, a friendly poodle and an amiable concierge always ready to dispense advice about things to do for the least amount of money.

Having arrived at one’s hotel, the next step is to explore the immediate vicinity—wherever you’re staying,

The Eiffel Tower, most famous landmark of all.

you’ll find numerous little nooks and corners, historic buildings, tucked away gardens and of course, the little restaurant that is just right for you.

Mine was Le Petit Auberge, an un pretentious little family concern with check tablecloths, strings of onions hanging from the rafters and walls plastered with postcards from visitors who remember the warm hospitality.

One could linger there until well after midnight, happily digesting the restaurant’s gastronomic offerings and sipping some of the peerless products of French vineyards.

Collectors of statistics might be interested to know that France pro duces about 300 different kinds of cheese—and if you’re down to your last few francs, a meal of cheese, French bread and inexpensive red wine is a highly satisfactory repast.

Even the best-heeled visitor to Paris should make a point of ventur ing out on his own. For some reason I’ve never forgotten an essay I read at school about the virtues of absorb ing Paris “through the soles of the feet”. It’s splendid advice. Even if one could afford the luxury of taxi travel, by far the best adventures are to be had on foot.

Things one should do include tak ing a trip on the Metro, Paris, under ground railway system, currently in the throes of a major modernisation and redecoration programme (some of the stations are becoming vast caverns of modern art); seeking out the haunts of the Sorbonne students; viewing the city from the top of the Arc de Triomphe or the Eiffel Tower; strolling down the Champs Elysee eating paper-thin crepes or wandering along the banks of the Seine (it can

take three hours if you’ve energy enough). You can explore the leafy cloisters of the Bois de Bologne, meander through the Luxembourg Gardens and the Tuileries, browse through the picturesque old open-air market of the Rue Mouffetard. And you’ll barely have scratched the surface.

Having discovered your own par ticular Paris, you can relax at the end of the day at one of the übiqui tous little street cafes, sipping pernod and watching the world and his brother go by. There’s no entertain ment quite like it.

The tourists gather by the thousands in these atmospheric little cafes, clustered around a cobbled square in old Montmartre. You'll find other, less crowded, cafes in the quaint backstreets and historic corners of Paris.

The Arc de Triomphe de L'Etoile, largest triumphal arch ever erected, offering from the top a magnificent view of Paris and the 12 avenues that radiate in a perfect star pattern from the Place de L'Etoile.