Tag Archives: Champs Elysees

Where to catch the lights of Christmas in Paris

20 Saturday Dec 2014

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The City of Light has turned on it’s Christmas magic. Luminous arches, multi-colored bulbs, incandescent flames and sparkling projections of light deck out the avenues of the French capital.

christmas paris

Here’s where to find them:

Illuminations de Noël du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré
rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, 8th arr.
Métro Pont-Neuf ou Louvre-Rivoli

Illuminations on the Champs-Elysées
Metro: Etoile
the 200 plane trees along the Champs-Elysées are decorated with light rings and sparkling Christmas lights.

Avenue Montaigne
Metro: Alma Marceau | RER: Pont de l’Alma
Thousands come to Avenue Montaigne at Christmas to kiss under the mistletoe.

Place Vendôme
Metro: Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme, rue de la Paix, rue de Castiglione, rue Saint-Honoré and rue des Capucines are some of the outstanding streets and squares in Paris’ 1er arrondissement.

Forum des Halles
Metro: Les Halles | RER: Châtelet Les Halles
Miguel Chevalier, an avant-gardist in digital art, has created a virtual reality work featuring snowflakes which turn, open out, and change shape on contact with the public.

Montmartre – Upper district
Metro: Anvers (Line 2), Abbesses (Line 12)
Follow the stairs to the top of the village and enjoy the lights of the plaza.

Bercy Village
Metro: Cour Saint-Emilion | Bus: 24, 64, 109, 111
Bercy’s paved streets, which date back to the Middle Ages, are decorated with neon tubes mounted on aluminum structures creating a ceiling of stars and snowflakes illuminating the village in a star-spangled sky.

Most of the lights are turned off after January 5. If time is a factor, consider taking one of the open-top double decker bus tours.

One more thing, remember to put No Worries Paris on your Christmas Wish List.

Make your first day in Paris pop

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

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From the pages of the No Worries Paris photographic walking guide:

“Trocadero Plaza and Palais de Chaillot … Tour Eiffel … Champs de Mars … Ecole Militaire … Musee Branly … Avenue Georges V … Arc de Triomphe … Champs Elysees … Grand Palais and Petit Palais … Pont Alexandre … Jardin des Tuileries … Musee du Louvre

Walking Tour One, along the major monuments of Paris, is the perfect way to spend day one after being cooped up in an airplane. The grand scale of the city is revealed from wide-open formal parks. First-time visitors will see many of the major sites, and Francophiles will become reacquainted.

You could spend a week making the worthwhile stops of the walking tour. For that matter you could spend a week at the Louvre. But you can also spend one long day with enough time to dip in here and there for stops—and come away with a grand sense of place. This walk is also easy to navigate. For a more leisurely pace, Walking Tour One, can be divided into two days: Spend the first day around the Tour Eiffel, and instead of crossing the river to Avenue George V, continue by seeing the sights of Promenade One, page 152, which is adjacent to the Eiffel. On day two, start at the Arc de Triomphe and take in the Louvre.

DISTANCE: 5 TO 6 MILES TIME: 4.5 TO 8 HOURS”

For the accompanying walking tour map and much more detail about this outing, buy a print, Amazon Kindle or Barnes and Noble copy of No Worries Paris.

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The Tuileries Gardens, heart of the Axe historique

20 Tuesday Nov 2012

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I can’t always write about fashion and food so I’ll bore you with a little history today: Paris’s Historical Axis.

The Palace of Tuileries was commissioned by Catherine de Medici in 1564 on the site of a tile factory (hence the French name ‘Tuilerie’ deriving from ‘tuile’ – tile).

Young Louis XIV lived there, as did Napoleon Bonaparte who made the Tuileries the centre of his imperial power. It was severely damaged by a fire during the 1871 upheaval of the Paris Commune and the government resolutely cleared away the ruins in 1883. Rumor has it that it will someday be rebuilt.

If you stand in the center of the Tuileries Garden, you can try to locate ‘the spine’ of Paris: In one direction, you should be able to see all the way down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Still in a line beyond that lies La Defense, the Grand Arch. In the other direction is the Place du Carrousel, IM Pei’s pyramid in the Louvre courtyard and much farther away (and not to be seen from ground level), the Bastille (demolished during the French revolution). The July Column takes its place.

Now you can slump in one of those free chairs, relax and fantasize about what transpired exactly where you’re sitting ….. or just doze off.