TRAVEL SPECIAL................... Paris Is Always A Good Idea...

Paris Is Always A Good Idea...

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... but are the places you've picked to visit in Paris the experiences to remember? We list the five city hotspots you can skip and the ones you should visit instead

THE FIRST time I came to Paris, I did as all tourists do. I saw the Mona Lisa. I went to the Moulin Rouge. I spent a lot of time in Shakespeare and Company. I walked along the Seine from the Musee d’Orsay to Notre Dame (particularly to Maoz falafel). I climbed the steps (two at a time, to help me tone my glutes) to the Sacre Coeur, and wandered around the Place du Tertre. I even went to the Champs-Élysées at Christmas time. Thank god I was a poor student or I would have returned with ‘I love Paris’ T-shirts and Eiffel tower aprons. I still wistfully remember a compact mirror with Monet’s lilies.

More than a decade on, I’m back in Paris as a student. But I’ve been here more than six months, much of it spent exploring and wandering its streets. Paris and I have developed a close acquaintance. Have I repeated any of the things I did from my first visit and have I recommended them to visitors? No – except the walk along the Seine.

Don’t take a selfie in front of IM Pei’s glass pyramid…

I went to the Louvre every month when I first visited. Each time, I emerged overwhelmed and dissatisfied. There was too much to cover, and the Mona Lisa was much smaller and much further away than I expected. There were also too many people. I loved the courtyard, I was happy to take pictures at the glass pyramids, but the very thought of going in again is intimidating. But how can you go to Paris and not visit the Louvre?

...Visit the Centre Georges Pompidou instead

The Centre Georges Pompidou is also the National Museum of Modern Art. Think Matisse, Picasso, Mondrian, Warhol, Kandinsky. It’s modern art but not so modern as to be inaccessible. And it’s housed in a building that befits the collection. Designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, it’s all pipes and glass. Spend some time staring at it. Or, well, Instagramming it. Then there’s the escalator ride inside a glass tunnel to take you to the galleries. Plus, it has one of the best views of the city – one from which you can see both the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Coeur. Even better, you can go through it in a couple of hours and when you come out, you’re in the heart of the shopping area.

Don’t have tea at Ladurée…

Tea is not a Parisian thing. Ladurée and macarons and sweet-as-sugar tea rooms will lure you but do not get taken in. Yes, the décor is lovely but Pierre Hermé has better macarons. Hot chocolate is equally good at Angelina’s and at Carette, but the best is at Caféothèque and Jeff de Bruges.

·         by Nishat Fatima

HTBR1MAY16