The city of love, the fashion capital of the world... Paris is easily one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  Where else can you find the Eiffel Tower, beautiful accents, and the glass pyramids you saw in The Da Vinci Code?  Assuming you survive the terrifying traffic patterns, you should take advantage of everything the city has to offer, from le Louvre to the sidewalk cafes to the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Elysees.

FACT:  Much like the age-old rumors that "British food is terrible" everyone has heard that the French hate Americans.  However, in my experience this was far from the truth.  No one in Paris was rude to me or to my family.  To our credit, we made every effort to speak French and to avoid looking too touristy, but still everyone we encountered was warm and hospitable to us in Paris.  Hilariously enough, as I walked down Avenue George V in search of the city's best shopping, a very sophisticated Parisian man told me he loved the way I walk - "like a dancer."  So if you're like some people who discount a Parisian vacation strictly because you "don't want to go where you're not wanted," go see for yourself.  You might just find that you love Paris and that it loves you back.

FOOD:  I watch the Food Network.  Religiously.  It seems that every foodie in the world claims that classic French cooking is the epitome of good food.  Every morning I walked from my hotel on the Champs-Elysees to a café called Paul for a flaky croissant or a delicious pain au chocolat.  In terms of pastries, the French simply cannot be beaten.  However... hands down, the best food we had in Paris was in Italian restaurants, not in French restaurants.  The ingredients were amazingly fresh and made dishes I already loved even better.  However, one restaurant we went to, l'Alsace on the Champs-Elysees that served French and German food, charged high prices for coq au vin that tasted like a chunkier version of canned chicken soup!  Even for an amateur foodie like me that's just unforgivable.


UNEXPECTED FUN:  On our last full day in Paris, we decided to do a river cruise down the Seine to see Paris from a different point of view.  I was expecting to be bored, as I had been walking all over the city for the past few days and thought I'd seen nearly everything.  I couldn't have been more wrong!  The afternoon was beautiful - sunny and warm unlike the rest of our rainy vacation - and what's more, the views were incredible.  It wasn't overly crowded so we had a mostly uninterrupted line of vision up and down the river, and the quick historical tidbits given to us were just enough information to keep me interested, but not so detailed that they would put me to sleep after spending so much time in museums.  If you have a nice day in Paris and don't know how to spend it, go on a river cruise.  It'll be relaxing and scenic, and it will give you great ideas for what to do next! (Images: Erica Nardello)

BEST SIGHT-SEEING:  You're all expecting me to say that the Eiffel Tower has the best views, but NO.  The day I visited the Eiffel Tower was sunny and beautiful, but I was just not interested because I'd already seen the best of Paris from the Arc de Triomphe.  We were able to take the elevator up the Eiffel Tower, but the Arc makes you work for its panoramic beauty.  The Arc de Triomphe has so much to offer - historically and aesthetically.  You're not so high up that the city becomes impersonal, but you're high enough to see Paris's beauty for miles. (Image: Tim Nardello)

FASHION:  It's undeniably the fashion capital of the world.  Walking around Avenue George V, you can see the finest clothing, the most beautiful shoes, and the sleekest purses on the planet.  Pops of pink and orange silk burst from the sides of Pucci d'Orsay heels.  I saw the most adorable turquoise flats in Ferragamo.  Amazing aviators reflected Louis Vuitton's signature designs, while the brand's newest bags showed off their trademark styles in grey and cream rather than brown and gold.  I could have spent my entire vacation in those stores, discovering something else new and worthy of the stores' €300+ price tags.

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