Another thing that can be said for Paris is the definite climate difference. Although most people liken it very much to the climate of Britain, I found it to be far hotter. After walking for two and a half hours in the sweltering heat along the River Seine, you really appreciate the many coffee shops and small pubs dotted on most of the streets. If you’re going to walk most places, then I would highly recommend insuring you take water everywhere with you. My brother and mum complained constantly throughout the walk, which felt more like a trek, about the heat and the fact we were walking. A more lesiurable way of travelling, and one that lets you view the sites in comfort and at the same time gain some historical knowledge of the city, is to travel along the River Seine in one of the many boats. Refusing to walk back to where we had started our ‘trek’ we jumped at the chance to go on one of these boats. If you really want to see Paris, this is definitely one of the best ways to see it.
The Eiffel Tower is a definite most see, for anyone who is visiting Paris. Even if you find the Tower itself to be ugly and vulgar, the view from it is absolutely stunning. You cannot appreciate Paris to its full potential until you see it from one hundred and eighty metres up. It truly is amazing, and something that everyone should aim to see in their lifetimes. It is breath taking. You can see for miles, and although the queue stretches right across the base of the Eiffel Tower, the view really is worth the wait. After the two and a half hour walk to get there, I will say that it definitely was worth it. Even though it was incredibly daunting standing underneath such an incredible piece of manmade architecture. It was originally built for the Universal Exhibition in celebration of the French Revolution, in 1889. Despite the amazing view it promised, and the fact that you cannot visit Paris and not ascend the Eiffel Tower, my brother and mum refused to go up it, saying that they were too tired. This I will never understand, especially as we had just braved a nightmare walk to get there. My dad and I however, thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Although on this visit I did not go to one of the famous Art galleries, a few years previously I had come to Paris on an Art trip. Then I had gone to most of the Art galleries, admiring the many exhibitions, including The Big Bang exhibition. It was amazing, and I have never seen anything like it in any of galleries in Britain. It was not your typical art work. No portraits of straight faced women, no statues of couples embraced in loving poses. This art was all extremely modern and really, just bazaar. Film clips of people painting a room, yellow, then blue, then red, then purple, then another colour, then another, then another. Parts of dead cows all stuck together in a glass tank. Gigantic desk lamps and match boxes. Peculiar and freakish masks. It was like nothing I had ever seen and was truly fascinating. Many of the Art galleries in Paris offer amazing pieces of artwork, and although this particular exhibit no longer runs, tings similar to it regularly take place. If you do not visit at least one of these amazing galleries you are really missing out.
For anyone who enjoys travelling and culture, Paris is somewhere that I would highly recommend you go to. It is packed full of history. There are so many places to go! The Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower and the galleries. There is so much to discover, so many new things to see and try. It is so different to other cities. Its culture and people are extremely liberating to be around. It’s so much freer. It is a city ruled by its heart and by love, rather than its head. It is somewhere that everyone should make the time to visit.