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| PARIS - Eiffel Tower |
PARIS - The City Of Love & Lights is famously known to be the most romantic place on earth. The capital of France is situated on River Seine in Northern France and French is also known as the language of love. Recently, Paris made headlines when part of the Pont des Arts bridge collapsed due to the massive weight of "Lovelocks" where millions of couples visit Paris, attached padlocks to the bridge and throw the key into the waters as a symbol of everlasting love. Now, the French people are promoting a new campaign to save their lovely city from vandalism and destruction with the message "No Love Locks - Free your Love, Save our Bridges!". More info at http://nolovelocks.com/en/
Cost of Airfare tickets - A flight from Singapore to France costs approximately SGD1500 for a return ticket on Economy Class on Air France. On Singapore airlines, an Economy class ticket would cost approximately SGD2700. The journey takes around 13.5 hours so do bring along some entertainment on board the flight. I usually choose to sleep on my plane ride to rest and arrive at my destination full of energy!
Summer in Paris - The best time to visit Paris is during Summer in the months of July and August where average temperatures are around 25 degrees celsius. Beautiful sunshine for good photo-taking :)
Champs-Élysées - I've fallen in love with Paris the moment I first visited the place as I enjoyed relaxing strolls along the Champs-Élysées. The Avenue des Champs-Élysées in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris is arguably the most famous and beautiful avenue in the world which I totally agree! With its artistic cinemas, luxury boutiques, beautifully arranged gardens and water fountains as well as the famous Arc De Triomphe. The Arc De Triomphe was built to honor the sacrifices made by those who died in the French Revolutionary.
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| Arc De Triomphe |
Top 5 Attractions in Paris
1. Eiffel Tower - The Paris Eiffel Tower is located on the Champ de Mars. The tower is named after its engineer Gustave Eiffel who designed and built it for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, which was to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the French Revolution. The Eiffel tower is 324 metres tall including its antennas and weigh 10,100 tonnes. The Tower also represents the magic of light. Its sparkling lights, and its beacon shine help to inspire dreams and wonder to all visitors every evening. As France’s symbol in the world, the Eiffel Tower welcomes more than 7 million visitors every year. Buy your tickets online to avoid queues at very reasonable price of EUR15 only. The great thing is that this iconic attraction is open daily from 9am to 12 midnight. I recommend that you go in the day to take spectacular photos like I did below. It was very windy at the top, my sunglasses got blown away to my dismay. Do grab hold of your belongings tightly and be extra careful up the steps. More info at http://www.toureiffel.paris/en.html
2. The Louvre Museum - View the famous Mona Lisa http://www.sgsisters.com/search/label/Louvre
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| Louvre Museum or Musee du Louvre |
3. Notre-Dame de Paris - Also known as "Our lady of Paris" in French, the Notre-Dame is a historic Catholic Cathedral which is highly regarded as a French Gothic architectural masterpiece. It was the first cathedral built on a monumental scale and became the prototype for future cathedrals in France. It is the parish which contains the official chair of the archbishop of Paris. It also houses first class relics which include the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross and one of the Holy Nails. It is open daily from 8am-7pm. Free admission. More info at http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-
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| Notre-Dame de Paris |
4. Sacre-Coeur Basilica - The basilica is designed by Paul Abadie and 6 other architects succeeded him to complete the building. In contrast to the Gothic architecture of the Notre Dame, the basilica's Romano-Byzantine style is inspired by churches such as the Saint Sofia in Constantinople and San Marco in Venice. The Sacre-Coeur Basilica is located right on top of Montmartre Hill and the climb up was a good exercise. On the way up, there are also little cafes and pop up stalls to explore. Do try the famous French Crepes! Open daily from 6am-1030pm. Free Admission. More info at http://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/english/
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| Sacre-Coeur Basilica |
5. LIDO - With 23 sets, 600 glamorous costumes, a real ice rink and beautiful performers, Lido is a spectacular French Cabaret show with 70 artists on stage since 1946. Lido is supposedly better than Moulin Rouge as it is of better class and less touristy! More info at http://www.lido.fr/us/
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| Lido Cabaret Show |
Lasserre Restaurant - 2 Michelin Stars - I was recommended to watch Lido instead of Moulin Rouge after dining at the famous Lasserre restaurant at Champs-Elysees. Many VIPs such as Audrey Hepburn, Salvador Dali and Marc Chagall have dined at this restaurant. It is a memorable dining experience with a private lift to the terrace and a personal butler. Excellent fine-dining ambience and the cuisine was absolutely delicious. Chef Christophe Moret and Claire Hetzler utilizes the freshest and finest quality produce to create sensational dishes to impress diners for the burst of flavours to satisfy the palate. Dining in a luxurious and in a private intimate setting was relaxing and memorable. A highly recommended restaurant! More info at http://www.restaurant-lasserre.com/uk/le-restaurant-lasserre.php#index.php
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| Lasserre Restaurant - 2 Michelin Stars |
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| Lasserre Restaurant - 2 Michelin Stars |
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| Lasserre Restaurant - 2 Michelin Stars |
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| Lasserre Restaurant - 2 Michelin Stars |
Disneyland Paris - Last but not least, if you have extra time, do visit Disneyland Paris! However, in my honest opinion, Disneyland Tokyo is much better than Disneyland Paris as they have better quality performances, newer buildings and more spectacular fireworks. More info on Disneyland Paris can be found here at http://www.disneylandparis.co.uk/index.html
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| Disneyland PARIS |
OPEN SECRET: Shopping at Luxury brands such as Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, Loewe, Gucci, Louis Vuitton etc. are tourists favourite as handbags are definitely much cheaper in Europe ! Kindly note that some brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton has enforced the one-bag-per-passport rule so each person can only buy 1 handbag to take home. This is to prevent cash-strapped tourists from purchasing everything in sight as to prevent the ugly sight of bare, empty shelves and to protect the brand's image. As Coco Chanel once said "I love luxury. And luxury lies not in richness and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity. Vulgarity is the ugliest word in our language. I stay in the game to fight it."
♥ Lora Christelle Lim ♥
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