Chilling out in Paris

Victor Hugo wrote…

“To err is human. To loaf is Parisian”

I heard this quote a long time ago back in school when we spoke about France. As a matter of course I forgot about it until I came to Paris and spent my first weekend in the famous city and suddenly realized how accurate this quote is. There are so many places you can enjoy by just loafing along or you choose sitting down in a nice little café and savour watching the other people loafing around.

I spent 2 weeks in December in Paris and the Christmas lightning was unforgettable, especially on the Champs-Élysées! The strollers on the 1970m long Avenue are separated from the traffic by golden shining trees. And after a long walk along all the fancy stores like Luis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, et al. you get rewarded with an incredible view on the wonderful lighted ‘Arc de Triomphe’.

If you plan to go for shopping you can’t miss the incredible ‘Galleries Lafayette’ it has an unbelievable ambiance and you feel overwhelmed by the pompous arrangement. On one hand you will find all of the famous fashion and perfume manufacturer and on the other hand you will find economically priced goods as well. But it is on all accounts worth a trip. The best way to get there is to go by metro and go out at ‘Chaussee d’Antin La Fayette’ as soon as you are there you can’t miss it!

For everyone who wants to include a church visit during his stay in Paris I have a little advance warning about the church of ‘Notre Dame’. I have seen the ‘Sacre Coeur’ and the ‘Notre Dame’. If you fancy to see one of the churches decide in favour of the ‘Sacre Coeur’ and skip the ‘Notre Dame’. That is of course my personal opinion and it has nothing to do with the building itself, which is without any doubt beautiful. It has to do with the ambiance. Normally when you are in a church you have this feeling of awe. That gets completely destroyed in the church of ‘Notre Dame’ by a very annoying tannoy announcement about the guided church visit which gets repeated every 15min. It’s just inappropriate.

Last but not least don’t miss to eat one of the typically toasted French baguettes, you may know them from the UK, the fastfoodchain ‘prêt a manger’ offers them, but be sure they taste a lot different in France (means better).

If you are lucky enough to be able to attend a French course at our school in Paris, then you’ll have great opportunities to really ‘chill out’ and loaf around – except when you’re in class, of course!

Miriam