Bonjour Mademoiselles and monsieur’s! Oh hello. Wait. What?
When did we leave Britain and get to France? The answer to that my friends, is
New Year’s Eve. Did you know that you can easily get to Paris from London on
the train called the Eurostar? This high speed train accelerates at over 186mph
and even goes under water! (Don’t worry it slows down to 100 mph in the Channel
Tunnel for safety. Ermahgerd! 100 mph is considered safe in a confined space?!?)
London to Paris in just over 2 hours with no hassle of
airport security whilst making it easier to smuggle that lovely French wine
back to the UK! (Side note: don’t drink French beer. BLECH!)
So what to do when you get there besides eat and drink your way through the city? Well, champagne is a must but don't forget the escarot and frog legs...(*gags*). Below, are just a few of my suggestions when hitting up the land of cheese and wine.
Eiffel tower
Built in 1886 (with the help of Thomas Edison) as the entrance to the World’s Fair it was the tallest building in it’s age leading to floods of tourists. So tall, the people look like little ants running to and fro from the very top! Gustave Eiffel
built it in a competition (as the entrance to the World’s fair) and won. Later he
was asked to pay for it out of his own pocket! The Parisians either love it or hate it- (a bit like
Marmite.) Mostly I think they don’t like all the tourists flocking around the
park where the tower stands. They resolved to let Gustave Eiffel have his tower
for the next 20 years and the admission costs paid for the entire tower in just
6 months! So here it still stands. Whether you choose to skip- the-line- tour inside
or just gander at its enormity make your decision before you get there. I
highly recommend the Skip- the- Queue tickets which are just a little higher in
cost that the regular ticket but you won’t have to wait three hours to get in!
These tickets are picked up around the corner and not at the tower. Thousands of people hang out
around the tower & it’s hard to find your way around let alone your pals;
so get your tickets a few blocks away. If climbing to the summit of the Eiffel;
everyone must wait in line to use the lift (it’s the only way up and down). On
the ground level (which doesn’t even come close to the ground!) is a restaurant
and gift shop. Give yourself plenty of time to tour. I took an hour and a half
and still didn’t see everything! The basic advantage to going up the tower is
that it gives you a bird’s eye view of the city of Paris that you won’t find
anywhere else! 
Note: the tower is open on both New Year ’s Eve and
New Year’s day. Pre-book for New Years and skip the lines (they also give you free champagne at
the top of the tower) Bonne Annee as they say in Paris! What better way to bring in the New Year
than with a little bubbly?
Arch de Triomphe
New Year’s may not be the best time to visit Paris or the Arc de Triomphe for
that matter. The French celebrate New Year's Eve at the Arc and so it is closed early
in the day to all. It does not open on Jan 1st,
check ahead for dates when you can go up into the Arc. Also, when touring the Arc DO NOT run across the eight lanes of roundabout traffic to get there; (let's just say I found out first hand from some rather unpleasant cops it is
forbidden. They probably didn't arrest me purely because they were impressed I didn't die in my attempt to cross the roundabout). Besides, there are stairs that go underground and bring you up right
next to it- no worries. I’m not sure the cost to go up into the Arc de Triomphe as it was
closed on my visit; but I am to understand you can get in FREE if you show them
your EU passport. Enjoy!
Louvre
If any of you have seen The Da Vinci Code or Angels & Demons then this will look very familiar to you. Beware on your visit as it is closed on New Year’s Day and EVERY Tuesday. Most all museums are closed on Tuesday in Paris. It was also closed
on New Years’ Eve due to overcrowding. *You can not believe my frustration!!!!* Unfortunately for me those where the
only days I spent in Paris and never got to see its treasures. Here resides the
Mona Lisa and other worldly gems. Would recommend the Skip-the – Queue tickets
here. But if you’re not sure if you are visiting until you get there; use other
entrances such as the Porte des Lions (found on the side of the museum) or entrance below near the shopping area of the Metro. The line at the pyramids is where everyone
tries to get in and you’ll be waiting for hours to enter. This place is vast so
give yourself plenty of time to see. I don’t even know if an entire day would
do! 
The line to get in the Cathedral went ALL THE WAY AROUND
IT on New Year' Day. I've never seen so many people trying to get into a church before! Needless to say, I didn't go inside but, be sure to venture amongst the grounds here at the cathedral for they are most beautiful.
UPDATE 2020: Due to the cathedral fire, it is closed to visitors and worshippers but you can still walk around outside of the property.
Had enough tourism for one day? Try this...
Café’s line the streets on every corner near the Seines
river. Pop in for a bit of wine and cheese or maybe you want to try frog legs
or escargot? Try them here. Beware, they are VERY garlicky and you will
probably taste them most of the day.
What goes in must come out...
No one likes to talk about it yet, it must be said. The streets of Paris smell like pooh and public toilets are literally crap. I remember as a veterinary student visiting the small village of Tandil, trying to use the facilities at a veterinary university in Argentina, there wasn't ANY t.p. to use. I was told here it was a luxury to have toilet roll and WHOA I beg to differ. It is a necessity! The quality of most Parisian toilets is about the same as South America. Most places I found there had no actual seats, and their general public forgot how to flush. Ugh! But
perhaps I am not being fair and it might just be the odour of large cities- I happen to think the London Tube smells like wee. So don’t be
put off by these things, just don’t be shocked when you visit. Speaking of shocked... french public toilets are for men and women, together. Have fun with that one!
Au revoir!
