Beautiful Paris, France

Paris is a major European city and a global center for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. The city has a timeless familiarity for first-time and frequent visitors, with instantly recognisable architectural icons, along with exquisite cuisine, chic boutiques and priceless artistic treasures.

Located in the north of France on the river Seine, Paris has the well deserved reputation of being the most beautiful and romantic of all cities, brimming with historic associations and remaining vastly influential in the realms of culture, art, fashion, food and design. Dubbed the City of Light and Capital of Fashion, it is home to the world’s finest and most luxurious fashion designers and cosmetics.

Parisians are synonymous with style, and fashion shopping is the city’s forte. Paris remains at the forefront of international trends, and browsing emerging and established designer boutiques and flagship haute couture houses is a quintessential part of any visit. You’ll also find uberhip concept stores, quirky homeware shops, and resplendent art nouveau department stores, along with a trove of vintage shops and flea markets, atmospheric bookshops (including the dark-green bouquiniste stalls – secondhand bookshop – lining the riverbanks), adorable children’s wear and toy shops, art and antique dealers, venerable shops selling state-of-the-art professional cookware, and, of course, gourmet food and wine shops galore.

It’s hard to enjoy Paris holidays without spending solid time wandering around a museum or two. And since this city has more than you can count on all your fingers and toes, snag one of our Pari s car hire deals and cruise over to a few:

• The Louvre – We’re going to start out with the best of them all: The Louvre is the most famous art museum in the galaxy, and Paris holidays are a complete waste of time without a visit to this joint. Before entering the museum, be sure to take a picture in front of the glass pyramid so you can one-up your Instagram followers. After you get in, make a beeline for the Mona Lisa and see if you can figure out what she’s smiling at. There’s also a great collection of Egyptian antiquities that’s worth a peek.
• Musee d’Orsay – Located on the left bank of the Seine, this museum is home to a very large collection of French Art, including paintings, sculptures, photography and furniture—yes, furniture is considered art by certain people. Some of the artists whose works are on display include Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh. You’ve no doubt heard of a few of them, right?
• Musee du quai Branly – Enough with the art already. It’s time to be amazed by some artefacts! The museum is home to some 450,000 objects relating to indigenous art and cultures of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. There’s all sorts of cool stuff, like a mask from the Pende people of Congo and a giant Moai ancestor head from Easter Island.

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