Robin McKelvie enjoys a trip to the stunning city of Paris
If London is a collection of villages, Paris for me is an intoxicating tale of two wonderful cities. One is an opulent, lavish metropolis of world-class hotels and restaurants, the other a great value hideaway that not many people know about. I’ve just been back to check out both sides of the glorious French capital, from free entry to the Louvre, through to its Michelin star restaurants.
Getting to Paris is simple and certainly affordable these days. I flew direct from Edinburgh with easyJet (www.easyjet.com) and I touched down in under an hour and a half. I’ve just checked again online and they have return fares for this spring from well under £100.
Over the years I’ve been to Paris over 30 times, exploring the city as a cash strapped backpacker, later wandering its streets with my wife on romantic treat weekends and then returning to write about the French capital’s famous sights and restaurants as a travel writer. I love that these two sides of Paris still exist and I dip in and out of both of them every time I visit.
My base for my most recent visit earlier this month was my most lavish yet, at the incomparable Shangri-La (www.shangri-la.com). This smooth oasis of proper luxury is genuinely hard to fault, from its opulent bedrooms (mine boasted a view of the Eiffel Tower from its terrace) through to a proper swimming pool. It was once the home of Napoleon Bonaparte’s grandnephew, Prince Roland Bonaparte. We are talking a once in a lifetime stay for a special occasion.
It can be hard finding truly budget accommodation in Paris. There is no one wonder hotel that always has better rates, so I suggest looking at a hotel booking engine such as www.booking.com. Alternatively travel agents can sometimes package together flights with hotels with great rates. Another option is to stay in a cosy, affordable private home through Airbnb (ww.airbnb.co.uk). Beware, though, that they add on a service and cleaning fee as you finalise the booking.
While I could see many of the city’s landmark attractions from my balcony at the Shangri-La I can never wait to get out on two feet in Paris. This is my top money saving tip. In Paris you should walk, walk and then walk some more. The city is very flat and easy to navigate and you get a real taste of that famed joie de vivre on the streets.
My favourite route kicks off at the landmark Arc de Triomphe. From here you can sweep down the grand Champs Elysees just admiring the fashion boutiques if you are on a tight budget or delving in if you fancy a treat. We then ease by the striking Place de la Concorde and into the Jardin des Tuileries.
If you’ve cash to burn you will have stopped off on the Champs Elysees for lunch, but I’m just as happy with a picnic in the Tuileries by the wee pond with kids giggling around and lovers taking lazy strolls beneath the trees. Soaking up the atmosphere here doesn’t cost a single euro.
Next up is the iconic Musee de Louvre, one of the world’s great art galleries, which lies just next door. It’s not cheap getting in here at €15. A handy tip is that from October to March it’s free to visit on the first Sunday of every month. Once inside the crowds flock to see the Mona Lisa, but she is just one of the stellar attractions.
Your walk continues now along the banks of the Seine to the oldest bridge in town, the Pont Neuf. This takes you into the famous Left Bank for a moment before you ease across on to the Ile de la Cite. This is the most scenic quarter in town for me as the Seine snakes past on both flanks and the epic spires of Notre Dame Cathedral soar into the heavens. No wonder you see so many painters unfurling their easels around here. Handily entry to the cathedral is free.
You could enjoy a coffee in one of the seriously pricey cafes on this island, but I wouldn’t even if money were no object. They are just not great value for money. Instead nip across to the neighbouring Ile Saint-Louis. This lesser known sibling sports much more characterful and better value cafes. I love the terrace at the Brasserie de l’Isle Saint-Louis with its views over the Seine and back to the Ile de la Cite.
Even when I was a backpacker I’d still spare what was then a few Francs for an ice cream on the Ile de St Louis. I thoroughly recommend you do the same. Berthillion (www.berthillon.fr), a famous ice cream maker, produces truly delicious ice cream – their salted caramel is a thing of local legend. It’s cheaper to take it away, but they have small space inside too.
Our walk now takes us over into the Marais where we pass a bar I always pop into even if it’s just to say hello. It’s the Auld Alliance (80 Rue Francois Miron), which of course celebrates the enduring special relationship between Scotland and France. I have fond memories of when this was the unofficial Tartan Army HQ during the 1998 World Cup. Scots are very much still welcome today.
Our Parisian promenade culminates at the Bastille, the epicentre of the seminal French Revolution. Things are much calmer these days, but my favourite Parisian brasserie is still going strong. Bofinger (www.bofingerparis.com) is a wonderful belle epoche escape. You can just nip in for a French Onion Soup, but if you can stretch further you won’t forget one of their remarkable shellfish platters laden with lobster, langoustines and oysters.
Sticking with the city’s restaurants I’d like to share my two favourites at either end of the cost scale. Café Med (77 Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île) is brilliant value at the heart of the city, with three course set menus coming in at just over €10, including a glass of wine!
I have a new favourite top end treat and that’s L’Abeille. It well deserves its two Michelin stars. The service is sublime, there is plenty of space between tables so you can enjoy a special meal just for two and the cuisine is spectacular. At the heart of the menu is great French produce, but chef Christophe Moret brings real culinary creation to the table too. I won’t forget dining there in a hurry!
I started out mentioning London being a collection of villages and Paris is really too. It can be hard putting all of these together as a visitor and the local taxis are cripplingly expensive. I suggest snaring a carnet of 10 Metro tickets for only €14.50. You can sweep around the network getting a taste for how different say Montparnasse is from Menilmontant.
I suggest using your carnet to get up to the Sacre Coeur, my favourite building in the city. The Metro takes you close to the bottom of one of Paris’ few real hills and you can use another of your carnet tickets to ease up the steep slopes on the funicular.
The effort of getting up the slopes of the Butte Monmartre is worth it. The dreamy whitewashed Sacre Coeur may be a touch too melodramatic for some, but I love it and also the views of the city skyline that it opens up. This is a million dollar view that costs you nothing and no one here cares whether you’re staying at the Shangri-La or a cheap Airbnb. One of the charms of Paris is that everyone can savour the city no matter their budget.
Hotel of the Fortnight
Royal Lancaster – I’m not normally a huge fan of modern tower hotels, but I’m more than happy to admit I’d have been wrong about this newly refurbished dame overlooking London’s Hyde Park. My room here had the mass of space you just don’t get in the historic hotels, while the height opened up truly epic views of the skyline. All the facilities were spot on with a gym and I loved their Thai restaurant, Nipa Thai. I’m a big fan of Thai food and they got it right. It was great that you could just walk straight to Hyde Park and that there was a Tube station next door too. www.royallancaster.com
Travel Tip
Warhol Meets World Heritage – If you’ve not been to the glorious UNESCO World Heritage site of New Lanark then you really should as it’s a truly unique timewarp that opens up our industrial heritage in a bucolic setting. There is even more reason to go just now as the ARTIST TEXTILES – Picasso to Warhol exhibition is running until 29 April. This spectacular display of idiosyncratic art injects style and colour into this historic oasis thanks to the London Fashion and Textiles Museum’s travelling exhibition. It has been touring since 2014, but this is the first time that it has graced Scotland. www.newlanark.org
