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Who can picture Paris without the Eiffel Tower? Yet when the tower was built in 1889, no one thought it would be around for this long.

Originally built as the main entrance for the 1889 World’s Fair, designer Gustav Eiffel could only get a 20-year permit for the structure. At the time, many thought it was an eyesore that clashed with traditional Paris architecture. By 1909 there were calls to tear it down. Yet the tower survived to become a symbol of Paris. Read the full story

photo credit: Brother G

The 95th Tour de France starts July 5. This year the tour will begin in Brittany where the tour has started six times before. Choosing the route, which alters every year, begins three years in advance and must take several factors into account:

• International regulations: Rules stipulate that the course not exceed 3,500 kilometers spread over 21 days with two days of compulsory rest. Also, the individual stages can only exceed 225 kilometers twice.
• Balance: The first week should include several flat stages before the riders take on the high mountain stages in the Alps and Pyrenees and two days need to be reserved for time trials.
• Equity: The race should pass through as many the regions of France as is possible. So far, the only area that has never hosted the Tour is the island of Corsica.

Here’s a look at the towns on the this year’s tour. Read the full story

Beaches in Paris? Bien sur! The “City of Lights” may be located well away from the sea, but that doesn’t mean residents and visitors “in the know” can’t enjoy an afternoon at the beach. Read the full story

The Glass Pyramid outside of the Louvre Museum
(Photo via flickr cc)

You could spend a month in the Louvre and not even scratch the surface of the museum’s collection of 35,000 works of art. Most of us don’t have the time for that, so here’s how to get the most from your visit without getting overstimulated.

Buy a museum pass
With the museum pass, there’s no admission charge, no waiting in lines and no limit to the number of times you can visit more than 70 museums and monuments in Paris and the surrounding area. Consider making two shorter visits to the museum, say a couple of hours on day one and an hour or so on day two. The pass will allow you to split up your visits without paying twice.
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Eiffel Tower in Paris France at night.

Where would be the first place that you would make sure to stop if you had the opportunity to take a vacation trip to Paris? Chances are that you would make sure to head to the because it’s the most famous landmark in Paris; it’s also one that’s hard to miss when you’re in the city. Once you had checked off the itinerary box next to this most well-known of Paris landmarks, you would still have a lengthy list of sights that you’d probably want to see.

Paris is a city that not only has a long history but which also has a long history as a vacation destination. Because of this history as well as its draw as a tourist spot, Paris has many places that people are interested in seeing when they are there. The majority of these famous Paris landmarks are historical attractions and architectural hot spots but there are a few more modern locations that people frequently want to check out in Paris as well.
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Art lovers visiting Paris always make a beeline for the Louvre, but I think the Musee d’Orsay is even better.

You’ll find the Musee d’Orsay along the River Seine, and while it lacks the Louvre’s controversial glass pyramid, I think it’s a much more beautiful setting . It’s housed in an old railway station. Not only is the building impressive from the outside, but the layout of the museum means there are some high vantage points inside where you can look down over much of the museum, and also be reminded of its beginnings as a train station.

The Musee d’Orsay’s collection is mainly French and includes terrific works by Monet and Renoir.

There are six main areas of the gallery, including painting, sculpture, photography, graphic arts, objets d’art and architecture. Some of the items were in fact moved here from the Louvre when the gallery opened in 1986.

Note that the Musee d’Orsay is closed on Mondays; on other days, it opens from 9.30am to 6pm, with a later opening until 9.45pm on Thursdays. It’s good value at just €7.50 per ticket for adults and free for under 18s.

(Photo via flickr cc)

With rooms starting at $1,000 a night, not everyone afford to stay at the Paris Ritz, but most people can swing a drink at the hotel’s famous Hemingway Bar. Read the full story