"Paris" the second largest city in Western Europe

As the second largest city in Western Europe, Paris is a great place to visit; also known as affectionately as the City of Lights. Many couples decide to take short stay in Paris as it is probably the most romantic city in the world; most people quickly discover that a few days is not really enough.

A city famous for its fabulous architecture, good food, wine, street markets and galleries; it is the home of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and many other famous tourist attractions. Traveling around Paris is relatively easy for visitors as well as locals; there is an excellent underground system called the Metro which runs regular trains into the city center and is very easy to understand.

You can't miss the Eiffel Tower, mainly because it's over three hundred meters high; it's visible throughout most of the city but the views from the top of this huge steel structure are even more impressive. At night, it comes alive with lights that have to be seen to be believed; taking a tour at the same time will teach you much more about this remarkable structure.

On your Paris trip ensure you add the famous Champs Elysees to your list of places to visit; with shops, cafes, and restaurants littered along the wide pavements, it is a ‘must see' for every visitor. This is considered a more exclusive and busy area of the city; top class hotels are found here, although if you want to stay at a more reasonably priced hotel, they are available outside of the city center.

If you are an art lover you will enjoy the Louvre, a truly amazing museum; it contains almost a third of a million exhibits and is in fact one of the biggest art museums in the world. On a Paris short stay vacation it would be easy to spend entire weekend here; some of the most important art collections in the world are here including Leonardo da Vinci's world famous Mona Lisa. Paris has attracted world famous artists for hundreds of years; many of whom left large collections of their paintings here like Monet and Picasso.

The Arc de Triomphe another famous landmark was built by Napoleon in 1806; the names of his generals are engraved on its surface and another of those ‘must have' photo land marks. A little known fact is that there's a viewing observatory built into the building allowing the whole area to be viewed; it is located in Place Charles de Gaulle where twelve of the city's main avenues start, including Avenue de Champs Elysees.

Obviously, these are not the only places to visit; there are plenty of others to keep you occupied but to make the most of your time, use one of the guided tours. Paris short stay vacations should only ever be considered as tasters for what is a truly magnificent city; anything else on your ‘to see' list can wait for your next trip.