Paris must see sites...

Paris Must See Sites

By: Globus
Paris is a city full of sites to see. Make your European trip one to remember by checking out these exciting Parisian destinations.

Montmartre, Latin Quarter
Try a walking tour of the Montmartre district, where artists such as Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh worked. Your Local Host can suggest other intriguing walking tours of areas such as the Latin Quarter, the fashion district, or where to find the graves of Jim Morrison and Chopin in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Sacré-Coeur
While in Montmartre, visit the Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart). This pristine, white-stone church was proposed as a memorial to the soldiers killed in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, but it was not completed until the end of World War I. The church features one of the world’s largest mosaics, which depicts Christ with outstretched arms, and a massive 19-ton church bell. Enjoy wonderful views of Paris from the Sacré-Coeur steps.

Musée d’Orsay
Stroll through centuries of artwork at the Musée d’Orsay, which houses an extensive collection of impressionist masterpieces by Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cezanne. You can als
o admire Rodin’s statues, and do not miss the spectacular reception room.

Sainte-Chapelle
Fifteen intricately designed panels of stained glass—commissioned by Louis IX— depict 1,100 story-telling scenes.

Jardin du Luxembourg, Parc du Champ de Mars
Families may like to take a stroll in one of the famous parks and take a whirl on their charming carousels. You can also see the “pétanque” players, or sit on one of the “so typical” Parisian green chairs.

Seine Bridges
Find your favorite bridge. There are 37, and they are all different—from plain to gilded and from new to over 400 years old. The special atmosphere they create across the Seine River helps to make Paris one of the most romantic cities.

Shakespeare and Company Bookstore
In the Roaring 20s, this quirky bookstore on the Bohemian Left Bank was the meeting place for some of literature’s greats—like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Joyce to name a few. It continues to serve as a cultural magnet for struggling writers and visitors alike.

Markets
Ask your Local Host how to get to the flea market for affordable objects d’art, or visit one of the food markets. The French know how to turn food display into an art form. See rainbows of fresh fruit and vegetables, soft palettes of bread, and colossal wheels of cheese—France has over 400 varieties of cheese. And when you’re ready for dessert, specialty stores abound—from tarts and pastries to crêpes and pains au chocolat. Other specialties to try include onion soup with a fresh baguette, coq au vin (a classic chicken dish), croquet monsieur, quiche Lorraine, escargot, steak-frites, and famous French wines and champagne.

Champs-Elysées, Shopping
Shop at haute couture boutiques by the Champs-Elysées. Perfumes and scarves are classic gifts, as well as French berets, lace, collection dolls, and pottery. Use your included specially arranged discounts at the famous Galeries Lafayette, or check out the Printemps department store.

OnTarget by Nexion

Banqueting House, London

 

 

When you stroll through the streets of London, history surrounds you with every step. For instance, if you walk from Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall through the arch, you will pass beneath the former office of the Duke of Wellington and the window from which the Queen Mother used to watch the annual Trooping the Color.

Cross the street and you will be at Banqueting House, the site where Charles I was executed on January 30, 1649 by Oliver Cromwell’s men on a scaffold built out from a first floor balcony (“first floor” in England means one floor above the ground floor). Turn around and look at the clock above the Horse Guards Building and you will see a black splotch behind the “2,” set there to mark the dark hour of the king’s beheading. Banqueting House is also the only building in Whitehall to survive the Great Fire of 1666. Don’t just bring home stories.

Bring home unforgettable memories.

By: Globus

OnTarget by Nexion

Capri: The Emperor's Hideaway

Rising like a whale from the ocean, the spectacular island of Capri has held a particular attraction for celebrities trying to “get away from it all” over the centuries. In former times, it lured the writers Goethe, Oscar Wilde and Graham Greene; these days, it attracts American stars like Leonardo di Caprio, Harrison Ford and Mariah Carey. But Capri first became famous in 26 AD, when the Roman Emperor Tiberius “dropped out” here to escape the political in-fighting in Rome. For 16 years, he ruled the Empire from his luxurious cliff-side palace – flashing his orders to the mainland via a lighthouse.

Today, the remains of the Emperor’s notorious Villa Jovis is a key attraction for any visitor to Capri. Tiberius was a dour, secretive man who chose his island home as much for its security as its beauty. Protected by 500 foot cliffs, Capri had only one landing point, and his villa, located on a remote headland offered sweeping 300 degree views of the ocean. But according to the muckraking Roman author Suetonius, he went wild in this prime piece of real estate, hosting round-the-clock parties. Also, he apparently enjoyed conducting mock trials of political enemies, after which he would personally eject them off a precipice. After his death, Romans became amused with Tiberius’ reputation as a satyr, and tourists would visit the Villa Jovis to inspect the sexual imagery painted on his bedroom walls; his antics have since been recreated in the BBC series I, Claudius and the Penthouse-funded film Caligula.

Today, the Villa Jovis has decayed into a poetic ruin. But ever since the Romans left, Capri itself has maintained a reputation for extraordinary luxury and sensual abandon. In the Victorian age, the British turned to it as an escape – and in the 1960s, film makers like Jean-Luc Goddard used it as a setting for chic thrillers like Contempt (starring Jack Palance and Bridget Bardot).

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