Travel blog by web-hotels.com

When you plan to spend a weekend in Paris, it is not an easy task, not because of lack of facilities, but due to the too many tourist attractions and travel related activities that abound in this charming cultural capital of the world. Very few people are unaware of the famous landmarks of Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, the Musee d’Orsay, the Champs-Elysees, the Place de la Bastille, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe. However, the attractions of Paris do not end with these major tourist spots. Some of the famous fashion, haute couture or high dressmaking and luxury brands of the world had originated from Paris.

Charles Frederick Worth in the nineteenth century is considered the father of haute couture. Born as an Englishman, he established himself as a leader in the French Fashion Industry. This led to the development of several designer dress houses in Paris. Yves Saint Laurent is termed as the first person to popularize the culture of haute couture to the world. Other reputed names like Pierre Cardin, Louis Vitton or LVMH, Frank Sorbier, Jean Paul Gaultier, Chanel, Christian Lacroix and Christian Dior followed suit. The fashion shows conducted in Paris on a regular basis display the creations of these designers, as well as the haute couture collection of dress designers from other parts of the world. Hence, shopping for fashionable dress is one of the topmost priorities in any weekend break in Paris.

Paris is also famous for the various large opera houses such as Opera Garnier and Opera Bastille. Opera Garnier organises classic operas and ballets, while Opera Bastille conducts programmes that are a mix of classic and modern opera performances. Concerts, indie music and rock music are provided by the Elysees-Montmartre, the New Morning, La Villette and the Le Zenith hall. French cinema had given birth to some top-notch film directors like Jean-Luc Goddard, Francois Truffaut, Claude Lelouch, Luc Besson, and Claude Chabrol.

The main attractions of Paris draw millions of people from all over the world. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world with an average of more than 8 million visitors every year. The Louvre houses the world-famous Mona Lisa and the statue of Venus de Milo. It is estimated that the Notre Dame de Paris is seen by about 12 million people a year. The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur and the Eiffel Tower receive about 8 million and 6 million visitors respectively every year. Excelling all these attractions is the Disneyland Paris, recording 14.5 millions tourists from France and other foreign countries visiting it in 2007.

People interested in nightlife throng the Moulin Rouge cabaret dancehall for its staged dance display dinner theatre spectacle. The Parisian cuisine had its origins in the ancient French culture but had become highly diversified today due to the immigration of people not only from different regions of France but also from other distance countries like Spain, the United States, China, Japan, Thailand, India, Mexico, etc. The various roadside bistros, the restaurants and bars of Paris are a treat to gourmets and connoisseurs of food and beverages. In Paris, you are most likely to find out that your weekend break is over even before you had really started. This will force you to visit Paris frequently.