Beyond the Da Vinci Code?

Despite the undeniable popularity of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, the French capital remains reliably French. Familiar sights like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacré-Coeur or the Arc de Triomphe act like points on a compass around this city of grand boulevards penned out by Baron Haussmann in the 19th century. For Da Vinci Code diehards on the trail of Robert Langdon, a visit to the Louvre with a glimpse of the Mona Lisa should be at the top of your list.

   Love and Politics

Paris offers an intriguing mix of old and new; modern idioms like the Pompidou Centre or the Louvre’s glass pyramid sidestep controversy, while café philosophers seem more embroiled in the politics of the day than digesting Sartre ... and with the election of the new French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, there is much to discuss! Of course, there is more to Paris than politics - romantics and fashionistas should take a wander around La Rive Gauche (the Left Bank) and the narrow lanes of the Latin Quarter.

   Grande Vitesse

It has always been easy to get to Paris, whether by plane, train or automobile. However, those coming by train could soon be arriving in Paris a little more quickly. The French 'Bullet Train', the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), recently set a staggering world speed record of 357 mph (575 kph) on the line from Strasbourg to Paris. At that speed, the TGV eats up 100 metres every ½ second!

   Global Warming

Paris has long been a forward thinking city, installing the first urban windmill in 1889 in the Pigalle district, near Montmartre. OK, so maybe this wasn't exactly aimed at curbing global warming, but the red windmill, aka Le Moulin Rouge, has been generating its own kind of heat ever since. Famous the world over for its flamboyant cabaret and glamorous besequined Doriss girls, the Moulin Rouge should be on any open minded visitor's itinerary. Budget travellers can always enjoy the film Moulin Rouge starring Nicole Kidman.