You can not go to France without visiting ...
Moulin Rouge
Immortalised in the posters of Toulouse-Lautrec and later on screen by Baz Luhrmann, the Moulin Rouge twinkles beneath a 1925 replica of its original red windmill. Yes, it’s rife with bus-tour crowds. But from the opening bars of music to the last high kick it’s a whirl of fantastical costumes, sets, choreography and champagne. Booking advised.
Eiffel Tower
No one could imagine Paris today without its signature spire. But Gustave Eiffel only constructed this graceful tower – the world’s tallest, at 320m, until it was eclipsed by Manhattan’s Chrysler Building some four decades later – as a temporary exhibit for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World Fair). Luckily, the tower’s popularity assured its survival beyond the fair, and its elegant art nouveau webbed-metal design has become the defining fixture of the city’s skyline.
Lifts/elevators yo-yo up and down the north, west and east pillars to the tower’s three platforms (57m, 115m and 276m); change lifts on the 2nd level for the final ascent to the top, from where views extend up to 60km. (There’s wheelchair access to the 1st and 2nd levels.) If you’re feeling athletic, you can take the south pillar’s 1665 stairs as far as the 2nd level. Prebook tickets online to avoid monumentally long ticket queues.
Refreshment options in the tower include the 1st-level 58 Tour Eiffel (p59), the sublime 2nd-level Le Jules Verne, and, at the top, the new Bar à Champagne.
Avenue des Champs-Élysées
If the Eiffel Tower is Paris, then the Champs-Élysées is la belle France in all its grandeur and glamour. First laid out in the 17th century, the broad avenue today is where presidents and soldiers strut their stuff on Bastille Day, the Tour de France holds its final sprint and, most importantly, where the country parties when it has a reason to celebrate.
It’s also one of the globe’s most sought-after addresses, which you’ll undoubtedly notice as you stroll down the avenue: many of the world’s biggest brands have opened up showrooms here looking to promote their prestige. Part of the axe historique, the Champs-Élysées links place de la Concorde with the Arc de Triomphe.
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