Vélibs keep on going in the winter, but dress warmly if you want to use them. I did notice and read about many more dedicated bike paths throughout the city and more Vélib stations have been added ( check out http://www.velib.paris.fr for a map of stations). With more North Americans getting credit cards with built in chips, the freedom offered by this short term bike rental system finally becomes yours too. For those committed shoppers , especially in December or in January during the sales period, I successfully qualified a building made of new 3-star rated apartments with hotel type à-la-carte services right by l’Opera and the big department stores of Galaries Lafayette & Printemps; it has its own Vélib station as you step out of the building, a convenient way to take a break out of the shopping district and see more of Paris. On 4 day long stays or longer, the rental of an apartment offers some cost benefits over a hotel stay with guests enjoying the flexibility and savings to have a few meals in their temporary homes. I did requalify a couple of one bedroom apartments in lively and artsy Le Marais, a 5 minute walk from Hotel de Ville and BHV store, where one feels like a Parisian. I in fact stayed in one of them during this stay as the very central location makes it ideal to get to my various meetings while the neighbourhood remains vibrant all day and all night for a drink with friends. Finally I confirmed an excellent pick for guests who want a Paris with a view and large spaces: a 2 bedroom on the left bank, next to the exclusive Tour d’Argent restaurant, overlooking la Seine and Notre Dame cathedral. Yes I did enjoy overlooking les Bateaux Mouches going by the Seine with Paris by night shining in its Christmas grandeur.
Our 8 and 10yr old children were with me for a couple of days of visits in Paris. We made a compromise: I wanted to visit Musée Cluny dedicated to the Middle Age and they wanted to see a temporary exhibit on Astérix, the famous cartoon character, that was celebrating his 50th birthday, a temporary exhibit set within the walls of Musée Cluny. Perfect! The kids were then keen on visiting Paris sewers and catacombs! Children have their own agenda and quirky ways to define what is interesting. Indeed I had never seen the Paris sewers and its museum. Well, it was a very interesting stop with a combination of real sewage canals the kids were happy to race by and comment on, followed by a museum section. The exhibits took us through a trip back in time from Roman times to the 21st century. It highlighted the problems the growing population faced over the last 2000 years and the solutions found by its leaders to ensure both access to clean water and disposal of soiled waters as Paris transformed itself from village to major urban center. It is a good historical overview on how Paris became the prestigious destination it is today while initiating people to water management habits and technologies. I remember reading a line from Napoleon who claimed that the radical improvement of Paris sewers was probably one of his most important accomplishments but for which he will not gain any glory. The catacombs were closed until early 2010 unfortunately, due to some recent vandalism. Paris below ground seems to attract many people! I was grateful to the children for the learning opportunity but happy to immerse myself back in the above ground appeals of the capital.
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