Paris Parks Provide Perfect Destinations by Various Travel Authors on Creators.com

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Paris Parks Provide Perfect Destinations

By Priscilla Lister

When the sun shines on the City of Light, its parks burst into bloom, its monuments glisten in all their golden glory and its millions of people seem to smile wider as the city opens its arms in a virtual caress. Few cities are filled with finer parks than Paris, and I always want to make a beeline to them. I have a few favorites, and during a recent visit, I found them abuzz with activity.

One of the largest of Paris' public parks, the Jardin du Luxembourg, was my first foray into a setting made for romance. Encompassing about 56 acres in the Left Bank, straight down the Rue de Seine from the famed Louvre art museum, Luxembourg Gardens was crowded with lovers lolling on the few grassy expanses open to such visitors, competitors playing chess under Paulownia trees that were fragrant with their bright violet blooms, and readers sitting quietly in the many chairs set up by fountains, ponds and statues.

Paris owes this palatial park to Marie de Medici, widow of King Henry IV, who built this palace and gardens in about 1612 to imitate those in her native Florence, Italy. The atmospheric Medici Fountain is always worth finding. It is somewhat changed from its 1630 origins after Napoleon Bonaparte ordered it restored in 1811. Shaded by a canopy of plane trees reflected in its still pool, it invites quiet contemplation.

As I wandered through the vast park, I enjoyed the more than 100 classical statues and the colorful displays of tulips, pansies and lilies. The constantly changing scene included Parisians lunching, lounging and loving, and in the distance was the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I started walking in that direction.

It took me nearly 3 1/2 hours to get there. I didn't have a map and may not have been making the straightest route to it, so my walk proved the journey can be as valuable as the destination.

I passed by the Invalides with its landmark golden dome, originally a monument to the Sun King, built in the 1670s for Louis XIV as a home for wounded veterans. Today the dome protects graves of war heroes; Napoleon's ashes were brought here 19 years after he died in 1821.

Champ de Mars, "Field of Mars" after the Roman god of war, is another favorite. It extends nearly a half-mile from the Seine to the Ecole Militaire, France's foremost military academy. Vast lawns still dominate in this park, with flower beds adding color in spring.

Champ de Mars was home for many years of the Universal Expositions in Paris, world fairs held every 11 years from the mid-1800s to the 1930s. Its biggest was in 1889, the centennial of the French Revolution, when it unveiled Gustave Eiffel's tower, now the monument most universally associated with Paris.

My favorite neighborhood park in Paris has always been Parc Monceau, not far from the Arc de Triomphe, the famed arch conceived by Napoleon to honor his armies' victories.

Parc Monceau sits on about 20 acres in a lovely neighborhood of the 8th arrondissement. Built in 1769 by the Duke of Chartres, a cousin of Louis XVI, it was opened as a public park by Napoleon in 1861. Several statues are scattered throughout its 20 acres, including one commemorating Andre-Jacques Garnerin, who made the first-ever parachute jump here in 1797.

On another beautiful day, I walked from the Arc de Triomphe along the Champs Elysees to the Jardin des Tuileries, the gardens that sit in front of the vast Musee du Louvre on the River Seine. With views of the obelisk in the center of the Place de la Concorde, behind which the Arc de Triomphe lines up perfectly, the Tuileries lie where a palace was built in 1559 by Catherine de Medici after the death of her husband, King Henry II, which 230 years later served as a sort of exile for Louix XVI, Marie Antoinette and their children when they were expelled from Versailles in 1789.

One of Paris' first public parks, the Tuileries is as popular as ever. Two art museums, the Jeu de Paume and the Musee de l'Orangerie, sit on the gardens.

That afternoon, I met my traveling companion, Patti, for lunch at the exquisite Le Meurice, one of Paris' earliest grand hotels to be entirely devoted to comfort and luxury. Since 1835, sitting just across from the Tuileries, it has remained as stunningly gorgeous as the Parisians must have found it from its beginning. The lobby restaurant, Le Dali, is an homage recently redesigned by Philippe Starck to commemorate the surrealist painter who was a frequent guest. The hotel's three-Michelin-starred Chef Yannick Alleno has reinvented traditional cuisine here to be "without guilt, 100 percent cheeky." The New York Times has declared its hamburger the best one in the world. We wrapped up our visit in the cozy, contemporary one-Michelin-starred restaurant, Pur, in the Park Hyatt-Vendome, where Chef Jean-Francois Rouquette's inventive cuisine even included surprise courses.

On the fashionable Avenue Montaigne, where virtually every house of haute couture lies, my home away from home for part of my visit was the quintessentially Parisian Plaza Athenee. Dressed up in all its 18th century finery of classic French furniture in the styles of Louis XV, Louis XVI and the Regency, it also offer a three-Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse restaurant.

Later I moved to Hotel Fouquet's Barriere, located on the corner of Champs-Elysees and Avenue George V. Fouquet's Barriere opened in late 2006, adjoining its namesake, the legendary Fouquet's restaurant that has been the premier brasserie on the Champs Elysees since it opened in 1901.This hotel combines five Haussman-style buildings centered on an interior garden. Incorporating groundbreaking ecological technology, it was granted the French government's certification for environmental commitment for its ongoing operations as well.

Combining Art Deco and Empire styles, the 107 opulent rooms even come with their own dedicated butlers. We had to force ourselves to leave.

IF YOU GO

Hotel Plaza Athenee, 25 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris; rates begin at around $660; www.plaza-athenee-paris.com.

Hotel Fouquet's Barriere, Avenue George V and Champs-Elysees, 75008 Paris; rates begin at around $720; www.fouquets-barriere.com.

Le Meurice, 228 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris; rates begin at about $645; www.lemeurice.com.

Two other good hotels are far less expensive: Odeon Hotel, 3 rue de l'Odeon, 75006 Paris; rates begin at about $227 (double) or $155 (single); www.odeon-paris-hotel.com. Located in the Saint Germain district, it's near Luxembourg Gardens, is family-owned and operated with small, clean, contemporary rooms.

The Keppler, 10 rue Kepler, 75116 Paris; rates begin at about $360; www.keppler.fr. A stylish, sophisticated boutique hotel near the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees, it's a lovely new addition to Paris hotels.

Dining: Pur, Park Hyatt-Vendome, 5 Rue de la Paix, 75002 Paris; dinners begin at about $120; www.paris.vendome.hyatt.com.

Fouquet's, 99 Champs Elysees, 75008 Paris; sandwiches from about $18, main courses from about $24, fixed-price lunch or dinner about $100; www.fouquets-barriere.com.

Priscilla Lister is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.