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Paris is one of largest cities in Europe together with London. Some 10 million France’s inhabitants choose to spend their lives in and around it. Paris is a city rich in treasures from it’s historic past and boasts many modern attractions as well. Paris is known for its famous buildings and works of art, its chic fashion scene and its modern literary, artistic, and intellectual ideals, and is a must for anyone wishing to experience the best of both contemporary and age old European culture.

That left aside, Paris is also a very warm city. Away from the large boulevards you will the small streets and villageois atmosphere which made it so famous with the romantics of this world.

Orientation

The area north of the river, the Rive Droite (Right Bank), includes the tree-lined Avenue des Champs Élysées, running west to the Arc de Triomphe. East of the avenue is the Musée du Louvre, the Centre Georges Pompidou and a lively district of museums, shops, markets and restaurants. Immediately south of the Pompidou Centre on the Île de la Cité is Notre Dame Cathedral. South of the river, in the area known as the Rive Gauche (Left Bank), can be found the city’s trademark, the Eiffel Tower. To the east, are the Saint Germain de Prés and Montparnasse districts, in which can be found Paris’s famous academic, artistic and intellectual enclave. The history of Paris has been both turbulent and exhilarating. From a shaky start, the kings of France gradually extended their control over their feudal rivals, centralizing administrative, legal, financial and political power in Paris as they did so. The autocratic Louis XIV made Paris into a glorious symbol of the preeminence of the State.

Taking your time

Few cities can compare with the eclectic mix of cafés, bars and restaurants that line every street and boulevard of Paris. The city’s compactness makes it possible to explore on foot and experience the individual feel of the different quartier Paris is a real cinema capital, and the best Parisian music encompasses jazz, avant-garde, salsa and, currently, Europe’s most vibrant African music scene.

While walking is the best way to experience each quartier, the execllent subway system will get you everywhere quickly. Do not bother taking cabs. Traffic, as with most cities this size, is a true nightmare and will only slow you down.

In the Evening
Going out
The best way of finding out what is going on in town is to pick up the local weekly magazines ParisCope or Zurb@n. Unfortunately they are both in French

If you happen to speak French then you may want to go to the theatre. Paris boasts a large number of these and there will surely be something of interest to you.
Roller Blading
Paris is a great town to roller blade in. Unlike Brussels, the road conditions are very well adapted to this mode of transporation. If you happen to be there on a friday night, dont miss Paris Friday Night Fever Skate. Starting from the place Raoul Dautry (Montparnasse) in the 14th Arrondissement the 3 hour promenade will certainly take your breath away. As one of the largest roller promenades in Europe it draws from1000 participants in the winter up to 12000 in the summer. One word of warning though, this is not for beginners, trust me on that one.

Paris travel guides.

KL has a couple of good attractions. Of interest for a morning stroll are: the huge bird park, the orchid gardens and the butterfly park. All of these are conveniently located near each other and should provide for a good half day’s worth of fun and wonder. If heights is what you’re interested in - KL has quite a skyline - then the Petronas towers and the KL Tower are your best bet. Be aware that you can not go all the way to the top at the Petronas towers. You can only go as high as the walkway between both buildings. The KL tower offers more spectacular views and the elevator ride will only take about one minute.

Shopping

The main interest of KL is of course shopping. There’s something for everyone’s taste, and budget. If you’re a high roller, head to the Petronas towers. Behind them you will find 6 floors of designer bliss and jewelry galore. If you happen to come in with your own car go to the back side to take advantage of the valet parking parking service.

More reasonably priced is the “Lot 10″ mall on the corner of Sultan Ismail Road and Bukit Bintang Road. If you happen to be into design you will admire the interior of the building with its organic metal look. While you’re walking don’t miss the bookstore on the second floor. It is second to none when it comes to design & architecture books and reviews. As for actual shopping, the top floor caters to the Armani lovers, the other floors sport goods from Levi’s, Esprit, Guess and the likes. This shopping mall is also a good starting point for the next couple of malls located on Bukit Bintang Road.

Walking down Bukit Bintang do stop at the Starbucks for a frozen coffee. Have a seat and enjoy a water dusting in front of the huge fans on their terrace to cool you off. Once you’re ready to move again head straight into the “BB Plaza”. This is by far my favorite mall in KL! With its low ceilings and packed hallways it really resonates the overall vibe of KL: Bustling with activity. With a total of 2 million square feet of retail space you’re bound to find something to spend your hard earned money on.

When you finally emerge from the building again, continue down Bukit Bintang. There’s one more mall you have to go to, but only if you’re interested in cell phones, software or computer hardware. The Plaza Imbi consists of three floors located under an office complex. There are a lot of shops selling the same stuff so the prices are cheap. Pirated software is sold openly and one CD will cost you only about 5 ringgit. Be aware however that some CD’s may not work, you get what you pay for! Also don’t be surprised if you see DVD’s like “The Mummy IV”.

Chinatown

Once nighttime falls, and you’ve had a good dinner - I recommend the chinese restaurant at the “Shangri La” hotel on Sultan Ismail Road - take a cab and head down to Chinatown. All the shops are concentrated along the 200m long Jalan Petaling. Most of the stuff you will find here is in direct violation of some Copyright or other so you shouldn’t buy anything you might get in trouble with at customs when you go back home. Also, don’t be surprised if people start packing all of a sudden, that’s just the prelude to a police raid.

Now that you know the rules you can start enjoying Chinatown. The main reason you’re down there in the first place is to buy replica’s because you can’t afford the real thing. As in most Chinatowns across the world, bargaining is a must since the price of goods has been increased 300% just for the occassion. If you don’t bargain, you will be the laughing stock of the entire Chinatown community, your picture would be on their hall of fame.

Bargaining Tips

This is what you must do when you are bargaining:

• Don’t smile and keep a straight face.
• Pretend that you are not really interested in the goods you are planning to buy even though your mother’s life depends on it.
• Say something loudly to the effect that you saw the exact same goods with a cheaper price tag further down the road.
• Wearing rags and thorn clothes is a must, l’habit fait le moine
• If the price is, say, a hundred ringgit, divide it by two, which makes it 50 ringgit, then divide it by two again, which makes it into 25 ringgit. You will then start bargaining from there and the price will eventually go up to the price you and the seller can agreed upon.
• If you can’t reach agreement, try walking away as slowly as possible. You will be called back and you will be offered a more agreeable price.
• Don’t put all your money in the same place. If, for example, the price you set yourself is RM50.00, put RM40 in your left pocket, and your RM10 in your other pocket. Give him the RM40.00 and pretend to search in vain for the other RM10.00. Inform the seller of the missing RM10.00. This is the last attempt to reduce the price. If the seller doesn’t agree then whip out the rest of the money. At least you tried.