Foreign Perspectives

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Paris is a wonderful city to explore but there’s so much to see that many people miss out on really fantastic experiences even if they’ve been to Paris quite often.

Tours in Paris come in all shapes and sizes of course and you’ll find something there to interest you whatever your tastes might be. For me, one of the highlights was an evening dinner cruise on Bastille Day: seeing the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower from the vantage point of a boat on the river just beside it is something you should do at least once. That’s just one of the night-time excursions of course and not to be neglected are the cabaret shows of the Moulin Rouge and the Lido among many others all over the city (most of the evening tours include dinner so they look a little more expensive than they actually are).

During the day you can take your pick from the world-famous sights such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the enormous museums of the Louvre and d’Orsay.  One of the best daytime tours is that to the Chateau of Versailles. OK, it’s not actually in Paris but it’s very much an easy add-on to a Paris based holiday as it’s only 30 minutes or so by train outside the city.

But even if you do all the above, you’ll still have lots more to see on your next visit!

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We had a really full day in Arles yesterday.

Unlike most of the towns in the area such as Nimes and Avignon, it doesn’t rely entirely on medieval and Roman remains for its attraction as it also has Van Gogh to play with as well. Another big plus point of the town is that all of the attractions are within walking distance so you can cover all the major sites in a day with ease.

If you’re a keen fan of Van Gogh naturally the only place to eat is in the Cafe de la Nuit, isn’t it? It’s still there and decorated in the same colour scheme, but why not eat in the cafe next door and sit just where he was when he painted the other cafe? It’s quite a busy spot at meal times so if you’re planning on doing that, it’s best to get there early.

Within a few hundred yards of that spot you’ll find the Roman arena which is pretty well preserved. A ticket to that includes entrance to the Roman baths.

Sadly you can’t visit Van Gogh’s house as it was destroyed during the second world war. However, it’s now the Hotel Terminus et Van Gogh so you can stay in exactly the same spot as he did.

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We’re definitely planning on going somewhere this evening and as we’re going by car it needs to be within around three or perhaps four hours drive of here.

As of this morning, we have three places in the frame:

Valencia, the front runner from yesterday, has now dropped out as it’s supposed to be raining there tomorrow. No big problem though as we had it pencilled in for later in the year when it gets colder here yet is still quite warm there.

Albi, the former haunt of Toulouse-Lautrec and what looks to be quite a charming little village is also out as the weather is looking a little dodgy there too.

Which leaves Arles looking good. The weather forecast is fine for there and there’s quite a lot to see in the general area too. I’m not sure if we’ll have the time to see it but the Camargue nature reserve is supposed to be really good.

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