Paris

There is a strong argument that states no other city can match the offerings of Paris. It’s Europe’s most glamorous city; the world’s most stylish, perhaps the most beautiful too despite it being a huge modern metropolis. It gave the world haute cuisine and haute couture. It’s world-renowned for its art and history, more so even for its romance. The superlatives are endless and deserved; Paris is a city to return to over and over again.

Even if you’ve never been there, it’s an instantly recognisable city: its name conjures a thousand images of leafy lamp-lit boulevards, cosmopolitan pavement cafes overlooking the river on the Left bank, tiny boulangeries and fromageries tucked away down cobbled alleys. The City of Light is somewhere that never fails to enchant and seduce.

Few cities do luxury vacations better than Paris. Particularly with the wealth of – chicest of the chic – boutique hotels available in the city centre. But also for the dining – there is the highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants of any city here.

Paris has arguably more recognisable landmarks than any other city – more than you can see in half a dozen visits. But that’s where our France specialists can help you get the inside track for your designer luxury vacation in Paris.

No one ever fails to be impressed by the iron-wrought industrial chic of the Eiffel Tower. Or the Gothic magnificence of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, crowned with hordes of guarding gargoyles. Or the imperial splendour of the Arc de Triomphe, overlooking seven endearingly chaotic lanes of traffic at the tip of the Champs-Elysees.

When you consider the roll call of artists who have lived and worked in Paris, it is no surprise that it’s one of the world’s great art repositories. Just for hors d’oeuvres, there’s the Unesco-certified Musée d’Orsay with world-class collection of Impressionist art, the Musée du Louvre home to the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo and the avant-garde Pompidou Centre for modern art.

Paris is the epitome of chic. And a luxury vacation here means a luxury shopping experience par excellence. The 8^th arrondissement is the where to go for high fashion and designer boutiques. Here the famous ‘Golden Triangle’ – bounded by avenue Montaigne, rue François 1er, rue du Faubourg St-Honoré and the Champs-Elysées – forms France’s most exclusive shopping district.

France’s passion for food hardly needs extolling further, but Paris is unquestionably the world’s culinary capital. Dining is a joy (never to be rushed!), whether it’s a little neighbourhood bistro overlooking the Seine or a temple of gastronomy bestowed with triumvirate of Michelin stars. It’s difficult to eat badly anywhere in Paris but certainly, St Germain-des-Pres, Montparnesse and the Latin Quarter are renowned dining out districts.

When booking a luxury vacation to Paris with Lightfoot Travel, our resident experts will design your perfect tailor-made itinerary, including impartial advice on the most suitable accommodation for your needs. Enquire now!