AND THE CITY PARIS HOTEL

Paris Hotels (Special Places to Stay)

Now in its fourth edition, Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay: Paris Hotels contains details of more than 100 of the least pretentious, good value hotels serving the French capital. This guide helps readers avoid paying inflated prices, or having to put up with the bland corporate hospitality culture that has come to be associated with many of the leading international hotel chains. The editor carefully steers readers away from surly staff and the other grim effects of mass tourism. The result is a personal selection of hotels chosen by someone who has lived in France for over 30 years. Also included are helpful hints on travelling and visiting Paris, together with a section on making the most of Paris.

Hotel de Ville, Paris, the town hall of the city, at night, seen from the border of the Seine river. I would like to get a frontal shot of this building now that I have a 16-35 mm lens, I think it could look better than this. Paris is an excellent city for taking pictures, during the day and, specially, at night. I would love to go there more frequently!

This picture was taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EF 24-70 mm f.2,8 L lens.

© All rights reserved. Please, do not use this pictures without my written permission. You can contact me in order to use or purchase this or any of my pictures.

The Hotel de Ville (French for "City Hall") in Paris, France, is the building housing the City of Paris's administration. Standing on the place de l'Hotel de Ville (formerly the place de Greve) in the city's IVe arrondissement, it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357. It serves multiple functions, housing the local administration, the Mayor of Paris (since 1977), and also being a venue for large receptions.

Bonjour!
Here's the thing of it: Paris has just been discovered by Eloise the little girl from the Plaza...
Here is what Eloise does in Paris: everything.
The effect is rawther extraordinaire. If you come to Paris with Eloise you will always be glad you did.
Eloise in Paris was first published in 1957, the second of the Eloise quartet, and an immediate bestseller. Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight traveled to Paris to research the book, and the illustrations are dotted with the celebrities they knew there: Richard Avedon takes Eloise's passport photograph; Christian Dior prods her tummy, while his young assistant, Yves Saint Laurent, looks on; Lena Horne sits at an outdoor cafe.
All four Eloise books by the late Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight -- Eloise: The Absolutely Essential Edition, Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmastime, and Eloise in Moscow -- are now being reissued by Simon & Schuster.

Why is Eloise, 6-year-old resident of the Plaza Hotel in New York City, going to Paris? She and Nanny were summoned by a cablegram from Eloise's mother, and, as we all know, "If you are going to Paris France / you have to turn into French and absolutely go wild / and put adhesive tape on you / and fall down a lot and sklathe the window / and stretch into the curtain and..." Ahh, the deliciously mad logic of Eloise. She promptly gets on the phone to tell everyone--including room service--that she is Paris bound. There's so much to do--shots, passport pictures, packing ("Here's what else you have to take / Everything"), and of course the endless good-byes. Fortunately, "Sabena is the only airline / that will allow you to travel with a turtle" so Skipperdee comes along for the ride. At last, ils arrivent!
Hilary Knight captures familiar Parisian sights in his delicately hewn pen-and-ink illustrations of everything from the Arc de Triomphe to the Seine to the Champs Elysees to outdoor cafes. Children will study every detail of each rawther extraordinaire illustration, from Weenie's snout (such as it is) peeking out from under the hotel bed to the bandy-legged, bunchy-shirted Eloise with her necklace of champagne corks. Even if children don't understand half of the quirks and language directed toward precocious grownups ("Langoustines make very good fingernails"), they'll find more than enough to delight them down to their very toes. Adults, of course, will also revel in this fascinatingly eccentric romp. And if you know anyone who loves (or will love) Paris, this book is the perfect bon voyage gift. Eloise in Paris was first published in 1957, the sequel to the original Eloise, and is every bit as wondrous. If you're in search of more Eloise (and who isn't really?), don't miss The Absolutely Essential Eloise, the original Eloise book with an additional scrapbook that tells the whole story of this impish character and her devoted creators. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1957 by Kay Thompson. Reproduced with permission of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.) (Ages 5 to 105) --Karin Snelson