The first time I was in Paris, I went from the airport to the train station, transiting to an 'au paire' job in Franche-Conte. The second time, I went to Paris with my husband and we stayed at Hotel Beaubourg in the Marais district for a week. We walked everywhere and saw most of the sites by touristing dawn 'til after dusk. Two surprises were places I had never heard of and we stumbled on by accident. One of the places was the town hall (mairie) of the 5th arrondissement that we visited while waiting for the Pantheon to open. These are the murals I remembered on the 3rd visit, yet again waiting for the Pantheon to open (it opens late! and is under construction, so no Foucault's pendulum). They are exquisite, painted by absolutely no one I know (named Martin), and free for the looking, as you curl up the spiral stairs past a beautiful statue by no one that's announced. The greatest thing about Paris, and Europe in general, is that there are gorgeous buildings everywhere filled with art that can be viewed in quotidian ways. This is what led us to stay on our last trip in the area - the 5th arrondissement is near the Jardin Luxembourg, the Sorbonne and the St Germain area full of chocolates and macarons. We stayed at the very enjoyable Hotel Excelsior Latin, ate breakfast at La Croissanterie, and often had a light supper at a creperie.
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