Top Ten Reasons to Love Paris, by Claire

What better way to get to know Paris than through the Anglophone expats who have made it their home. This month's Expat Top Ten is from Claire, a native New Zealander, half English, half French, and living in Paris since she was 24. Claire teaches English and lives in the coolest place ever, a rooftop studio on the Quai des Grands Augustins (just by Place Saint Michel). It may be miniscule, expensive, up six flights of narrow stairs and freezing in the winter, but she has an incredible view of the Seine and the Palais de Justice, and can defy any fear of heights by crawling out onto the rooftop to sunbathe and wave at the Bateaux-Mouches as they sail by.

Claire's Top Ten Reasons for Loving Paris

10. Buying beauty supplies at small beauty boutiques and Marionnaud "Because they always give you a lot of free samples, better than the department stores."

9. Shopping "Around Madeline and Opera if you have money, in the Marais if you don't."

8. The old buildings "I like looking up at the windows at night and seeing the wood beams on the ceilings."

7. The Marché aux Fleurs on Ile de la Cité "I like looking at the flowers, and on Sunday there's animals."

6. The food, if you know where to look "The little streets behind St. Germain-des-Pres have a lot of good places, and the Gamin de Paris in the Marais."

5. Never knowing what's around the corner "Even when you think you know Paris you find something unexpected."

4. Seeing the city at night "I like taking a taxi or Bus 95 around the Concorde."

3. Her apartment on the Seine "I like seeing my cats walking around on the roof." (This is the view from one of her windows. Eat your heart out!)

2. Never getting tired of the beauty of Paris "Especially in the 1st and 6th arrondissements."

1. "You can live your life the way you want in Paris!"

Three New Sites for Cheap Flights in France

Now that I live on the Riviera, I've been looking for the best way to get to Paris without going broke or spending all day driving. Certainly a lot of people rent cars for day trips out of Paris, or take the train if they have plenty of time, but the best way to get to the Côte d'Azur is to fly. Here are some sites where, if your French is okay, you can find rock bottom flights within France and originating from France. Take the opportunity while in Paris to go to Cannes or Monaco for the weekend, or if you live or work far from Paris, this is the best place to find last minute flights to the capital for a quarter of the published Air France rates.

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