Atlantica - 01.11.2002, Side 22

20 A T L A N T I C A
Perhaps the best way for a first-time visitor to discover Paris, or a
regular Paris hound for that matter, is to hop on board a river boat
and travel the city via the Seine river. I board at Pont-Neuf which
despite its name (New Bridge) is the oldest bridge in Paris.
Visitors to Paris who consider themselves travellers rather than
tourists might stay clear of a river cruise on principle. Bad mistake.
Just the sight of a boatload of tourists fumbling for their cameras as
the river boat approaches the Eiffel Tower is well worth the EUR 9
ticket price. One can find out all sorts of interesting factoids on the
river, such as, that same Eiffel Tower weighs 6,400 tonnes, is 1,000
feet high, and that the monument constructed for the 1889 World
Fair is composed of 15,000 metallic sections, held together by 2.5
million rivets.
Our guide, speaking in both French and English, points out many
more interesting facts during the cruise: The first time a table fork
was used was at the Tour d’Argent restaurant back in the 16th cen-
tury, she informs the passengers as we sail beneath the Tournelle
Bridge. Then there’s the oldest clock. The smallest apartment in
Paris.
The hour sail is much more than taking pictures of landmarks and
collecting bits of historical trivia. Sailing up the Seine enables
tourists to witness river life: Parisians strolling down the banks hand
in hand, casting in their fishing lines, painting a moment on canvas
or walking across one of the 34 bridges connecting the Left Bank to
the Right Bank. Even the hardened traveller will soften as he floats
past the Louvre, Notre-Dame cathedral or catches a quick glimpse of
the Pantheon at twilight, with footbridges bathed in the soft glow of
burning lamp posts.
OFFICIALLY YOU’LL HAVE TO WALK UP 284 STEPS TO ENJOY THIS VIEW FROM ATOP THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE. I ONLY COUNTED 273.
PARIS
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