8th Arrondissement - Monceau Madeleine: Paris

The 8th arrondissement is the city's western most arrondissement connecting it with Paris' über wealth suburb, Neuilly-sur-Seine, the place where the aristocracy are holed-up. The 8th arrondissement hit the jackpot and got to be home to what some call the most beautiful avenue in the world and the avenue whose name is most often butchered by non-French speakers -- the Champs Elysees (pronounced shonce ee-lee-say). While most Parisians stay away from it these days there are still reasons to go there: The Arc de Triomphe, to see the end of the Tour de France, the scantily-dressed tourists looking for a good time, the Louis Vuitton store, the Publicis drugstore (one of the few places where you can buy cigarettes and magazines after midnight in Paris) and of course the midnight view standing looking down the avenuce towards Place de la Concorde on one side and the view looking toward La Grande Arche de La Defense from the other. In the 8th you can also find Pont d'Alma and Alma Marceau, where Princess Diana met her final fate, and the Palais de l'Elysees, where the president of the French Republic and his lovely first lady supposedly lay their heads each night. On the other end of the arrondissement veering towards Opera is Place de la Madeline and the beautiful Eglise de la Madeline. And Oh la la Parc de Monceau, the park in Paris to stroll and be seen in your Sunday best. The 8th -- just more of what Paris is best at: Beauty, Art, Culture and Passion... (big yawn). It is only in Paris can that a girl can get tired of these things. © NileGuide