A while ago I started writing some articles. One of my ideas for an article that never quite reached fruition was to describe some of the different ways to walk around Paris (and walking is the *only* way to see Paris). Rather than waste all that inspirational spittle, I'll slap it out here just for the sake of it, and maybe a real article will appear one day in the distant future...

The Arago Medallion tour

This is my favourite walkabout when you're not bothered about the tourist attractions. Paris used to be the world's meridian line (until the Brits decided otherwise!), and one of the guys who helped create the line was a french astronomer called François Arago.


In 1994 an artist called Jean Dibbet laid about 130 or so bronze medallions into the pavements along the line of the meridian, right across Paris. The actual number of medallions isn't clear, and finding a map to the exact locations is almost impossible, even on the internet. This is the first reason I like this tour - it's completely up to you to find the medallions, like a city wide treasure hunt.

The second reason I like the medallions, is that it'll take you through all sorts of backstreets to find them - the north-south meridian line makes no apologies for being a totally straight line. Each medallion has north and south marked on it, and the direction is the only indication of where the next medallion is.

The medallions are across the entire city - you can find them in Montmartre, down through central Paris (a few in the jardin du luxumbourg), ending finally at the parc Montsouris. I've never actually tried doing the entire thing in one day, and it probably isn't that feasible. However, doing just parts is cool enough, and will get you seeing areas of Paris you'll never of thought of trying.


The Amelie tour
Ok, so this isn't a do it yourself tour, since there's plenty of websites describing it and you can even get leaflets from the tourist office. Basically it's the locations of the film 'Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain' (or just Amelie to the rest of the world) and it takes you around the beautiful Montmartre, and not just the Sacre Coeur area either. Montmartre is much larger than most tourists give it credit (seriously, it's not just the big white church folks), and the residential streets are some of the prettiest in Paris.

At the moment there's plenty of people doing tours of the Da Vinci Code book, but even though I enjoyed the book, and it does take you to some nice sights (St Sulpice is worth the trip), you'll be following the BigMac of tours compared to the fois gras of the Amelie tour. Try to get a little bit of french culture while you're here... (perhaps what bugs me the most about the Da Vinci Code is the lack of geographic accuracy that would have been obvious to anyone who's stayed here - police cars driving up the Tuileries and the US embassy totally somewhere else - must make the tour guide's life a bit tricky).


Monsieur Chat

If you look up to the roofs of Paris, you might see some graffiti of this cat. Keep looking up and you'll see it all over the place. Not so many that it's a real mess, but enough to be fun when you spot a new one (hmm, the opposite effect of Starbucks!). I'm not aware of any maps on the internet, but there might be one or two. The cat most likely to be seen on a hoilday trip will be the one opposite the Pompidou centre. In fact, last summer an artist painted a giant M. Chat on the courtyard in front of the Pompidou, but my photo's were a bit lame, so I haven't put one here. Possibly the only thing wrong with this tour is that the cats are all the same, so it might be a bit dull to chase them down just to see them, but it's kinda fun just to keep your eyes open....


Space Invaders

Similar to the M Chat graffiti, Paris is also plastered with space invaders. I vaguely remember an interview with the artist, who felt that ordinary graffiti looked unoriginal, and wanted to stand out a bit.

There are hundreds of space invaders throughout Paris (and other cities now apparently). Many are quite obvious, but most are hidden slightly. My favourite is at the Place du Chatelet - it's camoflaged against the sandstone of the monument there, and goes unnoticed by everyone even though it's in plain view.

There are lots and lots of maps on the internet, but again I don't think I'd want to wander around *just* to see space invaders - just keep your eyes open. In looking for these kind of things, you'll notice a lot more about Paris than just croque monsieurs and the Eiffel Tower.