Still hungry? Noteworthy neighborhood restaurants abound. Starting at the top: Jules-Verne, on the second level of the Eiffel Tower puts all of Paris at your feet and some of its best food in your mouth. Reservations are best made far in advance. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, which serves small plates of sublime food, was the hottest ticket in town when it opened a few years ago. The lines for elbow-to-elbow counter seating are still discouraging: best to plan on waiting or to snag one of the few allowable reservations for either 11:30am or 6:30pm. L'Arpège, one of only ten three-star restaurants in Paris, is wildly expensive and worth every sou: chef Alain Passard eliminated red meat from his menu, concentrating instead on turning veggies, seafood, shellfish, and the occasional pigeon into pure gold. A justly well-known seafood restaurant serving only the freshest ingredients is Le Divellec. Christian Constant's newest, Le Café Constant, next door to his more pricey Le Violon D'Ingres, is a tightly packed casual neighborhood eatery with excellent food—do not miss the Oeuf en Meurette if it's offered! Au Bon Accueil, opened in 1990, might still be the best value-for-money in town. The little unassuming Goa Indian eatery remains a personal lunchtime favorite. La Fontaine de Mars (another favorite of mine and of the owners of Chez Vous), Le P'tit Troquet, Les Ormes, and the Basque specialist, L'Ami Jean are all possible settings for good food and more Maurice Chevalier fantasies.

And then there is La Tour Eiffel! The symbol of Paris spreads its lacy shadow over every part of this neighborhood. You've seen it a zillion times in movies, in photos, from a distance. But when you get up close, when one of its gargantuan legs dwarfs the end of your street, when its topknot crowns your butcher, then your heart flip-flops and Paris has got you!

The best Paris treat for kids is the exhilarating view from any of its three levels. Paris spreads out like a map, and its topography falls into place. The world's best use of pig iron is aesthetic, elegant, fun, and instructive! Bravo, Monsieur Eiffel! (But even he never envisioned the skating rink that graces the first level each winter.)

After a trip to the top, why not take them the other way? The hour-long sewer-tour (Les Egouts de Paris) is another only-in-Paris possibility. A trip through the smelly underbelly of the city vividly explains the history and workings of the water and waste systems to would-be engineers. After the kids have been through the sewers, you might consider a new wardrobe for them from the exclusive children's clothier, Poème. An extremely talented Bretonne is at the helm, designing elegant hang-the-expense clothes for the very young. Grandmas, prepare to splurge!

The private sculpture-and-rose garden of the pretty and peaceful 18th-century mansion where August Rodin lived and worked (until his death in 1917) is one of Paris's sweetest-smelling spots. In late 2005, Le Musée Rodin re-opened after a three-year extensive renovation. The stunning enlarged museum is even more inviting than the small original. Don't miss the famous sculptor's bold seductive work, as well as the few pieces by Camille Claudel, his muse, who died, forgotten, in an asylum.

Les Invalides, (finished in 1676), was originally a hospital for Louis XIV's wounded soldiers (invalides). Part of it now houses the Musée de l'Armée, a vast historical collection of military paraphernalia. The Ecole Militaire is part of this complex of monumental architecture—Napoléon was its most famous graduate. He now rests in the baroque splendor of the gold-domed Eglise du Dôme, inside a red sarcophagus and 6 coffins, nested like Russian dolls, with the little general himself in the smallest.

A totally different architectural approach comes alive in the buildings of Jules Lavirotte, offering the passer-by a quick course in the serpentine, highly decorative Art Nouveau Style, popular at the turn of the last century. His fanciful apartment house facades include: cow heads, female figures, snakes, dogs and lizards. Guaranteed to make you smile.

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