Steps from the Seine

Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant clung to each other by its banks in Charade. Its magic helped Woody Allen sweep Goldie Hawn right off her feet in Everybody Says I love You. The romance of the Seine is the classic stuff of Hollywood dreams. What better way to take advantage of your riverfront location than to stroll out from your apartment and indulge in your own fantasies? Sometimes, in this culture-loaded city, an amble along the river with no lofty goal is the best pleasure of all.

The essential fact of Paris is her relationship with the Seine, which flows through her heart in a huge seven-mile arc. The city is explained in terms of it: the Right Bank on its north and the Left on its south; street numbers begin here; distances are measured from it; and the capitol's most important monuments line its banks.

Hard to believe, but the booksellers (les Bouquinistes) do not appear each day just to delight tourists. The dark green bookstalls have been doing business along the riverbank since the 18th century when they were chased from their original location on the Pont Neuf. Treasures are still occasionally found among the secondhand books and prints. A bit of friendly bargaining is not unwelcome.

Bridge views are timeless, serene, and the most magnificent the city offers. Thirty-seven bridges span the Seine within Paris—fourteen within a single mile. My favorite is the Pont des Arts, the wood-planked, cast-iron pedestrian bridge, complete with benches. Reputedly, it is so romantic that Parisian couples have been known to bring fine napery, crystal and champagne to dine formally in the middle of the river at sunset. The views are glorious, napery or no. At the foot of the bridge, on the left bank, is the imposing gold dome of the Institut de France (designed in the late 17th century by Louis Le Vau), where forty lifetime members of the august Académie Française work valiantly to keep the French language pure. OK? Pas de problem! Bon weekend!

Just across is the Louvre, housing possibly the world's greatest art collection. Decide what you must see before entering; without a plan, the size, the richness, and the crowds can overwhelm. My favorites are the Northern European paintings, a small Tilman Riemenschneider statue hidden away in the Northern European sculpture galleries, and the two magnificent Leonardos—The Virgin of the Rocks and The Madonna and Child with Sainte-Anne. The Mona Lisa now resides in a brand-new, greatly expanded gallery; her enigmatic smile puzzling legions of DaVinci Code fans. Be sure to take the kids to the Egyptian Antiquities collection; the whole family will love the toys from past millennia. And if the crowds are overwhelming at the more popular attractions, check out Chardin, way at the end of the always-empty French wing. His paintings constitute the largest collection of works by any 18th-century artist—I count 29 of them-in the Louvre. I think they are among the most glorious the museum has to offer.

In the Louvre, but at a separate entrance around the corner, the evolution of fashion is elegantly shown off in the Musée de la Mode et du Textile. For one admission—all part of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs—you're also entitled to visit the rich collection of jewels in La Galerie des Bijoux and, one of my favorite's (depending on the current show), the Musée de la Publicité. There is also a wonderful design-y store, choc-a-block with art books and lovely trinkets, some costing (as the French say) "the eyes from your head."

On the Quai Conti is the Musée de la Monnaie where kids and their escorts can have a look at French money and medallions through the ages. The handsome, clear cases reveal both sides of the coin. The minting tools and machines, prints and paintings are all worth a look. Medallions from the gift shop make unusual souvenirs.

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