http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16481
There really is something more enjoyable about grabbing a bargain at the market than flashing the credit card down the Champs Elysees!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16481 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16480
To start off your day, go to 'Au Levain du Marais'. The pain au chocolat will make you just weak, so buy quite a few and you'll have a pique nique.

Next, visit grand Pere Lachaise. Chopin and Piaf and dear Oscar Wilde - although they're now gone, you'll still be beguiled. To the Left Bank for dinner, a place called L'Ecurie, the locals eat here, run by petite Mini. Bon weekend!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16480 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16479
Stand with your back to the station and head down the road on the left, to the corner. Look for a green metal gate down the side of the rather imposing stone building. It leads into a small ornamental park with a great kids’ playground, and public toilets and baby change on the far side of the park.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16479 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16478
Enjoy the rich, generous cuisine of south-west France from a window table, complete with traditional red checked cloth, overlooking Les Invalides. President Chirac liked to impress foreign leaders with lunch here, such is its reputation.

Later take in a cognac or two at Lipp on sophisticated Boulevard Saint-Germain, followed by a peaceful stroll around Ile Saint-Louis, before catching a late train home with the feeling that all is well with the world.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16478 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16477 (near bottom of Sacre Coeur). It's a fab little restaurant with graffiti-covered walls and long tables where you eat elbow to elbow with other diners.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16477 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16476 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16476 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16475
The sleek modernist style seeps through from the galleries below and encourages a creative flair to the food. This restaurant infuses Parisian chic and fiery Thai flavours with an artistic hand. Enjoy an exquisite meal and a long stemmed rose to accompany your hedonists' view of Paris.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16475 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16474
There, in a peaceful mansion, you'll find the largest Monet collection anywhere. See the entire range of his work, culminating in the Giverny Nympheas, displayed in a wonderful circular gallery.

Admire works of many other Impressionists, including one of the few women, Berthe Morisot, Manet's sister-in-law. Easy to get to (four buses, metro), opposite a delightful park, near good, cheap restaurants - a day out of Paris, in Paris!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16474 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16473
Paris has so many markets and beautiful specialist shops which you can’t take full advantage of if you’re staying in a hotel. You can have freshly baked bread and croissants for breakfast and then browse les marchés, boucheries, charcuteries, fromageries and other stores for fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, paté and cheese and prepare your own meals, including a tasty picnic for your return trip which will have your fellow passengers green with envy!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16473 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16459 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16459 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16458 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16458 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16457 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16457 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16455
The haunts of Josephine Baker and James Baldwin come to life, and you see the wonderful Chateau Rouge area - a brilliantly vibrant mix of colours and cultures, boutiques and restaurants. Paris' varied international and colonial history is brought to life.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16455 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16454
The café has tall windows overlooking the square, and serves teas, coffees, cakes and other delicacies. Nearby, on Rue Rambuteau, is Le Potager du Marais – a café/restaurant which has long refectory tables where the mainly local clientele lunch on reasonably priced, delicious organic, veggie food.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16454 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16453
Racing reaches its pinnacle at Longchamp where the focus is the richest prize in Europe, the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe. But Arc day is much more than a day at the races. The Paris fashionistas compete as fiercely as the horses. So what would you expect to pay to rub shoulders with racing's elite in the world's style capital? How about £5 and that includes your racecard!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16453 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16452 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16452 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16450
The range of fresh fish, bread, vegetables, cheeses and wine is truly mouth watering and all at very reasonable prices. Your euro here goes a long way towards sampling the very best of French food.

The market is huge and the atmosphere intoxicating in terms of a real Parisian experience and can't be recommended highly enough to the discerning visitor.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16450 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16448 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16448 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16447 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16447 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16445 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16445