As a special treat to readers of this blog, I am posting two short extracts from my upcoming Dunn's Subliminal Guide to Paris, to be published later this year.
Here is the first one:
Strategically placed on the main shopping route connecting the left and right banks of the river Seine, the Île de la Cité is well worth a visit. You may notice an imposing building, about as big as the Post Office in 9th Avenue, in the middle of the island. In religious times such an edifice would have been classified as a cathedral and its CEO a bishop, as opposed to a church and a priest for less ambitious buildings.
The best time to visit is on Sunday morning when the authorities put on quite a show for visitors. Don't be put off by the large numbers of extras who have been trained to sing at various times during the show. You are quite welcome to enter and stroll about and listen to the live proceedings which are sometimes recorded for later broadcasting in retirement homes throughout the country. But do remember that the building - it's called Notre-Dame by the way - is a no-smoking zone. Although admission is officially free, there is quite a lot of moral pressure to "contribute" to the show so you might wish to leave before the plate or basket is passed round. If you do so, you will of course forego the opportunity of hearing the bishop, or one of his acolytes, holding forth at inordinate length on subjects of marginal interest.
Tomorrow: a quick stroll round the Louvre
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