In my recent academic tour of Europe I made my first ever visit to Germany. Although Cologne is not considered a very big tourist attraction compared to some of the other German wonders, I wanted to visit the local university
National Museum of Modern Art – Centre Pompidou : Paris
Paris, without doubt, has some of the best museums in the world. The Louvre is perhaps the most well known, but when it comes to more contemporary art the National Museum of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou is as
La Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre : Paris
In my last visit to Paris I stayed at the Montmartre area and that gave me a lot of opportunities to explore. The number one attraction in that area for tourists is the La Basilique du Sacré Cœur de Montmartre
Montmartre Cemetery : Paris
On my last visit to Paris, I stayed with a very affordable Airbnb (~60US$/night for a studio) at the very lovely Montmartre neighborhood, filled with wonderful little bakeries, coffee places, and restaurants. Aside from the hip area, there are also
Musée Fort de la Pompelle, Hautvillers & Basilique Saint-Remi: Champagne France
Roaming around Champagne there are a few things to see that go beyond wineries, although it is mainly limited to two categories – religion and war. In terms of war, there’s plenty left from the world wars that had a
The Champagne cellars of Ruinart Winery : Reims
We only spent a day around the lovely town of Reims. We visited the grand cathedral, said hi to the folks at a nearby international psychology conference, and wondered around the old town. But, most importantly for Champagne province, we
Notre Dame de Paris & Notre-Dame of Reims Cathedrals
The French catherdals are world famous, but of all of those the Notre Dame is perhaps the most famous of them all. Among the largest in the world, and with the finest French gothic architecture, this is as good as
The Castle Château of Vincennes : Eastern Paris
Château of Vincennes on the eastern outskirts of Paris is different than most other Châteaus I visited in France. It’s more a castle than an estate, instead of gardens you’ll find a grand cathedral, and unlike any of the others
The Eiffel Tower : Paris France
Probably one of the most identifiable landmarks in the world, this awkward phallic beautiful monstrosity makes the top of the MUST TODO list for most tourists coming to visit Paris. Don’t let the long lines and tourist crowds keep you
The Louvre Pyramid : Paris
The Louvre, possibly the most well-known museum (and with the most mis-pronounced name) in the world is an important landmark at the heart of Paris. Every year millions of tourist swarm its halls to see famous art masterpieces. But I didn’t.