Everyone has his own Paris� For someone it is La Tour Eiffel, someone wishes to see Giaconda of Leonardo, someone likes just sitting in small restaurants and enjoying French cooking. My travel was devoted primarily to the First Empire. Napoleon Bonapart is the main reason of my interest for France and of embarking on this trip.

Outside is 34�! Sunny. It is 17:00. We are in Paris!!! Having been accommodated in a small and comfortable Hotel Gerando** (Metro Anvers, Rue Gerando, 11) we embarked to see the city. People were to find only in the places of interests, anywhere else Paris was empty. They were working around with the maps taken from hotels and asking the way to major sightseeing. About three times that evening I was stopped by some tourists with a map in hands (!) and asked the way to a square or to a certain monument. Everyone around understood English, so I did not have any communication problems.
I went up to Sacre Coeur to view Paris from its highest point. The Basilica was built in a Visantian style, Paris looks wonderful from there. After that I walked to the Opera Garnier that turned out to be not far from my starting point. Just to mention now, Paris itself gave me the impression of a small and comfortable town � narrow streets, small metro trains. From Place Concorde one can see the Arc de Triomphe. The sun was going down, last light disappeared in fountains near a huge obelisk, and evening was approaching. Through a small, surrounded by two historic buildings, Place Vendome, where stands a column crowned with Napoleon , I found myself at the Tuileries garden. It was about 21:00, the garden was closing. Looking forward to the forthcoming events I returned to the hotel � tomorrow promissed to be a very interesting day.

By 9 in the morning I planned to be at Notre Dame (Metro Cite � metro plans are available at www.ratp.fr, train schedule � at www.sncf.com, museums opening hours � at www.paris-touristoffice.com ) I�ve been dreaming to visit it from the moment I read �The Hunchback of Notre Dame� of V. Hugo, the French musical has only strengthened this desire. Just imagine � here, on this place some centuries ago was dancing Esmeralda, here was dying Frolo� One can examine long time the decoration of the Cathedral � every relief is different and constitutes interesting sculptures on Bible�s topics. Near the entrance to the towers I purchased a museums card, which gives free access to more than 70 museums in Paris and Ile de France. It takes a long time to go upstairs, no elevator is available. But the ascent was a pleasure. The idea that the same way they were climbed by the priests in the Middle Centuries or Quasimodo might have been searching for consolation in these labyrinths, made me tremble.
After ascending the staircase I entered the chimeras gallery, 46 meters above the ground, so called after the statues adorning the corners of the balustrade. These creatures are fantastic birds, hybrid animals and mythical monsters perched on the towers. The most famous of these chimeras is the stryga (transliteration of the Greek word meaning bird of night, vampire or hag), seems, from its pensive attitude, to never tire of contemplating the metamorphoses of the capital. The towers of Notre Dame rise to a height of 69 meters and contribute to the soaring and monumental appearance of the cathedral. Many of Paris�s historic buildings and monuments can be identified from the tower: Sainte Chapelle, the Palais de Justice and further away, the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe which is echoed by the Grande Arche de la Defense.

Conciergerie is to be found not far from the Cathedral � at the revolutionary times there was a prison. Over a two-year period, more than 2700 people sentenced to death spent their last moments in the Conciergerie: many unknowns, alongside a few aristocrats, scientists, writers� The most famous prisoners were queen Marie-Antoinette; the poet Andre Chenier; the 21 Girondins, members of the Convention found guilty of conspiring against the republic; and Robespierre. This visit left a hard impression on me. It is also worth walking to the small church St Chapelle � the second floor is the wonderful memorial to the gothic style. Defense district did not impressed me much, neither I am interested in a modern architecture. It is quite enormous trade center, traffic goes under ground, the film �the Fifth element� came to my mind as I was waiting for a bus to go to Malmaison.

Bus number 258 goes every 10-15 minutes direct from Defense to Malmaison. It turned to be quite easy to find a bus station in this modern place � there are pointers everywhere, a timetable is near every bus station. It takes about 15-20 minutes to reach a residence of Josephine, which I ve been dreaming to visit. It is right there where the film �Napoleon� with Clavier has been made. And here it is � I am walking on cobbled roadway towards Malmaison, hiding myself from the heat at the shadows of chestnut-trees. (35�!). Bonaparte had been riding here in the past, striving for a rest at the Josephine�s arms...Everything reminds about that time� There were happy days at Malmaison where the First Consul and his entourage, all in their thirties, amused themselves with all sort of games on the lawns, or put on shows in the small theatre. In 1800, 1801 and 1802, the small castle served along with Tuileries Palace as the seat of government in France since Bonaparte often invited his ministers there for long council meetings resulting in the civil work of the Consulate. Once the First Consul had become established at Saint Cloud in the autumn 1802, Josephine took over Malmaison and had greenhouses built for exotic plants that she wished to acclimatize in France, together with buildings for rare animals that she would introduce, such as kangaroos and black swans, and a large gallery to house her collections of paintings, Greek vases and sculptures.
The house itself is a very small and comfortable � it makes big difference to Versailles. It is not amazing that the Empress preferred it to Versailles. Everything inside is made with taste. At the Wagram�s hall hangs a picture of David �Bonapart on Sen Bernar�. The Emperor�s room has retained well in my memory � the interior is made in warm yellow tones. The library is magnificent � wood furniture, books are in splendid book-covers. There is a small garden with a twisting path around the house as though the nature itself cared of comfort of this place. Some times roses were blooming in the garden, but now the sun has burnt every flower. I�ve got good impressions from Malmaison and would like to visit it once more.

In the evening I made a visit to Arc de Triomphe � the most monumental of all triumphal arches �, which was constructed, between 1806 and 1836. Museum card is valid. The Arc is magnificent! I�ve never thought it is so huge! There is a whole museum inside! At the top there are relieves of battles, but they are too high to be seen properly. A guide bought beforehand helped me to understand the meaning of each relief. It is a long way to go upstairs but it is worth it! The view on Paris is magnificent!

I reached Fontainebleau after 9 o�clock. The trip takes 35 minutes with a train from Gare de Lion, and about 10 minutes with a bus afterwards. Bus station is called Chateau. There was a French guided tour through the Small Apartments (Le petit Appartment) at 10 o�clock (A self visit is not allowed in that part of the palace). My school knowledge of Italian and a good mimic of the guide helped me to understand the most part of the excursion. The tour started at the �Cour d�Adeu� (the Court of good bye) � the scenes from film �Waterloo� have been coming up in my memory: a small court, a sun has not yet erased the long shadows on the ground, the Emperor is saying �Good Bye� to his Old Guard and kissing a flag (by the way it has been retained and is to be found in the Army Museum). In the Apartments I remember well �The Topographical room� where three tables cover a large part of the room to spread out the campaign maps. The Emperor�s library is the next strong impression � large cabinet, spiral staircase to the second floor. In an hour and a half I�ve been examining by myself the apartments of French kings. A wonderful castle! The Throne room of Napoleon has impressed me greatly! As it was in the First Empire, Throne composed of a canopy, two ensigns, a dais, an armchair, all made in 1804. The garden around the castle is very nice � cypress, flowers, fountains, carps in the pond� It was such a heat that the fish itself could not find cold water at the bottom of the pond. The excursion to Napoleons Museum was beginning at half past two. The guide greeted me with a smile � she might be surprising that there are people ready to spend a whole day in the museum! In comparison to the Small Apartments, the Napoleon�s Museum comprises a lot of interesting things: here are exhibited - the luxurious dark red velvet coat made for Napoleon�s second marriage; one of the two remained Napoleon�s grey overcoat (another one is in the Army Museum), a small copy of Emperor�s tent, uniform, Sevres china � One can use a museum�s card for Fontainebleau but it is not valid for two above-mentioned excursions.

There is also a restaurant near the Museum � it is called �The Courtyard of Good Bye � and a hotel called �Napoleon�. I saw a symbolic meaning in that. I left for Paris at 17:00. In the evening I went again to see the Arc de Triomphe. It was getting dark. Paris at night has impressed me greatly. Tour Eiffel, I must admit, is better viewed at night with thousands of lights inside it.

Catacombes are getting opened (Metro Denfert Rochereau) 10:00, I was there earlier �a long queue had already been waiting. Entry ticket costs 5 euro, museum�s card is not accepted. Twenty meters below ground level is a vast network of galleries where lie the remains of some six million Parisians. From the end of the 18 century till the great town planning these bones were transferred from Paris graveyards to the former quarries of Montrouge, which ?became the Catacombes in 1810. I am going downstairs � the air is becoming colder, the temperature under the ground was 18�! Thanks God, there was lighting everywhere and some time you meet excursion guides, because it is not a cheerful impression to go alone through narrow labyrinths, with dead heads laying from both sides. There are also good aphorisms on Life and Death. Thoughts are disappearing at the Eternity...

After that I went to Army Museum I desired to visit most of all (metro Invalides, www.invalides.org ) One cant view it in one day, neither was I interested in the wars of 20th century. I went straight to Napoleon�s rooms � you can walk there long time. Consulate hall, Egypt, Wagram, Jena, Boulogne � all titles could not be located in my memory. A number of things is exhibited there � marshals� portraits, Emperor�s portrait (Napoleon in Fontainebleau, 1814 �.); every detail of uniform, dolmans, pelisses. The emperor�s room on St Helena is reconstructed at the hall devoted to the Second Empire. There is number of howitzers and canons of different centuries in the museums� courtyard. The entry to the Napoleon�s tomb is separate � you can go only once with a museums card � it will be stamped. Inside is splendid! At the entrance to the Tomb the following words of the Emperor are graved � �I wish to be buried among French people I loved so much�. Great man!

Next comes Opera Garnier, I wished to visit since I�ve seen �The Phantom of the Opera� of A. Webber and read the novel of Leroux. The entrance is 6 euro, no museums �card. Constructed by Charles Garnier between 1861 and 1875 in the heart of modern Paris, the Opera is a magnificent spectacle in its own right. Words fail to convey my feelings since I entered the Opera! It is fantastic! I could not believe myself � here it is, I�ve read so much about, and I see it and may admire it! A terrific staircase � going upstairs in a candles light, I felt myself in History. A large bronze-and-crystal chandelier contains 340 lights and weighs 7 tonnes. I wanted to visit the underground to be sure of the existence of the underground lake, Leroux was writing about, but I was told that there are no such excursions now, but they might exist in the future.

The way to Louvre was laying through splendid Municipal Building and Greve square, where Esmeralda was dancing centuries ago. There were a lot of wonderful buildings near Louvre, unfortunately I did not manage to see all of them as the evening was approaching.

Louvre is opened till 21:45 on Wednesdays. ( www.louvre.fr )I was interested only in pictures devoted to Bonaparte and asked at the information desk how to get there. And here they are: the most famous is �The Emperor�s Crowing� of David. It turned out to be two of them � both original, the second one I saw later in Versailles. Near are �Napoleon at Abukire�, �The soldier of Imperial guard�. Another strong impression I brought out from Louvre is the Apartments of Napoleon the Third. I could not help mentioning the souvenirs shop under the louvre�s pyramid � one can find there a great number of books and posters� so it is better to leave some time for them.