Speed-dating in Paris

Paris may be the city for lovers, but if you prefer quickies to long-term commitment, it's possible to speed date your way through the city's sights in one day.

During my recent business trip, I had one day to see Paris with my colleagues. It was my fourth time in the city but it was the first for one of them, so we tried to fit in as much as possible. Our hotel was in a suburb called Issy les Moulineau, which is connected to Paris by the RER (commuter train).

We left our hotel around 10am for the 15 minute ride to the Musee d'Orsay. There was a line, but it moved quickly. I was pleasantly surprised that I still qualified for discount admission for those age 18-30 (free for those under 18). The museum opens at 9:30am and is closed on Mondays. This is one of my favorite museums for its beauty (it was built in an old train station) and the ease with which you can see everything in a short amount of time. It's also home to a fabulous colleciton of impressionist paintings.

After a little over an hour, we were ready to walk across the Seine to the middle of the Jardin des Tuileries, up to the Louvre to take photos of the impressive and controversial I.M. Pei designed pyramid and the museum behind it. If you only have one day to see Paris, don't even bother going inside. Unline the Orsay, the Louvre requires at least a full day to see all it has to offer.

Hunger took over and we went in search of lunch, so we took a left at the Louvre and headed down side streets until we found ourselves at the Royal Opera Cafe, near the Opera of course and right at the Pyramides metro stop. After some very tasty croques messieurs sandwiches, our group separated. Three of us took the metro from Pyramides to Poissoniere, and set out for a walk through the neighborhoods to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur basicila, where we climbed to the top to take in the view of the city and tour the basilica.

Next, we took the metro the Champs Elysees and l'Arc de Triomphe for a photo op, before we set out along the George V Boulevard towards the Eiffel Tower. Our RER station was nearby, and we made it back to our hotel by 6:30pm.

France is worth a long-term visit, but if you just want to say you've been there and done that, it's definitely possible to hit up the major sights in one day. If we'd left our hotel a bit earlier we would have been able to squeeze in a visit to Notre Dame. I guess we'll just have to save it for another day!