If you have a free hour

Take a stroll past the Marais’ 17th-century aristocratic townhouses, stop for a quick espresso at a café in Place des Vosges (some say it’s Paris’ most beautiful square) and continue on to the city’s revolutionary heart at Place de la Bastille.

Enjoy a quickie at the Louvre. I mean a quick look, just to be awed by the architecture or some statuary or a few paintings. Don't try to take it all in -- you can't anyway! But even an hour can inspire and exhilarate. Wednesday and Friday evenings it is open 6-9pm and lines are usually short (depending on time of year). From the main entry, near I.M. Pei's pyramid, go down one floor to the main ticket area and head to the automatic ticket machines. Insert your credit card, (it was 6 euros per ticket in Sept. 2007), choose the number of tickets and voila, you're ready to enter any gallery (except special exhibits).

If you have a free day

Start your morning with a boat cruise (bateaux-mouches) down the Seine. The batobus is a hop-on, hop-off bateaux which runs continuously throughout the day stopping at all the major sites along the Seine. Disembark at Ile de la Cité or Ile St-Louis (the central islands) to visit the city’s spiritual heart, the Gothic cathedral of Notre-Dame. From here, take your pick of three of the world’s best museums: the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay (Impressionist art) and the Centre Pompidou (modern art), although the Pompidou is considered by many as one of the most architecturally-monstrous museums in the world. Afterward, backtrack to Left Bank boutiques for high-end shopping, cobbled-street-wandering or more church visits at St-Germain-des-Prés and St-Sulpice. Wind down the day with an evening ascent of the illuminated Eiffel Tower or a stroll down the elegant Champs-Elysées.

If you have a free weekend

Another day gives you time to explore hillside Montmarte in the morning and climb the endless steps to the Sacré-Coeur basilica for more inspiring views. In the afternoon, you’ll have time for another museum, or you could drop in on the Phantom at the Opéra Garnier before popping over to nearby Galeries Lafayette for gifts. Finish up your weekend with some memorable entertainment: From classical music to cabaret to nighttime rollerblading, the City of Light is bound to have exactly what you’re looking for.