FREE FASHION SHOWS -- Paris is the fashion capital of the world and Galeries Lafayette offers a free fashion show every Friday at 15H00. It lasts 30 minutes and the commentary is in English with great music too. Visit this website to learn more and reserve your seats. Click here.

TAKE A COOKING CLASS -- If you are going to visit Paris — or any other destination known for its food and wine — you should definitely take a cooking class. Go online and search for "cooking class in Paris" and there are a wide variety of alternatives. It is a great opportunity to learn about the French style of cooking and to gather some recipes that you can bring home and practice on friends and family. This is the best keepsake when traveling abroad! And since France is so renowned for its wines, ladies visiting Paris should also try to find a wine tasting class where they can learn about wines, champagne, etc.

VISIT A SALON DE THÉ -- While in Paris, spend a blissful hour or two at one of the 'Salons de Thé' of venerable tea purveyors Mariage Frères. Select from a vast array of teas, each of which is carefully steeped to absolute perfection in strict observance of correct water temperatures and steeping times. To accompany your tea, choose a delicious luncheon or one of the delectable concoctions temptingly displayed on the dessert cart. The highly skilled wait staff will assist you in finding the tea best suited to balance the flavors of your selection. Mariage Frères is recognized worldwide for having elevated drinking tea to an art. Address: 13, rue des Grands-Augustins, Paris, France. Visit: www.mariagefreres.com

ANTIQUES IN THE TOWN OF PEZENAS -- Got some room in your suitcase for a few antiques? Check out the charming town of Pezenas, in the Languedoc (southeast of Montpellier). There are a multitude of intriguing antique shops on the south side of town, with prices MUCH more reasonable than you'll find in well-known Isle sur la Sorgue, or Paris. The town is well worth a visit too, with beautiful Renaissance architecture and enticing arty boutiques.

SMALL 2-STAR HOTEL IN PARIS -- Looking for an inexpensive and comfortable spot in Paris? The terrifically well located Hotel Andrea Rivoli is walking distance from the RER to the airports, close to Pompidou Center, Hotel de Ville, and Marais, plus it overlooks a quiet little street beside Rue de Rivoli. The staff are welcoming and friendly, and a single air conditioned room with private bath is under 90 euros!

LEARN ALL ABOUT CHAMPAGNE -- The Champagne region of France, in particular the charming village of Epernay, is mostly famous for the champagne cellars of Moet & Chandon, among others, where you can learn all about the “methode champenoise”. This is the most famous champagne house, makers of Dom Perignon – enjoyed by many American historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Tours of the cellar are organized where you can enjoy a taste of their famous “Brut Imperial”. And there's no finer way to enjoy the Epernay region, than to spend a night or two at the charming and elegant L’Hostellerie La Briqueterie where you will be pampered in their champagne spa. The cuisine is a senses’ celebration where the chef and his team will be happy to please all your expectations. Visit Chateau de Chantilly and enjoy the beauties of its great park, be sure to have lunch at the famous Le Hammeau Restaurant where “Créme Chantilly” was invented.

Père Lachaise is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. Located in the 20th arrondissement, it's reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the graves of those who have enhanced French life over the past 200 years. Many well-known women whose names you might recognize are buried here.

Collette -- A French novelist best known for her novel Gigi (upon which the stage and film musical comedies by Lerner & Loewe, of the same title, were based).
Isadora Duncan -- Was an American dancer. She is considered by many to be the creator of modern dance.
Simone Signoret -- Was an Academy-award winning French actress.
Édith Piaf -- was a French singer and cultural icon
Gertrude Stein -- was an American writer who spent most of her life in France.

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