By Paul Topping

Paris is made up of twenty administrative districts, many with unique features, history, importance, architecture, ethnic mix, retailing pitch, etc. So if you ever feel you have seen Paris, list how many districts you have spent time in.

Paris has become, for various reasons, an annual event for us. This time we have five days, so we are hunting out the things we have not done before. The exception is, of course, “shopping” for Jezzabel. The inbound domestic Air France flight runs late, but we get enough time to do a sunset three-hour walk in Paris. Our morning starts slowly in the little apt in Le Marais. The good news is it's close to Mon Coco République, a corner café, and to walk to the river.

Despite being in Paris numerous times, this time we asked our Parisian friends to show us something new. They don’t let us down.

We walk to the Jewish area and stand in a small park surrounded by elegant terraced apartments of the Place Des Vosges. Our first visit, but we return the next day, and as Jezzabel shop,s I walk the square and the little park about six times, it’s so fascinating, amazing art shops, fountains, trees and history. I already have a draft story on the amazing square.

Given my taphophile tendency, my friend decides to take me around many old churches I’ve never been to before. There are about 200 churches in Paris. He does have a habit of getting into churches and then playing the organ if it’s not locked up. He has not been arrested yet. I have another friend who, after getting approved to photo shoot in the old Colombo St. Peter's church, was wrongfully arrested for over 22 hours, then released.

I’m interested in monuments, tombs, plaques of names of those French who died in wars fighting for their country. So, a new adventure for me is to visit the “Musée de l'Armée", an amazing monument to many famous French military heroes. This is followed by an excellent museum dedicated to the two World Wars. I’ve visited the London War Museum; clearly, in both locations, there is a certain bias.  E.g. in WW2, the French upplayed the American war contribution and lowered the British contribution. I have a low regard for the French military and their speedy collapse back in WW1 with mutiny and strikes, and in WW2 with poor leadership and strategy. Reliability was another aspect. I have, however, much respect for the French Resistance. In my many visits to France, I have photographed the plaques on homes, with a flower below it, to remember the resistance person who died. I have written and been published on the subject. I have also seen many town monuments to the French who died under German occupation.

The twenty administrative regions of Paris are known by their individual numbers.

I.e. Number one to twenty. For my part, I know I have been to fifteen of them, but only because I can identify something I’ve seen in those regions, e.g. in

One … Louvre Museum
Two … 19th-century shopping malls
Four … Notre Dame
Seven … Eiffel Tower
Nine … Galerie Lafayette
Twenty …. famous cemetery

Many of the above I’ve written about.

It’s obvious that some of these twenty regions operate at lower economic levels and or joined late to the list of the twenty as having less historic or financial importance.

I much prefer Paris to London in the summer, but I’m not for visiting Paris between November and April. I do not do the "wrapping up" bit in the cold. Five days of extensive walking in Paris put the city at the top of my "to visit" list. Safe, clean, hassle-free and people like to assist you. Paris is the best. Sorry, to the New Yorkers!