No Paris holiday is ever complete without a hard-core shopping spree! Be it for food, perfumes, knick-knacks, designer clothes or art, there’s no better city in the world to spend your heard-earned holiday dollars. Should you be looking for holiday rental apartment in Paris, then keep in mind that the area around the Paris opera house, the Palais Garnier, is your best bet if you want to really absorb the true essence of Parisian life. Dine, shop and feel your way through Paris, just by stepping out of your front door! To help you on your merry Paris shopping way, we’ve compiled a walking tour which will guide you to the most popular shopping havens in the area. Start your day out front of the Opera Metro station and discover the unadulterated bliss that retail therapy can bestow on even the most discerning tourists. Fragonard Perfume Museum Located merely meters from the colossal Palais Garnier, this unusual museum is a true treat for your senses. The lovely collections shown in the Fragonard Perfume museum showcase almost three thousand years of perfume history! Testers and gift-boxes are also available to purchase, making this one of the most enjoyable educational outings in Paris! Printemps de la ...

It is often said that the best laid plans are always the most challenging. Sometimes, it is the smallest detail which threatens to ruin a project you’ve been planning for years! While the idea of building an extravagant opera house in the centre of Paris seemed simple enough at the time, it almost failed before it even began. Napoleon III, who turned out to be the last head monarch of France, was renowned for his opulent tastes, and had dreamed of the 2,200-seat architectural feat for years. In 1862, after clearing nearly three acres of land, on the site where the Opera House would be built, an underwater lake was discovered. It turned out that, with all the planning and organizing, no-one had bothered to really check the ground...and the next 12 months were spent implementing projects and measures to dry up the swampy land. In order to assure the future structure would be left undamaged for centuries to come, architect Charles Garnier devised a double foundation system. Between the first and second layer lies an enormous hidden cave; curiously though, this underground dungeon-like space (certainly big enough for anyone to live in) is what inspired Gaston Leroux to write ...