Paris is for lovers, not necessarily teenagers.

In all of our travels my wife had never visited the French capital. Last spring she decided that a week long visit would be the perfect way for the three of us to spend my 14 year old son Josh's spring vacation. To be honest I was not that enthusiastic. I did not relish the prospect of hitting the city's top tourist spots in quick succession during a holiday. I knew that Josh prefers golden arches to the Arc de Triomphe and he is firm in his ABM -anything but museums- - mantra.

One of my best and most memorable trips was a visit to Paris with my then 10 year old daughter Morgan. She was still young enough to be "daddy's girl" but old enough to spend hours walking about and gladly hold my hand as we strolled the city for hours. She marveled at the Mona Lisa and enjoyed the café at the end of the gallery even more. It was heaven.

As night follows day, little girls grow up. Our most recent trip together was when I met Morgan, now 19 and her older sister Eve in India's Kerala province for a week long stay in a wonderful ayurveyda resort. It was great fun, though there was no hand holding this time.
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For our Paris visit, Josh and I did manage to amend our itinerary to include a visit to the renowned Schlumpf auto museum in the border (Swiss) market town of Mulhouse, more about that later, but we still had to contend with the prospect of 3 days in Paris

Our visit progressed as I expected. I spent most of our fist day alone - walking around the Arc de Triomphe -- which to my surprise was the start for a New York City-scale marathon that day -- while Josh and Dori slept off their jet lag. The crowds at the Eiffel Tower were no less daunting than the start line at the marathon so we contented ourselves with a stroll around the base before crossing the Seine and walking back to our room at the Hilton, where, later that night thankfully we enjoyed a great, unobstructed view of the well-lit tower from our veranda.

​This was the first time I had stayed in a big name hotel when in Paris. Aside from the view of the Eiffel Tower from our room on the rue de Courcelles, the real advantage of our choice was the knowledgeable concierge service available to guests. From the hotel, we obtained tickets to the Louvre, sparing us the wait at the museum itself. And when a friend failed to show at the museum, we were able to return his ticket to the hotel. This kind of service can make planning much more flexible.

At the Louvre, we made a lightening visit to the Mona Lisa that would have made Chevy Chase proud. After too long a wait to enter, we strolled through the tranquil gardens of the Rodin Museum, walking among the pigeons and the master's oeuvre. This small museum, not far from xxx is not to be missed. A well stocked cafeteria with tables overlooking the garden and its works began to capture what I like most about the city.

When I asked Josh recently what he remembered most fondly about our short visit to the French capital he had a ready response - the car dealerships - particularly the Mercedes one - along the Champs de l'Elysees and the grand Musee de l'Armee.

For Josh, Paris was merely the prelude to the main event.

Josh has been a car fanatic since our ride home from the maternity hospital. I've been to car shows in Baltimore, new York, and Washington, dc, visited showrooms from Montreal to London (the Bentley one in Mayfair is not to be missed), and traipsed around more dealerships selling more kinds of cars than I care to remember. So when we discovered that the foremost collection of the venerable Bugatti line of motorcars was in France, the back end of our Paris itinerary was decided.
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For Josh, Paris was merely the prelude to the main event. He tolerated the cafes and museums and the metro, but his expectations were focused on the world renowned Schlumpf Collection in the Alsace market town of Mulhouse (pronounced Mulooze).

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Getting There

​Paris

Hilton Arc de Triomphe
tel 01 58 36 67 00

Musee de l'Armee
Hotel National des Invalides, 129 Rue de Grenelle, Paris
01 44 42 37 70?

Musée Rodin
79, rue de Varenne - adresse postale : 19 boulevard des Invalides
75007 Paris
Tél. 00 33 (0) 1 44 18 61 10
Fax. 00 33 (0) 1 44 18 61 30

Europecar
(chosen for its proximity to the hotel

Cite du Train
Cite de l'Automobile
Musee National
Collection Schlumpf
ResidHotel