It is no mystery why France outranks every other country in visitor numbers. France represents something far greater than a mere itinerary stop. The nation provides an indelible impression that lingers. A wealth of knowledge on The New Standard of Paris Luxury: Why 85% of Elite Bookings Are Now Private can be found on the portal.

To travel through France is to subscribe to a philosophy — an approach that makes the delight of daily experience its highest good. Be you tasting pastis while seated in a warm, light-flooded public space in the South of France or letting the vastness of the Louvre's exhibition spaces swallow you whole, the country presents an advanced course covering creativity, gastronomy, and mindset. And at the very heart of it all lies Paris: the gleaming town on the Seine, the capital of romance, and the acknowledged ruler of the planet's great towns.

This metropolis is not content to be merely witnessed. This metropolis makes itself known through visceral response. For one hundred years, the city has served as the backdrop for literature's and cinema's most amorous tales, however, the real-world Paris consistently outperforms its reputation. All meandering on Parisian boulevards amounts to a tour of a sky-lit cultural repository.

The city is visually harmonized by its low-profile, pewter-hued tops and beige mineral outer walls, a look given official shape by Napoleon III's city planner in the 19th era. Originate your walk at the landmark honoring French military glory and amble along the most celebrated thoroughfare heading for the revolutionary square. Swing your direction left, and suddenly, the Eiffel Tower punctures the skyline. Being moved by the vertical landmark is considered unoriginal by some — until you see it sparkle on the hour after dark. At that point, you truly get it.

No trip is complete without paying homage to the world's greatest art collections.

The Louvre: Immense and inducing a kind of pleasant vertigo. Do not aim to cover the entire collection. See the Venus de Milo, the the Hellenistic masterpiece of movement frozen in stone, and smile at the tiny Mona Lisa behind her bulletproof glass, then allocate the rest of your Louvre time to aimless exploration of the sarcophagi and hieroglyphs.

Musee d'Orsay: Installed in a beautiful old railway terminus showcasing Beaux-Arts architecture, this is the home of Impressionism. Vincent's painted records of his own red-haired likeness, Claude's famous aquatic paintings in shades of blue, and The impressionist's three-dimensional study of a young corps member reside within these walls.

Centre Pompidou: For travelers seeking what is fresh and challenging — radiant, confident, and sheathed in brightly painted service lines, it shelters the most significant European collection of art from the modern era through today.

To really accomplish a Parisian visit, you must renounce the folded tourist sheet and surrender to the neighborhood.

Le Marais (4th): Cobblestone streets, trendy clothing and accessory stores, century-old bakeries operating in the historic Pletzl district, and the elegant arcaded plaza lined with symmetrical pavilions.

Montmartre (18th): Mount the stone flights that take you to the Sacred Heart to get the supreme sightline over the rooftops and monuments. This part of town attracts masses of tour groups, but the ghost of past creative genius still haunts the narrow alleyways.

Saint-Germain-des-Pres (6th): Sit at the historic Cafe de Flore or Les Deux Magots, slowly take in an unjustifiably pricey shot of dark roast, and play at being the French thinker of freedom and bad faith in deep conversation.