One of you was in Paris? Mentally or actually, is transferred there along with the characters Remark or passing by water bus on the Seine past Notre-Dame-de-Paris? We were all there, without exception, because Paris has become a byword, place to visit, a place where converge all the roads after Rome.

The sights of Paris we know by heart. Bot he, the Louvre, along the Seine. In the courtyard of the Louvre pyramid made of glass and metal, followed immediately the Tuileries gardens. A little further upstream the river Seine, the Notre Dame Cathedral. And the other side is the Grand Opera and the shopping street of Rue Saint-honoré and Avenue Montani. On the other side of the river — the Eiffel tower and Champ de Mars. The triumphal arch will meet us at the end of the promenade along the Champs Elysees past the endless boutiques and shopping centers. Sacré-Coeur Basilica stands on a hill, run away from it the streets to the Opera and Central Paris. All of this is so familiar, so expected.

In Paris often disappointed. There is even such a disease — the Paris syndrome, or the syndrome of frustration in Paris. They often suffer from the Japanese. Probably because of too much difference in the French and Japanese cultures.

And no discoveries, no uniqueness? Not at all. The real Paris is far away from the paved tourist trails. No, you don't need to wander into the Arab quarters or completely deaf the outskirts. Just the real Paris of the invisible tourists, who come here for a week, max. They rush all around, drive around on the river, push through the crowds of tourists at the Louvre, to keep up everywhere.

Slowly walking through the streets of Paris, hold on a minute. Raise look to the buildings, study of their bas-reliefs and stucco, and then sit down at the table nearest cafe. Watch passers-by, imagine their lives, slowly drink your coffee or glass of wine and imagine that 100 or 200 years ago in the streets of Paris just wandering people, on the Seine was floating buses, and the city lived the same everyday life. There were revolutions, wars, the overthrow of monarchs and public executions, religious processions and religious slaughter.

Paris is unique in its history. This story is in the stones of palaces and cathedrals, embankments and conventional homes. Paris need to breathe in deeply, to catch his true scent among the smells of tourists from around the world.

Rent an apartment in Montmartre, buy baguettes in the morning, allow yourself a leisurely Breakfast in the cafe, long walks and dinners in authentic restaurants with a glass of wine. Go to the Louvre every day, soak up the history in museums, art theaters, but the spirit of Paris — its streets. Stop being enthusiastic tourist, try unobtrusively to find Paris, which is not. Paris, which opened only a seeker!