So how to make the most of it?

TAKE A STROLL IN PLACE DES VOSGES One of the most magnificent squares in the world, this 17th-century, symmetrical masterpiece lies in the heart of the Marais and was once home to the artistocracy.

What's nice about it nowadays is that it attracts all comers . . . artists, musicians, hippies, families, tourists, wandering dogsf It may well house one of the city's best Michelin-starred restaurants (L'Ambroisie) plus a plethora of upmarket, commercial art galleries, but it's still a place for everyone. On a recent visit on a sunny Sunday afternoon the atmosphere was pure magic . . . a Ukranian folk group singing under the arches on one side of the square while a classical duo performed on the other, the pavement cafes awash with customers, the little park in the centre jammed with families, kids playing in the sandpit while Papa and Maman talked to friends and enjoyed the sunshine. A place to make you feel that all was right with the world . . . if only for an hour or so.

VISIT S AINTEC HAPELLE With its profusion of stained-glass windows, it's a joy to visit on a spring day when the sun streams through. Tucked behind the Palais de Justice, this church, with its 245-ft high spire, was built way back in 1248. It's a magical place . . .

in the upper chapel the 15 stained-glass windows depict various Bible stories while the 16th, the famous Rose Window, shows us the Apocalypse with close to 100 panels of glittering glass. You're given an explanatory card which references all of the windows and their respective stories and it's a lovely way to pass an hour or so.

WALK THROUGH THE LUXEMBOURG G ARDENS Here, in this oasis of greenery and calm in the middle of the city's Left Bank, you can easily while away the hours. At this time of year the flowers are in bloom throughout the 60-acre park and are particularly beautiful in the area close to the octagonal pond, a place where you'll find the locals sailing their remotecontrolled toy boats.

Centrepiece in the park is the Luxembourg Palace, now the Senate, but there's also a bandstand and an open-air cafe with rickety seats spread out in the sun and under the trees in the shade. Because the gardens are used as much by the locals as by tourists (shop workers from nearby Boulevard Saint Michel and students and teachers from the Sorbonne bring their lunch here) you get a sense of the real Paris.

(And the ice-cream vendor at the Saint Michel entrance has a mindboggling array of tempting flavours! ) CLIMB ON BOARD. . .

You don't necessarily have to take one of the (pricey) Bateaux Mouches that glide up and down the Seine stuffed to the gills with clicking tourist hordes to appreciate the city from the water. Try the much cheaper Batobus instead, a regular service that drops you at the various sights along the Seine . . . stay on board or jump ashore, depending on your mood. Or escape the great river altogether and take a leisurely trip, through nine locks, along the tree-lined Canal StMartin. Accessible from Bassin de la Villette or from Porte de l'Arsenal, both on the Metro. Bring a picnic . . . it's bliss.

TAKE TO THE PAVEMENT When there's a hint of summer in the air there are few better places to sit outside than Brasserie StLouis, at the tip of the Ile St-Louis and just across the water from Notre Dame. Here, in this oldfashioned brasserie you'll find the starched, whiteaproned waiters come with their own Parisian starchiness. But hey, what a spot to sip a drink, enjoy a nibble, write a postcard or simply people-watch as the designer shades and the coiffed pooches compete for attention in the spring sunshine.

THE FACTS I flew with Aer Lingus (www. aerlingus. com) who operate three flights a day from Dublin and a daily flight from Cork into Charles de Gaulle airport.

The Roissy bus ( 8.50) then took me to its stop behind l'Opera in central Paris. I stayed at Hotel Daniel, a small, four-star hotel on Rue Frederic Bastiat, just off the ChampsElysses. Part of the Relais & Chateaux stable, doubles start from 380;

www. hoteldanielparis. com, www. relaischateaux. com