WHY GO NOW?

It's the perfect Valentine destination for couples and not even Tom Cruise's cheesy proposal to Katie Holmes on top of the Eiffel Tower can detract from the fact that Paris is the most romantic city on earth.

TOUCH DOWN Flights with Aer Lingus (www. aerlingus. com) and Air France (www. airfrance. ie) arrive at Paris Charles de Gaulle. The cheap, fast link into town is on the RER (suburban railway), line B. A Euro7.70 ticket takes you to Gare du Nord (1), Chatelet (2) , St Michel (3) and Luxembourg (4) stations, with free connections to anywhere on the Métro.

Rynair (www. ryanair. com) flies to Beauvais and the shuttle bus which takes you into the city centre costs Euro13.

GET YOUR BEARINGS The city is sliced in two by the Seine. The Left Bank (to the south) was traditionally associated with learning, the Right Bank with commerce. Over the years, these differences have become blurred with glitz and wealth on both sides.

Getting around is easy, thanks to the excellent Metro, buses and trams run by RATP (www. ratp. fr). A single Metro journey ticket costs Euro1.40 or you can buy a Mobilis day pass for Euro5.50 that allows unlimited journeys on all RATP transport.

There is a discount for those under 26 at the weekend.

CHECK IN With its mix of fleamarket finds and rooms decorated by artists, the Hôtel Amour (5) at 8 rue Navarin (00 33 1 48 78 31 80; www. hotelamour. com) in the 9th arrondisement is currently the most fashionable hotel in town, though deliberately low on facilities. Doubles start at Euro120, with an extra Euro10 per person for breakfast. It also has a buzzy bistro.

The Regent's Hôtel (6) at 44 rue Madame (00 33 1 45 48 02 81) is bright and comfortable and very well located for the Luxembourg gardens and StGermain. Some rooms have balconies. Doubles start at Euro80 with an extra Euro7 for breakfast.

In Montmartre, Le Village (7) at 20 rue d'Orsel (00 33 1 42 64 22 02;

www. villagehostel. fr) is a recently refurbished hostel that aims to provide the budget traveller with "a hotel experience for the price of a hostel".

It has an uninterrupted view of the Sacré-Coeur. Doubles start at Euro46, including breakfast.

TAKE A HIKE Take a simple, cheap and rewarding slice through the Marais. From the Pompidou Centre (8), head east along rue Rambuteau to the church of Notre-Dame des Blancs-Manteaux (9) (00 33 1 42 72 09 37; open 10am-noon and 4pm-7pm, 10am-noon on Sundays). Close by is the Espace des Blancs-Manteaux (10) - a market turned artspace (00 33 1 44 54 75 79) that, in February, hosts an exhibition on human rights in literature. Hop a block north to rue des Francs-Bourgeois and follow it to the serene, symmetrical Place des Vosges (11). The 17thcentury mansion in the southeast corner at number 6 is the Maison de Victor Hugo (00 33 1 42 72 10 16), where the writer lived in a second-floor apartment from 1832 to 1848 and wrote some of Les Miserables.

This fascinating house opens 10am-5.40pm daily except Monday, admission free - as are the permanent collections in all the other municipal-run museums.

LUNCH ON THE RUN Often the best-value gourmet meals are to be had in Paris at lunchtime. Expect good food but sometimes minimal presentation.

Set menus, scrawled on blackboards brought to the table, cost around Euro15 for two courses and often include a glass of wine. In the Marais, you can choose from a wide selection of small brasseries.

Le Coude Fou (12) at 12 rue de BourgTibourg (00 33 1 42 77 15 16) offers a typically rustic French cuisine. For something lighter, around the corner in the heart of the Jewish quarter the delicatessen/restaurant Chez Marianne (14) at 2 rue des Hospitalières St-Gervais (00 33 1 42 72 18 86) serves hot, fresh falafel and a buffet of Jewish specialities, either in the restaurant or from the express window.

WINDOW SHOPPING Spend the afternoon, but not a fortune, by perusing the windows under the arcades at the Palais Royal (14). The Galerie de Valois has shops selling antique books and manuscripts. It is also home to the Parfumerie Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido, the luxury boutique of the Japanese cosmetics company (00 33 1 49 27 09 09; www. salonsshiseido. com). Here you can test all the sumptuous creams and depart smelling beautiful, with no need for plastic. At the Galerie de Montpensier opposite, you will find the only Marc Jacobs shop in France (00 33 1 55 35 02 60; www. marcjacobs. com) and the boutique Didier Ludot (00 33 1 42 96 06 56;

www. didierludot. com), which specialises in vintage designer wear from the era of Audrey Hepburn and Greta Garbo.

AN APERITIF Prices can go down as well as up. Walk up Avenue de l'Opéra to the Footsie bar (15) at 10 rue Daunou (00 33 1 42 60 07 20).

This chic Parisian bar is named after the British FTSE index, and prices its drinks according to the rise and fall of demand; a cocktail typically costs Euro11.

Or continue along the Grands Boulevards towards Café Brébant (16) at 32 boulevard Poissonnière 9e (00 33 01 47 70 25 55); its happy hour lasts a lot longer than 60 minutes.

DINING WITH THE LOCALS A former coach drivers' inn, Bouillon Chartier (17) at 7 rue du FaubourgMontmartre (00 33 1 47 70 86 29;

www. restaurant-chartier. com) still has the original carriage forecourt and brass luggage rails above the tables. The food is rough and ready but good value for money: soup for Euro2, mains such as trout meuniere for Euro9.60 and desserts, including peach tart, for Euro4.50. Or suppress your appetite until late: La Coupole (18) at 102 Boulevard Montparnasse (00 33 1 43 20 14 20;

www. flobrasseries. com/coupoleparis) offers a two-course menu (starter and main course) for Euro23.50 for those dining after 10.30pm.

SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH Discover the beautiful church of StEtienne-du-Mont (19) on place SteGeneviève (00 33 1 43 54 11 79), which has long been intertwined with Parisian history. Inside you'll find a magnificent Renaissance rood screen and the ornate tomb of Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who saved the city when besieged by the Huns in 450. Pascal and Racine are also buried here. It opens 8.45am to noon (Mass at 9am and 11am) and 2.30-7.45pm.

OUT TO BRUNCH Brunch is the new Sunday trend in Paris and many restaurants offer a brunch menu for around Euro20. Stroll down rue Mouffetard in the 5e (Métro Cardinal Lemoine) and enjoy the Sunday morning market produce at the many boucheries, fromageries and charcuteries that line the cobbled street.

At number 138 (20), sit down at one of the large, convivial wooden tables at Le Pain Quotidien (00 33 1 55 43 91 99;

www. lepainquotidien. com). Order large hunks of bread with pâtés à tartiner, homemade yoghurts and lots of salad, cheese, boiled eggs, charcuterie and smoked salmon. The huge portions mean that probably only a patisserie top-up will be needed to make it through the rest of the day.

A WALK IN THE PARK Walk off brunch by heading back towards the Seine and down to the Jardin des Plantes (21) (00 33 1 40 79 56 01;

www. mnhn. fr). Paris' Botanical Gardens were originally founded as a medicinal herb garden in 1626. They are open from 8am to dusk, September to March, and 7.30am to 8pm the rest of the year, admission free. The National Museum of Natural History and Paris Zoo are located within the gardens; both charge an entrance fee.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON The museum l'Orangerie (22) (00 33 1 44 77 80 07; www. musee-orangerie. fr) in the Jardin des Tuileries houses Monet's grand Nymphéas (water-lilies: eight curved canvasses beautifully displayed in two oval rooms), plus a collection that includes Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse and Soutine in the basement.

The building was originally constructed as an orangerie for the royal palace. It was closed in 2000 for refurbishment, which went on to last six years due to the discovery of a 17thcentury wall underneath the original building. The spectacular new museum is now open to the public 12.30pm-7pm daily except Tuesdays (with late opening to 9pm on Fridays), admission Euro6.50 - or, if you can visit on the first Sunday of the month, completely free.

» Additional research by Jacqueline Cooney