A Chicagoan in Paris: Autumn in Paris

Fall is many people's favorite season. I know this, because a weather.com poll once told me so. I, however, was never one of those people. It's not that I have anything against autumn itself. I think it's just that fall is always a harbinger of winter, a season that I loathe with all my being. Any season that signifies a transition between the joys of summer and the absolute horror of sub-zero temperatures, gray slush and frozen snot is not my friend. In fact, when I was younger I would close my eyes during any fall car trip because the sight of changing leaves literally pained me. (Yes, I was an extremely neurotic child. No, I don't know how my parents put up with me either). But Paris is changing my mind.

I suspect that this city couldn't be ugly if it tried, but it's especially beautiful in fall. There's nothing better than taking an afternoon walk along the Seine, with the sun shining on the water and the sun hitting the spires of Notre Dame, or people-watching in the Jardin du Luxembourg under an alley of orange leaves. Ambling around the city never fails to make me happy, even on the most stressful of days. It's just an amazing city full of beautiful buildings, beautiful parks, a beautiful sky (don't ask me how it manages to have a prettier sky than anywhere else, it just does). Plus, it has mutant, season-resistant trees that have held onto their leaves for longer than is natural, so that even in mid-November the city doesn't have that stark, barren look that I so hate about winter.

Unfortunately it's now mid-November, and I fear that my favorite part of fall can't last forever. So, before 600 consecutive days of gray, rainy skies destroy this new-found love of fall, I'd like to commemorate some of my favorite fall activities below.

1) Going to some of Paris's best museums (and their great gardens) for free