Paris, Je T'Aime

 Tying the knot or looking to celebrate with the guy you've got? Read on.

Something OldOperated by only two families since opening in 1925?although the 161-room building?s roots stretch back to Louis XV times -- Hôtel Le Bristol received France's first "Palace" designation earlier this year -- and it shows in the attentive service. A new Honeymoon Suite occupies the entire top floor with panoramic views of the Eiffel Tower and Paris skyline beat only by the hotel?s rooftop pool and sundeck. Don?t miss a meal at Epicure, Le Bristol?s jewel box of a three?Michelin-star restaurant.

Something NewDramatic as a sweeping aria, L'Opéra Restaurant at Paris?s legendary Palais Garnier finally opened last July after 136 years on the drawing board and is a suitable scarlet-drenched backdrop to romance. Post-show, pre-show, or just-because, nestle in with a bottle of champagne and feed each other bites of chocolate hazelnut cake, decadently spiced with yellow chartreuse and masala or topped simply with gold leaf. More substantial nosh from the two?Michelin-star chef includes lobster, roasted guinea fowl, and house-smoked salmon with caviar and a mustard sorbet.

Something BorrowedSteal away and steal a kiss near the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens, the "backyard" of the French Senate. In this relatively more wild and wooly area of the otherwise perfectly preened grounds, wait till you have the spot to yourselves, then let the passions of the statuary -- the (doomed) lovers Galatea and Acis embracing before the cyclops Polyphemus -- be your guide. If you ever find yourself at a lack of words, head to Montmartre and borrow a phrase from artist Frédéric Baron. His mural "Le Mur des Je T'Aime" has 612 blue lava tiles scrawled in 250 languages all saying: "I love you."

Something BlueParisians made the world's first untethered hot air balloon flight in 1783 and have been soaring into the blue ever since. Book a sunrise tour with France Montgolfières (April-October) and spend an hour lazily floating over emerald forests and the toy-sized farms and villages of Fontainebleau, an easy hour?s train from the city.