48 hours in political Paris

Love is always in the air in the French capital, but at the moment, with the presidential election campaign in full swing, it's the Parisians' passion for politics ÿ the debate and the scandals ÿ that is keeping the cafes busy.

Why go now?

Après Mars, le déluge of tourists – and with good reason. "He who has not lived during the years around 1789 cannot know what is meant by the pleasure of life," said Talleyrand. Two centuries on from the Revolution, Paris reveals layer upon layer of political intrigue, its streets littered with monuments to social upheaval. As the presidential election campaign hots up, so does the French capital – a city that thrives on politics. Vote liberté, egalité, fraternité and fun in the city of light.

Beam down

Those who are more equal than others will insist on travelling first class aboard Eurostar from London Waterloo or Ashford. Through Eurostar Holidays Direct (0870 167 6767; www.eurostar. co.uk/ehd), you can book a package – including three nights in the four-star Grand Hôtel Littré – for £295 per person. If you arrange your own accommodation, the cheapest standard-class return on Eurostar will cost £70, booked at least two weeks in advance; travel before 21 June. From other parts of Britain, the cost of the add-on ticket to London is usually around £30 return. As the train passes Lille, doff your cap to the city's most famous son, Charles de Gaulle. The late president's name is given to the nation's main airport,north of Paris – served from the UK by airlines including British Airways (0845 77 333 77, www.ba.com) and BMI (0870 60 70 555; www.flybmi.com). The no-frills airlines are Buzz (0870 240 7070; buzzaway.com) from Stansted, and easyJet (0870 6000 000; www.easyJet.com) from Liverpool (starting 2 May), and Luton (from 12 June). From the airport, the RER suburban railway takes you to Châtelet-Les Halles , St-Michel-Notre-Dame , or Luxembourg for the Sénat in 30-40 minutes.

Get your bearings

The Grand Axe is the triumphal thoroughfare that slices through the city from the Grand' Arche de La Défense – one of the monuments created by François Mitterrand – to the Louvre . Continue the line, in imagination, and you end up at Place de la Bastille – location for another Mitterrand grand projet, the Opéra. There is no concentrated political core to compare to Westminster; the Assemblée Nationale , the Sénat, the Prime Minister's office and many of the ministries are on the Left Bank, while the Elysée Palace , the Interior Ministry and the Finance Ministry are on the Right – geographically speaking at least.

Check in

The Hôtel de Crillon (00 33 1 44 71 15 01) on the Place de la Concorde and Hôtel Raphael (00 33 1 53 64 32 00) on the Avenue Kléber, just off the Etoile , are the most political of the classy four-star hotels in Paris. Out-of-town politicians stay at them and they are the place for political party animals to meet. At the Hôtel de Suède at 31 rue Vaneau (00 33 1 47 05 00 08), the top-floor rooms look over the park of the Matignon Palace, residence of the French Prime Minister. The Hôtel Sénateur , at 10 rue de Vaugirard (00 33 1 43 26 08 83) is close to St-Germain, the Sorbonne and the upper house of the French parliament; from €125 (£76) double, breakfast included. On the Right Bank, the classiest small hotel in the Marais, the Hôtel Caron de Beaumarchais , 12 rue Vieille du Temple (00 33 1 42 72 34 12), charges around €135 (£81) for a double room. Even if you stay elsewhere, glance into the lobby of this stylish residence, decorated with musical scores and antique playing-cards. The youth hostel at 10 rue Trousseau (00 33 1 47 00 62 00) has dorm beds for €40 (£24).

Take a hike

Start at the Place de la Bastille , the huge roundabout where the main thoroughfares of eastern Paris meet. The 14th-century fortress-prison was one of the most feared instruments of repression for 400 years. Nothing remains of it now, although on Boulevard Henri IV you can see paving stones that mark out the former towers and fortifications. Walk west along rue St Antoine, pausing at the statue of Beaumarchais (the 18th-century playwright and statesman who wrote the Marriage of Figaro and the Barber of Seville), then turn right along the rue de Birague into the Place des Vosges. The most politically notable former resident was Cardinal Richelieu (who lived at number 21), the power behind the 17th-century throne of Louis XIII, whose equestrian statue stands at the centre of the square. Victor Hugo lived in a second-floor flat in the south-east corner of the square, where he wrote part of Les Misérables. The house is now a museum to his memory (10am-5.30pm daily except Mondays; 00 33 1 42 72 10 16). From the north side of the Place des Vosges, walk west along the rue des Francs-Bourgeois to the marvellous Musée Carnavalet , the museum of the history of Paris; admission is now free. West of here lies the Hôtel de Ville , the city hall for Paris, where Jacques Chirac built his political power base. He now occupies the tourist-unfriendly Elysée Palace .

Lunch on the run

Take a picnic to the garden of the Rodin Museum , which is close to the prime minister's residence, the Matignon and several ministries. Indoors, the Arpège at 84 rue Varenne (00 33 1 45 51 47 33) is the classic Paris power-lunching restaurant. A cheaper place for lower-level politicos and journalists is Chez Françoise (00 33 1 47 05 49 03), curiously located in the basement of the Air France terminal in the Invalides .

Parlimentary afternoon

The French lower house is the Assemblée Nationale , which occupies the 18th-century Palais Bourbon on the Quai d'Orsay (00 33 1 40 63 60 00). Each Saturday, there are tours at 10am, 2pm and 3pm. But you must book in advance, and a minimum of two people must be booked for each tour. These are free, courtesy of the French taxpayer.

Window shopping

Political bookshops congregate in the sixth arrondissement, in the St Germain-des-Prés area. The best known is La Hune at 170 boulevard St-Germain.

An apertif

Make a statement with a Cuba Libre, a B52 or a Desperados (beer laced with tequila) at the trendy new Café Crème on the rue de Birague, during l'Heure de l'Apéritif, from 6-8pm.

Bracing brunch

A storming start to the day can be had at the Bastille. The alfresco choice is the Café des Phares, which spills out from the Banque de France building on the west side of the Bastille roundabout. Sunday brunch comprises orange pressée, yoghurt, sausage and scrambled egg.

Take a ride...

... to the top of the most visible relic of the revolution. France has always realised the importance of monumental projects. In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was erected to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution. Like another monument to political conceit, Gustave Eiffel's 300m tower was intended to be temporary – but unlike the Millennium Dome, it was (eventually) embraced by the Parisians who had demanded its demolition. Open daily, going to the top costs €9.90 (£6).

Sunday morning: go to church

The Montmartre funicular railway is a spectacular way to travel to the Sacré-Coeur. At the base of the staircase is Square Willette, which was named after Adolphe Willette, the artist who decorated the Moulin Rouge. He won the hearts of Parisian Leftists by shouting "Long live the Devil!" at the official opening of the church.

Dining with the locals

One of Paris's oldest restaurants, La Tour d'Argent, at 17 quai de la Tournelle (00 33 1 43 54 23 31), served a host of 19th-century luminaries including Honoré de Balzac and Emperor Napoleon III. Its signature dish is canard au sang (pressed duck), and each duck has been individually numbered since the first serving in 1890. You will pay at least €75 (£45) for dinner. At the other end of the political and economic scale, Indonesia is a workers' co-operative at 12 rue de Vaugirard (00 33 1 43 25 70 22), with meals from €13 (£8).

The icing on the cake

Just as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's preserved body still draws tourists in Moscow, so the Lenin Museum is still open for business. Lenin lived in this small flat from 1909-1912 during his exile from Russia. It was once an obligatory stop for Soviets on official visits to Paris, and its visitors' book has been signed by most post-war Soviet leaders – and by the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. It shares its location at 4 rue Marie-Rose (00 33 1 40 40 11 18) with the French Communist Party archives. You can visit only by appointment.

Write as postcard

The Père-Lachaise cemetery , which opens at 9am on Sundays (8.30am on Saturdays, 8am for the rest of the week), is perhaps most celebrated for the graves of Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde. Politically, though, the most significant monument is the Mur des Fédérés – the wall devoted to the 150 Communards who were lined up and shot against it in 1871 after their attempt to establish a proletarian democracy following the humiliation of the Franco-Prussian War.

A walk in the park

The Jardin du Luxembourg is one of the finest of the formal gardens in Paris – and acts as the back yard for the Sénat, the upper house. After a bomb attack some years ago, you cannot get close to the debating chamber, so instead make the most of the greenery – and its many decorations, including the original for the Statue of Liberty.