If you're a traveller, and not a tourist, then what's magical about Paris is that it affords you the possibility to fall in love with a city, all on your own, and it seduces you and folds you into its sexy, cobblestone arms without suffocating you, as any real French lover should.

La vie ain't always rose here, especially not in the height of summer. On my fifth visit to Paris, this past summer, that was my mistake: to go in June, when you can barely see the Notre Dame for all the tourist bees buzzing around it, when walking along the Seine isn't nearly as pleasurable because of the crowded masses.

But if you take a late nap, and awake around midnight, and take a walk along the Seine, then, and THEN is the perfect time for a Parisian stroll. (tip: stay at the Hotel de Nesle, a 4-minute walk from the Seine near the Latin Quarter. http://www.hoteldenesleparis.com/ Request the Melanie room, oh so charming...) Holding your lover's hand or not, you can't help but feel misty-eyed at the glassy, serene beauty of it all.

Kissing lovers are entwined against buildings that have felt the weighted embrace of lovers for over 300 years. The Notre Dame is a spectre of white beauty, graceful and imposing all at once. The waters of the Seine swish along, sexy and confident. An accordian mourns for lost lovers on a bridge somewhere not far off. And for a few moments in the wee hours, Paris is all yours. Take it.