If you want to be in the thick of things, then this Paris apartment in the 1st Arrondissement is exactly where you need to be.

One of the most well-known museums in the world, the Louvre, is just a few minutes' walk away, and you know you can't visit Paris without at least seeing the famous Mona Lisa.

Outside the Louvre is the very modern-looking and much-criticised glass pyramid, which is actually pretty nice, and beyond that, you can go for a pleasant stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries, which will take you all the way down to the Place de la Concorde, where you'll find the obelisk (and, usually, an ice cream cart if you're hot and need refreshment).

If you've still got some energy, then the other side of this massive square, which was where Marie-Antoinette was beheaded during the French Revolution, is where the Avenue des Champs-Elysées begins.

The Arc de Triomphe beckons tantalisingly in the distance, but beware - it's a much longer walk than you might expect!

Also close to your apartment is the Hôtel de Ville (aka City Hall), which is a very imposing building, the other side of which leads across, via the Pont d'Arcole, to the Ile de la Cité, where you'll find Notre Dame cathedral and the Conciergerie (where Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned before being taken to the guillotine).

Not far from the Louvre, just off the Rue St. Honoré (which is another very long road, full of up-market shops), is the Palais Royal, and if your French is up to it and you fancy a theatrical experience, then the famous Comédie Française is right on the corner - more often than not, you'll find at least one of Molière's plays on the schedule, and tickets can usually be bought on the day, if necessary.

Now, being in the heart of the 1st Arrondissement, it would be remiss of us not to point out the large number of shopping opportunities in this area.

First and foremost, you're practically on top of the huge Forum des Halles, a partly underground shopping mall containing over 150 shops (including a Starbucks, in case you're homesick for a cup of joe).

Secondly, the Rue de Rivoli, which runs all the way from the Place de la Concorde, alongside the Jardin des Tuileries and the Louvre, to the Place de la Bastille, is full of shops, including large department stores such as BHV and La Samaritaine.

And if you're looking for something different and very un-Paris-like, the Centre Georges Pompidou will fill the bill nicely, with its weird exterior escalators and brightly coloured pipes.

Inside, it houses the largest modern art museum in Europe, a vast public library and there are usually several temporary exhibitions on offer too.

Outside, you'll normally find a host of street performers, including mimes, jugglers and magicians, while round the corner you'll find the whimsical Fontaine Stravinsky, a set of 16 works of sculpture that move and spray water.

There is really so much more to see, just within walking distance alone of this apartment, such as the Opéra Garnier, Le Café de la Paix, the Madeleine, the Place Vendôme (home of the Ritz Hotel, where Princess Diana had been just before she was killed) and, of course, many more fashionable shops and department stores such as Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.

And if you want to venture further afield, you have a choice of Metro stations, such as Châtelet and Hôtel de Ville.

All Paris apartments have something to offer, but if you really want to be slap bang in the middle of the cultural and shopping centre of Paris, this is the apartment for you!

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