Pro Tip: Free Wi-Fi in Paris

(Why hello, monsieur. Image via Antipodes)

Sure, lots of cafés and stores have wi-fi for you to connect easily and check your email while you're munching on that pain au chocolat. But did you know there's free wi-fi (pronounced wee-fee in French, totally adorable) all over Paris? Think parks, town halls (like the Hôtel de Ville), libraries and museums. If you've ever been out and about in the city and wanted to check your email or flight status, or ever gotten into an argument about which Bill played the president in "Independence Day" (it's Pullman, not Paxton, I promise), or if you've ever been in Jardin du Luxembourg and thought, "This day sure is beautiful but I miss my computer screen," here's how to gain free access from your cellie or laptop, via Paris.fr:

Cheap Paris Art

(Illustration by Aaron Straup Cope via 20x200)

If you can't come to Paris, keep Paris close to you. I know most of my readers are travelers or travel dreamers, not full-on expats, and Paris is one of those places that just stays with you, whether you've been there or not, whether you're planning to go or remembering the time you spent there. A professional photo or piece of art illustrating Paris is a beautiful way to keep your heart lit by the City of Light, no matter where you are geographically (not to mention it makes a great holiday gift). Here are a few of my favorites I've spotted recently:

Pro Tip: Coffee For 1€ Or Less!

One of the greatest pleasures of Paris is sitting at a café, uninterrupted for hours, watching people go by for the price of a cup of coffee. I must admit it's my favorite Paris activity. Yet many Paris visitors balk at the price of a measly (and admittedly, often not gourmet) cuppa joe. Luckily, there's a handy map that's been making the rounds that easily and accurately pinpoints the cheapest places in Paris to get an espresso - namely for 1€ or less.

Discovering Street Art with Urbacolors

Street art is like a free gift to the world, a little something that can brighten your day, open your mind, make you laugh, or just jolt you out of the humdrum of everyday life and better notice the world around you. I'm of the opinion that there's a difference between graffiti and street art - one is a scribble that defaces a hundreds-of-years-old sculpture in a park, and the other is the expression of true creativity that adds value, beauty, humor and/or political commentary to the structures that form our cities. If you're into street art, and you have a smartphone, you've got to download the free app Urbacolors.