1. Write code to insert node in a binary tree ?

2. Write code to find maximum height of a binary tree ?

3. Write code whether a binary tree is an AVL tree or not ?

4. Write code to find the size of binary tree ?

5. Write code to create a balanced tree ?

6. Write code to insert a node in link list?

7. Write code to delete a node from link list?

8. Write code to find number of nodes in the list ?

9. Write code to remove spaces from the string. You cannot use a new string.

10. Write code to reverse a link list?

Answers.

/* Insert in Binary tree */

  public Node InsertBinaryTrees(Node node, int data)
        {
            if (node == null)
            {
                return new Node() { data = data };
            }

            Node headNode = node;
            Node temp = new Node();
            bool insertLeft = false;

            while (headNode != null)
            {
                if (headNode.data > data)
                {
                    temp = headNode;
                    headNode = headNode.left;
                    insertLeft = true;
                }
                else
                {
                    temp = headNode;
                    headNode = headNode.right;
                    insertLeft = false;
                }
            }

            Node newNode = new Node(){data = data};
            if (insertLeft)
            {
                temp.left = newNode;
            }

            else
            {
                temp.right = newNode;
            }

            return node;
        }

Solution 2:

/* Max height of binary tree */

public int HeightOfTree(Node node)
        {
            if (node == null)
            {
                return 0;
            }

            int leftTreeH = HeightOfTree(node.left);
            int rightTreeH = HeightOfTree(node.right);

            return Math.Max(leftTreeH, rightTreeH) + 1;
        }

Solution 3

/* Binary tree is AVL or not */

  public bool IsBalanceTree(Node node)
        {
            if (node == null)
            {
                return true;
            }
        
            int leftTreeH = HeightOfTree(node.left);
            int rightTreeH = HeightOfTree(node.right);

            if (!(Math.Abs(leftTreeH – rightTreeH) <= 1))
            {
                return false;
            }

            if (!IsBalanceTree(node.left))
            {
                return false;
            }
           
            if (!IsBalanceTree(node.right))
            {
                return false;
            }

            return true;
        }

Solution 4

/* Size of binary tree */

  public int SizeOfBST(Node node)
        {
            if (node == null)
            {
                return 0;
            }

            return SizeOfBST(node.left) + 1 + SizeOfBST(node.right);
        }

Solution 5

/* Code to balance a tree */

// Do In-order traversal of the binary tree to get the sorted array first

 static int i = 0;
        static int[] array = new int[7];
        public int[] InOrderTraversal(Node node)
        {         
             if (node == null)
             {
                 return array;
             }

             InOrderTraversal(node.left);
             array[i] = node.data;
             i++;
             InOrderTraversal(node.right);

             return array;
        }

// Pass the sorted array and array.Length -1 as high position and 0 as low position.

 public Node CreateBalancedTree(int[] array, int lowPosition, int highPosition)
        {
            int midPosition = (lowPosition + highPosition) / 2;
           
            if (lowPosition <= highPosition)
            {
                Node node = new Node() { data = array[midPosition], left = null, right = null };
                node.left = CreateBalancedTree(array, lowPosition, midPosition – 1);
                node.right = CreateBalancedTree(array, midPosition + 1, highPosition);

                return node;
            }

            return null;
        }

Few days back I was trying to add custom behaviour to my WCF service and found out that many users have issues in adding these behaviour to the congig file so I thought of sharing the code to implment IEndpointBehavior and IServiceBehavior and adding these behaviors to the WCF service configuration file.

In the code below I have implemented Validate method to throw an exception at runtime when the contract is two way. So we will get an exception at the runtime during host.Open().

I have also shared the App.config file where these behaviors are added to EndpointBehaviours and ServiceBehaviours sections.

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Linq;

using System.Text;

using System.ServiceModel.Description;

using System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher;

using System.ServiceModel.Configuration;

using System.ServiceModel;

namespace MyNamespace
{
  class Program
  {
    static void Main(string[] args)
    { 
      ServiceHost serviceHost = new ServiceHost(typeof(ServiceContracts));
      serviceHost.Open();
      Console.WriteLine("Service is running..");
      Console.Read();
    }
  }

  public class ServiceContracts : IServiceContract

  {

    public void Method1()

    {

        return;

    }

  }

  public class EndpointBehaviorMessageInspector : BehaviorExtensionElement, IDispatchMessageInspector, IClientMessageInspector, IEndpointBehavior

  {

    public object AfterReceiveRequest(ref System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message request, IClientChannel channel, InstanceContext instanceContext)

    {

      Console.WriteLine("AfterReceiveRequest called.");

      return null;

    }

    public void BeforeSendReply(ref System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message reply, object correlationState)

    {

      Console.WriteLine("BeforeSendReply called.");

    }

    public override Type BehaviorType

    {

      get { return typeof(EndpointBehaviorMessageInspector); }

    }

    protected override object CreateBehavior()
    {
      return new EndpointBehaviorMessageInspector();
    }

    public void AfterReceiveReply(ref System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message reply, object correlationState)
    {
      return;
    }

    public object BeforeSendRequest(ref System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message request, IClientChannel channel)
    {
      return "";
    }

    // IEndpointBehavior Members
    public void AddBindingParameters(ServiceEndpoint serviceEndpoint, System.ServiceModel.Channels.BindingParameterCollection bindingParameters)
    {
      return;
    }

    public void ApplyClientBehavior(ServiceEndpoint serviceEndpoint, ClientRuntime behavior)
    {
      behavior.MessageInspectors.Add(new EndpointBehaviorMessageInspector());
    }

    public void ApplyDispatchBehavior(ServiceEndpoint serviceEndpoint, EndpointDispatcher endpointDispatcher)
    {
      endpointDispatcher.DispatchRuntime.MessageInspectors.Add(new EndpointBehaviorMessageInspector());
    }

    public void Validate(ServiceEndpoint serviceEndpoint)
    {
      if (serviceEndpoint.Contract.Operations[0].IsOneWay.Equals(false))
      {
        throw new ArgumentException("One way is not allowed");
      }
    }
  }

  public class EnforceGreetingFaultBehavior : BehaviorExtensionElement, IServiceBehavior, IEndpointBehavior
  {
    public void AddBindingParameters(ServiceDescription serviceDescription, ServiceHostBase serviceHostBase, System.Collections.ObjectModel.Collection<ServiceEndpoint> endpoints, System.ServiceModel.Channels.BindingParameterCollection bindingParameters)
    {
      return;
    }

    public void ApplyDispatchBehavior(ServiceDescription serviceDescription, ServiceHostBase serviceHostBase)
    {
      return;
    }

    public void Validate(ServiceDescription serviceDescription, ServiceHostBase serviceHostBase)
    {
      foreach (ServiceEndpoint se in serviceDescription.Endpoints)
      {
        if (se.Contract.Operations[0].IsOneWay.Equals(false))
        {
          throw new ArgumentException("Sorry, contract needs to be two way");
        }
      }
    }

    public override Type BehaviorType
    {
      get { return typeof(EnforceGreetingFaultBehavior); }
    }

    protected override object CreateBehavior()
    {
      return new EnforceGreetingFaultBehavior();
    }

    public void AddBindingParameters(ServiceEndpoint endpoint, System.ServiceModel.Channels.BindingParameterCollection bindingParameters)
    {
      return;
    }

    public void ApplyClientBehavior(ServiceEndpoint endpoint, ClientRuntime clientRuntime)
    {
      return;
    }

    public void ApplyDispatchBehavior(ServiceEndpoint endpoint, EndpointDispatcher endpointDispatcher)
    {
      return;
    }

    public void Validate(ServiceEndpoint endpoint)
    {
      throw new NotImplementedException();
    }
  }

  [ServiceContract]
  public interface IServiceContract
  {
    [OperationContract(IsOneWay = false)]
    void Method1();
    }
}

Application configuration file to add behaviour is below.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
                <system.serviceModel>
                                <bindings>
                                                <basicHttpBinding>
                                                                <binding name="basicHttpConfig">
                                                                </binding>
                                                </basicHttpBinding>                                    
                                </bindings>
                                <services>
                                                <service name="MyNamespace.ServiceContracts" behaviorConfiguration="metadataSupport">
                                                                <host>
                                                                                <baseAddresses>
                                                                                                <add baseAddress="http://localhost:50002/MyAddressOn"/>
                                                                                </baseAddresses>
                                                                </host>
                                                                <endpoint contract="MyNamespace.IServiceContract" bindingName="basicHttpConfig" binding="basicHttpBinding"
                                                                                                  bindingConfiguration="basicHttpConfig" address="http://localhost:50002/MyAddressOn"

                                                                                                  
behaviorConfiguration="MyEndpointBehavior">

                                                                </endpoint>

                                                                <endpoint address="mex" binding="mexHttpBinding" contract="IMetadataExchange" />

                                                </service>

                                </services>

                                <behaviors>

                                                <serviceBehaviors>

                                                                <behavior name="metadataSupport">

                                                                                <serviceMetadata httpGetEnabled="true" httpGetUrl="http://localhost:50002/MyAddressOn"/>

                                                                                <!–Add the new custom service behaviour to service behavior–>

                                                                                <MyServiceBehavior/>

                                                                </behavior>

                                                </serviceBehaviors>

                                                <endpointBehaviors>

                                                                <behavior name="MyEndpointBehavior">

                                                                                <!–add the custom endpointbehavior to endpoint behavior–>

                                                                                <MyEndpointBehavior/>

                                                                </behavior>

                                                </endpointBehaviors>

                                </behaviors>

                                <extensions>

                                                <behaviorExtensions>

                                                                <!–Type here is typeof(EndpointBehaviorMessageInspector).AssemblyQualifiedName–>

                                                                <add name="MyEndpointBehavior" type="MyNamespace.EndpointBehaviorMessageInspector, Blog1, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null"/>

                                                                <add name="MyServiceBehavior" type="MyNamespace.EnforceGreetingFaultBehavior, Blog1, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null"/>                                                       

                                                </behaviorExtensions>

                                </extensions>                 

                </system.serviceModel>

                <startup>

                                <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.0"/>

                </startup>

</configuration>

Thanks,

Neha  

Ranthambore is the famous national park in India located in Sawai Madhopur city. Sawai Madhopur is 2 hours away by train and 3 hours away by road from Jaipur. The famous Ganesh Temple and Ranthambore urge thousands of tourists every year to this city. National park and Ganesh temple are adjacent and a day should be enough to visit this city given that you are lucky enough to find the tiger in your safari.

Timings of the park and reservation :

How to reach RanthamboreBy Air: The nearest airport is at Jaipur (180 kms)

By Rail: Sawai Madhopur (10Kms.from the National Park) is on the main line between Delhi and Bombay. There is a direct rail link between Sawai Madhopur and Jaipur.

                                                From New Delhi to Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore)
 

1. The Colosseum

Colosseum is a historical monument which was contructed in ancient times for gladiator contests and other public events with a seating capacity of 50000 spectacors. The only (dressed like) gladiators which you can see these days are outside Colosseum for taking pictures with them. There is an entry fee for Colosseum to see it from inside which includes free entry to their museum. There are guided tours, audio guide and books available to describe the significance of Colosseum. Knowing the historical significance of this places makes your visit gratifying. Colosseum is in the centre of the city and one can reach there by train or cab. If you are taking train to Colosseum then the station is 2 minutes away from Colosseum. The ticket of Colosseum includes visit to Roman forum which is opposite to Colosseum. I personally liked Colosseum more and wasn't too impressed by Forum.

Colosseum looks beautiful at night. We went to Rome in summer and it was very hot in the day. Watching Colosseum in a pleasant evening is what I liked better.

2. Throw a coin in Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain is undoubtedly the most famous fountain in Rome. It is the largest fountain in the city and you will be stunned by its beauty. No wonder it is always surrounded by tourists and an eventful place in Rome. If you do not believe in ritual of throwing coin in the water then you can just relax there watching people throwing coins and taking pictures. But if you decide to throw coin in water (right hand over left shoulder) then it can be challenging/annoying as lot of people try to take pictures and videos while throwing coin . All in all, my visit to trevi fountain was delightful and would love to visit it again.

3. Piazza Novana

Piazza Novana is city square in Rome and reminded me of St. Mark's sqare in Venice. Besides three admirable fountains. the Piazza attracts you by its liveliness. The local artists wins people heart and applause by their skills of painting, dancing, magic and other. I found this Piazza the best Piazza in Rome and would recommend spending some time there. It is surrounded by some nice restaurants and shops. There is a church at this Piazza as well, which I didn't visit. Piazza Novana is open all the time and there is no entry fee.

4. Monument to Vittorio Emmanuel

Beautiful palace

5. Spanish steps

Spanish steps are the longest and widest staircase in Europe. Plan to be there around evening when weather allows you to sit on the steps and relax. You will find thousands of tourists sitting on the steps.

6. Vatican city

2nd largest museum museum in the world (only next to louvre), Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica.

Food

Pizza, Pasta, Gellato

Shopping

Leather, Crosses in Vatican City.

Enjoy.
Neha

Both phones compare well as far as essential features go like WiFi, GPS, Vido etc. Both are very light and look very attractive. There are some really nice features which you get in Nexus which are missing in iPhone. Multitasking, 5 MB camera with flash and more pixels on screen in Nexus One look very attractive to me. Apple still looks more attractive when it comes to applications on app store. Also ability to zoom in/out on iPhone and more storage are other features where iPhone leads. Personally I would pick Nexus One because of more pixels on screen and 5 MB camera but I would wait for the price drop before I buy one.

Thanks,
Kanwal

Jaipur, also known as Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan and is a city with very nice blend of history and modern India. From ancient forts to modern shopping malls, the city charms you in variety of ways. To enjoy the beauty of the city I would recommend spending at least 3 days. Most of the people in Jaipur can speak and understand English and are very nice. So don't hesitate to ask for directions or help.

Regarding places to see, I have categorized them below and depending on your interest you can plan to see them.

Forts in Jaipur

Below are the forts in Jaipur which I would recommend to visit.

1. Amber Fort

This is the most famous fort of Jaipur and is 11 kms from Jaipur. Local people of Jaipur call it Amer fort. From outside Amer fort does not look very appealing but from inside it is worth seeing. You can enjoy the flawless beauty of Amber fort on a royal elephant ride as well.

2. Nahargarh Fort

Nahargarh fort is another major fort in Jaipur and is my favorite. From the top of the fort you get a beautiful view of the city. It was build by King Sawai Jai Singh in 18th century. Read more about Nahagarh Fort at http://www.jaipur.org.uk/forts-monuments/nahargarh-fort.html

3. Jaigarh Fort

Jaigarh is another famous fort of Jaipur which is at the top of a mountain. It has a museum with the collection of ancient coins, guns and other things which were used by Rajput kings. Read more about Jaigarh fort at http://www.jaipur.org.uk/forts-monuments/jaigarh-fort.html.

4. City Palace

City palace is a remarkable place in Jaipur. It is very beautiful and I would highly recommend you to visit it. Read more about it at http://www.jaipur.org.uk/forts-monuments/city-palace.html.

5. Jantar Mantar

Close to City Palace is Jantar mantar. It is an old stone observatory and in ancient times it was used to study astronomy and other celestial bodies. This place won't take more than 30-45 mins to visit. Close to this is the Govind Dev Ji temple which is the most famous Krishna temple in Jaipur. Prasad or sweets which are offered to Hindu Gods can be purchased inside the temple. You will find lots of people buying sweets from vendors outside the temple. If your stomach allows it, I would highly recommend you to try these sweets.

6. Hawa Mahal

 Hawa Mahal is a major landmark of Jaipur and is close to City Palace. You can take cab to Hawa Mahal or City Palace. Both are at walking distance from each other. Hawa Mahal shouldn't take more than 30 mins to visit. After visiting Hawa Mahal and City Palace, you can head to Lakshmi Misthan Bhandar, commonly known as LMB to eat best Indian sweets. LMB also has a restaurant which is also highly recommended. If you want to buy some good Indian dresses at a good price then you can head to RoopLakshmi sarees where you will find a good variety. RoopLakshmi is close to LMB.

Enjoy..

Neha

Here are few of my recommendations for things to do while you are in Miami.

1. South Beach

This is the main beach of Miami and is always full of tourists and local residents. You will find people enjoying ocean waves and few doing water activities. On Lincoln road which is like a block away from main South beach, you can find many nice restaurants, shops and night clubs. This is the most happening area of Miami.

2. Biscayne Bay

If you want to see the Miami skyline and take some beautiful pictures then Biscayne Bay is worth going. This is a quiet place where you can sit and enjoy along with the beauty of both city and water. South Pointe Park which is on the south end of Miami beach is also very beautiful and is worth going.

3. Downtown Miami and Bay Front Park

Driving to downtown Miami from South beach is a fun thing to do as you will see the beautiful city full of palm trees. I would recommend using highway 41 to drive from Miami Beach to downtown. Drive is beautiful and you can stop to see Parrot Jungle if that interests you. Once you are in downtown, you can take cruises which start from Biscayne Bay and show you the city from water. Bay front park is another cool place where you can spend some time.

4. Rent a scooter

Seeing whole of Miami beach on a scooter is totally safe and is lot of fun. You can easily find scooter parking at most places and can explore places which are hard to explore on car. We rented a scooter for 3 hours and could cover all the places we wanted to see.

5. Restaurants

The whole South Beach area is full of restaurants and eating outside in the nice weather of Miami is something no one wants to miss. Other than delicious food the service they provide at South Beach makes your dinner even more delicious.

Key West 

For a breath taking views and awesome water activities plus beaches, head south to Key West which is 5-6 hours from Miami by car. If you can afford it, I will recommend renting a convertible in Miami. Driving to Key West in a convertible is totally worth the extra money you will spend . On the way to Key West you will cross many bridges and it looks very beautiful when you see ocean around you. Key West is a small town where you will find more tourists than residents. I would recommend spending at least a day there. Most of the water activities end by 6 PM. So if you are into water sports then plan your visit accordingly. You don’t need for water activities online. If you walk around the downtown, you will easily find tours and other water activities right there and then.

I hope you have a great time in Miami and Key West and don’t forget your sunscreen lotion .

As said “Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” So keep travelling and learn new ideas of making life more beautiful.

Enjoy..
Neha

About Interlaken

Interlaken is a small town which attracts lot of tourists from around the world. You can see whole town on foot but if you want to visit places nearby which are very very beautiful then you will need a car. In Interlaken we couldn't find any place where we could rent a car. So we rented a scooter from xtreme rentals near Balmer’s Herberge Hostel. The guy assured us that we can see nearby waterfalls and glaciers on scooter but we had to return it in 20 minutes. Roads there are mostly single-lane and if you are on a scooter which goes maximum of 45 km/h, most of the traffic line up behind you making it embarrasing and unsafe. So don't try to rent a scooter there. After returning the scooter, we rented a fun car from http://www.funrental.ch/rental-interlaken-fun-cars-beup.htm which worked well for us. You can take a map and start exploring near-by areas. While in Interlaken, I would recommend seeing the lakes near Interlaken, waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen and glacier near Grinderwald. There are many trails for hiking where you get beautiful view of Alps. You can always hear water flowing around you which makes hiking lot of fun.

Fun activities you can do in Interlaken

1. Hiking
2. Biking
3. Canyoning – Swimsuit required
4. Rafting – Swimsuit required
5. Para Gliding  

Visit to Jungfraujoch

Every 1 hour a train leaves from Interlaken which will take you up to Jungfraujoch which is 14000 ft high. When we went in August 2009, ticket was 180 Swiss franks per person. If you have Euro rail pass then you get a discount of 45 franks. Initially we found the ticket expensive but after seeing Jungfrau it is definitely worth the money. The one way journey is 3 hours and is very beautiful. Train stops at various places for few minutes so that you can take pictures. In Interlaken, you might or might not need warm clothes but you will need a warm jacket at Jungfraujoch for sure. So take one with you even if weather is warm. At Jungfraujoch, you will see an ice palace which I liked the most. Other than that there is a small museum and access to glaciers. There is an Indian restaurant up there where you can get buffet lunch. I haven't tried it but heard that it's good. There is a snacks shop, restaurant and a small theatre which shows documentarty on how railroad to Junfraujoch was made.

Hotel stay in Interlaken

Hotels in Interlaken are very expensive. There are few hostels there which are relatively cheap (approx $100 for a very small room). I will recommend Balmer’s Herberge if you decide to stay in a hostel.

Dining in Interlaken

There is almost every cuisine available in Interlaken. If you are in Interlaken then I will recommend cheese fondues and sandwiches. Their is a place called Coop outside Interlaken OST (east) railway station which is a good place to eat. You can also try restaurants in Launterbrunnen, Grindelwald and other nearby towns which are also very nice.

Swiss Chocolates  

I am not very fond of chocolates but after trying Swiss chocolates specially the unpacked ones which they sell by weight are amazing. They were so delicious that just for chocolates I can visit Switzerland again. Definitely try these chocolates specially the ones which have nuts in it. If you are allergic to nuts then I feel sorry for you .

Shopping  

1. Swiss Watches – I think they were pretty expensive there. I would probably buy one on the internet or outside switzerland.
2. Swiss Cow Bell – Must buy.
3. Swiss Chocolates – Must buy.
4. Swiss Knives – They are very expensive there. You will probably find the same swiss knives for 1/4th price in US. 

I hope you have a great trip to Switzerland.  “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” So try to read as many page as possible.

Enjoy…
Neha

1. Apply egg yolk for dry and white part for oily skin for 15 mins. It will leave your skin glowing. You will need very little for your face so apply the remaining on your feet and hands. You will see results in 15 mins only. Avoid speaking while you have this mask on your face as it will cause wrinkles on face.
    
2. Mix multani mitti with rose water to form a paste and apply it on face. It will soak extra oil from your face and leave your skin very smooth. If your skin is tanned then add some water to this paste, and apply it on face. Wash your face as soon as it dries and apply it again. Do it for some 5 times and you will see improvement.
    
3. Apply milk on your face with a cotton pad. It's a powerful cleansing agent. You can apply it in kitchen while cooking or while watching T.V. This is the easiest way to cleanse skin. It is very gentle so it's ideal for oily, dry or sensitive skin.
    
4. Put some lemon juice in milk and massage on face using cotton. It will help in lightening your complexion.
    
5. Soak some 10 almonds in water in night. In the morning press them with a stone and use 2 table spoon milk to make a paste. Massage your face with this, this will work like scrub and lighten your complexion. Almonds are rich in vitamins which will make your skin healty.
    
6. If you have scar marks left by acne or pimples, then soak 15 piece of chironji, 5 piece of black pepper in milk at night. In the moring use a stone to make a paste of it and apply it on the face. It will drastically reduced acne marks in days. Apply it daily in morning and evening for 10-15 mins.
    
7. You can apply paste jayfal (nutmeg) powder to remove acne or pimple marks from your face. In the market there are lot of acne products which use nutmeg as their major ingredient to treat acne.
    
8. Use paste of gram flour (besan), cream (malai) and a pinch of turmeric powder (heldi) and apply on face for 5 mins. You can use this to wash your face daily. Replace cream with curd if you have oily skin. It will make your skin glow.
    
9. Drink daily a glass of water in the morning and your skin will glow in days. It will help blood circulation and take out toxic material from your body.
    
10. Cleanse your face before going to bed and apply a light moisturing lotion. It will prevent acne / pimples and leave skin soft. Your skin will be free from pollutant and it will breathe from pores.

Lastly follow this to look beautiful " I have seen many faces, but I haven't seen a amiling face that does not look beautiful" Stay happy and keep smiling,

Enjoy
Neha

Museum Pass

If you are planning to go to more than 3 places which are covered by Paris Museum pass, then buying the pass is cheaper. It covers almost all the famous museums, Versailles palace and was very useful. You can avoid long ticket lines and explore more museums without worrying about entry fees . Here is the link to the museum pass http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/pass_tarif.php.

Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum is exceptionally beautiful and is the best museum I have ever seen in my life. I read that it will take you 6 months if you want to see each and everything in Louvre. We spent 4 hours in the museum and took hundreds of pictures. Taking pictures without using flash is allowed. So dress in something nice as pictures are going to be amazing . Don't forget to see Mona Lisa painting there. Museum opens at 9 am and it closes at 5 pm. If you want to avoid long lines at the museum entrance then try to reach early.

Once you are done with Louvre, head to Musee D'Orsay. Don't try to walk from one place to another in Paris. Paris is very big and places which look very close in map are usually very far. Subway stations are always near you. Just hop on a train and moving around Paris will be a piece of cake.

Musee D'Orsay

Musee D'Orsay is another museum with exclusive art collection and cannot be missed. Make sure you go on top floor and take pictures of the beautiful city. It took us 1- 1.5 hours to see the museum.

Notre Dame

Notre dame Cathedral tower is a beautiful church. I saw lot of churches in Europe but this is my favorite. Entry is free here unless you want to go on top of the tower. This is not included in Paris Museum pass.

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower do not need any introduction. I was very excited to see Eiffel tower for real. You always see it in movies and books and it looks awesome but I think movies and books don't do justice to its actual beauty. You can see Eiffel Tower from everywhere. Try to reach at Eiffel tower at dusk. Once it is dark, they turn on thousands of LEDs on the tower every hour for few minutes which looks marvelous. An elevator can take you to the top of Eiffel tower and will cost you 12 Euros. You can choose to go upto first floor or upto second floor or all the way to the top. You can also climb stairs upto first floor. Looking at the city from top of Eiffel tower will be an unforgettable experience.

Few tips for exploring the city

• Besides beautiful museums, cathedrals, palaces and Eiffel, city itself is very beaufiful. The whole city looked like a big museum to me because of its beautiful architecture. Take a walk in the city and you will know yourself how incredible the city is.
   
• You will find lot of tourists and residents riding bicycles. There are lot of bicycle stands knows as velib and you can rent a bike from there. You can pick bike from any Velib stand and drop it at any other. They are everywhere in the city.
   
• Metro system is very fast and is the best mode of transportation in Paris. Take some time to understand it. You can buy tickets from any station and 1 ticket is good for 1 journey. While purchasing tickets, select language at first page and it will make your life easy. We had a hard time figuring how to buy tickets from machines which had a roller sort of thing which you can roll to select different options. Major tourist destinations in Paris have metro stations named after them. When train stops, you need to press green button on the door to open it. We missed our station once because of this as we didn't know .
   
• If you want to use cab for transportation, then cabs are not very expensive there.
   
• Wear very very comfortable shoes, you won't even realize how much you to walk in the city.
   
• Don't worry about dressing. Wear whatever you like. I was very tensed for my clothing but after reaching there I did not feel out of place in my US style clothes.
   
• Food is very delicious in Paris, but quantity is less as compared to what we get in US.

Accommodation in Paris

Hotels in Paris are pretty expensive. A small room will cost $100-125 which won't be too close to center of the city. If you are looking for a good hotel and at a decent price, go for a location away from city center and use metro to travel from hotel to city center.

Usually it takes 1 day to understand a city you visit for the first time. So I will suggest staying minimum of 3 days to enjoy the city. Overall Paris is a great place to visit and even to live. I personally loved it and would visit it again. I will go in little bit more details in future to help other travelers.

Live life to full of it.

Enjoy…
Neha