Sometimes it works...

The first few days in Paris, we devised what we thought would be an effective strategy for exploring the big city: if we saw a line, we joined it. Sometimes we were rewarded with a twilight boat cruise down the Seine; other times we were just in line for Nutella crêpes from a cart. Here's where some of the best lines led us:

The very first line we got in looked promising. It went past an elaborate wrought iron gate into a maze of hedges straight out of the Triwizard Tournament. To our disappointment (and confusion), it turned out to be Abercrombie & Fitch on the Champs Élysées. The first hint probably should have been the bouncers - they could have doubled as models.

Being on vacation, we had completely lost track of the days. So when we visited the Cathédrale Notre Dame on the Île de la Cité, we didn't expect to find ourselves at the Sunday service. It was an overwhelming experience and a very welcome start to our day. Somehow it didn't feel right taking pictures, but the exterior is magnificent enough. 

In keeping with the religious theme, we also visited Sacre Cœur on top of the hill in Montmartre. It has one of the best views of the city. 

When the lines and crowds got to be too much for us, we wandered into one of Paris' ubiquitous gardens. Below is the Jardin des Plantes. 

And of course, no line is worth waiting in more than that at the Eiffel Tower. After seeing it in the daylight, we immediately decided to come back at night to make the trek to the top. It did not disappoint. 

Of course, our strategy wasn't perfect. Sometimes we won... And sometimes we followed an oddly spellbound crowd to watch the world's worst Michael Jackson street performer.