Cool Ideas for a Birthday in Paris

Get on a Boat

• In Paris, scores of Bateaux Mouches (open-decked boats) troll up and down the River Seine. You could start or end your birthday by seeing the city's sights by riverside, or choose a moonlight or midnight tour. Many of these boats serve dinners (almost all offer booze) and some host deejays playing music by on-deck dance floors.

  Compagnie des Bateaux-Mouches
  Pont de l'Alma
  75008 Paris, France
  01-42-25-96-10
  bateaux-mouches.fr/

See the World's Best Art

• Got a favorite artist? Chances are, you'll find some of that person's work in one of Paris's dozens of museums. What better way to celebrate the act of your own creation than by peering into the artworks to which genius has given birth? To cover all the art from antiquity to the mid-1800s, you can battle the crowds at the Louvre. Its three wings of art could easily occupy your entire day. If you want to see the best of the 19th and early 20th centuries, duck inside the renovated train station that now houses the Musée d'Orsay. For 20th century, pop-art and modern works, hit the Centre Georges Pompidou, whose factory-like exterior betrays the rich traditions that lie within.

  Musée du Louvre
  Metro Palais-Royal / Musée du Louvre
  75001 Paris, France
  01-40-20-50-50
  louvre.fr

  Musée d'Orsay
  1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur
  75007 Paris, France
  01-40-49-48-14
  musee-orsay.fr

  Centre Georges Pompidou
  Place Georges Pompidou
  75004 Paris, France
  01-44-78-12-33
  centrepompidou.fr

Bring out the Dead

• Given Paris's long history as a city that attracts foreigners, it should come as no surprise that many famous and wealthy people have lived and then died in the City of Lights. Paris boasts several cemeteries that double as tourist destinations, most notably Père Lachaise, which hosts the graves of Oscar Wilde, Chopin and Doors frontman Jim Morrison. While it may sound a bit surreal, you could spend your birthday paying homage to the final resting places of notable celebs or wander about the sculpture-laden mausoleums just looking for someone famous who shares your special day.

  Cimetière du Père-LachaiseAddress:
  16 Rue du Repos
  75020 Paris, France
  01-43-70-70-33
  pere-lachaise.com

Go Crazy, Burlesque Style

• The can-can may not have started in Paris, but they certainly made it the centerpiece of their nightlife in the bohemian-era of the 19th and early 20th centuries. That tradition continues today at two world-famous venues: Montmartre's Moulin Rouge (the Red Windmill) and the eighth arrondissement's Crazy Horse. The former you might recognize from its towering structure (or the Nicole Kidman film), and while Vegas may have copied the latter (with Crazy Horse Too), you can catch all the original acts of dancing, comedy and magic during a birthday bash in Paris.

  Moulin Rouge
  82 Boulevard de Clichy
  75018 Paris, France‎
  01-53-09-82-82‎
  moulinrouge.fr

  Crazy Horse
  12 Avenue George V
  75008 Paris, France
  01-47-23-32-32
  lecrazyhorseparis.com