WIMCO OFFERS

-- NEWPORT, R.I. -- The world’s great cities take on a special character in summer. The Danes of Copenhagen take off their coats and sit in city parks. Londoners, damp in their year-round woolens, seem perpetually surprised by heat. New Yorkers desert the concrete canyons of Manhattan each Friday for the Hamptons and Fire Island, bringing Zabar’s and Bloomingdale’s along.

The most beautiful city in the world is no exception. Paris goes on vacation. The chestnut trees of the Tuileries and the Bois de Boulogne shade families and lovers, small children sail boats in the Luxembourg Gardens. The roses bloom, the cafes burst onto sidewalks and avenues, and the Tour de France flashes to a finish down the Champs Elysee. Under blue skies and a warm sun, artists along the Seine attempt the scenes that the Impressionists made famous and the city slows down to watch sunsets that linger late into the evening, turning the grey slate rooftops pink.

WIMCO, the Newport-based vacation rental company with over 1,000 luxury villas in Italy, France, the U.K, Ireland and the Caribbean, is featuring three hotels in Paris with special summer packages. From July 1 through August 31, Hotel le Faubourg offers three nights’ accommodations for two, daily breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant or guestroom, two glasses of champagne at Bar 30, one lunch or dinner for two at Café Faubourg, including drinks, free access to the hotel’s fitness room and steam baths, taxes and service from $750 to $958 per couple, depending on accommodations selected.

Hotel Trocadero Dokhans, ideally situated between Place de Trocadero and the Arc de Triomphe, has a special summer rate of $250 per night for deluxe accommodations for two and continental breakfast daily. With taxes included, the rate is valid from July 1 through August 31.

Across the Seine, in the new urban chic Saint-German des Pres district, Hotel Bel Ami offers a two night “Sweet Lover’s Break” through August 31. The package includes standard accommodations for two, daily buffet breakfast, a chocolate tasting at Debauve & Gallais, a visit to the Delacroix Museum and an optional “Discovery of Saint-Germain-des-Pres” tour with a translator. The package is priced from $444 to $499, depending on accommodations.

All three hotels are within minutes of the major sights and attractions of Paris, including museums, famous restaurants and cafes, the Marais, the sophisticated shopping of the 16th arrondisement, the narrow streets, galleries and shops of the Left Bank and the parks.