Paris is by far my most favorite city, not only in Europe but in all the world. And I love France as well. And while modern Paris is always exciting for me to visit, it is the old Paris that remains particularly etched in my memories.

I got to know Paris particularly well when I researched it for my travel guide series to sightseeing by public transportation, Michael Brein's Travel Guide to Paris by the Metro. Although you could say that I popped in and out of holes in the ground (the Metro!), I still walked a great deal all around Paris. Maybe I can almost say that I know Paris like the back of my hand!

And so it goes. There's hardly a day now that someone is not having an incredible travel experience in France of one kind or another. Therefore, we're taking a closer look at Paris and France stories in this issue of Travel Tales Collections.

Paris and France travel-life stories include the full range of the human travel experience, including all aspects of what traveling is all about.

From fulfilling the draw or the lure of Paris to the French Riviera to the French Alps and to all sorts of interactions with the French people and memorable adventures in all the environs of Paris, we're examining the full breadth of incidents, whether good, wonderful, bad, or horrible, that happen to travelers to France. And like in all places around the globe, travel experiences can and do run the gamut from the positive, the beautiful, and the wonderful to the less so and occasionally negative experiences that can happen and are a part of travel life.