olitical autobiography has long been a fine art in France. But Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris and the country's best-known gay politician, has infused his new memoir with an intimacy rare in French public life.

In "Life, Passionately," published last month, the 54-year-old Socialist defends his decision to announce his homosexuality six years ago, and reveals something else as well: a love affair with Paris that began as a child growing up in Tunisia.

Since his election three years ago, Mr. Delanoë has treated the city less as a cultural and historical temple that must be preserved than as a living, breathing organism that needs constant nurturing and love.

For three summers, he has transformed a swath of the Seine's banks into a sandy beach. He is extending Métro lines and promoting a tramway that will ring Paris. He is creating car-free streets and multiplying the number of bicycle lanes. He has stiffened fines for dog walkers who don't clean up after their pets.

Because Paris is so small (41 square miles, slightly smaller than the Bronx) and so densely populated, some are terrified by what they see as his threat to create an architectural upheaval: a daring proposal to lift the ban on construction of buildings taller than 12 stories.

"Without passion, and even without a dose of utopia, where do you find the will to make things move?" he writes.

Events

There is passion, and more than a dose of utopia, in the "Turner-Whistler-Monet" exhibition, Oct. 13 to Jan. 17 at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, down the Champs-Elysées in the Eighth Arrondissement; (33-1) 44.13.17.17, online at www.rmn.fr/turner-whistler-monet. The show highlights affinities among the British landscape painter J. M. W. Turner, the American expatriate James McNeill Whistler and the French Impressionist Claude Monet. It includes about 100 paintings, watercolors and etchings. Admission: $12.50 to $14 (at $1.25 to the euro).

The Carrousel du Louvre in the First will be host to Paris Photo, an art-photography fair, Nov. 11 to 14. More than 100 galleries will exhibit the work of masters like Andre Kertesz and Helmut Newton. Information: (33-1) 41.90.47.70 or http://www.parisphoto.fr/. Admission: $17.50.

The French are fixated on anniversaries, and the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Sand has triggered a flurry of interest in the rebellious female novelist who took a man's name, dressed in pants and was the lover of Chopin and Musset. The exhibition "George Sand, Nature of an Artist" at the Musée de la Vie Romantique, 16, rue Chaptal in the Ninth, (33-1) 55.31.95.67, www.paris.fr/musees/vie_romantique, will run until Nov 28, with drawings by her son Maurice Sand and Étienne Verdot, and paintings by Eugène Delacroix and Jean-Baptiste Corot. It even includes a collection of her jewelry. Admission: $9.

Through Nov. 14, a second George Sand exhibition at the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, 24, rue Pavée in the Fourth, (33-1) 44.59.29.40, http://www.paris-bibliotheques.org/, features her manuscripts, sketches and letters to Chopin and Flaubert. Free admission.

To celebrate the bicentennial of Napoleon's coronation as emperor, the jeweler Chaumet has put together an exhibition of the jewelry of Napoleon and his wives, and other pieces from that era. The show, "Napoleon in Love," also features the work of Marie-Étienne Nitot, the founder of Chaumet and the emperor's official jeweler. It offers an opportunity to visit Chaumet's gilded private salons; 12, Place Vendôme in the First; (33-1) 44.77.26.26. It runs through Dec. 2; admission is free.

For dancing, the go-to event is Monday nights at Disco Queen, 102, avenue des Champs-Elysées in the Eighth, (33-1) 53.89.08.90, http://www.queen.fr/. The club is for night owls with a craving for 70's music. The entrance fee of $19 includes a drink; a cool style of dress facilitates entry.

If opera lovers missed it when it opened last year, there is a reprise of Richard Strauss' "Ariane in Naxos" at the Opéra Bastille, Place de la Bastille in the 11th, with the soprano Natalie Dessay, Oct. 18 to Nov. 14. Tickets, $6.25 to $163, at the box office or http://www.opera-de-paris.fr/.

Sightseeing

The Michelin and Eyewitness guides are pillars for any visitor to Paris. But there are also wonderful guidebooks that reveal secrets of the city in a different way. "Little-Known Museums in and Around Paris," by Rachel Kaplan, leads museum-goers with a map and color photographs to 30 niche museums, including the two rooms at 2, boulevard de Strasbourg in the 10th that hold a collection of 800 fans; open Tuesday only, (33-1) 42.08.19.89, www.paris.org/Musees/Eventail.

At 47, rue Raynouard in the 16th, (33-1) 42.24.56.38, online at www.paris.fr/musees/Balzac, visitors see the modest house where Honoré de Balzac lived and wrote between 1840 and 1847 under the pseudonym Lord R'hoone. The study is preserved much as it was when he worked there, with velvet-covered walls, colored glass windows and a wooden work table. Admission: $4.

Bicycle lanes cover 160 miles in the city and are spreading. A delightful tour goes from the Père Lachaise cemetery to the trendy Canal St.-Martin, with a stop in the Parc de Belleville, which offers a beautiful view of Paris from its belvedere. A map of all the lanes is on Paris's official site, http://www.paris.fr/. Roue Libre, at 1, Passage Montdétour in the First and 210, quai de Bercy in the 12th, rents bikes for $19 a day weekends and $9 weekdays; (33-8) 10.44.15.34 or http://www.rouelibre.fr/.

Every Friday at 10 p.m., skaters gather at the Gare Montparnasse in the 14th for a three-hour tour through designated streets. Traffic is banned; even pedestrians have to yield for the skaters, who are shepherded by the police. Information: http://www.pari-roller.com/. A good place to rent skates is Nomades, 37, boulevard Bourdon in the Fourth, starting at $6.25 for a half day; (33-1) 54.44.94.44, http://www.nomadeshop.com/.

Where to Stay

The Hôtel Best Western Lorette Opera, 36, rue Notre Dame de Lorette, (33-1) 42.85.18.81, fax (33-1) 42.81.32.19, http://www.astotel.com/fr/web%20site/Hotels/Lorette, off the Place St. George in the Ninth, was renovated this year and is now swathed in shades of beige, gray and white. Some of the 84 rooms overlook the gardens of the Foundation Thiers. Breakfast ($17.50) is in vaulted cellars with exposed stone walls. Through December, doubles are $255 to $331. Two floors are nonsmoking.

Near the Musee d'Orsay on the Left Bank, the Hôtel d'Orsay, 93, rue de Lille, (33-1) 47.05.85.54, fax (33-1) 45.55.51.16, or http://www.esprit-de-france.com/, has an airy feel with some rooms much larger than usual for the price. The lobby opens onto a tiny patio. The 41 rooms and two suites are $148 for a single to $194 for a double with twin beds.

Budget: The Hôtel Utrillo, 7, rue Aristide Bruant in the 18th, (33-1) 42.58.13.44, fax (33-1) 42.23.93.88, http://www.hotel-paris-utrillo.com/, is just off the lively Rue des Abbesses and the Rue Lepic, a market street close to Montmartre. The 30 simple, clean rooms overlook a little courtyard on the quiet street. Doubles are $92 to $99.

Renovations were completed in June at the Cécil Hôtel, 47, rue Beaunier in the 14th, (33-1) 45.40.93.53, fax (33-1) 45.40.43.26, http://www.cecilhotel.net/. Not far from Orly Airport, the hotel has 25 rooms, each with its own style, like the Shanghai room with a silky red bedspread and Chinese lamps. Rare for Paris, the hotel is entirely non-smoking. Doubles are $78 to $93.

Luxury: The Hilton Arc de Triomphe, 51-57, rue de Courcelles in the Eighth, phone (33-1) 58.36.67.00, fax (33-1) 58.36.67.77, http://www.hilton.com/, opened in May off the Parc Monceau and the Avenue Hoche. It is decorated in Art Deco, with a lovely patio with palm trees and flowers. The 508 rooms have green marble bathrooms. Through Dec. 31, rates are $339 for a standard double without breakfast ($38). The spa and fitness center are free for guests in executive rooms ($439 to $464) or suites.

Where to Eat

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