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| Hotels in Paris Paris
A L'Ideal ** Thanks to
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| Paris &
Ile-de-France Paris & Ile-de-France - TravelPuppy.com Paris Paris is one of the world’s great cities with a practically endless amount of things to do, it rewards repeated and extended visits. Despite the massive size of the city, Paris is also an easily navigable destination as the city centre itself is relatively compact and all areas of Paris are connected by a highly efficient transport system, with the famous Paris Metro an attraction in itself. Paris boasts more than 80 museums and over 200 art galleries. La Carte is a pass providing free admission to about 60 national and municipal museums in and around the Paris area. The périphérique and boulevard circulaire ring roads roughly follow the line of the 19th-century city walls and within them are most of the well-known sights, shops and entertainments. Beyond the ring roads is an industrial and commercial belt, then a broad ring of suburbs, mostly of recent construction. Central Paris contains fine architecture from every period in a long and rich history, together with every amenity known to science and every entertainment yet devised. The oldest neighbourhood is the Île-de-la-Cité, an island on a bend in the Seine where the Parisii, a Celtic tribe, settled in about the 3rd century BC. The river was an effective defensive moat and the Parisii dominated the area for several centuries before being displaced by the Romans in about 52 BC. The island is today dominated by the newly renovated cathedral of Notre-Dame. Beneath it is the Crypte Archéologique, housing well-mounted displays of Paris’ early history. Having sacked the Celtic city, the Gallo-Romans abandoned the island and settled on the heights along the Rive Gauche (Left Bank), in the area now known as the Latin Quarter (Boulevards St Michel and St Germain). The naming of this district owes nothing to the Roman city: when the university was moved from the Cité to the left bank in the 13th century, Latin was the common language among the 10,000 students who gathered there from all over the known world. The Latin Quarter remains the focus of most student acivity,the Sorbonne is located here, and there are many fine bookshops and commercial art galleries. The Cluny Museum houses some of the finest medieval European tapestries to be found anywhere, including ‘The Field of the Cloth of Gold’. At the western end of the Boulevard St Germain is the Orsay Museum, a superb collection of 19th and early 20th century art located in a beautifully restored railway station. The other Left Bank attractions include the Panthéon, the Basilica of St Séverin, the Palais and Jardin du Luxembourg, the Hôtel des Invalides (containing Napoleon’s tomb), the Musée Rodin and St-Germain-des-Prés. Continuing westwards from the Quai d’Orsay past the Eiffel Tower and across the Seine onto the Right Bank, the visitor encounters collection of museums and galleries known as the Trocadéro, a popular meeting place for young Parisians. A short walk to the north is the Place Charles de Gaulle, known to Parisians as the Étoile and to tourists as the site of the Arc de Triomphe. It is also at the western end of that most elegant of avenues, the Champs-Élysées (Elysian Fields), which is once again famous for its cafes, commercial art galleries and sumptuous shops, rather than the dowdy airline offices and fast food joints that took it over for much of the 1980s and early 1990s. At the other end of the avenue, the powerful axis is continued by the Place de la Concorde, the Jardin des Tuileries and finally the Louvre. The Palais du Louvre has been extensively reorganised and reconstructed, the most controversial addition to the old palace being a pyramid with 673 panes of glass, which juxtaposes the ultra-modern with the classical façade of the palace. The best time to see the pyramid is after dark, when it is illuminated. The Richelieu Wing of the palace was inaugurated in 1993, marking the completion of the second stage of the redevelopment programme. In 1996, a labyrinth of subterranean galleries, providing display areas, a conference and exhibition centre, design shops and restaurants was opened. North of the Louvre are the Palais Royal, the Madeleine and l’Opéra. To the east is Les Halles, a shopping and commercial complex built on the site of the old food market. It is at the intersection of several métro lines and is a good starting point for a tour of Paris. There are scores of restaurants in the maze of small streets around Les Halles. Every culinary style is available at prices to suit every pocket. Further east, beyond the Boulevard Sébastopol, is the postmodern Georges Pompidou Centre of Modern Art also known as the ‘Beaubourg’. It provides a steady stream of surprises in its temporary exhibition spaces (which, informally, include the pavement outside where lively and often bizarre street-performers gather) and houses a permanent collection of 20th-century art. In the Marais district, are the Carnavalet and Picasso Museums, housed in magnificent town houses dating from the 16th and 18th centuries respectively. Still further east, the magnificent Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, one of the world’s most spectacular libraries, can be reached via a new métro connection (ligne 14) whose beautiful high-tech trains alone (they are constructed mainly of glass) are worth the trip. One of the best known districts in Paris, Montmartre, became almost unbearably popular and crowded after the success in 2001 of the Hollywood blockbuster Moulin Rouge. A funicular railway operates on the steepest part of the Montmartre hill, taking people to the outlandish Sacré-Coeur, a love it or hate it chocolate box architectural creation. Local entrepreneurs have long capitalised on Montmartre’s romantic reputation as an artist’s colony and if visitors today are disappointed to find it a well-run tourist attraction, they should bear in mind that it has been exactly that since it first climbed out of poverty in the 1890s. The legend of Montmartre as a dissolute cradle of talent was carefully stage-managed by Toulouse-Lautrec and others to fill their pockets and it rapidly transformed a notorious slum into an equally notorious circus. An earlier Montmartre legend concerns St Denis. After his martyrdom, he is said to have walked headless down the hill. The world’s first Gothic cathedral, St Denis, was constructed on the spot where he collapsed. Just north of Belleville (a working-class district that produced Edith Piaf and Maurice Chevalier) at La Villette, is one of Paris’ newer attractions, the City of Science and Technology. The most modern presentation techniques are used to illustrate both the history and the possible future of man’s inventiveness; season tickets are available. One of the great pleasures of Paris is the great number of sidewalk cafes, now glass-enclosed in wintertime, which extends people-watching to a year-round sport in any part of the city. There are as many Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants as there are French cafes. North African eating places also abound, and dozens of American Tex-Mex eateries are scattered throughout the city. Bric-a-brac or brocante is found in a number of flea markets (marché aux puces) on the outskirts of town, notably at the Porte de Clignancourt. There are several antique centres, Louvre des Antiquaires, Village Suisse, etc) where genuine antique furniture and other objects are on sale. Amongst the larger department stores are the Printemps and the Galeries Lafayette near the Opéra, the Bazar Hôtel de Ville (BHV) and the Samaritaine on the Right Bank and the Bon Marché on the Left Bank. The remains of the great forests of the Île-de-France (the area surrounding Paris) can still be seen at the magnificent châteaux of Versailles, Rambouillet and Fontainebleau on the outskirts of Paris. The capital’s nightlife has never looked healthier. The ‘beautiful people’ may have moved on to Menilmontant, but the bustling streets of Bastille are still a nocturnal playground for far more than just the tourists. Menilmontant itself rewards visitors prepared to venture beyond the guidebooks to discover the vibrant, hip, twenty-something scene. Disneyland Resort Paris The Disneyland Resort Paris, open year-round, lies to the east of the capital, a complete vacation destination located at Marne-la-Vallée , 32km (20 miles) from Paris. Disney’s European venture has become one of the continent’s most popular attractions. The site has an area of 1943 hectares (5000 acres), one-fifth the size of Paris, and includes hotels, a campsite, restaurants, shops and a golf course, and has as its star attractions the Disneyland Paris Theme Park and Walt Disney Studios. Inspired by previous theme parks, Euro Disneyland features all the famous Disney characters plus some new attractions especially produced to blend with its European home. The site is easily accessible by motorway, regional and high-speed rail services, and by air. ___________Paris Travel Guide Paris Travel Guide and Paris Travel Information - TravelPuppy.com Paris is the city of a thousand clichés, the 'City of Lights' and Hemmingway’s much quoted 'Moveable Feast' amongst them, but for once it is also a city that justifies all the hype. The French capital is one of the world’s truly great cities, a metropolis that lavishly satisfies the desires of visitors and business people alike and manages to retain a standard of living that makes becoming a Parisian so alluring. Paris dramatically wears its history on its sleeve and today it is still centred around the Ile de la Cité, where over two thousand years ago Celtic tribes first eked out a living. The Romans were later drawn to this strategic location in the middle of the Seine, a natural crossroads between Germany and Spain, and took control in 52BC. Despite English rule between 1420 and 1436, a series of French kings brought about the centralisation of France, with Paris at its cultural, political and economic centre. Despite its large size and population almost everything worth seeing is contained within the ring road, the Boulevard Périphérique. The compact centre is easily navigable on foot, with the efficient and comprehensive Métro system always on hand to ease tired limbs. The lifeblood River Seine splits Paris neatly in two and the useful arrondissements system neatly carves the city into manageable chunks. The history of Paris can be uncovered throughout its distinctive districts. Hilly Montmartre, with its village atmosphere, was where the Paris Commune began in 1871, the Marais evokes medieval Paris, its winding streets a sharp contrast to the wide, orderly Haussmann boulevards, envisaged by Napoleon III to keep the mobs at bay. These grand 19th-century avenues still dominate the city, interspersed with modern flourishes. The grands travaux (large projects) of Président Mitterrand added the Grande Arche de la Défense, the ultra-modern Opéra de la Bastille, the impressive Institut du Monde Arabe, and plonked a glass pyramid in the central courtyard of the Louvre. The varied populations within Paris define the city’s atmosphere just as much as its landmarks. The French establishment resides comfortably in the smart 16th arrondissement, while African and Eastern European immigrants live less lavishly in areas such as up-and-coming areas Belleville and the Goutte d’Or. The Jewish quarters include the shabby Sentier and trendy Marais district, the latter is also Paris’ gay centre. Emerging areas include Bercy, where new flats, bars and restaurants are drawing a youthful and moneyed crowd east. Paris is a city with a varied climate that conjures up its own seasonal delights. In the summer, when the mercury rises, the locals flock to the new Paris Plage, where a riverside expressway is converted for a month between July and August into an oasis of swimming pools, sand and deckchairs. The best time to visit is, of course, during the famous Paris Spring between April and June, when the days are sunny but not too hot. The autumn and winter months are another good time to come when there are fewer crowds and snow is a rarity, but there really is no bad time to visit one of the world’s truly great cities. ___________Paris Business Profile Paris business profile - Paris TravelPuppy France is the fourth largest economic power in the world in terms of GDP and the second largest exporter of services and agricultural products. Paris and the Ile-de-France region are responsible for a third of the country’s total GDP. The Paris region is predominantly a service economy, followed in importance by commerce, industry, agriculture and construction. Particular strengths are in telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, publishing and research, with Paris ranking first in Europe in terms of research development. Five of the French banks, including Crédit Agricole, BNP and the Caisse d’Epargne are among the main commercial banks in Europe. The excellent transport and telecommunications network, a highly skilled workforce, quality of life and prestige of Paris have encouraged companies to locate in the city. Many top international companies, including IBM, Sony, Hewlett Packard France, Siemens and Motorola have a presence in Paris and around forty companies base their international headquarters here. In total, the French capital has attracted about 2,400 foreign companies and numerous foreign banks. Paris rates among the world’s most popular international conference venues. and has a thousand plus annual conventions include over 300 international conferences and 300 trade shows. Tourism is vitally important to the city’s economy with 22.5 million international overnight stays in 2003. Terrorism scares and global instability have hindered visitor numbers in recent years. Paris is still one of Europe’s major tourist drawcards, with the world’s biggest industry still crucial to the city. The economy in general is currently not in a buoyant state. Both the capital and the country’s unemployment rates have risen since 2002. Unemployment towards the end of 2003 was running at 9.1 per cent in Paris and there are said to be nearly 50,000 homeless people on the streets and in the métro stations. The national unemployment rate is similar, standing at 9.6 per cent. The major business districts are located in the 8th around avenue des Champs-Elysées, 2nd, where the Bourse (Stock Exchange) is located near to rue de la Banque in a grand First Empire building and the smart 16th arrondissement. The futuristic business district of La Défense is home to the huge CNIT exhibition hall and Elf, Gan and Fiat. There are a number of Internet cafes dotted around Paris. Some of the most convenient are located at Access Academy, 60-62 rue Sainte-André-des-Arts, 6th, Baguenaude Café, 30 rue de la Grande-Truanderie, 1st and Meilleur des Mondes, 4 bis, rue Michel-Chasles, 12th. Look out also for free internet terminals in the major railway stations. Business Etiquette A degree of Parisian aggression and plenty of persistence is necessary when attempting to carry out business in the capital. However, firmness, not rudeness, is in order. At the first meeting, non-French speakers should apologise for their lack of linguistic aptitude and respect the local formality, addressing colleagues with the appropriate Madame, Monsieur, Professeur or Docteur followed by the surname and a handshake. Business cards (preferably in French and English) should be presented. Small talk is an essential part of doing business, so it is wise to do a quick refresher on French politics and culture prior to the meeting and not to rush straight to talk of business. Smart, conservative dress is recommended. Standard business hours are Monday to Friday 0830/0900 hrs-1800/1900 hrs. Lunches may last for two hours or more and it is best for one to schedule meetings at 1100 hrs or 1500 hrs, unless for lunch itself. Business lunches, working dinners and breakfast meetings are common. There has, though, been a move in recent years away from boozy long lunches towards shorter less indulgent affairs. Whoever fixes the meeting is expected to settle the bill. Conducting business in August (during the Parisian exodus to the south) is to be avoided at all costs. ___________Paris Culture Guide Paris Culture Guide - TravelPuppy.com Parisians are almost as passionate about their culture as they are about their food and restaurants. The French government takes art and culture very seriously, pumping money into the arts, supporting French cinema against Hollywood imports, and embarking on grandiose grands travaux, such as the new Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Quai François-Mauriac (telephone number: (01) 5379 5959 or (01) 5379 5379). The Opéra Bastille opened in 1989, on the bicentennial of Bastille Day, although the merit of its architecture and the quality of its productions have recently been questioned. Major venues, in addition to those detailed below, include the Palais des Congrès, 2 place de la Porte-Maillot, 17th (telephone number: (01) 4068 0005), for ballet, opera and pop-star performances, and the enormous Palais des Sports, Porte de Versailles, 15th (telephone number: (01) 4828 4010). Tickets for concerts of all kinds can be purchased from the following: FNAC Forum des Halles, 1 rue Pierre Lescot, 1st (telephone number: (01) 4041 4000) FNAC Musique, 2 rue Charenton, 12th (telephone number: (01) 4342 0404). Carrousel du Louvre, 99 rue de Rivoli, 1st (telephone number: (01) 4316 4747), located directly beneath the Louvre Virgin Megastore, 52 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8th (telephone number: (01) 4953 5000). However long the queue, ticket touts at the Opéra and concert venues are to be avoided due to high prices and the prevalence of worthless fake tickets. Listings are to be found in Pariscope and L’Officiel des Spectacles. Classical concerts are listed in the monthly Le Monde de la Musique. Music The Paris Opéra (telephone number: (08) 9289 9090 performs ballet and opera at the Opéra Garnier, place de l’Opéra, 9th and Opéra Bastille, place de la Bastille, 12th and tickets cost €30-110. Large opera productions are also performed at the Châtelet Théâtre Musical de Paris, 1 place du Châtelet, 1st (telephone number: (01) 4028 2840). The varied programme at the Cité de la Musique, at La Villette, is strongest in contemporary music and home to the internationally renowned Ensemble Intercontemporain. It also features ancient music, jazz, chansons and world music. The Cité has two important venues, the Conservatoire National de Musique, 209 avenue Jean Jaurès, 19th (telephone number: (01) 4040 4545), and the Salle des Concerts, 221 avenue Jean Jaurès, 19th (telephone number: (01) 4484 4484). Big names in French contemporary and experimental classical music to listen out for are Pierre Boulez, Pascal Dusapin and Luc Ferrarie. A series of orchestras, including the Orchestre Colonne, Orchestre Lamoureux and Orchestre de Paris are based at Salle Pleyel, 252 rue du Faubourg-St-Honoré, 8th (telephone number: (01) 4561 5300). Other prestigious venues for classical music include the Salle Gaveau, 45 rue de la Boétie, 8th (telephone number: (01) 4953 0507), Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, 15 avenue Montaigne, 8th (telephone number: (01) 4952 5050), and the Théâtre Musical de Paris, 1 place du Châtelet, 1st (teephone number: (01) 4028 2840). Theatre The Comédie Française, 1 place de Colette, 1st (telephone number: (01) 4458 1515), is the national theatre, renowned for its production of the classics. Théâtre National de la Colline, 15 rue Malte-Brun, 20th (telephone number: (01) 4462 5252), plays contemporary French drama. New talent is sought out at fringe theatres, such as Guichet-Montparnasse, 15 rue du Maine, 14th (telephone number: (01) 4327 8861). Peter Brook is based at the Bouffes du Nord, 37 bis boulevard de la Chapelle, 10th (telephone number: (01) 4607 3450). The Odéon, 1 place de l'Odéon, 6th (telephone number: (01) 4485 4000), hosts foreign-language productions. Dance The main ballet venue is at the Opéra Garnier (see Music). Major productions are also held at the prestigious Théâtre de la Ville, 2 place du Châtelet, 4th (telephone number: (01) 4274 2277) where the works of high-profile choreographers, such as Karine Saporta, Maguy Marin and Pina Bausch, are frequently shown. The theatre has another venue, Les Abbesses, with the same contact details at 31 rue des Abbesses, 18th. The Théâtre Musical de Paris (see Music) hosts ballet companies from oerseas. Film The first public film screening ever, ‘Le train entrant en gare' was shown by the Lumière brothers in Paris in 1895. Today, Paris remains an important cinema capital, in any given week, over 300 films are shown. There is no English-language cinema in Paris, however, most movies are shown in the original language, with French subtitles. UGC have a major presence in Paris with the city’s largest (18-screen) cinema, UGC Ciné Cité Bercy, 2 cours St-Emilion, 12th (telephone number : (08) 9270 0000). There is also a 16-screen UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, place de la Rotonde, Nouveau Forum des Halles, 1st (telephone number: (08) 9270 0000). Although the multi-screen UGCs and Gaumonts are on the increase (many based on the Champs-Elysées and in Montparnasse), Paris is still teeming with small arthouse cinemas, clustered in the 5th and 6th arrondissements. Among these are Le Champo, 51 rue des Ecoles, 5th (telephone number: (01) 4354 5160), near the Sorbonne, and Racine Odéon, 6 rue de l’Ecole-de-Médecine, 6th (telephone number: (0892) 68 9325), known for its all-night showings. Some cinemas are worth seeing just for their decor, one such is kitsch Le Grand Rex, 1 boulevard Poisssonnière, 2nd (telephone number: (01) 4508 9358). Recent movies Amelie or Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain (2001), directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (of Delicatessen (1991) fame) and Moulin Rouge (2001), directed by Baz Luhrmann, were both set in Montmartre and took box offices worldwide by storm. Cultural Events Paris offers plenty of choice and a wide variety of lively festivals. Among these are the free, city-wide Fête de la Musique (21nd June), the Festival du Film de Paris (early April) and the Festival d’Automne (September to December) contemporary dance event. Free concerts are held within the city’s churches during the Festival d’Art Sacré, in the weeks preceding Christmas. Literary Notes The written word and words uttered during long café discussions on the Left Bank have done much to create the mythical Paris that tourists and visitors still hunt out today. Victor Hugo’s historical novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) is set in 15th-century Paris and his Les Misérables (1862) in the poverty-stricken Parisian underworld. Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast (1964) depicts the bohemian Paris of the inter-war years. Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer (1934) and Tropic of Capricorn (1939) portray a sexier city. A more reflective image is portrayed in Anais Nin’s interlocking works. For Nin, Paris allows the development of her sexuality and (perceived as equally sinful) creativity. George Orwell describes the poverty of the 1920s in Down and Out in Paris and London (1933). Traces of literary heroes and heroines and their fictional creations are sought throughout Paris, in the lingering smoke of the Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, boulevard St-Germain, 6th, where the existential discussions between Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir used to rage. James Joyce used to drink at chic Le Fouquet’s, 99 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8th, while such luminaries as Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Oscar Wilde frequented Le Procope, 13 rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie, 6th. Ernest Hemingway dined at the La Cloiserie des Lilas, 171 boulevard du Montparnasse, 6th, still popular with the publishing world, and Samuel Beckett’s favourite haunt was Le Select, 99 boulevard du Montparnasse, 6th. The place of literary pilgrimage par excellence is the Père Lachaise Cemetery, presumed resting place of medieval lovers Abélard and Héloïse. They lie in good company, along with the great 17th-century playwright Molière and fable-teller La Fontaine, Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Champollion, Delacroix, Ingres, Géricault, Bizet, Balzac, Proust, Colette and Edith Piaf. Contemporary poet, singer and icon Jim Morrison was famously buried here in 1971. Heather Reyes’ Zade (2004) is set in Père Lachaise and swirls around the ghosts of Jim Morrison, Marcel Proust and Oscar Wilde. ____________Paris Festival - Events Paris Festivals and Events Guide - TravelPuppy.com The following is a selection of festival - events occurring in Paris in 2005: New Year’s Day National holiday, 1 January, throughout the city Salon International de l’Agriculture (International Agriculture Show) Animal specimens from rural France displayed alongside regional produce (website: www.salon-agriculture.com), late February/early March, Paris Expo, place de la Porte de Versailles, 15th. La Nuit des Publivores (The Night of the Adeaters) 500 advertisements (publicités) are fêted by 6,000 people in two night-long events (website: www.publivores.com), mid March, Grand Rex, 1 boulevard Poisssonnière, 2nd. Festival du Film de Paris (Paris Film Festival) late March/early April, Cinéma Gaumont Marignan, 27 avenue des Champs-Elysées Le Marathon de Paris (Paris Marathon), Beginning of April, starts approximately 0900 on avenue des Champs-Elysées, finishes avenue Foch (website: www.parismarathon.com) Foire de Paris (Paris Fair) Fair for tourism, multimedia and gastronomy (website: www.foiredeparis.fr), late April/early May, Paris Expo, place de la Porte de Versailles. VE (Victory in Europe) Day National holiday, May. Fête de la Musique (Musical Fair) Free concerts throughout Paris , 21st June, in the streets and various venues, such as Sainte-Chapelle, the Musée d’Orsay and Palais de Justice (website: www.fetedelamusique.culture.fr) Gay Pride March, March, late Jun, along République and the Bastille plus club events. Bastille Day National holiday with festivities and fireworks to commemorate the storming of the Bastille in 1789, 14th July Paris Plage July-August, stretch of riverside expressway turned into leisure oasis, banks of the Seine between Tuileries Tunnel and the Henri IV bridge. Grandes Fêtes de Nuit de Versailles (The Night of Versailles Grand Feast) Son et lumière display evoking the era of Louis XIV with costumed dancers and music, July, August and September, gardens of Versailles. Le Cinéma en Plein Air (Open Air Cinema), Free outdoor film festival, mid-July–end August, Parc de la Villette, 19th Le Tour de France The grand finale of the world-famous bicycle race, late July (finishing on last Sunday of July), finishes on avenue des Champs-Elysées (website:www.letour.fr) Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Day) Nationwide weekend festival, historic buildings, including the president’s residence and the Palais de l’Elysée, open their doors to the general public, mid September, various historic buildings. Festival d’Automne (Autumn Festival) International contemporary drama, dance and music festival, mid September-December, Théâtre de la Ville, Odéon and other venues (website: www.festival-automne.com) Fête du Beaujolais Nouveau (Nouveau Beaujolais Fair), First availability of the season’s Beaujolais Nouveau wine, third Tuesday of November, wine bars and cafés everywhere Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, 15th Foire Internationale d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (FIAC – Contemporary Art Fair), late October Remembrance Day National holiday with laying of wreaths, military parade and review of troops by the President of the Republic, 11 November, place Charles-de-Gaulle, 8th. Festival d’Art Sacré (Festival of Sacred Art), Free concerts, Dec, various churches throughout the city. Réveillon (New Year’s Eve Crowds celebrate by the thousand, 31st December, along the Champs-Elysées. ___________Paris Getting Around Getting Around Paris - TravelPuppy.com Public Transport The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens or RATP (telephone number: (08) 9268 4114 for information in English or (08) 9268 7714) is an integrated, five-zone system of bus, métro and trains that is both cheap and efficient (except during strikes, which are frequent). The 14 métro lines extend into zones one and two in central Paris. Métros operate daily 0530 hrs - 0030 hrs, lines are colour-coded and designated by numbers. They are also clearly signposted with the names of the terminus station. The newest addition (line 14 métro Météor) runs from Gare St-Lazare to Bibliothèque François Mitterrand using brand new driverless trains. Free transport maps are available at bus terminals, métro stations, and the tourist office. The RER (Réseau Express Régional) suburban express network has five lines (A, B, C, D and E) covering five zones and operating daily 0500 hrs-0110 hrs with journey times generally much faster than the métro for distances covered. The system is linked to the métro network and some SNCF trains. The bus system is easy to use in Paris. Bus routes are numbered and stops display the buses that stop there, while a map shows all the stops on the route and the bus times. Most buses run from Monday to Saturday 0630-2100 hrs; some continue until 0130 hrs. Services are reduced by approximately half on Sundays and bank holidays. Night buses, called Noctambuses run on 18 routes, Monday to Saturday 0100-0530 hrs hourly, with a reduced service on Sunday. The night bus service cuts between place du Châtelet by the Hôtel de Ville and the suburbs. Tickets The same tickets are valid on the bus, métro and RER (within zones one and two only) but not night buses (see below). One ticket is sufficient for a single bus ride, for an RER journey (within zones one and two only) or a métro journey. One ticket allows for changes (correspondances) of lines on the RER and the métro, however, separate tickets are required for changes between buses or between bus and métro/RER. Tickets should be validated on entry and kept until the end of the journey to avoid on-the-spot fines. Cost of single ticket €1.40, a carnet of ten tickets costs €10.50. Tickets, carnets and passes are all available for purchase from stations and tabacs and only single tickets may be purchased from the bus driver. Night buses require separate tickets, which cost €2.40 each and allow one change. Weekly or monthly travel passes (see below) may also be used on night buses. A mobilis day pass costs €5 for central Paris and €11.70 for five zones including the airports. Paris Visites offer one, two, three and five-day visitors passes at €8.35, €13.70, €18.25 and €26.65 respectively for Paris and its immediate suburbs (zones 1-3), or €16.75, €26.65, €37.35 and €45.70 to include transport to the airports, Versailles and Disneyland Paris (zones 1-5). There are reductions for childrens tickets. These are available for purchase at the airports, métro and RER stations and tourist offices. For longer stays, the Carte Orange, with a weekly coupon (coupon hebdomadaire), for sale at all métro stations, provides excellent value. At €15.40, it allows a week of travel in zones one and two. There is also a monthly Carte Orange priced at €50.40 for zones one and two. Tickets covering more zones are also available. The Carte Orange reusable ticket should be validated at the métro turnstile and shown to the driver. Taxis Taxis can be hailed in the street or at taxi ranks (arrêts taxis) found at airports, stations and close to main road junctions. A free taxi can be difficult to find, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. A yellow light displayed on the roof shows that the taxi is available for hire and an orange light shows the taxi is in use. Taxi ranks have telephones, so if there are no cars in the rank you telephone for one. A daytime journey in central Paris tends to cost between €6 and €10, on tariff A. Journeys after 1900 hrs, on Sundays, bank holidays and in the suburbs are more expensive, tariff B. The most expensive rate is tariff C and this applies to the suburbs and airports at night and districts outside Paris during the day. There are additional charges for pick-up (€2) and various other situations, including extra passengers, luggage (€0.90) and waiting. The minimum charge for a taxi ride is €5.10. Tipping is not compulsory but drivers expect around 10 per cent. Taxi numbers are displayed at the taxi ranks and listed in the yellow pages. These include: Alpha Taxis (telephone number: (01) 4585 8585) Taxis Bleus (telephone number: (0891) 701 010) Taxis G7 (telephone number: (01) 4739 4739) Limousines Major providers are Elite Limousines (telephone number: (01) 4720 7020); ExecutiveCar (telephone number: (01) 4265 5431), and Paris France Limousines (telephone number: (01) 4344 1272). Rates start at €60 per hour, with driver. Driving in the City Driving in central Paris is not advised and not easy. Most hotels do not have garages, parking is difficult with illegally parked cars being towed away and traffic jams (embouteillages) are frequent. While the average speed in the métro is 27kph (17mph), the average road speed is 18kph (11mph) and even slower during the rush hours (Monday to Friday 0730-0900 hrs and 1700-1900 hrs). Parking prices vary throughout Paris but are in the region of €1.50-€3 an hour, for a maximum of 2 hours. Most legal street-side parking spaces are marked ‘payant’, coins of €0.20, €0.50 and €1 may be used for the pay-and-display parking machines (horodateurs). Paris also has numerous underground and covered car parks in the city centre, costing around €2.50 per hour or approximately €15 for periods of 12-24 hours. These include the Arc de Triomphe, place de la Concorde and near the Forum des Halles. Many municipal garages close at around 2300 hrs and some are closed on Sunday. The only good news is that parking is usually free on weekends and on weekdays before 0900 hrs and after 1900 hrs. Car Hire The minimum age for car hire varies from 21 to 25 years depending on which car hire company is used. Drivers must have held a national driving licence for at least one year. It is usually requested that the cost is paid for with the driver’s credit card. Major car hire companies include Avis (telephone number: (08) 2002 4034 or (01) 4418 1054) Budget (telephone number: (01) 4884 6029) Europcar (telephone number: (01) 3044 9384) Hertz (telephone number: (01) 3938 3000 or (01) 4703 4912) National Citer (telephone number: (01) 4438 6045) Sixt (telephone number: (01) 4438 5552. Local firms include ADA, with numerous branches (telephone number: (08) 2516 9169) and Rent A Car (telephone number: (01) 5358 4000). Average car hire rates are approximately €60 per day or €200 per week. Bicycle & Scooter Hire The Mairie de Paris embarked on a scheme to introduce cycle lanes in 1996, which now total 100km (62 miles). Various maps and cycling guides can be found in bookstores and at some cycle shops. Bicycle hire companies include Bike’N Roller, 38 rue Faubert, 7th (telephone number: (01) 4407 3589), Paris à Vélo C’est Sympa!, 37 boulevard Bourdon, 4th (telephone number: (01) 4887 6001) and Paris Vélo, 4 rue du Fer-à-Moulin, 5th (telephone number: (01) 4337 5922). Bicycle hire costs from around €12.50 per day. Scooters and motorbikes are available for hire from Atelier de la Compagnie, 57 boulevard de Grenelle, 15th (telephone number: (01) 4579 7724) and SEJEM, 144 boulevard Voltaire, 11th (telephone number: (01) 4493 0403). Scooter rental costs from €20-€150 a day depending on the scooter’s cc, the day and place of hire. _____________Paris International Airport Paris International Airport - TravelPuppy.com Paris international airports are links below: Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) Located 23km (14 miles) northeast of Paris. Airport information : tel (0)1 4862 2280 or 1212 Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) Located 23km (14 miles) northeast of Paris. Airport information: tel: (0)1 4862 2280 or 1212 _____________Paris Nightlife Paris Nightlife - TravelPuppy.com The temptation to make a beeline for the Champs-Elysées and Trocadéro should be avoided unless visitors want to end up alongside fellow tourists in overpriced bars with large egos but little atmosphere. The action has now moved on to the likes of bustling Bastille, which may have been deserted by the real local cognoscenti, but still boasts plenty of colourful small bars, unique little drinking dens and popular clubs. These days anyone wanting to really mix it with the style crowd and have an ‘authentic’ Parisian night out should break east to raffish Ménilmontant, which boasts an increasingly sophisticated and eclectic nightlife scene that was kicked off by the legendary Café Charbon on rue de Oberkampf, a street now overflowing with bars. The smart money is on Belleville being the next new ‘in’ place, though the scene in this rough-around-the-edges part of town is far less obvious and it is just that bit further from the centre of the city. Back in the heart of Paris, the Marais has managed an impressive renaissance of late and now offers plenty of bars, chic cafes and a perhaps surprisingly active gay and lesbian scene. Pigalle is the seedy sex centre of the city but home to some good music venues and the Moulin Rouge cabaret, 82 boulevard Clichy, 18th, where the cancan is still performed. The minimum legal age for drinking alcohol (beer and wine) is 16 years of age, rising to 18 years for stronger drinks and spirits. The average price of a drink while out and about in Paris is €4, although prices can vary dramatically depending on the location. Bars are usually licensed until 0100 hrs but this does vary according to the individual venue and area. Bouncers frequently turn potential punters away and many of the smarter clubs are,or claim to be, private. There is no sure way of gaining admission, although being foreign, dressed identically to everyone inside, accompanied by a regular or simply beautiful helps. Admission prices (usually around €15-20) often include a free drink. Clubs open at around 2300 hrs and tend not to close until dawn, it is coolest to arrive around 0300 hrs, or at least after midnight. Pariscope is one of the best sources of information for nightlife listings in Paris. Bars Cafés and bars in Paris are very blurred with cafés where you can settle in with a beer and a croissant for breakfast and bars when you can enjoy a late night sandwich along with your cocktail. The 1990s craze for Irish and British pubs has to some extent run its course with the new focus on more funky and interesting bars that have more in common with East Berlin than the East End of London. With the exception of Anglo/Irish bars, beers on tap (bière à la pression) are normally served as a demi (25cl). The once trendy Buddha Bar, 8 bis rue Boissy d’Anglas, 8th, has lost much of its shine, with the bars in Ménilmontant now the place to see and be seen. Café Charbon, 109 rue Oberkampf, 11th, the bar that kicked the rejuvenation of the area is still going strong and has stayed at the head of the game by adding a club venue. The Le Mecano Bar, 99 rue Oberkampf, 11th, so called because of its toolbox decor, is one of most popular bars in the area with a grungy feel. Nearby Lou Pascalou, 14 rue des Panoyaux, 20th, is a relaxed place to hang out with some of the most unusual toilets in Paris. The scene in Ménilmontant is constantly evolving so visitors are advised to just wander around rue de Oberkampf and explore some its side streets for the latest ‘in’ bar. The Marais 3rd and 4th, is packed with a happy mélange of gay and straight bars. Vibrant gay bars include the Coffe Shop, 3 rue Ste-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, and Amnesia, 42 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4th. Le Central, 33 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4th, is one of the city’s oldest gay bars, with a more sedate clientele. Paris’ sole gay-only hotel is situated above the café. There are also a number of quirky little straight bars in and around rue Vieille-du-Temple, including La Chaise au Plafond, 10 rue du Trésor, 4th, with its ceiling decorated with Frisian cows and a lovely terrace, Au Petit Fer à Cheval, 30 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4th, named after its huge horseshoe-shaped bar, and L’Etoile Manquante, 30 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 4th. Also in the Marais is the Web Bar, 32 rue de Picardie, 3rd, a silversmith’s atelier turned into a hip but relaxing cybernet haunt. For genuine Scottish beer and televised sports in a relaxed Marais setting the Auld Alliance, 80 rue Francois Miron, 2nd, is the place to head. Anglophone ex-pats will also find safety in numbers at the Café Oz, 184 rue St-Jacques, 5th, which serves a good range of draught and bottled beers, or The Frog & Rosbif, 116 rue St-Denis, 2nd, a traditional British pub. A new branch of the Frog & Rosbif, 25 cour St-Emillion, has recently opened in up-and-coming Bercy. Casinos The Casino d’Enghien les Bains, 3 avenue de Ceinture, Enghien-Les-Bains (telephone number: (01) 3934 1300), is a twenty minute drive from Paris on the A15. Visitors must be over 18 years, carry a passport and be formally attired to gain admission to the table rooms, which costs €14 and this is the only casino in Ile de France. Clubs Techno, house, garage and Latino are the popular sounds of Paris and, to a lesser extent, hip hop and drum‘n’bass. Top DJs play house tunes at Le Queen, 102 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8th, a gay club that is still considered one of the best clubs in Paris despite the influx of tourists. Thursday and Saturday is gay only, with drag queens in profusion. Le Divan du Monde, located in the Pigalle district, at 75 rue des Martyrs, 18th, once hosted Toulouse-Lautrec but now draws a crowd that changes radically according to the evening’s programme, Brazilian, tango, indie, rock, house and hip hop nights alternate with top French and international DJs. Le Saint, 7 rue St-Séverin, 5th, which plays disco, house and salsa, is inexpensive and relaxed. Les Bains Douches, 7 rue du Bourg-l’Abbé, 3rd, a former Turkish bathhouse transformed into the most pretentious of clubs and is enjoying renewed popularity under new ownership. Batofar, 11 quai Francois-Mauriac, 13th, is a fun little club housed in a boat on the Seine that boasts a wide range of musical styles. Live Music Le Divan du Monde (see Clubs above) hosts intimate pop concerts, providing a chance to see the stars close up. Live jazz is played by local and international high-calibre musicians at Le Bilboquet, 13 rue St-Benoît, 6th, nightly (from around 2200 hrs onwards). There is no admission charge but drinks are priced at approximately €20. A young, unsophisticated crowd is drawn to La Flèche d’Or, 102 bis rue de Bagnolet, 20th, a converted station turned live-music venue, with a sticky, beer-stained floor on the edge of trendy Ménilmontant. Concerts run from Thursday to Sunday evenings and the music ranges from blues to rock or reggae and satirical French chansons. Chesterfield Café, 124 rue La Boétie, 8th, situated just off avenue des Champs-Elysées, is popular with ex-pats and hosts US rock and blues bands. To guarantee a seat, it is wise to book a table. Major rock concerts take place at the Palais des Congrès, 2 place de la Porte-Maillot, 17th. The Opus Jazz and Blues Restaurant, 167 quai Valmy, 10th, in the rapidly gentrifying Canal de Saint Martin area, offers good food and a eclectic selection of music, from aspiring Parisian youths through to more established acts. ____________Paris Shopping Paris Shopping Guide - TravelPuppy.com The Parisian ideal is elegant rather than funky, trends come and go but Paris is always at the forefront and there are few cities where you can find so many top-quality designers. These also include some British designers, John Galliano at Dior, Julian McDonald at Givenchy and McDonald’s predecessor, Alexander McQueen, as well as that ever-controversial Frenchman, Jean-Paul Gaultier, with his own store near Bastille. The exclusive designer shops are in the 8th, enclosed in the golden triangle formed by avenue des Champs-Elysées, avenue Montaigne and rue François 1er and along rue du Faubourg St-Honoré. A less rarefied but typically Parisian shopping experience is to be had at the main department stores located on boulevard Haussmann, 8th. These include Les Galeries, with its huge coloured dome, and Au Printemps. Métro Temple or Republique take the bargain shopper to the cheapest department store in the city, Tati, 172 rue du Temple, 3rd. Cut-price designer gear can be picked up at the Mouton à Cinq Pattes, 8 rue St-Placide, 6th. The sales sweep through Paris during January and July. For those who enjoy intimate, friendly boutiques one should head for the Marais district, in the 4th arrondissement. Rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the gay quarter sells designer kitsch, while the winding rue des Rosiers, in the Jewish quarter, has plenty of young designers whose works are displayed at L’Eclaireur. This area is at its busiest on Sunday, with many shops closed on Saturday due to the Jewish sabbath. It is ideal for a quick falafel snack, while the best ice cream in Paris is for sale at Berthillon, 31 rue de St-Louis-en-L’Ile, 4th. The Carrousel du Louvre, under the glass pyramid in the Louvre courtyard, is a very good place for shoppers to find tasteful gifts but those determined to take home plastic Eiffel Towers should head for rue de Rivoli, home to tourist kitsch. The American-run Shakespeare & Co, 37 rue de la Bûcherie, 5th, has the city’s widest selection of second-hand books in English. French books are best purchased at the city’s FNAC stores, one of which is at the shopping arcade, the Forum des Halles, 1st. Bouquinistes sell second-hand books, as well as prints, postcards and gifts, along the River Seine. Expensive antiques are to be found at Le Louvre des Antiquaires, beside the Louvre on place du Palais Royal. For bric-a-brac, there are the renowned flea markets (marchés aux puces), including the Porte de Montreuil, 20th, which is open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday 0900 hrs - 1800 hrs, and St-Ouen/Porte de Clignancourt, 18th, open Friday 0600 hrs - 1400 hrs, Saturday 0830 hrs - 1730 hrs, Sunday 1030 hrs - 1800 hrs and Monday 1030 hrs - 1700 hrs. There are numerous morning food markets in Paris, while the Ile-de-la-Cité has one of the largest flower markets in Paris. Many an eyebrow was raised a few years ago when a number of homeless people were evicted from the remaining section of the old Bastille-Vincennes elevated railway and local artists were coaxed in. The result today is the Viaduc des Arts, Avenue Daumesnil, a unique and atmospheric shopping venue where genuinely different designer creations flourish in a scene that is a world away from the hegemony of the malls and shopping centres. Some of the most interesting outlets include Malhia Kent at No.19, who weaves for the likes of Gucci and Dior, Yamakodo at No.65, with its range of fun and funky modern furniture and Astier de Villatte at No.107, who are renowned for their innovative pottery. Opening hours Monday to Saturday 0900/1000 hrs - 1900/2000 hrs and close between about 1200 hrs and 1430 hrs for lunch. Sales tax ranges from 5.21 per cent-16.38 per cent, varying widely between what are regarded as essential items and luxury goods. Non-EU visitors can obtain a tax deduction of 12-13 per cent on purchases of over €175 in any one establishment, by obtaining a form at the relevant shop and presenting it to customs on departure. Global Refund (telephone number: (01) 4161 5151, fax number: (01) 4834 6020, e-mail: taxfree@fr.globalrefund.com, website: www.globalrefund.com) can provide further information and advice. _____________Paris Sightseeing Paris Sightseeing Guide -TravelPuppy.com Overview The city centre is actually surprisingly compact and the métro system makes getting around quite easy. A great way for first time arrivals to get an idea of how Paris fits together is to take a cruise on the River Seine or ascend the Eiffel Tower and take in a sweeping view of the city. With so much to see, time management is crucial and many people opt to choose to concentrate on one or two of the arrondissements. The nostalgic should wander around the mansions of the Marais district, past the Musée Carnavalet, 23 rue de Sévigné, 3rd, Hôtel de Sully, 62 rue St-Antoine, 4th, and Place des Vosges, home to the Maison de Victor Hugo. Those interested in modern art and design should head for the Centre Georges Pompidou, place Beaubourg, 4th, Jean Nouvel’s Institut du Monde Arabe, 1 rue des Fossés-St-Bernard, 5th, or the Grande Arche de la Défense with its high-speed glass lift offering a spectacular view of the city. The Grande Arche, which lies along the same geographical axis as Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées, was built a century and a half later. This incongruity, the modern city juxtaposed with the old, is all part of the charm of Paris. Paris overflows with museums, ranging from the vast collections of the Louvre to the small and quirky, such as the Musée des Arts Forains, 53 avenue des-Terroires-de-France, 12th, a shrine to fairground art, with something for everyone scattered through the metropolitan area. Repeat visitors to Paris usually end up uncovering something new, such as the rejuvenated Bercy district to the east of the city, with its green spaces, popular bars and development buzz or Belleville, with its grungy cosmopolitanism and ethnic restaurants. A new attraction is the Paris Plage in summer when the car takes a back seat and the city’s citizens relax by the Seine amidst a world of sand and deckchairs. This is only one urban escape in a city with a sprinkling of parks that offer respite from the bustle. Tourist Information Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau 25 rue des Pyramides Telephone number: (0892) 68 3000. Website: www.paris-touristoffice.com Opening hours: (June-October) daily 0900 hrs - 1900 hrs, (November-May) Monday-Saturday 1100 hrs - 1900 hrs, Sunday 1000 hrs - 1900 hrs. Further tourist offices are located at the Gare de Lyon, 20 boulevard Diderot, 12th (open Monday to Saturday 0800 hrs - 1800 hrs), Gare du Nord, 18 rue de Dunkerque, 10th (open 0800 hrs - 1800 hrs), Opera, 11 rue Scribe, 9th (open 0900 hrs - 1830 hrs), Eiffel Tower (open daily 1100 hrs - 1840 hrs May to September). Passes The new Museum Pass allows free unlimited access to more than 70 museums and monuments in the Paris region, including the Arc de Triomphe, Musée National du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and Musée Rodin. The cost of the pass varies €25 for one day, €44 for three days and €62 for five days, from tourist offices, participating museums and monuments, the main métro stations and FNAC stores. The pass allows visitors to bypass queues but does not provide free admission to special or temporary exhibitions. For more information, visit www.museums-of-paris.com. Key Attractions Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) The Eiffel Tower literally towers over the Champ de Mars in the smart 7th arrondissement. The top (third) floor offers a sweeping panorama of the city. From directly underneath there is a fascinating view of the delicate ironwork of Gustave Eiffel, who was commissioned to build the tower for the Exposition Universelle in 1889, the centenary of the French Revolution. The Tour Eiffel is also home to a number of restaurants, which offer views of Paris and sky high prices to match. Champ de Mars, 7th Telephone number: (01) 4411 2323 (recorded information). Fax number: (01) 4411 2322. Website: www.tour-eiffel.fr Transport: Métro Bir-Hakeim, RER Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel. Opening hours: Daily 0930 hrs - 2300 hrs (September-mid June), daily 0900 hrd - 2400 hrs(mid June-August). Admission: By lift: €4 (first floor),€7.30 (second floor),€10.40 (third floor), by stairs: €3.50 (first and second floors only), concessions available. Cathédrale de Notre-Dame (Cathedral of Our Lady) The stocky Notre-Dame Cathedral, located on the Ile-de-la-Cité, could not be more different from the filigree Eiffel Tower. Bishop Maurice de Sully began construction on the cathedral in 1163, to outshine the new abbey situated at St-Denis and work was completed in 1345. The result is a Gothic masterpiece, with 3 stunning rose windows. Visitors should be prepared to climb the 387 spiral steps to the top of the 75m (246ft) north tower. The views over the River Seine and the city centre are well worth the climb. There is also a treasury with various liturgical objects on display. A violent storm in 1999 caused significant damage to the cathedral, though by 2004 much of it had been repaired. The scaffolding, which has blighted the cathedral for as long as anyone can remember, looks set to remain for the foreseeable future. 6 Place du Parvis-Notre-Dame, 4th Telephone number: (01) 4234 5610 or 4432 1672 Fax number: (01) 4051 7098. E-mail: info@cathedraledeparis.com Website: www.cathedraledeparis.com Transport: Métro Cité, RER St-Michel-Notre-Dame. Opening hours: Daily 0745 - 1845 hrs(cathedral), daily 0930-1845 hrs (towers), Monday-Saturday 0930-1130 hrs and 1300-1730 hrs (treasury). Admission: Free (cathedral),€5.50 (towers),€2.50 (treasury), concessions available. La Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (The Sacred Heart Basilica) A long, wide series of steps lead to the snowy-white-domed Sacré-Coeur that dominates the arty district of Montmartre. A mishmash of styles, the Catholic church was built between 1870 and 1919, to fulfil a vow made during the Franco-Prussian war. The interior is splendid with neo-Byzantine mosaics and the domed tower offers a spectacular view over Paris. The crypt contains an interesting collection of religious relics and a slide show on the construction of the Basilica. Below the church, a park tumbles down the hillside in a flurry of benches that make an ideal spot for surveying the city skyline. Parvis du Sacré-Coeur, 18th Telephone number: (01) 5341 8900. Fax number: (01) 5341 8919. Website: www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com Transport: Métro Abbesses or Anvers. Opening hours: Daily 0600-2300 hrs (Basilica), daily 0930–1830 hrs (crypt and dome). Admission: Free (Basilica),€5 (dome and crypt), concessions available. Musée National du Louvre (Louvre National Museum) The Louvre first opened to the public during 1793, following the Revolution, as a showcase for the art treasures of the kings of France. The museum is organised into 3 wings on 4 floors, Richelieu (along rue de Rivoli), Sully (around cour Carrée) and Denon (along the River Seine). The vast permanent collection includes Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Egyptian and East Asian antiquities, French, Spanish, Italian and northern European sculpture and 19th-century objets d’art. The painting collection is the strongest, with French, Italian, Dutch, German, Flemish and Spanish masterpieces from the mid-13th to the mid-19th centuries. Most famed French works include David’s Coronation of Napoléon, Ingres’ The Turkish Bath, Géricault’s depiction of disaster, The Raft of the Medusa and Delacroix’s ode to revolution, Liberty Leading the People. The museum’s greatest treasure, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, is in a bullet-proof case. There are plans to move it into its own room, but for now it is on display in room 13, on the first floor of the Denon wing. Excavations have exposed traces of the medieval Louvre, which are on display together with the history of the Louvre under the Cour Carrée, in the entresol level in the Sully wing. Buying tickets from the official website in advance saves unnecessary time spent queuing. Cour Napoléon, 1st Telephone number: (01) 4020 5050. Fax number: (01) 4020 5452. E-mail: info@louvre.fr Website: www.louvre.fr Transport: Métro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre. Opening hours: daily 0900-1800 hrs, Wednesday and Friday until 2145 hrs (from September 10), closed Tuesday. Admission: Permanent and temporary exhibitions: €8.50, temporary exhibitions in Napoleon Hall and permanent exhibitions combined: €11.50 free (first Sunday of each month and 14 July), concessions available; advance tickets can be purchased by telephone (telephone number: (01) 4691 5757), from branches of FNAC and on the Internet. Musée Rodin (Rodin Museum) Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) worked and lived in this 18th-century hôtel particulier. Now the Rodin Museum, his sculptures populate the interior and gardens. Indoors, The Kiss portrays eternal passion frozen in white marble, while The Hand of God gives life to creamy white, half-formed figures. Works of Rodin’s mistress and pupil, Camille Claudel, and paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and Rodin himself are also on display. The gardens are graced by the monumental bronze The Thinker, whose godly physique contrasts sharply with the decrepitude of the writhing figures of The Gates of Hell and the controversial final portrait of Balzac, once described as ‘a block that disgraces its author and French Art’. 77 rue de Varenne, 7th Telephone number: (01) 4418 6110. Fax number: (01) 4418 6130. Website: www.musee-rodin.fr Transport: Métro Varenne, Invalides or St Francois Xavier. RER Line C to Invalides. Bus 69, 82, 87 and 92. Opening hours: Museum: Tuesday-Sunday 0930-1745 hrs, garden: Tuesday-Sunday 0930-1845 hrs (April-September), museum: Tuesday-Sunday 0930-1645 hrs, garden: Tuesday-Sunday 0930-1700 hrs (October-March). Admission: €5 concessions available. Musée d’Orsay (Museum of Orsay) The museum’s home, an impressively converted railway station located by the banks of the Seine and is stunning, but the real strength of this large museum lies in its collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. The collection, covering the decisive 1848-1914 period, is arranged chronologically, beginning on the ground floor, jumping to the third, then descending to the middle level. Among the most famous works are Déjeuner sur l’Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), rejected from the Salon of 1863, five of Monet’s paintings of Rouen Cathedral and the realist work, L’Origine du Monde (The Origin of the World), by Gustave Courbet, whose graphic depiction of the female sex continues to shock. Entrances at 1 rue de la Légion d’Honneur and 1 rue de Bellechasse, 7th Telephone number: (01) 4049 4814. Website: www.musee-orsay.fr Transport: Métro Solférino; RER Musée d’Orsay. Bus 24, 63, 69, 73, 83, 84 and 94. Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 1000-1800 hrs, Thursday 1000-2145 hrs, Sunday 0900-1800 hrs (October-May), Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday-Sunday 0900-1800 hrs, Thursday 0900-2145 hrs (June-September). Admission: €7, concessions available, free first Sunday of each month. Musée National Picasso (National Picasso Museum) Paris-based Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) owned most of this collection, the largest worldwide, housed in a 17th-century mansion in the Marais. All phases of his art are represented, with preparatory sketches and paintings covering the Blue Period, Rose Period, Cubism, Classicism, Surrealism and sculptures ranging from a huge plaster head to a small cat. Memorable works include the Blue Period self-portrait Paolo as Harlequin, the surreal Nude in an Armchair and poignant paintings of Marie-Thérèse. Photographs are displayed alongside the works they inspired and African masks with Picasso’s ‘primitive’ wood carvings. There is also a glimpse of the artist’s personal taste in paintings, with his Matisse and Cézanne paintings displayed alongside his own. Hôtel Salé, 5 rue de Thorigny, 3rd Telephone number: (01) 4271 2521. Fax number: (01) 4804 7546. Website: www.musee-picasso.fr Transport: Métro Chemin Vert, St-Paul or St Sebastien Froissart. Bus 29, 69, 75 and 96. Opening hours: Wednesday, Friday-Monday 0930-1800 hrs, Thursday 0930-2000 hrs (summer), Wednesday, Friday-Monday 0930-1730 hrs, Thursday 0930-2000 hrs (winter). Admission: €5.50; concessions available, free first Sunday of each month; extra charge for temporary exhibitions apply. Centre Georges Pompidou (Georges Pompidou Centre) Considered outrageous in 1977, the Pompidou Centre, designed by Piano and Rogers, has become part of the Parisian landscape, primary coloured tubes and all. The building was revamped and extended a few years ago, to cope with the huge numbers of people visiting its expanding collection of contemporary art and multimedia library. The centre re-opened on the first day of the new millennium. Place Georges Pompidou, 4th Telephone number: (01) 4478 1233. E-mail: info@cnac-gp.fr Website: www.centrepompidou.fr Transport: Métro Hôtel de Ville or Rambuteau; RER Châtelet-Les Halles. Opening hours: Wednesday-Monday 1100-2100 hrs, late-night openings until 2300 hrs for some exhibits. Admission: Museum and all exhibits €10, exhibitions: €9 or €7 according to exhibition, free first Sunday of each month. Paris Plage Since its inception in 2001 Paris Plage has become a highly successful annual event. The idea of shutting off a busy 3.5km section of riverfront expressway in the city centre and turning it into a giant leisure oasis is both simple and brilliant, though it has provoked the ire of some of the city’s taxi drivers. A flurry of deckchairs and hammocks replace the cars and an open-air swimming pool, mainly geared towards children, was introduced in 2004 alongside the stalls selling food, drinks and ice cream. Mist sprays, sand and the sight of relaxing locals and tourists manage to raise a smile from all but the most world-weary of Parisians. Banks of the Seine between Tuileries Tunnel and the Henri IV bridge. Opening times: July-August Admission: Free. Further Distractions Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) This garden, part formal, part jardin à l’anglaise, were created for Marie de Médicis (Henri IV’s widow), along with the Palais du Luxembourg, which now houses the French Senate. It is a favoured spot for a Sunday stroll, game of tennis, chess or boules, pony ride or yacht trip on the lake. Boulevard St-Michel, rue de Médicis, rue Guynemer, rue d’Assas, rue Auguste-Comte or rue de Vaugirard, 6th Telephone number: (01) 4234 2362. Transport: Métro Odéon; RER Luxembourg. Opening hours: Daily 0715-2130 hrs (April-September), daily 0800-dusk (October-March). Admission: Free. Parc des Buttes-Chaumont This park spreads over 23 hectares between Gare du Nord and Belleville. It was originally commissioned by Napoleon III and mixes grandeur with wildlife. Its walkways are alive with the likes of wagtails, tits, gulls, geese and swans. In the lake pike, tench and roach abound. The park is perfect for escaping the city for a while, strolling around its lofty inclines or even popping on some in-line skates and heading around the skate trail. Transport: Métro Buttes Chaumont Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk. Admission: Free. La Grande Mosquée de Paris (Paris Grand Mosque) Built between 1922 and 1926, close to the Jardin des Plantes, this Hispano-Moorish mosque oversees France’s Muslim community. There is free access and guided tours to the sunken garden and patios. The prayer room, however, remains closed to the non-Muslim public. There is also an authentic hammam (Turkish bath) with masseurs at hand, as well as a wonderful mosaic courtyard complete with fig trees and a fountain – the perfect setting for enjoying a sweet mint tea served in tiny gilded glasses with some honeyed baklava. In the adjoining restaurant, couscous and other Arabic dishes are served. 1 place du Puits-de-l’Ermite (access via 39 rue Géoffroy-St-Hillaire), 5th Telephone number: (01) 4535 9733. Fax number: (01) 4535 1623. Website: www.mosquee-de-paris.org Transport: Métro Place Monge or Censier-Daubenton. Opening hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 1000-2100 hrs, Friday 1400-2100 hrs (women), Tuesday 1400-2100 hrs, Sunday 1000-2100 hrs (men), tours Saturday-Thursday 0900-1200 hrs and 1400-1800 hrs (winter), Saturday-Thursday 0900-1200 hrs and 1400-2200 hrs (summer); closed Muslim holidays. Admission: €3 (guided visit); concessions available; free (tearoom); €15 (Turkish baths – massages extra). ____________Paris Tours - Excursions Paris Tours Guide - TravelPuppy.com Walking tours Walks on a variety of themes are offered by Paris Walks (telephone number: (01) 4809 2140, fax number: (01) 4243 7551, including Hemingway’s Paris, The Village of Montmartre, The Marais Circuit and many more. The Marais Circuit departs every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, Hemingway’s Paris every Friday and the Village of Montmartre every Wednesday and Sunday. Tours depart from various métro stations, which are listed on the website, last approx two hours and cost €10. Details of most tours are in the weekly Pariscope magazine. Tour providers and tourist guides are also listed in the English language guide Paris for You and is produced by the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau and can be collected from Tourist Information Offices. Bus Tours The Balabus is an ordinary city bus that is marked Bb on the front. It operates from stops marked Balabus from mid April to the end of September, passing key sights between the Grand Arche de la Défense and the Gare de Lyon. Further details can be obtained from the métro stations. Several companies offer coach tours of Paris, with Les Cars Rouges (telephone number: (01) 5395 3953), using distinctive red London double-decker buses. Tickets cost €22, purchased on the bus or at tourist offices. There are 9 stops at main tourist attractions and a recorded commentary in English. A trip around the whole route takes approx 2 hours 15 minutes. Passengers can get on and off at will and tickets are valid for two days. L’Open Tour hop-on hop-off buses (telephone number: (01) 4266 5656) operate daily throughout the year, offering 4 different routes with running commentaries in English and French, passing all the major tourist sights in Paris. One and two day passes cost €24 and €27 respectively and are available from the tourist offices, RATP offices and also from some hotels and travel agencies. Buses run every ten to 15 minutes 1000-1800 hrs April-October and every 25-30 minutes 0930-1600 hrs November-March. Minibus Tours A good alternative to the big bus tours are tours and run by minibus. Minibus may access sites that large coaches may not. Several companies offer minibus tours around Paris, with Paris Trip (telephone number: (01) 4212 8672), using air-conditioned minivans. City tours cost run from €42 (for a two hours Orientation City Tour including pick-up and return to the hotel) up to €85 (including lunch at the Eiffel Tower and a one hour cruise down the river). Tours are also available in different languages. Boat Tours The city’s bâteaux-mouches and vedettes are a popular and instantly recognisable feature of the River Seine. Many companies offer cruises with some including lunch or dinner, including Vedettes de Paris (telephone number: (01) 4418 0803, fax number: (01) 4705 7453), Les Vedettes du Pont-Neuf (telephone number: (01) 4633 9838, fax number: (01) 4329 8619) and Bâteaux Parisiens (telephone number: (01) 4411 3344, fax number: (01) 4556 0788). A basic sightseeing tour costs €9-10 and lasts one hour. Departure points are at various stops along the banks of the Seine. Bicycle Tours Various maps and cycle guides (available at tourist offices, bookshops or bike-hire outlets) detail cycle routes in Paris. In addition, there are also routes in the Bois de Boulogne, the Bois de Vincennes and a popular Sunday trip along the River Seine, which is closed to cars 1000-1600 hrs. Paris à Vélo, C’est Sympa!, 37 boulevard Bourdon (tel: (01) 4887 6001), offers a variety of three-hour bicycle tours for €32.50 including Heart of Paris, Paris Contrasts, Paris at Dawn and Unusual Paris, as well as Paris by Night tours during the summer months. Those travelling in groups can book day-long cycling tours to Versailles or Paris Guinguettes. Tours depart from the shop and the price includes bicycle hire and insurance. The company also rents bicycles at a rate of €12.50 per 24 hours or €24 for a whole weekend and €59 per week. Excursions for Half a Day Château de Versailles No sooner had Louis XIV set eyes on his finance minister’s château at Vaux-le-Victomte, than he decided to build a larger and better one. The result is one of the three most visited monuments in France. Construction began in 1664, continuing until Louis XIV’s death in 1715. Much of the palace can only be visited with a guide, with the notable exception of the 73m (240ft) Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors), where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, effectively bringing World War I to an end. It is worth queuing for a guided tour, if only to recapture the ritualistic atmosphere of the reign of the Sun King, whose actions were considered as miraculous as the movements of the sun itself. The honoured elite among the 20,000 courtiers and royal ministers were obliged to relocate to the palace and observed these banal rituals with awe. Entry to the château state apartments (telephone number: (01) 3083 7800; website: www.chateauversailles.fr) costs €7.50 . There is the option of a one-hour guided visit of the King’s Chamber, which costs €4 for the audio tour. The chateau and gardens are set in a landscaped park, designed by Le Nôtre, which is open daily, except during bad weather, from 0700 hrs in summer and 0800 hrs in winter until sunset. Admission to the park is free, although entry to the formal gardens costs €3, free during the winter. There are also guided tours of the garden for an extra €5. The château itself is open Tuesday to Sunday 0900-1730 hrs (until 1830 from April to October). The grounds are so large that a little train chugs from the palace to the former royal love nests, the Grand and Petit Trianons (open daily 1200-1730 hrs, until 1830 hrs from April to October). The Italianate Grand Trianon was built in 1687, for Louis XIV to enjoy the company of Madame de Maintenon. Napoléon also had a penchant for this building, which is on a somewhat more human scale than the château, and stayed there with Marie-Louise. Louis XV had Gabriel build the Petit Trianon in the 1760s, for his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. Admission costs €5 to the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon combined. The château (and everything on site) is free to everyone on the first Sunday of the month from November to March. Versailles is located 23km (14 miles) west of Paris and is easily accessible from central Paris on the RER line C5 to Versailles-Rive Gauche. For a Whole Day Giverny Monet lived in countrified Giverny, situated 80km (50 miles) northwest of Paris, from 1883 until his death in 1926. The house, in which he painted his last, vast water lily canvas, is open to the public as Musée Claude Monet. Although the house retains much of its charm, the artist’s studio is now a large and over-commercialised gift shop as Monet is, after all, big business. Although many of the original paintings are now at the Musée d’Orsay, the inspiration behind them remains here including the famed water lily pond and Japanese footbridges. The museum, 84 rue Claude Monet (telephone number: (02) 3251 2821, fax number: (02) 3251 5418, website: www.fondation-monet.com), is open from Tuesday to Sunday 0930-1800 hrs (April to October). Admission prices are €5.50 for the house and garden or €4 for the gardens only. A few minutes away, in 99 rue Claude Monet, the Musée d’Art Américain (telephone number: (02) 3251 9465, fax number: (02) 3251 9467, website: www.maag.org), is a shrine to Monet-influenced American artists, such as Winslow Homer and Mary Cassatt. Opening hours are from Tuesday to Sunday 1000-1800 hrs (April to October) and admission costs €5.50. By car, visitors should take the A13 runs from Paris to Bonnières onto the D201 to Giverny. Alternatively, the train from Gare St-Lazare station goes to Vernon, from where visitors should take a taxi or bus to Giverny. |
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| Disneyland Paris Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland Paris Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland Paris Arno Lubbinge Disneyland Paris is very popular with children all over Europe. It is a big theme park with many attractions. We will not describe all of them in detail - whatever we say about them, your children will have a better idea of what it is like, anyway. In Disneyland, there are 2 playgrounds, which are perfect for small children. They are Frontierland and Adventureland. There is also one indoor playground at "Buzz Lightyear's Pizza Planet Restaurant" in Discoveryland. To make the most of your visit together with your children, it is useful to know which attractions are meant for what age category. ________Getting There Edit This Here are a few tips on how to get to Disneyland Paris. [Add Global transport mode] From Orly Airport Edit This When you leave the airport, head for "Paris" and follow the signs for "Créteil" on the A86. After 11 kilometres, join the A4, heading for "Metz / Nancy". Exit 13 is 27 kilometres further on, and exit 14, 30 kilometres. type: By Car World66 rating: [rate it] Visitor Parking Edit This Motorbikes & Sidecars = 25 Francs / day 20 Francs after 17.00 Cars = 40 Francs / day 30 Francs after 17.00 Campers & Coaches: 60 Francs / day type: By Car World66 rating: [rate it] From the A4 (Autoroute de l'Est) Edit This To reach Disneyland® Park and the Disneyland® Paris hotels, take exit 14, "Val d'Europe, Parc Disneyland®". To go to the Davy Crockett Ranch®, take exit 13, "Provins / Serris". type: By Car World66 rating: [rate it] To get on to the A4 Edit This From Paris: on the Périphérique, at the "Porte de Bercy" exit (south east of Paris), follow "Metz / Nancy" on the A4 motorway. You'll come to exit 13 after 31 kilometres, and exit 14 after 34 kilometres. type: By Road World66 rating: [rate it] From Roissy / Charles-de-Gaulle Airport Edit This Leave the airport following the signs for "Marne La Vallée" until you come to the A104 ("La Francilienne"). After about 27 kilometres, leave the A104 for the A4, following "Metz / Nancy". Exit 13 is 9 kilometres further on, and exit 14, 12 kilometres. type: By Road World66 rating: [rate it] st josse Edit This st josse to disneyland paris type: By Air World66 rating: [rate it] _______Tickets Edit This If you aren't staying at Disneyland® Park, you can buy your passport at the following sales outlets: · At the entrance to the Theme park · Any UK travel agent · In The Disney Store in the UK and on the Champs-Elysées · The Thomas Cook Bureau de change at the UK Eurotunnel Passenger Terminal, Dover and Portsmouth ferry terminals · On board P & O Stena Line Ferries between Dover and Calais · Keith Prowse tel.: 01232 23 24 25 · Seligo tel: 0121 683 0003 [Add New] Low Season p Edit This 1 Day Passport £28 / £11 child 2 Day Passport £62 / £48 child 3 Day Passport £76 / £56 child type: general World66 rating: [rate it] High Season prices Edit This 1 Day Passport £23 / 236FF £18 / 184FF 2 Day Passport £45 / 459FF £35 / 354FF 3 Day Passport £62 / 636FF £48 / 492FF hendrickx : type: general World66 rating: [rate it] _________Opening Hours Edit This [Add New] from March 31st, 2001 to April 13th, 2001: Edit This 9.00 - 20.00 daily type: general World66 rating: [rate it] from April 14th, to April 30th, 2001 Edit This 9.00 - 23.00 on April 14, 15, 16, 28, 29 & 30 9.00 - 20.00 from April 17 to 22 10.00 - 20.00 from April 23 to 27 type: general World66 rating: [rate it] from May 1st to May 31st, 2001 Edit This 9.00 - 23.00 on May 5, 6, 7, 25 & 26 9.00 - 20.00 on May 1, 12, 13, 19, 20, 24 & 27 10.00 - 20.00 daily except as above type: general World66 rating: [rate it] from June 1st to July 6th, 2001 Edit This 9.00 - 23.00 on June 2 & 3 9.00 - 20.00 daily except on June 2 & 3 type: general World66 rating: [rate it] from July 7th to September 2nd, 2001 Edit This 9.00 - 23.00 daily type: general World66 rating: [rate it] |