"I love Paris every moment.
Every moment of the year, I love Paris.
Why! Oh why do I love Paris?
Because my love is here..."
- Frank Sinatra |
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Explore Paris
Courtesy of and
Welcome to Paris! This page was designed especially
for you who may visit Paris for the first time. The
idea is to give you advices to acquaint you with the
City of Light, and help you prepare for this exciting
trip. Read on!
Prepare well for a stroll
Once you have settled down in your comfortable hotel
room and are getting ready to take your first stroll, take some time to dress appropriately.
First, put on a really good pair of walking shoes to feel comfortable in the Parisian streets. Walking
in Paris means stopping often to look at amazing details
and buildings. This constant stop-and-go will wear
you down if you aren't comfy in your shoes.
Visiting the Eiffel Tower means waiting often over
30 minutes to gain access to the ticket booth, then
waiting some more for the elevator on the way up,
and waiting some more for the elevator on the way
down. So to your feet, a pair of good shoes will
make a big difference!
Parisian weather is fickle in springtime and
during fall: what starts out as a great clear day
can turn rainy and chilly in the afternoon. Pack a
sweater and a rain breaker if you are visiting during
these seasons. Summer is usually fine (70-85°F), August
is generally hotter (80-95°F). Winter is rainy and
cold, almost as cold as in NYC.
In any case, take your umbrella along, it may
become your best friend -- especially if you intend
to take pictures of everything. Rain and camera lenses
don't like each other.
Street-savvy tips
Now that you're dressed and all ready to venture outside,
here are a couple of useful tips:
Avoid taking a taxi during the day,
and notably in the morning until 11:00, and in the
late afternoon from 4:00 to 8:00. Streets are jam-packed
during those periods, and seeing the meter run while
you're a sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic is a
disheartening experience.
Taxi fares: taxi meters show
your fare and one of three letters: A, B, or C. If
you are within Paris and on the ring outside Paris
(the peripheral boulevard), the A rate applies from
6:00 PM and 8:00 PM, and the B rate turns on from
8:00 PM till 6:00 AM. When you leave Paris intra-muros,
the driver will turn on the B rate during the day
and the C rate from 8:00 PM. If you are far from Paris,
the C rate always applies. You will pay extra for
every luggage you load in the trunk and if you take
the cab from an airport. Don't try to hail a cab in
the street too close to a train station: taxi drivers
can't load passengers within a 100-meter radius from
the train stations. Go to the station taxi head instead,
or further away from the station.
French people do lunch between
12:00 and 1:30 PM, and dinner between 7:30
and 10:00 PM. If you wish to avoid the crowd, lunch
at 12:00 tops and dine out from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. Restaurants
rarely serve between 2:00 and 6:00 PM.
Having a drink at the terasse of
a sidewalk cafe is a necessary experience in Paris
(skip it between November and March though,except
if weather permits). However, terasse drinks are often
charged premium prices.
Although they are saddled with a reputation, cafe waiters are not necessarily rude: they're
just in a hurry. So don't take offense if they are
impatient with you. Smile and show them what you want
on the menu. They won't return the smile, but you
will get your order quickly.
In Parisian restaurants, it is
not customary for your waiter to come back to you
once you are served to see if everything is allright:
they assume this is the case. So don't feel you are
ignored: just call the waiter when you wish to have
your bread basket replenished. If you dine out at
an expensive restaurant, waiters will tend your table
diligently. Otherwise, it won't be the case.
Gratuity: your restaurant/cafe
check already includes a 15% gratuity. If you feel
like giving an extra tip to your cafe waiter, leave
EUR 1 ($.97) on the table. In a restaurant, you may
leave EUR 3-5 ($2.7-4.5, more if you are in an expensive
place) but again, that's not expected in either case.
Your credit card receipt won't show any gratuity line.
Armed with these few basic advices, you are ready
to conquer the asphalt. On to places to visit!
Paris monuments and hallmarks
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This
world-famous landmark was built for the Universal
Fair of 1889, held to commemorate the centenary
of the French Revolution. It stands 1050 ft
high. Admission (elevator to the top) is EUR
9.90 for adults, EUR 5.30 for children under
12. Opening hours: Jan 1-Jun 13: 9:30am-11pm
daily (stairs: 9:30am-6pm); Jan 14-Aug 31:
9am-midnight daily.
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Work
on the Hunchback's gothic home began in 1163
AD and was completed circa 1345 AD. The house
of God can accommodate over 6,000 worshippers.
Admission in the Cathedral is free, going
to the towers costs about EUR 6. No elevator,
people with a heart condition should abstain.
Opening hours: 8:00AM-6:45PM daily. Towers:
9:30AM-6:45PM daily. Masses: 8AM, 9AM, 12AM,
6:45PM.
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The
Champs Elysees avenue probably only deserves
its nickname of "most beautiful avenue in
the world" for its lower section, starting
Place de la Concorde and ending at Grand Palais.
The rest of the avenue mainly features overpriced
shops and restaurants - with a few exceptions
in the side streets. Walk to the Arch of Triumph,
at the top of the avenue, and visit the 50-meter
high structure built to commemorate Napoleon's
victories. Admission is about EUR 6, and free
for children under 12. Opening hours: 9:30AM-11:00PM
daily from April to October, and 10:00AM-11:00PM
daily from Nov-March.
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The
Romano-Byzantine basilica crowns the Montmartre
hill. Its construction began in 1875 and was
completed in 1914. Admission is free, except
for the crypt and dome (about EUR 5). For
a fun ride, go to the Anvers metro station,
walk to "Rue Tardieu" and take the "funiculaire"
(a one-car train which brings you almost to
the top of the hill). Montmartre itself used
to be a village outside Paris. The hill is
famous for its architectural landmarks, its
artistic life, and more recently, for 'Amelie'.
It counts no less than 7 museums! |
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Its
building started in 1671 under the reign of
King Louis the XIVth, and about 30 years later.
From its inception, the place was designed
to serve as a home to impoverished soldiers
and wounded veterans of the French army. It
comprises the veteran hospital itself, a church,
several museums, and the tomb of Napoleon
I. Admission is EUR 6 for adults, and free
for children under 12. Opening hours: October
to March 31: 10AM-4:45PM, April-September
30: 10AM-5:45PM |
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Even today this quarter is associated with
the existentialism of the 1950's, with Jean
Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir writing
at the Cafe Flore, and with Boris Vian and
Raymond Queneau. The "invasion"
(over the past 30 years) of luxury boutiques
is replacing the book stores and cinemas from
this aera, although a historical preservation
association has now been created to preserve
that which still remains. |
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Its
construction started in the early XVIIth century
under Henri IV. It was completed in 1612.
Initially named 'Royal Square', it was renamed
'Place des Vosges' by Napoleon I as an homage
to the inhabitants of the Vosges region who
had been particularly quick to pay their taxes.
The square is remarkable both by its style
(it is lined with 36 buildings, all dating
from Henri IV) and by its shops and its little
park where Parisians like to loaf on sunny
Sundays. |
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Find more comments on Paris landmarks and monuments
at and
Walking in Paris
Paris offers a number of interesting itineraries
for strollers. You can follow the waterways (river
Seine, , river
Bièvre) or the 17-km long railway transformed into
a most surprising hung some 50
feet above the hustle-bustle of the city. You can
also spend some quality time in any of the large
public parks which the city counts (Luxembourg,
Buttes-Chaumont, Montsouris, Georges Brassens),
discover the ,
or else decide to learn live history and architecture
in areas like St-Sulpice and St Germain-des-Prés.
A lively and interesting city
This is but a glimpse of the many places you will
want to visit during your stay in Paris. Guests
of the hotel are offered a Complimentary Pass to the Members Only section of the Paris
Eiffel Tower News website, which features a lot
more information on Paris.
The Complimentary Pass can be retrieved from the
Thank You page which displays after your reservation
request has been received by the hotel.
The hotel personnel wishes to be of service to you
during your stay in Paris.
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