"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
Explore Paris
Courtesy of
Paris
Eiffel Tower News and Monument
Paris
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
The
Eiffel Tower
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.
Notre
Dame Cathedral
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.
Champs-Elysées
and Arc de Triomphe
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.
Montmartre
and the Church of the Sacré Coeur
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!
Eglise des Invalides
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
Saint Germain des Prés / Quartier Latin
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.
Place des Vosges
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.
Find more comments on Paris landmarks and monuments at http://www.paris-eiffel-tower-news.com and http://www.monument-paris.com/monument-selection.htm.
Walking in Paris
Paris offers a number of interesting itineraries for strollers. You can follow
the waterways (river Seine, St
Martin Canal, river Bièvre) or the 17-km
long railway transformed into a most surprising walkway 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 gardens
of the 14th district, 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.
