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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 - Tour
eiffel |
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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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| Notre
Dame Cathedral - Notre
Dame de Paris |
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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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| Champs
Elysees and the Arch of Triumph - Champs
élysées et l'Arc de Triomphe |
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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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| Montmartre
and the Church of the Sacred Heart - Montmartre
et le Scrée coeur |
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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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| Invalides |
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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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Saint
Germain des Pres / Quartier
Latin - Latin Quarter |
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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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| Place
des Vosges |
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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 http://www.paris-eiffel-tower-news.com/ discover-paris.html
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.
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