Cortez Travel's Guide to Paris
Copyright © 1995 & 2006 by Z.S. Haddad
This is a concise, comprehensive, step-by-step guide to Paris designed for the
North American tourist - the novice visitor as well as the world-wise traveler.
The guide is presented as a continuous walking tour,
tracing a spiral out from the center of Paris through its
fascinating neighborhoods, noting all the famous monuments as well as
some of the less well-known ones, and indicating the various points of
particular interest to visitors from the United States, including
historical locations, shopping opportunities, specialty food outlets,
along with sites which
Parisians may regard as an unremarkable part of their everyday life but
which can present to the American visitor an unfamiliar insight into
the special character of the city and its residents. Included are
estimates of the amount of time each segment may take. Feel
free to change the order of the segments, to break off the
itinerary wherever and whenever you feel you need a break.
This narrative is organized as follows:
- first a few tips about getting around Paris on foot, some transportation options, and what you should keep in mind about opening hours.
- This is followed by the guide itself, starting with the center, the other side of the river, the so-called golden triangle, and a few additional sites.
- Finally, you will find advice on hotels, a section on current happenings & real-time information, advice for airport/city transportation, a section on money matters, and a list of contacts in case of an emergency.
Paris is divided into 20 districts called "arrondissements", numbered from I to XX. The arrondissements are arranged in a spiral, starting at the geographical center of the city and winding outward clock-wise. Within its official boundaries the city is quite small, indeed with the possible exception of the 18th, 19th and 20th arrondissements and perhaps the outer edges of the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th, any location in the city can be considered "central". The (clickable) numbers on the following map refer to the steps in the itinerary of this guide, and should give you an idea of the distances involved:
The river dividing the city is the Seine (pronounced 'senn'), separating the left bank ("rive gauche", pronounced 'reev go sh') from the right bank (rive droite, pronounced 'reev dr what'). In case you were wondering, the two islands in the middle are the Ile de la Cité (pronounced 'eel de la sitay') and the Ile Saint-Louis (pronounced approximately 'eel san lwee').
A TIP ABOUT GETTING AROUND IN PARIS ON FOOT: At every intersection, a street is likely to change names when you cross from one side of the intersection to the other, although it may look like the continuation of the same road. It is also important to keep in mind that, just as in English, there are several words in French to designate a street, such as "rue" (street), "avenue", "boulevard", "passage", etc, and that these words are an essential part of the street name. Thus, for example, Boulevard du Montparnasse and Rue du Montparnasse are two different streets (in fact they happen to cross at right angles).
ABOUT THE PARIS SUBWAY: The métro is a marvel of efficiency and
speed. Its network covers the entire city, yet finding your way around
it is easy. Subway lines have been given numbers, but
each line is also referred to by the names
of the two end-stations (i.e. the two terminal stops at each end),
separated by a hyphen. Thus, for example, there is the Nation - Porte Dauphine
line (line number 2). Once you have spotted
the line you need to take, you must remember the name of that
end-station in whose direction you want to ride
(in the example of the Nation-Porte Dauphine line, either "direction
NATION" or "direction PORTE DAUPHINE"). You should then follow the signs
for that direction, and
look up, once on the platform, at the hanging signs with the name of the
direction in which the train will be heading: if you need to go in the other
direction, you must get over to the platform on the opposite side.
Click on the métro sign to the right to display a map of the
métro. Click here to download a wallet-size
printable map in pdf format.
One part of the subway system, consisting of a few lines, is called the "R.E.R.": these are express lines which extend deep into the suburbs. As long as you ride on a segment of the R.E.R. within Paris, you do as you would if you were riding on a regular metro line. To ride the R.E.R. from or to the suburbs, you will need to buy special tickets priced according to distance traveled.
One can buy subway tickets inside any subway station. Tickets are usually bought by the "carnet" (pronounced 'carnay', a discounted packet of 10 tickets), and are valid for one subway ride including as many transfers between subway lines as you like (the same tickets can be used on the buses, and can be bought from the driver, but the number of tickets you will need will then depend on the length of the trip). Just make sure you do not throw away your ticket before you come out of the subway, because there are frequent controls by transit authority officers. Finally, note that subway doors open only if you lift the handle.
TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS: The métro trains run roughly from 5:30am to 1am daily. The public bus network is more complicated to use than that of the subway, but you can call the bus information number given below in the "current happenings" section F of this guide for specific help in getting from one place to another. Buses run from 7am to about 9pm (a few keep going until midnight), and tickets can be bought on the bus from the driver. The third option is to take a cab. You can hail a taxi at any taxi stand (marked by a navy blue "TAXI" sign on the sidewalk, usually at street corners or outside public buildings), or flag one down as long as you are not within 50 meters of a taxi stand. Expect to pay about $2-$3 per mile, and figure on a 10% gratuity. One last tip: while there are many car-rental agencies in Paris, renting a car to visit the city would not be a good idea at all. Most streets are narrow, many are one-way, parking space is scarce, fuel is expensive, and traffic is getting so congested that you would almost certainly waste a very large amount of time, patience and money without gaining any mobility whatsoever.
OPENING HOURS: Keep in mind that most monuments and museums close either monday or tuesday. Department stores usually open from 9:30am to 6:30pm. Smaller shops may close for lunch from 12 to 2pm. Many grocery stores remain open until 9pm, and many open sunday morning.
A. The first, second, third, fourth and (eastern) eighth arrondissements
This is the heart of Paris ... LOTS to do here.
1) Notre-Dame-de-Paris Cathedral:
The famous gothic cathedral is in the middle
of the Ile de la Cité. Take a subway from wherever you happen
to be to the station called "Cité",
on the Porte d'Orleans - Porte de Clignancourt line
(pronounced roughly 'port dorlayann port de cliniancoor').
The church itself took about 75 years to build, back in the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries (remarkably little for those
days). Its portals (including the sculpture of the Portal of the Virgin),
its towers, the rose window of the north transept and the exterior of the
apse are outstanding masterpieces of early gothic art.
You may also visit the "crypte", and you may even photograph inside the
cathedral. During the year there are free organ recitals sundays at 6pm.
When you are ready to move on, walk back to the
flower market near the subway station. The marché aux fleurs
(pronounced 'marshay o flurr', the u pronounced like you do the i in whirl or
the u in hurt) is the market where the wholesale flowers
arrive in Paris from the south. Ask about
the 'marshay o flurr de leel de la sitay'. Then turn west BEFORE the bridge that
crosses to the right bank, and walk westward on the Quai de la Corse to the Quai
de l'Horloge (Embankment of the Clock). At the intersection where the former
becomes the latter, you will see a building now called the Palais de Justice
(a compound housing the French Ministry of Justice).
2) Sainte Chappelle / Conciergerie / Quai de l'Horloge:
The Horloge (pronounced 'orloj') in question
is the oldest clock in Paris, visible from the street on the east wall of
the Palais de Justice compound. In the old days, the northern part of the
building, the
Conciergerie, was a prison, used by the revolutionaries in 1789
to jail king Louis XVI's wife Marie-Antoinette until she was executed. You can still
visit the cell where she was kept, and you can see samples of what she
wore, ate with, the letters she wrote and received,
etc. The Conciergerie is much older than that actually, and its medieval
architecture (including the remarkable vaulted arches of the halls of the Guards
and the Gens d'Armes, barely visible from the street if you peek) is significant enough to
warrant a short visit. In the east-central part of the compound lies the
Sainte-Chapelle, a stunning two-story gothic church built during the
thirteenth century for Saint Louis (a.k.a. Louis IX, a king of France as well
as a saint) with exquisite stained glass windows depicting scenes from the
Old and New Testaments - over 5000 square feet of stained glass - do not miss it!
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3) the Pont Neuf: (pronounced roughly 'pon nuf', the u as in hurt or as the i in whirl) In spite of its name, this is the oldest bridge in Paris, built by Henri IV in the sixteenth century. When you leave the Conciergerie, walk west toward the tip of the Ile de la Cité, cross over the Pont-Neuf to the right bank, and continue west along the river towards the Louvre. This walk should take no more than 15 minutes. |
4) The Louvre:
(pronounced 'loovr') A sprawling building, housing
a museum known by the same name. Long before Versailles
was built, the east wing (the one facing east) was the palace
of the king of France. Started as a fortress in 1200, the building was
added to on several occasions, most recently by architect I.M. Pei, who
designed a new entrance/metro-station capped by a much publicized
glass pyramid. You can spend a long time visiting the
museum (this is where you will find the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and
Hammourabi's Code, among many, many unique objects on display). The museum is
closed on tuesdays.
When you decide you
have had enough, walk out to the west of the compound, where you will
see the Arc de Triomphe du Caroussel (pronounced roughly 'arc detreeomf
du carusell'; an "arc de triomphe" is a victory arch; Napoleon took to
building them to commemorate war victories). The important thing here is
what the French call "la perspective des Champs-Elysées": standing
between the Arc and the east wing
of the Louvre, looking through the arch westward, you should be able to see
the obelisk (shipped from Egypt last century) of the Place de la
Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile (another arch, bigger than this one,
commemorating various hegemonistic excursions) and finally
the ultra-modern Arche de la Defense (actually a recently built office building
outside Paris, shaped like a hollow cube). Next, cross the
street called the Avenue du Général Lemonnier west of the
Louvre into the park called the
Jardin des Tuileries (pronounced approximately 'jar Dan day twilree'). There
used to be a
palace here, facing the east wing of the Louvre, and it used to be the palace
of the king after the Louvre was deemed too old and before Versailles was built.
The palace was burned to the ground during the Commune of 1871, a
short-lived uprising by the poorer residents of Paris, hailed by Karl Marx
as the first experiment in "communism".
Aside from the natural charm of the jardin des Tuileries, there are two museums
of some interest here: the Galerie du Jeu de Paume in the northwest corner,
and the Orangerie in the southwest corner. The Orangerie has some large impressionist
paintings (including Monet's Nympheas; the museum is closed tuesdays).
It once served as a hothouse, sheltering orange trees.
The Jeu de Paume (pronounced 'juh de poem', the u as in hurt) used to be The
museum of impressionist paintings, but has only temporary exhibits nowadays
(the paintings were moved to the Musée d'Orsay, number
16 on this list). Before that, it had been one of the first indoor tennis
clubs (the game called "jeu de paume" was a precursor of
tennis, and was played indoors). You can take a peek
inside both museums, then walk out onto the Place
de la Concorde (which means square of concord), at the center of which stands
the obelisk.
5) Place de la Concorde:
The ancient obelisk in the middle
(that's the column covered with fading hieroglyphs) was, as pointed
out earlier, shipped from Luxor as a gift from the rulers of Egypt in the
nineteenth century.
Pollution, mainly car exhaust, is eating away at the hieroglyphs, otherwise
not much else is remarkable about it. The square itself dates back to
the eighteenth century, and was originally called Place Louis XV,
after the grandfather of the king who was toppled by the French
revolution. During the revolution, the guillotine was installed in
the northwest corner of the square, and many frenchmen, including
Louis XVI, lost their heads here. The name "Place de la Concorde" was
first proposed in 1795 undoubtedly to convey hopefully a new image.
To the west of the square
is the beginning of Paris's famous thoroughfare the
"Champs-Elysées".
This is where most parades take place. Indeed,
the allied victories in both world wars were celebrated with parades down
this avenue, starting at the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile
(which you presumably saw earlier through the arch of the
smaller Arc in the garden of the Louvre) down towards the Place de la
Concorde. Actually, the way this tour is arranged you will come back to the
Champs-Elysées
later through the Etoile, so you can either jump to that part of the tour
directly, or follow this itinerary and linger
at the Concorde for a little while longer. At the north end of the
square, opposite the river, is the Rue Royale, flanked on either side by two
majestic-looking buildings: these buildings date
back to Louis XV, and their classical facades were so admired by
Thomas Jefferson that he suggested that L'Enfant use them as models
for what would become the White House in Washington, D.C.
The building to the east is the French ministry of the environment.
The one to the west is the building in which Benjamin
Franklin signed the treaty ending the American Revolution in 1783. It
is now the very luxurious Crillon hotel.
Extending westward from it is the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré,
the first two blocks of which house the U.S. embassy, the
residence of the ambassador of Japan, the British embassy,
and the Elysée palace (the French White House),
as well as the boutiques of several of the "Haute Couture" fashion houses
such as Hermes, Yves-Saint-Laurent, Ted Lapidus, Karl Lagerfeld ...
Another interesting point here:
as you stand outside the ministry of the environment facing it away from
the river, you are at the edge of the old Paris of Louis XIV (i.e. of 1700),
with the city
proper to your right, and what used to be the suburbs (called in those days
"fauxbourgs", literally "false towns") to your left. Indeed, the street
which to the west of the
intersection is called Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré becomes plain Rue
Saint-Honoré to the east of the intersection (likewise in other parts of
the city a Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine becomes Rue Saint-Antoine as it
crosses
from what used to be the suburbs to what used to be the city proper;
you can locate a few other such instances of street name changes marking
the boundaries of the Paris of 1700 A.D.).
Now go up the elegant Rue Royale (royal street), past such luxury
stores as Maxim's and Christofle.
The huge structure facing you as you walk up that street
is the Madeleine church (pronounced 'mad len').
6) Madeleine church:
Little is remarkable about the Madeleine
except its appearance. Although it looks like a Greek temple, it was built
in the nineteenth century.
Josephine Baker's funeral service was conducted here in 1975.
Behind it is the most famous "traiteur" of Paris,
Fauchon, selling caviar, smoked salmon, foie gras (literally fatty
liver, but devastatingly delicious), confit d'oie, marrons
glacés (roughly describable as delicately candied chestnuts), along
with all kinds of exquisite edibles,
definitely worth a visit. Ask somebody on the street about 'shay
foshown'. If that fails, you will find it along the northeastern edges
of the square (there are actually two separate buildings). Incidentally, the
best people to ask for directions are the policemen. They
are easy to spot, know just about everything, and they
are required by law to be polite and proper.
When you have sufficiently admired the goodies at Fauchon's,
as well as, perhaps, the other shops on the Place de la Madeleine
(there are several other fancy traiteurs specializing in all sorts of
expensive food like truffles, smoked meats, cheeses, etc),
go to the northeastern side of the square, walk
one block up Boulevard de la Madeleine, make a right onto Rue des Capucines
(NOT boulevard des Capucines), and take the first right, Rue de la Paix, to
the Place Vendôme (a ten-minute walk).
7) Place Vendôme: This is a very graceful arcaded square, with a bronze column in its middle. To make this column, Napoleon had the 180 or so cannons he recuperated from the defeated Austrians after the battle of Austerlitz in the present-day Czech Republic melted, and the bronze of which they were made recast into this column. Also of interest here is the elegant and luxurious Ritz hotel, founded by César Ritz himself at the end of last century. Under the arcade around the square, and up the Rue de la Paix, are some of the fancier jewelers and designer boutiques in Paris, such as Boucheron, Cartier, Van Cleef, and Guerlain. A five-minute walk north up Rue de la Paix will lead you to the Place de l'Opéra.
8) Opéra:
This is the
world-famous old Paris opera house, also known as the Palais Garnier
(especially now that there is a new opera house
at the Place de la Bastille). When it was opened in 1875, it was the
largest opera house in the world, with over 2000 seats.
A much admired example of "architecture eclectique", it is worth visiting
inside. When you are done, you can go up to
the Boulevard Haussmann to see the two largest Parisian department
stores: the Galleries Lafayette (a very nice structure inside, with a pretty
Belle Epoque glass dome above the main floor), and the Printemps.
These are roughly the Parisian equivalents of Bloomingdale's and Macy's.
If you buy enough goods from the same store, you may qualify to have the French
value-added tax refunded (you get reimbursed at the airport when you
leave -- don't forget to file your papers at the airport BEFORE you
check you baggage, while your purchases are still in your possession),
but you have to purchase about $200 worth of goods, and you
have to be prepared to wait in line to complete the formalities at your
point of exit. To come back to the Printemps or the Galleries, take the
metro to the "Havre-Caumartin" station. For now, you can either take a
stroll on the "grands boulevards" until you reach the
Musée Grévin, an entertaining wax museum at 10 Boulevard
Montmartre (about 6 blocks east of the Galleries Lafayette),
perhaps worth a short visit to
break the monotony of classical sightseeing; or you could skip it altogether
and head for the peculiarly tubular yet massive Pompidou center, which
Parisians recognize somewhat more readily by its other
name, "Centre Beaubourg" (pronounced approximately 'suntr bo boor').
9) Beaubourg:
To get there, take the subway to the huge station called
Châtelet-Les Halles. Before Beaubourg was built, these used to be two
stations. Les Halles (pronounced "lay Al") was the
huge central market where fresh produce and other perishable goods were
brought in every day, and where Parisian merchants
got their stuff. The market was moved to a site near Orly airport,
and a complex
of condominiums and shopping centers as well as Beaubourg itself were built in
its place. To get there, you can either take a metro line going to the old
Halles
station rather than the Chatelet, so you won't have to walk a lot and inevitably
get lost, e.g. take the R.E.R line
from the station called Auber near the Opera and get off at the next
stop (for such a ride, you do as if you were taking a regular subway), in which
case you will get out of the subway by the shopping area; or try to get
on the Chatelet-Mairie des Lilas metro line and get off at the Rambuteau
station, in which case you will come out of the subway right at the Beaubourg
center. Or take a 40-minute-or-so walk down the Avenue de l'Opera to the arcaded
Rue de Rivoli, until you get to the square outside the ornate Paris City Hall
(whose original building burned to the ground during the Commune of 1871, the
current one dates from 1882), where you turn left onto Rue du Renard to get
to Beaubourg. Once there, there is the Center itself that you can visit (the
building was designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano and houses the Museum
of Modern Art, as well as all kinds of special exhibits, film theaters,
libraries ... - closed on tuesdays),
the pedestrian streets you can peruse, the "Forum des Halles" indoor shopping
center (which houses, among other stores, a branch of the large book-, record-, and
camera store called the F.N.A.C., where you should also find 60Hz-to-50Hz AC
transformers, 110-220 voltage transformers, and outlet-prong adapters),
the Saint-Eustache church (a Renaissance church housing the biggest
organ in Paris), the Café Beaubourg designed by Christian de Portzamparc
(catty-corner from the Center on the south side of the plaza - do visit its idiosyncratic
lavatories), several Tex-Mex restaurants, a Baskin Robbins ice-cream store,
many modern sculptures, pools, etc all around the area, the whole thing
surrounded by condominiums... When you have had enough, maybe one or two hours
later, you can take a stroll through the
neighborhood to the east of Beaubourg, called le Marais (pronounced 'le maray').
10) le Marais: means the swamp. The area used to be a marsh as late as the 16th century. The members of the high society of the 17th and 18th century used to have their houses here, which they referred to as hotels particuliers. They used to hold meetings in their salons with tea and stuff and they would discuss lofty things, so they are credited with having much to do with the "period of enlightenment". The area has been restored, and there are guided walking tours of this neighborhood, some of them at night with special lighting effects. On your own, you can take Rue Rambuteau at the northeast corner of the Beaubourg Center, then continue on down Rue Des Francs-Bourgeois, perhaps stopping at some of the small boutiques and galleries where craftsmen exhibit their wares, costume jewelry, ceramics, etc. There are a few specific places worth visiting: the musée Carnavalet off Rue des Francs-Bourgeois at 23 Rue de Sévigné (tracing the history of Paris, it has scale models of some of the hotels particuliers, as well as many other exhibits on Paris's monuments - closed on mondays), a very rich musée Picasso with many of his paintings, sculptures, collages and ceramics (at 5 Rue de Thorigny about three blocks northwest of the Carnavalet museum - closed on tuesdays), and the Place des Vosges, which is a very beautiful and remarkably peaceful seventeenth century fenced square surrounded by arcaded stone-and-brick buildings, a little further down Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, and where several famous people lived and/or died, including Victor Hugo (who wrote Les Misérables), Richelieu (a cardinal who served as Louis XIII's prime minister of sorts, back during the time of the three musketeers, and who did all kinds of significant, mostly bad, things), Madame de Sévigné (who was a writer famous mostly for the letters she wrote), and, later, Alphonse Daudet, Theophile Gautier, and Pierre Cardin. At the end of your walk through the Marais, always heading towards the east or southeast, you should end up on the Place de la Bastille. You can easily spend half an hour walking straight through the Marais; it is more likely to take you two or three hours if you do decide to visit all the sites mentioned, linger at one or two of the quaint shops along the way, or stop at one of the cafes under the arcades of Place des Vosges.
11) Bastille:
(pronounced 'bastee', no L sound) originally a fortress
guarding the eastern edge of the city, the Bastille was turned into a
prison by cardinal Richelieu. The prison was demolished soon after it
was overrun by the revolutionaries on July 14, 1789.
All you will see now, as you walk
around the square, are markings on the ground, indicating where the walls
and towers stood.
At the center of the square, where the prison used to be, there is
now a column called the colonne de juillet (the column of july) commemorating
those Parisians who were killed during another protest in July, 1830.
Walk around to the other side of the square to see the ultra modern opera
house designed by Carlos Ott. Believe it or not, the decision to build the
new opera house on this site was motivated by a desire to remedy the relative
cultural paucity of the east side of the city. When you are ready to
move on, walk down the boulevard Henri IV towards the
river, and cross over the Sully bridge (Sully was for Henri IV what Richelieu
was for Louis XIII) noticing, as you pass briefly through the Ile
Saint-Louis,
the modern statue of Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris,
on the next bridge over, to your right. Sainte Geneviève
is credited with having saved Paris from Attila's invading huns, back
in the fifth century.
As you walk off the bridge, you are crossing onto the left bank (everything
you had done so far was on the right bank). The walk from the Bastille
to the left bank takes about twenty minutes.
B. The fifth, sixth and seventh arrondissements
Quite a bit is happening here too.
12) Quartier Latin:
(pronounced roughly 'cartiay la tan'), this is the students' neighborhood where
you will find a large
number of college and university "campuses" (i.e. buildings). It is called
the latin neighborhood because in the old, old days all the higher
education was carried out in latin, so a lot of people on the street (students
and scholars) spoke latin. The following walking tour should take less than
two hours:
As you walk off the Sully bridge, notice the steel-and-glass building
across the street on the left-hand corner: this is the somewhat drab-looking
Institut du Monde Arabe, an institute comprising a
cultural center and a museum of old and contemporary arab-moslem art.
Make sure you look at the stunning southern facade of the building
designed by Jean Nouvel, with its continuous array of photoelectrically
self-regulating diaphragms. The Jardin des Plantes lies one block upstream
along the river: it is the botanical garden of Paris (if you do visit it, you
may come across the plaque dedicated to the memory of the French naturalist
Lamarck, with an inscription referring to him as the father of the
theory of evolution; you will also find a miniature golf course within
the garden).
From the Institut de Monde Arabe,
continue walking down the Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard
away from the river along the School of Sciences of the University of Paris.
You might notice a moat-like trench ("fossé" in French, pronounced 'fo
say')
surrounding the university. Turn left on Rue Jussieu until you reach the
metro station called Jussieu in the square of the same name (or, if you have
broken off the itinerary, take a subway to this
metro station), and walk down the Rue Linné to the first right, called Rue des
Arènes, which will lead you to the arènes de Lutèce
(pronounced roughly 'arain de lutess').
Lutèce is the celtic name of the city that stood where
Paris is now during the time of the romans (Paris got its name
some time during the fourth century, perhaps because it was the capital
of sorts of a people calling themselves the parisii),
and the "arènes" in question is
the old stadium where the gladiators fought etc, worth a five- or ten-minute
visit.
After the arènes, walk to Rue Monge, turn left and go on Rue
Monge to the next intersection. Make a right onto Rue Lacépède,
and walk down to Contrescarpe square where Lacépède tees into
the delightful Rue Mouffetard. This street has an animated mix of book
and record stores, artsy boutiques, and a bustling open-air market
with a cornucopia of foods and assorted goods (the market closes on
mondays as well as every afternoon, although it comes back to life from 4pm
to 7pm tuesday through saturday). Rather than spending
much time in Rue Mouffetard right away, it might be better to come back to it when
you feel like exploring its rich offerings. For now, go up against the
one-way traffic along Rue Descartes, and make a left onto Rue Clovis.
Walk past an
old and prestigious public high school called lycée Henri IV, famous for its
literature curriculum (and for being originally part of the
Sainte-Genevieve Abbey, where the remains of the patron saint of Paris
were burried), to the Place du Panthéon. The Pantheon is the
structure
with the tall dome. Inside are burried some of France's "great men",
including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Victor Hugo,
and Emile Zola. After a few
minutes at the Pantheon, go west one block on Rue Soufflot, and turn right up
Rue Saint-Jacques. You are now walking past the Sorbonne to your left, the
very old (thirteenth century) famous university once catholic but now
part of the public University of Paris.
In its chapel is burried the cardinal Richelieu mentioned above. To your right
is another prestigious old high school called lycée Louis le Grand, famous
for
its science curriculum. Stay on the Rue Saint-Jacques until you cross the
Boulevard Saint-Germain (as an alternative, you could
make a detour and turn left on Rue
du Sommerard and visit the Musée de Cluny one block ahead, where
you can see remains of the old Roman public baths - although the
museum itself is devoted to art from the Middle Ages, i.e. 1100-1400
A.D., and it is closed on tuesdays). You are now in the part of the quartier
latin reserved
for pedestrians. Peruse at will, walk all the way to the river
where the "bouquinistes" have their stands selling old books, maps, postcards and
various knick-knacks, then make your way west to the Place Saint-Michel
(Saint Michael's square). The neighborhood to the
west of the square, sandwiched between the river to the north and the
Boulevard Saint-Germain to the south, presents a delightful web of
small streets full of activity. You can enjoy them at will, then find
your way back to the Place Saint Michel (just ask someone to point
you in the direction of 'plass san mishell', you cannot have wandered
too far away).
13) Jardin et Palais du Luxembourg:
Walk down the Boulevard Saint-Michel,
or take the subway to the "Luxembourg" station. About fifteen minutes on
foot from the Place
Saint-Michel, the "Palais du Luxembourg" is the home of the French
Senate, and has a pretty garden open to visitors. It was used as a prison
during the revolution, and Thomas Paine was briefly detained there.
At the southern edge of the garden, the Rue de l'Observatoire crosses Boulevard
Montparnasse and leads to
the Paris Observatory, built in the 1600's, home today of the
International Time Bureau (the official keeper of Coordinated
Universal Time).
When you are ready to move on, walk out of the southwest corner of the
garden onto Rue Vavin, and walk down Rue Vavin to the Boulevard
du Montparnasse, about five minutes away (or walk back from the observatory and
make a left onto Boulevard Montparnasse).
14) Montparnasse: As you reach Boulevard du Montparnasse from Rue Vavin, you will be facing the café/restaurant called La Coupole, made famous by the fact that it was a favorite hang-out of the cream of the American expatriate community in Paris during the "crazy years" (the twenties, known in French as les années folles). A few storefronts to the left of the Coupole you will see Le Dôme, a competing establishment equally well-known for the same reason. It will be somewhat difficult for you to sit exactly where Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and the "lost generation" sat, ate, etc, since both establishments have been renovated several times since that period, but they are worth a visit on their own merits (La Coupole offers a winning "choucroute", French sauerkraut, among many items on a well-considered menu...). You can also walk up (i.e. to your right onto) Boulevard du Montparnasse until you reach the big office tower bearing the same name: there is an enclosed observation deck at the top, as well as a restaurant and a bar, from which you can enjoy panoramic views of Paris. While the tower itself is the tallest building in Paris, you will be afforded better views a little later on in this itinerary from the open-air decks of the Eiffel tower, the main difference being the enclosure of the former versus the openness of the latter. When you feel you have enjoyed Montparnasse sufficiently, walk back to Le Dôme, cross Boulevard du Montparnasse into Rue du Montparnasse, and walk up that street. You will walk past the College Stanislas to your left, one of Paris's oldest and most prestigious private high schools. Make a left onto the charming Rue Notre-Dame des Champs, then cross the wide Rue de Rennes and go into Rue Saint-Placide. You will pass little boutiques which, in addition to their charm, have the distinction of being more affordable than similar stores elsewhere in Paris. At Rue du Cherche-Midi (literally, "look-for-noon"), notice the sundial which, legend has it, gave its name to the street. Make a right onto Rue du Cherche-Midi, which turns into Rue du Dragon. When you reach Boulevard Saint-Germain (about half an hour after the start of this walk from Montparnasse), make a right onto the boulevard, and walk two blocks to the Saint-Germain-des-Prés church.
15) Saint-Germain-des-Prés: This is the oldest church in Paris, actually originally built in the romanesque style, and finished in gothic. Across the street from it is another café, Aux Deux Magots, where the intelligentsia (including its American exponents, along with James Joyce, Picasso, Le Corbusier and many others) used to gather, back during the years before World War II and right after. Feel free to try to recreate the experience.
16) Musée d'Orsay:
Walk up the
Rue Bonaparte from the Saint-Germain-des-Prés church to
the river and turn left onto the Quai Malaquais. The building to your
left is the famous Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, once primarily an
architecture school, now also devoted to the teaching of what the
French call "les arts plastiques", such as sculpture, etc. The public
is welcome to visit. Within the grounds of the school are some
ruins from the Roman era. Then walk on along the river until,
about four blocks downstream, you reach the structure that
used to be the railway station for trains bound for Versailles. It
was recently turned into the Musée d'Orsay housing paintings and other
art
from 1850 until the first world war. This museum is worth a serious visit,
perhaps as much for the art on exhibit as for the design of the
structure itself (it was built around the same time as the Eiffel tower),
and the interior space. Keep in mind that the museum is closed on mondays.
When you are done, walk along the river, admiring the sights. You will pass
to your left the buildings housing the French house of representatives and
the ministry of foreign affairs, often referred to by journalists as the Quai
d'Orsay. When the buildings to your left give way to
a vast park, about ten minutes after you leave the musée d'Orsay,
you will have reached the Esplanade des Invalides.
17) Les Invalides: Although it is pronounced so it sounds like 'lay zan valeed', the word means the same in French as it does in English. At the southern end of the park, away from the river, is the Hotel des Invalides, once a hospice built during the seventeenth century. There are two museums within the compound (including the Musée de l'Armée with its large collection of old weaponry), as well as the "Eglise du Dôme", where Napoleon's tomb lies. The dome in question has recently been gilded with several hundreds of thousands of sheets of gold. Do not confuse this structure with the adjacent "Eglise Saint-Louis" church. To the east of and across the street from the Invalides, on the Rue de Varennes, is the Musée Rodin.
18) Musée Rodin: A charming museum housing the largest collection of sculptures made by Rodin, including the Thinker. Rodin himself lived and worked here: the government allowed him to do that in exchange for all his works, hence the museum. Worth at least a short visit. From the Rodin museum, you can retrace your steps and turn left onto the Boulevard des Invalides, then make a right onto the Avenue de Tourville which will lead you straight to the expansive park separating the Ecole Militaire (Paris's prestigious military school) from the Eiffel tower. This walk will take you about twenty minutes. Or you can choose to take the metro from Varenne to Montparnasse, change there to the Nation-Etoile line and get off at the "Bir-Hakeim" station. Or you can just take a cab to ... the Tour Eiffel.
19) Tour Eiffel:
pronounced 'toor efell' (and not 'eyeful'),
after its designer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. The tower
was built for one of the world fairs of the last century, the "exposition
universelle" of 1889. At that time, it was the tallest (300 meters) man-made
structure in the world. There is a well-regarded
restaurant at the second landing. Try to visit the top on a clear
day: you will enjoy exhilarating views of the city and its surroundings.
The Tour Eiffel stands at the edge of the VIIth arrondissement, considered by
many to be the fanciest residential part of the left bank. On the other
side of the river opposite the Tour Eiffel lies the XVIth arrondissement,
one of the fanciest neighborhoods of the right bank.
C. The sixteenth and (western) eighth arrondissements
20) The Trocadéro: (also called Palais Chaillot) a large building on the right bank of the Seine, facing the tour Eiffel. The structure you see now was built in the thirties in "arts déco" style, for the 1937 "exposition universelle". It houses a couple of theaters and three museums (all close on tuesdays), including an anthropology museum called "Musée de l'Homme", worth a short visit, and a highly regarded cinema archive and museum, the Cinémathèque Chaillot. From the Trocadero, walking down to the Seine then eastward on the Rue de New York along the river, and just before the Alma bridge, you will reach another art deco building, one wing of which houses the Musée d'Art Moderne, yet another modern art museum with a very rich permanent collection of twentieth century art, while the other wing (curiously called the "Palais de Tokyo") is exclusively dedicated to photography exhibitions. From the Trocadéro, you can walk through the 16th arrondissement (the poshest in Paris), and do a lot of window shopping to get it out of your system (the prices are mostly very, very high). You might for example walk north from the Trocadero along Avenue Raymond Poincaré to Place Victor Hugo, then bear right onto Avenue Victor Hugo and on past a branch of famous pastry chef Lenôtre's "patisserie", to end up at the Place de l'Etoile.
21) Place de l'Etoile and the Champs-Elysées,
mentioned earlier, are among the most congested sites in Paris, almost
continuously teeming with people and cars.
The Place de l'Etoile (pronounced 'plass deletwahl',
literally "square of the star"), also
known as Place Charles de Gaulle, has a huge arch commemorating several
wars. Under the arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the
French memorial to all soldiers who died for France. The view from
the platform at the top of the arch is worth the climb. You will see
in particular the twelve wide and well-groomed avenues radiating from the
Etoile, whence the name.
Two of them are of special interest: Avenue Foch, the broadest
avenue in Paris, where some of the wealthiest Parisians live,
and the famous Champs-Elysées (pronounced approximately 'shawn zelizay'),
with its sidewalk cafes where young and
old come to watch and be seen. A good idea would be to take a 20-minute
stroll all the way down from the Etoile until the end of the row of stores at
the Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées ("Rond-Point" means round-about).
Here you can either circle right onto the Avenue
Franklin Roosevelt and visit
the Grand Palais, which houses the science museum called "musée de la
découverte" in one of its wings,
or you can make a sharp right at the Rond-Point des
Champs-Elysées and walk down Avenue Montaigne
with its fancy high-fashion boutiques (Louis Vuitton, Channel, Dior, etc -
there is more on Rue François I which crosses Avenue Montaigne half-way
down) to the bridge called Pont de l'Alma.
22) Seine river cruises: At the Alma bridge, you can embark on the bateaux-mouches (pronounced 'bat o moosh'), the larger boats that give one-hour tours on the Seine river. Call 01 42 25 96 10 for more information. You could also try to ride on one of the slightly smaller "vedettes" from the Pont-Neuf bridge on the right bank (telephone: 01 46 33 98 38), or from the left bank either at the Pont d'Iena bridge at the foot of the Tour Eiffel (telephone: 01 44 11 33 44) or at the port de Suffren. Either way, a river cruise is definitely a must. You will see the well-preserved facades of the many historical buildings lining the banks of the Seine from an unusual vantage point. At night, many facades are floodlit, giving the sightseer an esthetically unique experience.
D. Other sites and sights
Scattered in various parts of the city:
23) Montmartre:
Take a subway to the station called Anvers
(near Pigalle, the red-light district) on the Nation - Porte Dauphine
line. Then head north up the Rue Steinkerque to the Place
Saint-Pierre dominated by the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (pronounced
'bazilick du sacray curr'), and go up the steps to the basilica
on foot or use the
"funiculaire" tram. While the interior of the basilica is unremarkable,
you will get a magnificient view of Paris from the "parvis" outside the
church. Here you should be able to identify most of the monuments
mentioned above. Then stroll westward to the famous Place du Tertre, about
5 minutes
away. This is the square where dozens of artists have you pose and draw your
portrait. Some cost more than others, somewhere between $15 and $50; try
someone at the upper end of the price range if you want a finely detailed
portrait, or settle for a $15 quick-and-rough sketch. Then
wind down the hill back to Pigalle. Try not to linger too long in Pigalle:
while it may not be dangerous, it can seem rather seedy and generally
unpleasant.
24) Parc de la Villette:
At the northeastern edge of Paris, this used to
be the site of the Paris slaughterhouses, built during the second half of
the nineteenth century. It is now an urban park, with the newly renovated
"Grande Halle" exhibition hall, a striking "geode" housing an omnimax
cinema, an interesting science and industry center and museum (closed on
mondays), the "city of music" designed by Portzamparc and housing one of the
most prestigious music institutes in France, and several ultra-modern
"follies", uniquely shaped small structures designed by the architect Bernard
Tschumi, all painted bright red and variously amusing, disseminated in a
lattice pattern throughout the park. The most convenient subway station is
"Porte de la Villette", although you can also use the "Porte de Pantin"
station at the southern end of the park.
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25) Cimetière du Père-Lachaise: This is the prestigious cemetery where many famous people are burried, including (in no particular order) Molière, Isadora Duncan, Rossini, Gertrude Stein, Alice Toklas, Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Modigliani, Colette, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, René Lalique, Héloise and Abélard, Balzac, Jacques-Louis David, Sarah Bernhardt, Eugène Delacroix, Stéphane Grappelli, Georges Bizet, Richard Wright, Oskar Schindler's wife Emilie, Marcel Proust, and many, many others. Worth a stroll through the graves (don't miss the mystic Allan Kardec's, shaped as a dolmen and rumored to spin at night, and known as the most flowerful tomb in the cemetery). Maps are available at the entrance. To reach the cemetery, take the subway to the "Père Lachaise" (pronounced 'pear la shayz') metro station near the eastern edge of the Gallieni - Pont de Levallois line. |
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26) Bois de Vincennes: (pronounced roughly 'bwah de van senn') at the southeastern end of Paris, this park houses the zoo, as well as an honest-to-goodness 14th-century fortified castle, complete with dungeon etc. The castle was saved from destruction during the revolution by the Marquis de Lafayette (the same hero of the American Revolution). You can also rent a rowboat on one of the lakes there. Just take the metro to the "Chateau de Vincennes" station.
27) Bois de Boulogne: (pronounced approximately 'bwah de bulone') this is the wooded park directly to the west of Paris, with a "jardin d'acclimatation" occupying its northeastern corner. This garden within the park was used during the nineteenth century to quarantine the animals shipped in from overseas for diplay in the Paris zoo. It is now an amusement park. The Bois de Boulogne also features two well-known horse-racing tracks: one at Auteuil, at the southeastern edge of the park, famous for its steeplechases, and one at Longchamp towards the southwestern edge of the park, where the yearly Arc de Triomphe race takes place early in October. To get to the park, you can take the subway to the lovely and much photographed Art-Nouveau "Porte Dauphine" metro station, or, to be closer to the horse-racing, aim for the "Porte d'Auteuil" station.
28) La Défense:
Beginning in the early sixties, a two-thousand acre neighborhood just
outside the western edge of Paris has been transformed into a modern urban
mix of skyscrapers, shopping centers, office towers, and apartment
buildings. The complex features the ultra-modern "arche de la
Défense" (pronounced roughly 'arsh de la day funce'), a structure in the
shape of a hollowed cube,
geometrically lining up with the axis created by the Place de
l'Etoile, the Champs-Elysées, the obelisk at the
Concorde, the Arc de
Triomphe du Caroussel and the Louvre courtyard,
the "arche" anchoring the
western extremity of the axis. Ride up the elevator to enjoy yet another
panoramic view of the city. Several sculptures are interspersed among the
other buildings, by such well-known artists as Calder, Miro, and others.
To get to the Défense, take the R.E.R metro to the
"Défense" station at the foot of the arche. The ride from the
Etoile station takes less than 5 minutes.
29) Marché aux Puces: Looking like a gigantic swap meet, this flea market will delight the adventurous bargain-hunter with an amazing variety of mostly "previously-owned" goods. You will find clothes, knick-knacks, antiques, "antiques", etc. If you enjoy this sort of experience, you must try this French version of it: just take the subway to the "Porte de Clignancourt" station. Open saturday, sunday and monday only, the "marché aux puces" (pronounced 'marshay o puss') sprawls over several streets, starting with the tacky displays right outside the subway exit. Be wary of pickpockets and don't let anyone sell you a load of goods.
30) The catacombs: To visit Paris's catacombs, you must be prepared to look at row upon row of skulls and old bones. The entrance is in the south of Paris at 2bis Place Denfert-Rochereau not that far south of Montparnasse, near the "Denfert-Rochereau" metro station. Only a small portion of the catacombs is open to visitors - if you have already seen the ones in Rome, you are not likely to find Paris's very impressive. Call 01 43 22 47 63 for information about guided tour times.
31) The sewers: Yes, you can visit the sewers of Paris. The "visitors' entrance" is right at the Pont de l'Alma. Call 01 45 51 24 86 for information on the times and exact location of the guided visits. Sewers are called "égouts" in French (pronounced 'egoo'). The tour guide might mention where the sewer sequence in Hugo's Les Miserables is supposed to have taken place.
Last but not least, you should take a trip to Versailles (pronounced
'vare sigh', a small city about 20 kilometers west of Paris, directly accessible
by R.E.R , although you have to buy a more expensive
suburban ticket to ride that far). There you will visit the magnificient
palace built by king Louis
XIV, the great-great-great-grandfather of the one who ended up on the
guillotine. To do justice to the palace and the grounds, count on spending
at least half if not one full day there. The palace has hosted a number
of historically significant ceremonies, including the signing of the
treaty ending World War I (in 1919 - the U.S. abstained at the time), the
proclamation of the second German Reich and the coronation of William I
(in 1871 - the Germans had just defeated Napoleon III, and were evidently
intent on rubbing it in), and Britain's recognition of the treaty ending
the American Revolution in 1783. The palace itself (including the Hall of
Mirrors), the Grand Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet are closed on mondays.
In the summer, you can enjoy fountain exhibitions in the gardens every
sunday afternoon.
You will find much more to discover in Paris and its surroundings, and we leave it to your sense of adventure and curiosity to lead you to the other points of interest (such as the Palais-Royal and Daniel Buren's "columns", the illuminated parchments and Monet collection of the musée Marmottan, the newly re-located French National Library and the ultra-modern automated subway line that serves it, the Museum of Natural History, the glass-vaulted "passages" of the 2nd arrondissement, any of the dozens of open-air street markets, Frank Gehry's former American Center, Kenzo Tange's monumental "Grand Ecran" cinema-and-shopping center, the Bon Marché's extensive 30,000 sq.ft. "Grande Epicerie" food market, Bartholdi's quarter-scale bronze Statue of Liberty, etc, etc, etc) which a concern for conciseness prevents us from enumerating let alone describing in any detail.
E. SOME ADVICE ON HOTELS
Perhaps the most important aspect of these laws have to do with space. The area
of every two-person "double" room (excluding the bathroom) in a 4-star-luxury hotel must
exceed 14 square meters, or about 150 square feet; this number drops to 12 m2
(130 ft2) for a 4-star property, 10 m2 (110 ft2)
for three stars, 9 m2 (96 ft2) for one or two stars, and a pretty
puny 8 m2 (85 ft2) for no stars. Even in Paris, these
limits are not merely theoretical. In the older properties, it can indeed happen that
you actually get a room that does not exceed these minima. If you are paying
substantially less than the rack rate for your room, do not expect these minimum
standards to be exceeded by much, if at all.
As to sanitary facilities, all hotels are required to have a sink in
every room, with hot and cold water. No-star establishments have no further
requirements as to private toilets or baths. One-star establishments are required
to have private toilets in at least one-quarter of the rooms. Only three stars
and up guarantee a toilet in every room, but even they are only required to offer
private showers or baths in at least 80% of their rooms (although all the
three-stars I am familiar with in Paris have private showers in all rooms).
It is comforting to note that, in addition to private toilets and baths,
four-star and four-star-luxury hotels must also have a bidet in every bathroom.
Finally, expect the bathroom area in a 4-star-luxury to exceed 4 m2
(43 ft2), this guaranteed minimum dropping to 3 m2
(32 ft2) for four stars, 2.5 m2 (27 ft2)
for three stars, or a very tight 2 m2
(21 ft2) for two or fewer stars.
Below two stars, there is no requirement for the hotel to have any elevators.
Two-star hotels must have an elevator if they have more than four floors,
three-star hotels must have one if they have more than three floors, etc.
All hotels are required to offer special accessibility facilities to
the physically disabled, though that law dates back to 1978 and does provide
for several exceptions. If that is a concern, make sure you check with the
hotel directly.
Finally, if the hotel has two or more stars, you can be sure that the
personnel at the reception desk speaks at least one foreign language, though
you are not guaranteed that that language is English unless the hotel has at
least three stars. And keep in mind that whatever the hotel's rating, as a rule,
you are expected to check in no earlier than 12 noon, which can seem quite late
to the typical transatlantic passenger who lands in Paris early in the morning,
and, as a rule, you are expected to check out before 11:30am, otherwise the
hotel has the legal right to charge you for an additional half-day.
There are over 2000 hotels of various types in the greater Paris region,
and it would be prohibitively time-consuming to describe or even list them all.
However, there are two facts which you should keep in mind when choosing
a hotel. First, the French government has actually enacted a set of laws, most
notably that of 14 February 1986 (French laws are referred to by the date of
enactment), specifying what establishment can call itself an "hotel de tourisme"
(see the logo to the right, which has to be posted near the entrance of the
establishment), and specifying the minimum comfort norms for each of the six
official "categories", namely 4-stars-luxury (sometimes referred to as five
stars), 4-stars, 3-stars, 2-stars, 1-star, and no-stars -- yes, even no-star
hotels have to exceed certain minimum comfort norms. These minimum norms have
to do with quantifiable comfort levels
only, and they do not deal with quality
in a subjective way (though the hotel does have to take the decision to
apply to be classified in one or another category, and the classification
is granted after inspection and deliberation by a government-appointed board of
inspectors and deliberators). Second, the government does not codify any ranking
by "class", such as "first class", "tourist class", etc, such designations
would be entirely unrelated to the official category system and most likely quite
subjective. The remainder of this section summarizes what you can expect from a
hotel in each of the six official categories.
F. CURRENT HAPPENINGS and up-to-the-minute information
You will want to find out what special events are taking place during your
visit to Paris. The two most popular compilations appear in the weekly
pocket-sized publications called "Pariscope"
and "L'Officiel des Spectacles". These two weeklies list shows, concerts,
movies, plays, art exhibits, television schedules, nightlife events, as
well as some restaurant synopses. You can buy them at any magazine kiosk.
The Paris Convention and Visitors' Bureau, at 127 Avenue des
Champs-Elysées (telephone: 08 36 68 31 12), is open every day from
9am till 8pm (6pm on sundays). Operated by the French
government, this is the main tourist information office, dedicated to
helping tourists find their bearings. The staff is also up on most current
events in or near the city, and can help you make reservations, buy
tickets, etc.
Here are a few telephone numbers that will give you access to specific
information: for public bus and metro information in English,
dial 08 36 68 41 14; for tourist information, dial 08 36 68 31 12.
American Express has a
large office with helpful English-speaking staff at 11 Rue Scribe right by
the Opera (metro station "Auber" or "Opera",
telephone 01 47 77 77 07). The telephone Directory Assistance number is 12.
Remember: to use most public phones, you will need to buy
beforehand a phone card. These are sold at post offices and "tabac" stores
(convenience stores marked by a burgundy-red elongated diamond sign sticking
out into the street above the door, and sometimes located inside bars and cafes,
selling, among other things, tobacco products, stamps, and public phone cards --
the picture to the right shows a "tabac" and its sign). To use a card-operated
public phone, lift the receiver, insert the card chip-face up in the direction
of the arrow, wait for the dial tone, then dial. Some cards do not have a chip:
rather, you dial the toll-free number shown on the back of the card, then follow
the printed directions and enter the code given on the card to make your call.
G. AIRPORT - CITY TRANSPORTATION
From Roissy/Charles-de-Gaulle airport:
right outside the terminal, your main options are either to
If it is your first time in Paris, it might be easiest to take a taxi from
the airport. Otherwise, the R.E.R-metro option can be just as fast, and
certainly cheaper. Don't forget to hang on to your ticket as you will
need to show it to the controllers if there are any, and you will need it
to transfer between lines inside Paris.
There are a couple of city public bus lines
between Roissy airport and Paris, lines 350 (between the airport and the "Gare du Nord"
and "Gare de l'Est" train stations) and 351 (between the airport and Nation
square towards the eastern edge of the city - the "Nation" subway station
is a major métro hub), and they are actually the least expensive way to travel
from and to the airport. Look for the "RATP" signs indicating the ever-changing
bus stop location (you can buy the tickets directly from the driver inside the
bus, or present three regular métro/bus tickets per person one-way if
you happen to have some left over).
From Orly airport:
right outside the terminal, you can either take a taxi,
get on the city-operated "OrlyBus" semi-express bus running between the airport
and the OrlyBus stop at Denfert-Rochereau square,
or board Air France's touring buses to the Air France City Terminal at
at the Invalides, where you can then take a cab or the
metro. Alternately, you can buy an "Orly-Val" R.E.R. ticket at the
arrivals level inside the terminal, then go up to the elevated metro
platform and board a shuttle train to the Antony station (do not get off at
the intermediate stop at the domestic terminal along the way), where you
can transfer with your ticket to the R.E.R. metro line to the
city (again, once in Paris, you can connect
to the other metro lines at "Denfert-Rochereau" in the south of Paris,
"Chatelet-les-Halles" in the center, and
"Gare Du Nord" in the north of Paris, using the same ticket).
H. MONEY
Since the beginning of the new millenium, the currency in France is
the Euro. The euro is divided into 100 cents. Coins come in
denominations of (from left to right in the picture below)
1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents (first row), 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents
(second row), 1 euro and
2 euros (and a US quarter is shown for comparison).
Bank notes are issued in denominations of 5 euros,
10 euros, 20 euros, 50 euros, 100 euros, 200 euros and 500 euros (an example
of the latter is shown to the left).
The exchange rate has been fluctuating around the basic benchmark
1 US dollar equals 1 euro. In general, it is more expensive to buy euros
outside Europe than inside France. As to traveler's checks,
Euro-denominated ones can be cashed
at most banks commission-free, but make sure to ask before you hand
over your checks. In addition, most post offices will cash your
American Express or Visa traveler's checks, whether issued in
Euros or in US dollars.
There are Automatic Teller Machines everywhere in Paris. The Banque
Nationale de Paris (BNP), Banque Populaire, UBP, and Crédit du Nord
use the PLUS network; Crédit Agricole and Crédit Mutuel
use CIRRUS; Crédit Lyonnais ATMs accept American Express cards.
Keep in mind that while ATM withdrawals are usually converted at the
wholesale rate of exchange (about 5% better than the exchange rate
you will get from a bank teller or a "Bureau de Change" currency exchange
counter), some banks have taken to charging high fees for ATM withdrawals
overseas. The same applies to credit cards. Make sure to check with
your bank or credit company about your situation before you leave home.
IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY ...
Ambulance: dial 15 Police: dial 17 Fire: dial 18For 24-hour medical assistance (including having a doctor come to your help in an emergency, if that is what it takes):
SOS-Medecins: dial 01 47 07 77 77The following three listings can be particularly helpful to English speakers:
American Hospital: 63 Blvd Victor Hugo, Neuilly
(just west of the city proper,
at metro station "Neuilly")
Telephone: 01 46 41 25 25
Anglo-American Pharmacy: 6 Rue de Castiglione, Paris I
telephone: 01 42 60 72 96
Anglo-American Pharmacy: 37 Avenue Marceau, Paris XVI
telephone: 01 47 20 57 37
Crisis Line "SOS Help": dial 01 46 21 46 46
The pharmacies at the next two addresses are open 24 hours:
Pharmacie Les Champs, 84 Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Paris VIII
telephone 01 45 62 02 41 (métro: George V)
Pharmacie Européenne, 6 Place Clichy, Paris IX
telephone 01 42 82 91 04 (métro: Place Clichy)
If your credit card is stolen or lost, you can try calling:
Visa: 08 92 70 57 05 Mastercard: 08 00 90 23 90 American Express: 01 47 77 70 00To talk to a telephone operator in the U.S., dial 0 800 99 followed by 0019 for an MCI operator, 0011 for an ATT operator, or 0087 for a SPRINT operator.
Of course, when all else fails, you can always cross your fingers and try the
U.S. Consulate: 2 Rue Saint Florentin, Paris I
(at the northeastern edge of the
Place de la Concorde,
metro station "Concorde")
Telephone: 01 43 12 22 22
While every effort was made to ensure that the information presented in this guide is accurate, please be advised that regulations, telephone numbers and opening times do change. No guarantee is explicitly made or implied about the infallibility of any information in this guide.
Copyright © 1995 & 2006 by Z.S. Haddad