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"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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