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Courtesy
of Paris Sightseeing and Paris Monument
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.
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 sacré 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 /
Auartier 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 Paris Sightseeing
and Paris Monument
Paris offers a number of interesting itineraries for strollers.
You can follow the waterways (river Seine, Paris Sightseeing, river Bièvre) or the 17-km long
railway transformed into a most surprising Paris Sightseeing 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 Paris Sightseeing, 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.
Go to
our page on Montparnasse.
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