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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
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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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