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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 |
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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 |
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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
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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
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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
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.
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