Travel Tips for Paris France |
Meeting Point in Paris
August 2007 By Linda Thalman
Travel tip: if you need a good meeting point, the Place St Michel with its
lovely fountain is a good location for the 5th and 6th arrondissement.
We met up with friends there recently and being early we had a drink at
one of the many bars with sidwalk terraces. It's a bit noisy, but the lively
atmosphere is fun.
As of 15 July you can use a bike for free for 30 minutes in Paris.
"Quelle que soit la formule choisie, les 30 premières minutes de chaque
trajet sont systématiquement gratuites."
This new service is aimed at, and I stress, short-term use.
If you want to bike around for hours and hours then it will be cheaper
and easier to rent a bike from a shop than to use the Paris Velib bikes.
After the first 30 minutes free, the charge is 1 Euro for 30 more minutes.
Then the charge is 2 Euros for the next 30 minutes and after that 4 Euros
per half hour!
See what I mean? This is aimed at short hops and not for a day-long stroll
along the quais or visiting the sites of Paris.
I saw lots of the bikes on a recent stroll around the 5th arrondissement
and people were smiling. So give it a SHORT try!
Web sites - do note: most of the useful information is in French
For traveling around France by train you can really find some deals.
You'll need to spend some time exploring the SNCF web site, but
you can possibly go in 1st class for the price of 2nd class if you
can go off peak time and persist in your research.
My experience with a trip from Paris to Lyon follows.
The train trip from Paris to Lyon is just two quick hours by TGV away. Forget driving the
four or five hours... grab a train!
Spend the time to research the dates, times and prices in the SNCF site or consult a good
travel agent familiar with French / European train travel.
If you can go off peak, you too can be in 1st class for less than 2nd class.
Being in first class was something I had never ever done in all my traveling life.
Economy seating in trains, planes or boats has been all I've known.
Note: choosing your departure and arrival cities is done by moving your mouse over the
interactive map and clicking on the city and/or train station and, of course, putting in
the dates and times you'd prefer. Do try different days, especially mid-week for lower
fares and see the promos if you can go on the spur of the moment.
Almost everybody picks up a few cards when visiting Paris and France.
I like to look at the newspaper kiosks or in the shops selling papers,
books and magazines. Both usually have standard postcards for 30 to 50 centimes each.
I bought 10 lovely Paris cards recently for 2 euros.
Fancier and bigger cards can cost one euro or more each, so check the prices.
If you're happy with the 'normal' cards, you won't go wrong spending a couple
of euros for more than enough cards to send home or keep for souvenirs.
Especially for you, the first time visitor to Paris, but also for you who've already been to Paris,
I've a few tips for visiting the city.
A couple of years ago there was an unexpected 15-minute show on 31 December. But according to some sources,
this was just to get TV footage to promote Paris' bid for the 2012 Olympics.
So don't count on seeing fireworks in December in Paris.
If you're flying on Ryanair, you'll be taking off from the airport in Beauvais.
There is a shuttle service from Paris, Porte de Maillot, and you'll need to leave
at least 3 hours prior to your flight.
As I live 35 kilometers south of Paris it didn't make sense to go to Paris to
catch a bus. So we drove to Beauvais the evening before our 9:30 morning flight to Rome and
spent the night in a very pleasant hotel for 69 euros.
We wandered about the town center and found a local restaurant for the evening meal.
With the car in the long-term parking lot, we lined up with our electronic tickets, checked in
and in a reasonably short amount of time headed for the plane.
We walked about 300 meters to the plane, lugging carrying-on luggage, bundled up in winter coats
as it was below freezing.
Cheap flights are cheap flights - you pay for food and beverages on the plane but at least they offered
sustance for our quick 2-hour flight to Rome.
Who needs a film, champagne and caviar when you've paid 75 euros to fly from Paris-Rome-Paris?
For travel around Europe be sure to check out the cheap flight options.
Le Chenal Hotel - Hôtel Le Chenal
There will be China palms, more sand - playa! - striped deckchairs, entertainment and
dance floors, six cool-off spray stations, with some pétanque players, and 'clubs' for kids,
as well as refreshment kiosks.
Fishing and dance lessons are also in the program. In principle, to be open 24 hours daily,
but most entertainments will be shut down by 23:00.
Scheduled from Sunday, 20 July until Sunday, 17 August 2003.
My most favorite 'doable' castle open to the public is Le Vaux Le Vicomte, located
55 kilometers southeast of Paris.
For 12 euros you can visit the Château and Exhibition, the gardens and the Carriage Museum.
My last trip to Vaux Le Vicomte was a late afternoon with my brother. We didn't have
time to do the gardens, but they had golf carts for rent that we were tempted to try out.
Lazy? Not really, as the gardens are extensive and it looked like fun to tour the
property in a golf cart.
There are candlelight visits from 20:00 to midnight, every Saturday until 11 October 2003
and every Friday evening in July and August. This sounds like a wonderful way to visit
the castle.
From the web site: "There are two elements of major significance that contribute to
Vaux le Vicomte's lasting fame.
Vaux was the tragic setting for the downfall of Fouquet, a faithful minister who paid
the price of life imprisonment, because of an embezzlement he did not commit, because
of the jealousy of others and also because he went a little too far in bestowing lavish
hospitality.
For a period of ten years under Fouquet's protection, Vaux was also a haven for leading
French artists. Writers, poets, painters and sculptors gave the best of their talents
to the glory of Vaux.
The gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte sweep along a grand perspective, of almost a mile and a half
(3km). This new style in landscaping testifies to Fouquet and Le Nôtre's love of innovation.
Creating a setting for the château and outbuildings out of a wild area of around 100 acres
(40 hectares), Le Nôtre and Le Vau created for the first and only time in the seventeenth
century, a perfect harmony between architecture and its environment.
The vast area, Le Nôtre's first masterpiece, is divided up into a sequence of terraces,
forming an orderly composition of broderies of box based on motifs from Turkish carpets,
bordered flower beds, shrubberies, grottos, lawns, lakes and fountains. If no other
garden of the period were to have survived, the Vaux gardens would suffice to illustrate
the principles of landscape gardening in the age of elegance."
Vaux Le Vicomte Castle
This event was accompanied with - what else? - music at the foot of the tower while the lights
twinkled into Sunday morning.
So now more twinkle lights every night on the hour for ten minutes, until 02:00 in summer,
and until the year 2013. It's a free show that can be seen from many locations besides the
Champ de Mars.
Eiffel Tower: Paris 75005, Métro: Trocadéro or Ecole Militaire.
It was a gloriously sunny day in October when I took part in a wonderful tour of
art galleries in Paris that was perfectly organized by This City Paris.
We visited some of the neighborhood's finest galleries – including Artemis Fine Arts,
with Master Drawings expert François Borne, Perrin Antiquaires, Enviedar and ArtFrance.
The contemporary paintings and tapestries by Bernard Cathelin at ArtFrance and the chance to
talk with him in person was one of the highlights of the tour for me.
We ended the afternoon at Christie's Paris with a special private avant-première of
their upcoming Art Deco sale. Another special moment was being able to hold in
my hands a bracelet with dozens of rubies and diamonds that was soon to be auctioned.
Do explore this fascinating part of Paris around Avenue Matignon and Rue du
Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the 8th arrondissement.
Don't be shy about exploring the galleries. They might seem intimidating from
the shop windows, but inside you can 'window shop' too. Who knows, you just
might find a painting, drawing, sculpture, furniture or art object you'll want to
take home with you!
Below are the galleries we visited on the This City Paris tour in October 2002.
Artemis Fine Arts - C.G. Boerner
ArtFrance
Perrin Antiquaires
Galerie Envied'art
Christie's Paris
Just one of the joys of living in a small village 35 kilometers southwest of Paris is to
get bread at the bakery in our neighboring village, Les Molières. Another is popping in
at the butcher, right next door to the boulangerie.
If I need 15 baguettes instead of the usual one or two, I let them know the day before and
the bread will be ready for me. The butcher will prepare an order as well. One day,
I forgot checkbook and cash at home, but I was able to pay later - 3 days later, in fact.
"No problem, next week is fine."
It's one of those little pleasures of being a regular customer and having the confidence of
our local shopkeepers.
Another little pleasure in Paris was simply a short walk from La Place de La Concorde under the
arcades of the rue de Rivoli heading towards Le Louvre.
For a slightly calmer view of La Place de La Concorde, you'll need to be there very early
Yet in the center of the Place you can see Paris' oldest monument: the
obelisk. It was transported by boat from Luxor, Egypt and dates from the XIII century B.C.
We're talking 'old' here!
This 220,000 kilo monument was put in place on 25 October 1836
during the reign of Louis-Philippe.
Just a hop and a skip along the rue de Rivoli and you can take a sidetrip to the
Place Vendôme. Looking at the shop windows of the exclusive jewelry stores is worth the
price of admission: free. Purchasing a ring, bracelet or earrings will set you back a bit more!
If you're not a shopper or window shopper, just cross the rue de Rivoli and continue towards
Le Louvre in the Jardin des Tuileries.
Paris is at its busiest along the Rivoli, yet there are havens of calm in its parks such as
the Tuileries or take a day trip to a village outside of Paris for other 'little' pleasures.
Do also see Ric Erickson's story
Originally reviewed in 2002, this festival continues!
If you are a music fan, this festival is not to be missed and Belle Ile is ever so beautiful.
Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous tragedienne of her time, spent some 29 summers of her
life on Belle Ile.
Reserve tickets on line on their web site.
A Hot New Neighborhood in Paris
At the bottom of the Butte Montmartre, lies one of the most charming "villages" in
You can find their charming and eloquent ghosts at the Museum of Romantic Life, one of the few
house-museums in Paris that contains the atelier of the 19th-century Romantic
painter Ary Scheffer. In the summer don't miss its charming
garden and indoor/outdoor tearoom, which serves some of the best lemonade in
Paris, as well as buttery cakes.
Little wonder then that the neighborhood
has attracted such Parisian luminiaries as Jean-Paul Gaultier and Josiane
Bolasko, who like to pass incognito in the area's outdoor restaurants and cafes,
and who swear by the chocolates at A L'Etoile d'Or, 30 Rue Fontaine, run by the
indomitable expert Denise Acabo - the only 65-year-old who still sports the auburn
pigtails and schoolgirl uniform of a 12-year-old collegienne.
Not only does she know the "tout Paris" through her shop, but if you have the time, she'll give you
the profession's trade secrets, while she ties a green silk ribbon around two
splendid chocolates flecked with gold leaf, which sell for 30 francs!
On the Rue Fontaine, there are other wonderful stores, including a Thai gift
and clothing store that sells stunning hand-painted furniture, and another shop
that specializes in furniture decorated with broken pieces of china, including
blue-and-white. Hard to lift, I imagine, but what style!
Musée de la Vie romantique, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris 9. Open daily
except Monday from 10 to 17:00. Métro: Blanche, Saint-Georges or Pigalle. Phone 01 48 74 95 38. See also: http://www.metropoleparis.com/2001/619/619scene.html
for a story by Ric Erickson in Metropole Paris.
Christmas and New Year's Eve Dinner in Paris
Where to have your Christmas and New Year's eve dinners in Paris is as difficult a
question for those who live here as it is for tourists.
The well-known restaurants will be fully booked, so reservations should be made early.
The larger restaurants host special dinners at premium
prices with paper hats and silliness included on New Year's eve.
You'll find them advertised in the Paris press a few weeks in advance.
The smaller, more intimate restaurants may send the staff home and shut
their doors tight.
Christmas eve and Christmas day are quiet in Paris. People are at
home or with their families eating, drinking and celebrating. My [Linda's]
typical 'problem' is to find a restaurant on the evening of the 24th that
isn't a Christmas dinner because on the 25th we'll be eating from
one in the afternoon until nine at night!
On New Year's it's either at home or at friends (staying over night)
to avoid any drinking and driving problems. As a tourist in Paris,
plan on taking a taxi or walking back to your hotel if you're at a
restaurant other than in your hotel – or stay up until 5 a.m. when the metro
starts running!
Metropole Paris has great descriptions of past meals and seasonal events.
See these pages, for example:
Happy Holidays!
Transportation Tips and Thrills
I still find the most practical transport solution is the 'carnet' of
10 tickets. At 58 FF this is the best overall deal, bringing the cost
of a ride on the metro or bus from A to B to just 5.80 francs. Purchasing
one ticket is 8 FF, so you've already saved 22 francs when buying 10 tickets
at one go.
Remember, Paris is a city where you will want to walk
a lot to see, feel, breathe, live the city. Taking a taxi back to your
hotel after pounding the pavement along with all your shopping is a
good idea. If you really want a transporation thrill, have the taxi
detour around the Etoile/Arc de Triomphe and up or down the Champs Elysees...
it will be memorable and the faint-hearted should abstain! Mobilis Ticket
The 'Mobilis' ticket is basically a daily ticket,
good for unlimited travel. The Ile-de-France and Paris comprise eight
tariff zones, with the centre of Paris being zones one and two. The
furthest-out zone is eight. Many métro lines run beyond the city, out
to zone three. La Défense is in this zone as is the Saint-Denis station
on the métro line 13.
The 'Mobilis' ticket's advantage is that it is for
unlimited travel on any form of transport with wheels. For Paris' two
zones it costs 32 francs; for three zones, 44 francs. For a one-day
lightning tour of the city, this is a real bargain.
The Good Old Orange Card
The hard-core Parisian commuter's weekly or monthly
ticket also has rates based on the zone-system. Any combination of zones
can be chosen - just zones eight to three, or the more usual zones one
to three for example. Although the most common ticket used by commuters,
the Orange Card also has the advantage of allowing unlimited travel.
If you only do a straight point-to-point commute, you begin to save
money with this card on the fourth day, on a weekly basis. For making
a lot of trips over a period of ten days or two weeks, this card is
the winner.
The most useful carte orange for tourist visits is
probably zones one to two at a good value price of just 85 francs.
Paris Visite and Carte Musées-Monuments (Paris
Museum Pass)
The 'Paris Visite' ticket's relatively high one-day
price outweighs its slim advantages. At 55 francs, it is 13 francs more
than a 'Mobilis' card for zones one to three. Just for the two city
centre zones, there is no Paris Visite card, so it doesn't compete here
at all. Two-days is 90 FF, 3 days 120 FF, 5 days 175 FF.
For zones one to five it is 110 FF for one day, 2
days 175 FF, 3 days 245 FF and 5 days will set you back 300 FF.
There are advantages that go with the Paris Visite
card such as reductions and free gifts with participating merchants.
The Carte Musée costs 80 francs for one day, 160 for
three and 240 francs for five days. An entry to a top exhibition usually
costs 40 to 50 francs - or less.
Paris In Sites readers Pete and Barb Jones were very
happy with their Paris Visit and Museum Passes which they got in Canada
before flying to France. The so-called advantage at museums is having
priority in line. but Pete and Barb told me they would have had to have
been 'lunatics' to try and jump the queues at Versailles... and they
didn't.
Bottom line: If using public transport to get to three
or four museums a day in Paris is your cup of tea, these 'deals' might
be for you.
Reader's Reaction
Our use of the Carte Musee card was worthwhile. The
priority entrance experience at Fontainbeleau and Versailles, among
others, was quite different than the Jones'. There was no problem with
using the priorty queue line for fear of causing a riot... The card
was worth its wait in gold, as they say. My feeling is that even if
the cost of the Musée card is is slightly to moderately more
than your anticipated museum admission costs, it is worth the price
for the convenience obtained. Paris By Boat, the 'Batobus'
This Seine shuttle service which runs from April to October, has just
added a handy new stop - right beside the Pont Alexandre III. This will
give passengers easy access to the trio of 'palaces' there, the Petit, the
Grand and the Palais de la Découverte.
This new landing stage adds to the six existing ones. A daily fare of 65
francs is good from 10:00 to 21:00 and allows getting on and off as often
as you like. The same fare for children is 35 francs, and the two-day
ticket is 80 francs for adults, and 40 for kids under 12.
The name of the new stop is Champs-Elysées, even if it is about 350
metres away from the avenue. The fares above are reduced if you
already have some other form of transit ticket like a Carte d'Orange, so
don't forget to mention it. Simple single tickets are a bit pricey.
I catch as many weather reports on TV and radio that I can. Usually,
the most helpful prediction is to look out of my window!
Temperature Conversion Made Easy!
Shopping Style and Etiquette in Paris
When shopping in Paris it is a smart idea to look as sophisticated and
as chic as other Parisians, in order to get excellent service and the
respect of the storeowner. You will soon discover that the French shopkeeper
is as proud of his store as if it was his own living room, and there is
a similar etiquette and behavior. Advisable shopping gear includes wearing
a nice pair of slacks, a jacket, and elegant top, scarf and pearls, in
a classic style and colors. Also pack comfortable walking shoes, and a
pair of knee-highs if you’re going to be trying on shoes. Men should also
plan to dress in slacks as shorts are frowned upon in the streets and
stores.
Museum Tip - Musée Marmottan
This is the most restful museum in Paris and the Claude Monet paintings
are among my all time favorites.I suggest going straight to the
lower-level gallery and soak up the water lilies, garden scenes from
Givery, the canvas called "Impression - Sunrise" - from which comes the
term "Impressionist" - Monet's Rouen Cathedral series, as well as
paintings by Signac, Boudin, Pisssarro, Sisley, Renoir... I'll eat my
hat if you don't enjoy this museum! It's simply 'doable' - you won't
leave thinking you've missed 37 kilometers more of famous paintings.
I've never seen this museum crowded. An absolute treat not to be missed!
2 rue Louis Boilly, 75016 Paris
The 'official' Paris Population Figures
The recent national census in France came up with the figure of
2,116,000 inhabitants in Paris. In 1921, Paris numbered nearly three
million people. A lot of folks have moved to the suburbs!
New RER line in Paris + Travel Tips
Now running is the Eole line (line E) from Hausmann-Saint Lazare
in central Paris to Chelles-Gournay in the eastern area of the
Seine-et-Marne department.Scheduled for 30 August is a second
stop at Villiers-sur-Marne. The RER, Paris' regional rail commuter
network has special tarifs.
Don't miss reading "Public Transport Maze Explained"
And "Who's Afraid of the RER?"
Bastille Day in Paris,
by Ric Erickson, Editor of Metropole Paris
One thing to get straight, first: the majority of public Bastille Day parties
and fêtes take place on the eve of Bastille Day; that is, this year, on
Tuesday, 13 July. The fire stations in various quarters will host neighborhood
parties, and these will be well-attended by burly firemen.
There will be some big general street affairs - probably one at the Place de la Bastille, maybe another at République; or both. Both of these places are big and can hold a lot of people. If you don't care for large crowds,
it is better to avoid them.
Montmartre, with its revolutionary tradition, will also be an area where
fêtes may be expected. Many bars and cafés throughout Paris will also have
their own programs, from elaborate to just having a bash with their regular
clients. I imagine many dance clubs will also have special events programmed.
The official Bastille Day parade takes place on the Champ-Elysées in the
morning of Wednesday, 14 July. This will involve a considerable display
of military pomp, but is worth watching for unusual features such as the
engineers of the Foreign Legion and their beards.
Ballroom Dancing in the Paris Region A newsletter reader asked where one could go ballroom dancing
in Paris. Carol Morris, kindly provided this insider information!
Le Chalet du Lac in St. Mandé
This is just on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes (East of Paris) behind the
City Hall, called the "Mairie" in French, of Vincennes. This is a very nice
place, good food as well, but it gets very crowded. You'll almost always have
a good band on Saturday evening!
Chez Gégène
Le Petit Robinson
Good French music: eat and dance at the same time - well almost - and
you can watch some really good dancers. It's best to reserve for dinner,
especially if you want a table next to the dance floor.
Paris Public Transport: New Fares, by Ric Erickson,
Editor of Metropole Paris
The airport buses will have their fares reduced to 26 francs from Orly to
Paris and to 39.20 francs for the trip from Roissy to Paris - which is
supposed to be a four-franc reduction.
Globally, fare prices are rising about three percent. The unit price of eight
francs for a métro-bus ticket will remain the same, but the price of a
10-ticket 'carnet' will rise three francs to 55.
Louvre Museum Tip by Linda Thalman
There is a new entrance to the Louvre at the Porte des Lions
situated by the Seine.This entry takes you into new galleries
just opened to the public with 17th- and 18th-century Italian works,
Spanish masters and Greek and Russian icons from the 16th and 17th centuries.
On my last visit to the Louvre we drove and parked in the very
convenient car park. From there it's a quick walk – passing the
tempting boutiques along the way – to the main ticket area. Yes, you'll
have to get in line at the Galerie du Carrousel entrance for the security
check and then go to the ticket area and probably queue up again. The
entrance called the Pyramide, Cour Napoléon is where the queues snake
around the courtyard – if the weather's too hot, cold or wet, this is
not a pleasant wait!
Some 6 million people visited the Louvre last year.
Go early: be there no later than 9:00 in the morning or go after
15:00 and get in cheaper.
Remember: The Louvre is CLOSED on TUESDAYS!
The best day might be Wednesday with opening hours from 9 to 21:45. Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday open from 9 to 18:00, ticket sales close at 17:15.
Monday open from 9 to 21:45 but after 17:30 only the Richelieu wing is open.
Email – Linda@wfi.fr
Visit all the WebFrance International Sites
Copyright since 1995 by Linda Thalman - all rights reserved.
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I couldn't believe my eyes when our tickets in 2nd class from Paris to Lyon cost 78.10 euros
each and the return ticket cost only 45 euros per person in FIRST class. How could this be?
Cheaper in 1st than in 2nd class? Wow!
Paris Plage will be a bigger and better replay of 2002's smash hit, to feature
three kilometres of right-bank beach front beside the Seine especially for pedestrians,
sunbathers, bikers, strollers, rollers - from the Tuileries to the Quai Henri-IV.
At 23:00 on Saturday, 21 June 2003, the Tour Eiffel was sparkling again. Paris' mayor Bertrand Delanoë,
assisted by tourism czar Jean-Bernard Bros, threw the switch for the new 20,000-bulb installation.
in the morning, and Sunday morning might be best. The traffic is mind numbing during most of the day
and night.
Update: Lyrique en Mer / Festival de Belle Ile - 20 juillet au 17 août 2007
Paris, dubbed in the 19th century La Nouvelle Athenes thanks to its notable
intellectual and artistic residents, which numbered George Sand, Eugene Delacroix,
Theodore Gericault, Giacomo Rossini and Frederic Chopin.
