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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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