Paris - Travel Basics

[lhbrown]

Hi funtimes,

Here are some Paris travel basics for your upcoming trip to Paris.

THE AIRPORT: Jet-lagged visitors may not notice, but Charles de Gaulle International Airport familiarly known as Roissy for the nearby town - was explicitly conceived as an architectural entry point to France.
The rotund Terminal 1 often called le Camembert - has a futuristic look conceived in the 1970s that includes glass-encased escalators crossing a central atrium. Terminal 2, which has undergone successive expansions, features cathedral-like waiting zones that have featured in music videos.


FROM THE AIRPORTS INTO TOWN: In light traffic, taxis take 40 minutes and cost roughly 40 euros to the center of Paris. The time and cost of a ride rises considerably during rush hour or sporting events at the nearby Stade de France.

Buses operated by Air France cost 13 euros, take 45 minutes and leave passengers at a range of destinations in Paris. The Paris region commuter train, known as the RER, costs 8 euros, runs
into Paris every 20 minutes and is the best option for avoiding traffic jams. The trains can get crowded, however, during commuting times.

Inside the airport itself, there is a train station for the high-speed TGV trains going to a number of destinations.

TRANSPORT IN TOWN: Relatively flat, small and filled with beautiful architecture, Paris is a city made for walking and biking. No matter what form of transport you plan on using, pick up a copy of the pocket map available at most newsstands and put on your walking shoes.

The underground Metro is the fastest and most convenient way to get around Paris. The system has a thick network of easily navigated rail lines that can be accessed with a paper ticket that costs about one euro each. For convenience, buy a pack of ten tickets (carnet). But beware! The Metro shuts between midnight and 1 A.M., before the bars, and you can get stuck.

Which leaves you with Taxis. Most seem to be Mercedes, but they are subject to the whims of the citys traffic and can be difficult to find at peak hours. Taxi fare, shown on the meter, is calculated according to the time and zone in which you are driving. Consider giving a tip of a euro or two if the service is good.

Bicycles can be rented at several locations run by the Metro, and from this summer, stands will be installed on the street with 14,000 bicycles available inexpensively for short time periods.

BANKING AND CREDIT CARDS: Paris is filled with cash distributors, and credit cards are accepted in most situations.

DINING: It can be difficult to get a bad meal in Paris, which means that deciding where to eat is a tough decision. Here are a few places:

Nicolas Flamel. This is a tasty traditional restaurant of moderate price (roughly 50 euros per person) in the oldest house in Paris. Flamel, an alchemist rumored to have discovered the philosophers stone, was inspiration for JK Rowlings wizards in Harry Potter. Currently run by an enthusiastic young couple who just took over the place, they are
amazing hosts: They make a point of remembering the wines each ordered on every previous visit to the restaurant. 51, rue de Montmorency75003 Paris metro Arts et Metiers tel: 01 42 71 77 78. http://www.auberge-nicolas-flamel.fr/

Les Gourmets de Ternes. A real old style family run Paris restaurant, warm and crowded inside on winter evenings, with a lively terrace in summer. Reservations a must Parisians love this place. The Brouilly red wine is recommended. 87 Boulevard de Courcelles, tel: 01-42-27-43-04

LArome. A new restaurant adding a hint of Asian fusion into French dishes. Pleasant modern decor, tables outside in summer, on quiet street just off the posh Rue Faubourg St. Honore. 3 Rue St. Phillipe du Roule. Tel: 1.42.25.55.98

TIPPING:
Taxis and restaurants generally expect little. Service is included in restaurant bills, but if you feel particularly well served, feel free to round up to the nearest euro or add a few euro to the bill.

PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY:
France has 220 volts and round plug pins that are readily available on most converters. While hotels out of the business class often lack Internet, there are many Wifi hotspots spread throughout the city, at cafes in hotel lobbies.

AN EVENING OUT:
It may be popular among tourists, but a boat ride along the Seine at sunset is something that even Parisians enjoy. The boats at Bateaux Mouches (01.42.25.96.10), near the Pont de lAlma, have been plying the Seine for decades and depart on hour-long cruises every few minutes, so no need to book ahead. The trip is best enjoyed with a glass of champagne in hand aboard a boat that leaves just before sunset. As the light fades, intense spotlights along the side of the boat light up the citys ancient faades, ranging from the Louvre and Notre Dame to the Eiffel tower. Enjoy.

A FLEA MARKET:
Have a free afternoon? For an enjoyable day of antiques and bargaining, drop by the flea market on the northern fringes of Paris at Clignancourt. The Marche aux Puces (www.parispuces.com, 08.92.70.57.65 ), or literally the flea market, has a range of good from cheap plastic toys to rare 19th century furniture. Avoid the stalls near the beginning of the market catering to tourists and head for the inner markets such as Marche Serpette (110, rue des Rosiers) or Marche Paul Bert (96, rue des Rosiers).

SMOKING
The bad news is that smoking remains legal in French restaurants until 2008. The good news is that some restaurants have started banning smoking ahead of the law. An association for the rights of non-smokers has started a list of smoke-free restaurants.
http://dnf.asso.fr/guide/zone_78.htm





Message Edited by lhbrown on 11-22-2007 07:47 PM

[curtiejoe]

Hi travelfan



I'm so glad I happened across this expansive post of yours on "Paris Basics". My eye was particularly caught by the information and weblink you included on the Bateaux-Mouches (Seine River Boat Cruises).





Having checked out thie website, I am now well prepared for a wonderful and romantic sunset cruise through the heart of the City of Light with my wife, when we visit Paris in May this year. Thanks!



Curt

[lhbrown]

Hi Curt,
I am glad you found the post helpful, and I wish you and your wife a very happy time in Paris.

[bluebe]

lhbrown,

Thanks for taking the time to write such detail info on traveling in Paris.
I'm going to visit Paris for the first time in September, very excited!! I came across your articles while doing research. Thank you! =)

[bluebe]

Hi,

I have some questions regarding Paris museum pass, Paris Visite and Carte Orange, hope someone can help me here.

My friend and I are going to Paris for a week (7 nights), arriving Friday afternoon and leaving the following Friday morning. Our package includes transfers between airport and the hotel.

This is our first time, so we would like to see all the fabulous museums and attractions, we're thinking of getting the 4 days museum passes. Does museums open on Monday? Can we start using our passes on Saturday till the following tuesday? I think I read somewhere that some museums closed on Monday? Is it true? where can i find the info?

Besides Versailles, we want to go to La Vallee village and do some outlet shopping as well for half day. I'm wondering if we should get Paris Visite that covers all the places or we should get Carte Orange and buy RER tickets separately to Versailles and La Vallee.

Have anyone been to la Vallee Village (an outlet mall near Desney )? Whats your opinion of this place? is it worth the trip?
http://www.lavalleevillage.com/LaVallee/home.asp?lan=en

Thanks for your input!

[lhbrown]

Hi bluebe,
I am not sure you want to spend the money for a 4-day Paris Visit/Museum Pass. If you come to Paris before the end of June, most of the museums are free. Unfortunately, this does not apply for the Louvre and the Quai d'Orsay or the Quai Branley. The Museum Pass will avoid you the long lines, but if you go to the Porte de Lion Entrance of the Louvre at the side of the Seine, you can avoid the long lines, and this entrance gets you straight to the Mona Lisa. Also, you can buy entrance tickets to the Quai d'Orsay on the net which also avoids you long lines. Please note, that any special Exhibits are not covered by the Museum Pass, so you need to spend extra money to see those. Be sure to see the Marie-Antoinette Exhibit currently shown at the Grand Palais. This is a fabulous exhibit about Marie-Antoinettes life and death. Don't miss the free museum of the Petit Palais just across from the Grand Palais which houses a famous cross-section of Parisian Art. Also note, that all museums in Paris are free of charge every first Sunday of the month.
You can find out more about free museums at this link: http://www.archi-nova.net/paris/map_freemuseums.html

Carte d'Orange is a very smart move, it gives you unlimited transportation to the Metro, the buses, and the RER (Versailles and LaVallee you will need to pay a surcharge, because they are located beyond Zone 3 of your Carte d'Orange). Please be sure to bring a photo for the Carte d'Orange.

You definitely want to take a trip out to Versailles. It is easy to take the RER. It's a straight shot to Versailles and then a short walk to the Chateau or you can take a 5-minute bus ride there. As to the LaVallee Outlet Center, I have never been there, so I am of not much help there.

Have a look at my many other "money saving" posts under Paris.

Good Luck and have a wonderful trip.

PS: I re-posted here all the details of the various free museums with its addresses, Metro stations, opening hours, and entrance fees. Hope you'll find this helpful. You might want to print this out as a handy summary.


Museums with Free Admission in Paris

1 Muse de la Vie romantique16 Rue Chaptal
Metro 2, 12: Pigalle; Metro 2: Blanche
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Temporary exhibitions 3 9. Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..



2 Muse Cernuschi7 Avenue Vlasquez
Metro 2: Monceau; Metro 2, 3: Villiers
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
Muse des Arts de lAsie



3 Muse Gustave-Moreau14 Rue de La Rochefoucauld
Metro 12: Trinit dEstienne dOrves
Wed-Mon 10:0012:45 and 14:0017:15; Tue closed
Entrance 5. Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.
Museum about 19th century painter Gustave Moreau, established, designed and payed by himself.



4 Muse du Parfum-Fragonard9 Rue Scribe
Metro 3, 7, 8: Opra
Mon-Sat 09:0018:00; Sun (March 15 thru October 15) 09:3016:00
Free entry.
Collection of perfumery objects. Located in a prestigious Napoleon III town house built in 1860.



5 Thtre-Muse des Capucines-Fragonard39 Boulevard des Capucines
Metro 3, 7, 8: Opra
Mon-Sat 09:0018:00; Sun closed
Free entry.
Perfume bottles from 3000 years and a miniature factory composed of 19th-century copper distilling apparatus demonstrating methods for extracting raw materials.


6 Petit Palais/Muse des beaux-arts de la Ville de ParisAvenue Winston Churchill
Metro 1, 13: Champs-lyses Clemenceau
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
Built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 by architect Charles Girault, it now houses the museum of fine arts of the City of Paris: Medieval and Renaissance paintings and drawings, 18th century furniture and works by French artists such as Gustave Courbet, Eugne Delacroix and Jean Ingres.


7 Muse des arts asiatiques Guimet6 Place dIna
Metro 9: Ina
Wed-Mon 10:0018:00; Tue closed
Temporary exhibitions 57. Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
Museum with one of the largest collections of Asian art outside Asia.



8 Muse dart moderne de la Ville de Paris11 Avenue du Prsident Wilson
Metro 9: Alma Marceau, Ina
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Temporary exhibitions 4 6. Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..



9 Muse de lOrangerieJardin des Tuileries
Metro 1, 8, 12: Concorde
Wed-Mon 12:3019:00, Fri till 21:00; Tue closed
Entrance 6.50. Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.
Works of impressionist and post-impressionist painters such as Claude Monet, Paul Czanne, Henri Rousseau, Henri Matisse and Maurice Utrillo.



10 Cit de lArchitecture (Muse des Monuments Franais)1 Place du Trocadro
Metro 6, 9: Trocadro
Mon, Wed, Fri 12:0020:00; Thu 12:0022:00; Sat, Sun 11:0019:00; Tue closed
Entrance 5. Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.
At Palais de Chaillot.



11 Muse du LouvreRue de Rivoli
Metro 1, 7: Palais Royal Muse du Louvre
Wed-Mon 09:0018:00; Tue and some public holidays closed
Entrance 9. Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.



12 Muse du Quai-Branly37 Quai Branly
Metro 9: Alma Marceau; RER C: Pont de lAlma
Tue-Sun 11:0019:00, Thu-Sat till 21:00; Mon closed
Entrance 8.50 13. Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.
Also known as Muse des Arts premiers or Muse des arts et civilisations dAfrique, dAsie, dOcanie et des Amriques. Modern museum building, designed by architect Jean Nouvel.



13 Muse de la Lgion dHonneur et Des Ordres de Chevalerie2 Rue de la Lgion dHonneur
Metro 12: Solfrino
Wed-Sun 13:0018:00
Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.



14 Muse dOrsayRue de la Lgion dHonneur/Quai Anatole France
Metro 12: Solfrino; RER C: Muse dOrsay
Tue-Sun 09:3018:00, Thu till 21:45; Mon closed
Entrance 7.50 (Sun 5.50). Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.
French art from 1848 to 1914. The museum in the former train station Gare dOrsay is famous especially for its collection of impressionist works by painters such as Monet and Renoir.



15 Muse Picasso5 Rue de Thorigny
Metro 8: Saint-Sbastien Froissart; Metro 1: Saint-Paul
Wed-Mon 09:3018:00 (October-March to 17:30); Tue closed
Entrance 6.50. Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.
About 250 works by Picasso from all periods of his life, especially paintings and sculptures.



16 Muse Cognacq-Jay8 Rue Elzvir
Metro 1: Saint-Paul
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
Art collections by dErnest Cognacq (18th century)



17 Muse Carnavalet/Histoire de Paris23 rue de Svign
Metro 1: Saint-Paul
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
Museum devoted to the history of Paris.



18 Muse Rodin79 Rue de Varenne
Metro 13: Varenne
Tue-Sun 09:3017:45 (OctoberMarch till 16:45); Mon closed
Entrance 6. Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.
Works by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin as well as Rodins collection of acquired paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.



19 Maison de Balzac47 Rue Raynouard
Metro 6: Passy
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Temporary exhibitions 4. Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
Museum dedicated to the French writer Honor de Balzac



20 Maison de Victor Hugo6 Place des Vosges
Metro 1: Saint-Paul, Metro 1, 5, 8: Bastille
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..



21 Muse National Eugne Delacroix6 Rue de Furstenberg
Metro 4: Saint-Germain-des-Prs; Metro 10: Mabillon
Wed-Mon 09:3017:00; Tue closed
Entrance 5. Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.
The museum occupies the painters apartment as well as his studio, located in his private garden.
Administered by the Muse du Louve, thus admission tickets to the Muse du Louvre also give access to the Muse Eugne Delacroix the same day.



22 Muse du Compagnonnage10 Rue Mabillon
Metro 10: Mabillon
Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..

23Muse de lAssistance publique-Hpitaux de Paris47 Quai de la Tournelle
Metro: Maubert-Mutualit, Saint-Michel, Cit
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; closed on Mon, public holidays and in August
Entrance 4. Free entry Free entry on 1st Sunday of the month. on 1st Sunday of the month.



24 Muse du Moyen ge (Thermes de Cluny)6 Place Paul Painlev
Metro 10: Cluny La Sorbonne
Wed-Mon 09:1517:45; Tue closed
Entrance 7.50. Free entry.
Museum of the Middle Ages with important collections of medieval artifacts, sculptures, furnishings, manuscripts etc.



25 Muse de la Prfecture de Police4 Rue de la Montagne Sainte-Genevive
Metro 10: Maubert Mutualit
Mon-Fri 09:0017:00; Sat 10:0017:00
Free entry.
History of the police in Paris since 17th century.



26 Muse Bible et Terre Sainte @ Institut Catholique de Paris21 Rue dAssas
Metro 12: Rennes
Saturday 16:0018:00; closed JulySeptember
Free entry.
Ceramics and other items from Palestine dating back to 5000 B.C. until 600 A.D.



27 Muse Curie (Institut du Radium)11 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie
Metro 10: Cardinal Lemoin, Metro 7: Place Monge
Tue-Fri 10:0018:00 (except August, last week of December and on public holidays)
Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
The Curie Museum is on the ground floor of the Curie Pavilion, in one of the buildings of the Institut Curie. This laboratory, erected a few streets away from the "shed" where the Curies discovered polonium and radium in 1898, was specially built for Marie Curie by the University of Paris and the Institut Pasteur between 1911 and 1914.



28 Muse Zadkine100 Rue dAssas
Metro 4: Vavin; Metro 12: Notre-Dame-des-Champs;
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Temporary exhibitions 4. Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
Museum about Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine.



29 Muse Bourdelle18 Rue Antoine Bourdelle
Metro 12: Falguire
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Temporary exhibitions 4.50. Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..



30 Mmorial Leclerc Muse Jean-Moulin23 Alle de la 2me Division Blinde
Metro 4, 6, 12, 13: Montparnasse Bienvene, Metro 13: Gat
Tue-Sun 10:0018:00; Mon and public holidays closed
Temporary exhibitions 4. Free entry Free entry for permanent exhibitions..
Museum about the French Rsistance and the liberation of Paris in summer 1944. In Jardin Atlantique on Montparnasse.

Message Edited by lhbrown on 04-29-2008 02:36 AM