“Rien ne se peut comparer à Paris”
Eustache Deschamps
Also knows as Ville Lumiere, the City of Light, Paris can be surely considered as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Not only its treasures and art make it an important cultural center for Europe and the World, but also its beauty and importance have made it the fashion world capital. Founded at the end of the 3rd century b.C. by a tribe of Gauls, Julius Ceasar took it under Rome dominion. It became capital under the Franks and since then it has played a crucial role in the history of France and Europe.
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HOW TO GET AROUND
METROPOLITAIN
Paris Métropolitain (or simply“Métro”) is surely the quickest way to get around Paris. Inaugurated in 1900 for the Exposition Universelle, it has 14 lines, and if you add 5 RER regional lines, this makes the largest metro system in Europe.
Trains start at 5.30 in the morning and end at 1 o’clock at night. A single ticket is 1.60 €, a carnet with 10 tickets is 11.60 €. A “Mobilis” daily pass is 5.90 €, a “Pass Navigo Semaine” week pass is 17.20 €.
BUSES
Taking a bus is the best way to have a look at the town while moving around: the buses network covers all of the Ile de France area, service is operating 24 hours thanks to the “Noctilien” night buses, and tickets, valid on the metro as well, can be bought on board for 1.70 €, but can’t be used more than once.
TAXIS
You can easily recognise taxis by the writing “Taxi Parisien” on the roof of the car. If the writing has the lights on, this means the taxi is available. It is not the cheap est mean of transportation, especially at night or during holidays, and given the efficiency of public transports, taking a taxi is the right choice if you can’t give up any comfort.
WEATHER
Weather in Paris is temperate, winters are quite cold and rainy, while summers are warm and dry. Winter temperatures can vary between 2 ° and 10 °, while in summer temperatures range from 12 ° to 25 °. The best time to visit the city is from May to September, that is during late spring, summer or early autumn. But even a Parisian winter has its own magic ...
Check the weather in Paris!
CURRENCY
The currency used in Paris is Euro. Other currencies like Dollar or Pound are not accepted. In any case, there are numerous exchange offices, some take a fixed commission and other a percentage. The best way to get Euros is undoubtedly withdrawing money at one of the several ATMs in the streets of Paris and inside the airports.Otherwise you can change in a bank in your own country before departure or upon arrival in France.
TIME ZONE
Paris time zone is GMT +1 (Greenwich Meridian Time).
ELECTRICITY
In France, electrical plugs have 230v voltage, but if you want to use electrical equipments you will have to use specific or universal adapters. Sometimes you can request adapters at the reception of your the hotel.
You will have plenty of things to do in Paris, and planning your day can turn into a real headache. You simply have so much to choose from. Here we try and help you in this choice, suggesting a Top 10 list of things that you absolutely cannot miss when in Paris.
TOUR EIFFEL
Eiffel Tower is the most famous monument in Paris and is known worldwide as the symbol of the city itself and all of France. It owes its name to the engineer Gustave Eiffel, who had it built in less than two years, from 1887 to 1889, for the Universal Exhibition.
It is visited every year by six million tourists, weighs 10,000 tons, and with its total height of 324 meters it is the tallest structure in Paris.
The structure is divided into three levels, reachable by elevator or by stairs.
LOUVRE
The Louvre Museum is the largest and most visited museum in the world, welcoming over 8 million visitors annually. It covers an area of over 60 thousand square meters and houses nearly 35,000 works, including the most important ones like the Mona Lisa and the Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci, The Oath of the Horatii by Jacques Louis David, The Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix, the Venus de Milo and Nike of Samothrace.
Housed in the Palais du Louvre, it was originally a fortress, then became a royal residence and was officially transformed into a museum in 1793, when it was inaugurated with only 537 works.
NOTRE-DAME
With 13 million visitors each year, this Gothic cathedral is the most visited attraction in Paris. Victor Hugo called it a "symphony in stone" and made it immortal in his major work. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame ("Our Lady") was built between 1163 and 1345, and today it is a very recognizable symbol of Paris. Notre-Dame is also the center of France: in fact in the square in front of the entrance is the “point zero”, the point from which all road distances in France are calculated.
CHAMPS ELYSEES AND ARC DE TRIOMPHE
The Arc de Triomphe, symbol of French military power and pride, was completed in 1836. 50 meters high and 45 wide, it is the largest of its kind ever built. The square is still called l'Etoile (the Star), because on it as many as 12 roads converge. The most important of the 12 roads is surely the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The French like to call it the "most beautiful avenue in the world." With its cinemas, cafés and luxury shops, the Champs-Elysees, which extends from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous streets in the world.
SACRE COEUR and MONTMARTRE
The perennial white walls of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart are its most distintive trait. The basilica stands on the highest point of the city, the hill of Montmartre, 130 meters high, and you can get there by the stairs or by the modern funicular. The Bohemian quarter once was the center of the cultural life of the Belle Epoque, and it is no wonder that renowned painters such as Salvador Dali, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh all lived here.
MUSEE D’ORSAY
The Musée d'Orsay, located on the Rive Gauche, is a museum of modern art housed in an old train station, the Gare d'Orsay. The works on display are mostly dated between 1848 and 1915, and include the greatest masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. The major artists on display are Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne, Seurat, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Every year, 2.5 million visitors every year enjoy the musuem.
HOTEL DES INVALIDES
Built originally as a hospital for wounded soldiers and veterans of war, it is now mostly famous for the dome of the Church. It became an imperial mausoleum in 1840, when Napoleon's body was brought back to France from St. Helena. In 1861 his ashes were buried in a tomb of porphyry, in a crypt with the upper part made of glass, in the very center of the dome.
MOULIN ROUGE
Probably the most famous cabaret in the world, it is located in the Pigalle district, at the foot of Montmartre. Built in 1889, it is the place where the "Can Can" was invented , but it is now primarily a tourist destination that offers entertainment with music and dances of the Belle Epoque. The "Red Mill" still holds a special fascination.
BATEAUX MOUCHES
The world famous boats on the Seine are a privileged point of view on the beauty of Paris. The various companies that offer cruise on the Seine all have similar paths: seeing the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, Pont-Neuf, the Orsay, the Louvre while sun-kissed and caressed by the breeze is an experience you don’t want to miss.
VERSAILLES
Although located outside of Paris (about 20 km south-west), the visit of Versailles is almost an obligatory trip, which allows you to explore the court of the "Sun King". "Le Château de Versailles" is the symbol of the apogee of the Kingdom of France, and is now probably the world's most famous royal palace, unbeatable in terms of opulence. It receives about 7 million visitors each year.
Among other tourist attractions in Paris, we can mention among others the CENTRE-POMPIDOU, a cultural center dedicated to modern art, contemporary art, literature, design, music and cinema; the CEMETERY OF PÈRE-LACHAISE, the largest of the civil cemeteries in Paris, and one of the most famous of the world, where among other Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Chopin, Edith Piaf, Delacroix, Jim Morrison, Balzac, Bizet, and Moliere are buried; the OPERA, historic and charming neo-Baroque theater and architectural masterpiece; the GRAND PALAIS AND THE PETIT PALAIS exhibition hall built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900 and that today characterize the architecture of Paris; the LUXEMBOURG PALACE, the royal palace that now houses the Senate, with its Luxembourg Gardens, the largest public park in Paris; the CONCIERGERIE, a former prison in Paris, known as "the antechamber of the guillotine," because there was established the Revolutionary Court that sent 2600 prisoners to the guillotine, including Queen Marie Antoinette, Robespierre and Danton; the CATACOMBS OF PARIS, an almost endless (200 km) underground tunnels system which were then converted into a huge cemetery and ossuary since 1786; the Latin Quarter, a district that stretches around the Sorbonne and other institutions, schools and universities, known for his dynamic and charming atmosphere, its cafés and bistros.
Disneyland Paris is more than an amusement park: it is a dream, a magical world for children and adults. It is also the most visited tourist attraction throughout Europe, with more than 15 million visitors a year.
The complex is located in Marne-la-Vallée, 30 km east of Paris, and it was inaugurated in 1992. Today it includes the Disneyland Park, which is the heart of the complex; a cinema-theme park, the Walt Disney Studios; the Disney Village, a shopping complex with shops and themed restaurants; seven themed hotels, Disneyland Hotel, New York, the Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay Club, Cheyenne, Santa Fe and the Davy Crockett Ranch; a 27 holes golf course, the Golf Disneyland.
The Disneyland Park is divided into five parts by theme: Main Street USA, which recalls an American road of the beginning of the twentieth century; Frontierland, that represents the Wild West with Cowboys, Indians and the Gold Rush; Adventureland, dedicated to the pirate adventures, with exotic settings; Fantasyland, which is the place of fairy tales, the castle of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Pinocchio, the maze of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan; Discoveryland, that is a trip in the future through scientific and technological discoveries.
http://parks.disneylandparis.co.uk/disneyland-park/index.xhtml
The other park that is part of Disneyland Paris is the movie-themed park Walt Disney Studios. It reminds of a huge movie studio, where scenes of many successful films of Disney are played. An amazing show is the movie stunt-men performing in truly exciting experiences.
http://parks.disneylandparis.co.uk/walt-disney-studios-park/index.xhtml
There are different kinds of tickets. The simplest option is the 1-day ticket for one park, which costs € 53 for adults and € 45 for children, which entitles access to only one of the parks (Walt Disney Studios or Disneyland) . If you want the freedom to visit both parks, you can purchase tickets for both parks: One-day tickets cost € 67 for adults and 57 € for children; 2 days cost € 118 for adults and 99 € for children; 3 days cost € 143 for adults and € 122 for children; 4 days cost € 172 for adults and € 122 for children.
Paris Info
The Official Website of Tourism in Paris. It has information on hotels and other accommodations, attractions, tourist routes to follow and especially the daily update on current events in Paris. Not to be missed.
Google Street View París
Street View dedicated to Paris, it has an interactive map of the city, with the ability to navigate in 3D level the streets of Paris.
Wikipedia - París
The free online encyclopedia webpage on Paris. Very useful for historical and cultural info, but also for lots of not-so-famous facts about Paris.
360Cities.net
Browse virtually Paris most famous buildings and views. Preview what you are about to see in Paris, or relive those fantastic feelings again.
CamVista
Watch Paris live through these webcams situated in several different points in Paris. Live Paris 24/7 from your screen!