Paris

Quick Facts

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Population

2,167,994

Land area

86.9 km²

Coordinates

• Latitude: 48.856667
• Longitude: 2.350987

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Introduction

Arc de Triomphe

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Paris is considered the city of love. Even in the rain the French capital has something that you won't find anywhere else. No stay in Paris will be complete without a picture of Mrs Steel... that is, the Eiffel Tower.

Paris has as much to offer in the streets as it does in its museums .... and in its bakeries.

Arrondissements of Paris

Paris is shaped like a snail and divided in 20 districts called arrondissements. The first district is in the middle of the snail. As you unroll the shell, you will go from the the Louvre to the Marais, taking your time on the side of the river Seine which crossed Paris from east to west. Walk up the Champs Elysees and enjoy the city seated at the terrasse at one of the famous cafés. Montmartre, the painters and the Moulin Rouge offer another touch to a Parisian visit. Stroll around the narrow streets and appreciate the only vineyard in the capital.

• 1st - Louvre
• 2nd - Bourse
• 3rd - Temple
• 4th - Hôtel-de-Ville
• 5th - Panthéon
• 6th - Luxembourg
• 7th - Palias-Bourbon
• 8th - Elysée
• 9th - Opéra
• 10th - Enclos-St-Laurent
• 11th - Popincourt
• 12th - Reuilly
• 13th - Gobelins
• 14th - Observatoire
• 15th - Vaugirard
• 16th - Passy
• 17th - Batignolles-Monceau
• 18th - Butte-Montmartre
• 19th - Buttes-Chaumont
• 20th - Ménilmontant

Sights and Activities

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower defines Paris. This magnificent structure was built for the 1889 Universal Exhibition and has now become one of Paris' (and Europe's) most popular attractions. (Location: Champ de Mars)

Notre Dame

Notre Dame is the most famous church in all of Paris and is beautiful. Although the hunchback does not actually live here, this Gothic Cathedral is still impressive. Taking over two hundred years to build, Notre Dame was finally finished in 1345. The church was heavily damaged during the French Revolution but then was restored in the early 19th century. Starting in 2000 a major cleaning effort was done to the west façade of Notre Dame removing centuries of filth mainly from massive industrial activity. This meticulous cleaning process was accomplished with the use of lasers and countless tiny brushes. Today Notre Dame is one of the most popular sights in Paris and all of France. The church is located at 6, Place du Parvis de Notre Dame.

Museums

Inside the Louvre, Paris

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• Musée du Louvre draws millions of people each year to look at the Mona Lisa and its excellent collection of paintings and artefacts. The museum is located at 34-36 quai du Louvre, 1er, phone: 01-40-20-53-17
• Musée d'Orsay is located 1 rue de Bellechasse, 7e. phone: 01-40-49-48-14.
• Centre Pompidou is located at Place Georges-Pompidou, 4e. phone: 01-44-78-12-33.
• Musée Jacquemart-André is located at 158 bd. Haussmann, 8e. phone: 01-45-62-11-59.
• Musée National du Moyen Age hermes de Cluny is located in the Hotel de Cluny, 6 place Paul-Painlevé, 5e. phone: 01-53-73-78-00.
• Musée Marmottan-Claude Monet is located at 2 rue Louis-Boilly, 16e. phone: 01-44-96-50-33.
• Musée Picasso is located in the Hotel Salé, 5 rue de Thorigny, 3e. phone: 01-42-71-25-21.
• Musée Rodin is Located in the Hotel Biron, 77 rue de Varenne, 7e. phone 01-44-18-61-10.

Landmarks

• The Arc de Triomphe is located at Place Charles de Gaulle Etoile.
• Basilique du Sacré-Coeur is located at 35, rue du Chevalier-de-la-Barre.
• Church of the Invalides is located at Esplanade des Invalides.
• Sainte Chapelle is located at 4, boulevard du Palais.
• Bibliothèque Nationale de France-Cardinal de Richelieu is located at 58, rue de Richelieu.
• Les Halles
• Tour Montparnasse offers excellent views of the city. The tour montparnasse is located at 33, avenue du Maine.

Events and Festivals

• The Tour de France, the world's greatest cycling race, culminates each year on the Champs-Élysées. In 2008, this final stage of le tour will be on Sunday, July 27.
• The French Open (Tournoi de Roland-Garros) is the world's premier clay court tennis tournament is held in Paris each year between mid-May and early June. In 2008, it will take place from the 25th May till the 8th of June.

Weather

Paris' climate is tempered by the North Atlantic Current, ensuring the city rarely experiences extreme temperatures. The average yearly high temperature is about 15 °C and yearly lows averaging around 7 °C. The record high for Paris was 40.4 °C, recorded in 1948. The record low was -23.9 °C, recorded in 1879.

The city averages 641.6 mm of rainfall each year, with no specific season contributing more rain. Snowfall is rare, usually appearing in January or February and seldom sticking for longer than a day.

Getting There

By Plane

There are two major airports in Paris, Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) and Orly Airport (ORY). A third option, Beauvais Airport (BVA) is used by budget airlines, but is located quite some distance from Paris.

Charles De Gaulle International Airport (CDG) is approximately 25km from Paris, off to the Northeast near the town of Roissy (which is why you will sometimes hear the airport referred to as Roissy). The airport is on both the RER train line and the high speed TGV train lines, making it an easy connect to many places in France as well as Brussels.

Between CDG and Central Paris, there are three decent transit options:

• RER B - Paris stop: Denfert-Rochereau; Duration: 45 minutes; Frequency: 10 to 15 minutes; Fare: €8.20
• Roissy Bus - Paris stop: Opera; Duration: 45 to 60 minutes; Frequency: 15 to 20 minutes; Fare: €8.60
• Air France airport Bus which leaves every 15 Minutes (6am-11pm). 40 Minutes to the Arc de Triomphe (Etoile) or nearby Porte maillot.

Orly Airport (ORY) is located southwest of Paris near the town of Orly. It is approximately 19 km to Paris from Orly airport.

By train, travellers can travel by the Orlyval (automatic métro), a short 8-minute ride to the RER station 'Antony' in the suburb of Arceuil. From there you can take the RER B rail line north, directly into the heart of Paris. Orlyval operates between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., leaving every 4 to 7 minutes from each Orly terminal (Orly Sud and Orly Ouest). Tickets for this service can be purchased in all métro and RER stations, and also at a special Orlyval sales desk in Orly airport. The one-way Orlyval fare is €7,20 for adults and €3,60 for children.

By bus, travellers can take either bus lines 183 or 285 during the day, and Noctilien all night. All bus services is from the south terminal (Orly Sud). Bus #183 travels to the Porte de Choisy métro station (13e arrondissement), while bus #285 goes to the Villejuif (94800, just south of Paris) Louis Aragon station; both of these stops are served by métro Line 7. Bus 183 runs until 9:40 pm, Bus 285 until 1:30 am. After that time, you can take the Noctilien service, running from 12:30 to 5:30 a.m. Line N31 heads from Orly to the Gare de Lyon (12e arrondissement), where one can transfer to either Line N01 or N02 and continue to any of three other train stations (Gare Montparnasse, Gare St-Lazare, Gare de l'Est). Fares for both day and night buses depend on the number of zones traversed during one's trip. For example, a one-way fare from Orly (Zone 4) to central Paris (Zone 1) requires three tickets, which cost €1.40 each (total €4.20).

Beauvais Airport (BVA) is often billed as a Paris airport and used by budget airlines, most notably Ryanair, but also Sterling, Blue Air, Norwegian Air Shuttle, and Wizzair. The airport is located roughly 80 km out of Paris near the town of Beauvais.

Buses leave the airport 20 minutes after each flight and charge €13 for the 80 minute journey to the Porte Maillot in Paris. Tickets can be bought at the kiosk just outside the airport (cash only!). A cab would cost in the order of €120-160 and the small shuttle buses cost around €18 per person.

Getting Around

By Metro

Paris has a great public transit system that is ideal to shuttle tourists to the sites. Depending on where your hotel is, you may be able to walk to many of the sites, but some of them areas are a bit of a hike. Using the Metro is an easy way to get around. The map of the transit system can be found at the RATP website, http://www.ratp.fr/. There is an interactive map, and a very handy feature that will allow you to enter two addresses, and it will tell you how to get between them.

There are a number of options for tickets to purchase. The key options for a tourist are the Carte Orange Hebdo (Weekly), the Carnet (individual tickets in pack of 10) and the Mobilis (unlimted day pass).

The Carte Orange gives you unlimited weekly trips (they have a monthly version as well) for 15.70 Euros (for zones 1 and 2). Note that you do need a picture for the Carte Orange. A passport sized picture from a photo booth is ideal. If you don't have one, there are photo booths in the system. Chatelet in the heart of the tourist area has one, which for people in the core is probably your best bet.

Tickets can be purchased either as a "Carnet" (10 tickets for 10.70 Euro) or individually (1.40 Euro).

For unlimited trips in a single day, the Mobilis is a one-day unlimited pass for 5.40 Euros.

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