|
Visiting Paris from 2nd Nov - 5th Nov
|
View this Thread in Original format
| XeCUTionER |
Hello Guys,
as the topic says, i`m going to visit paris from 2nd nov till 5th nov with my school!
Any advise for me, where to go or what to do?
Thanks in advance,
Alex |
|
|
| stanymi |
 |
|
|
| d&b |
oh tient Limburg, je connais ça j'y ai été quelques fois..
oui quoi hein , on s'en fou.. hockey.. :p |
|
|
| PEZ68 |
| quote: | Originally posted by stanymi
|
C'est vrai que c'est pas si evident que ca de savoir qu'il y a une tour eiffel a Paris , surtout pour un gars venant d'un pays frontalier :haha: :haha: |
|
|
| Romain |
| quote: | Originally posted by PEZ68
C'est vrai que c'est pas si evident que ca de savoir qu'il y a une tour eiffel a Paris , surtout pour un gars venant d'un pays frontalier :haha: :haha: |
la tour quoi ? |
|
|
| XeCUTionER |
maybe in english? :)
because my french is very bad... ;) |
|
|
| oxy |
| quote: | Originally posted by XeCUTionER
maybe in english? :)
because my french is very bad... ;) |
euh ... The Eiffel Tower ??? :conf:
C'est comme ca qu'on dit, nan ???? :stongue: |
|
|
| jdat |
Vous les gars vous n'aidez jamais personne quand y'a des questions sur le sujet de visites la France :p
Vraiment terrible quand on sait que l'industrie du tourisme est une des plus grandes en France :haha: :haha:
;) :stongue:
( jdat qui vas encore s'faire des amies pour avoir ouvert son bec :toothless ) |
|
|
| stanymi |
nan mais attends t'as vu la question ???
"ou aller et que faire ?"
-->putain t'as des milliards d'endroits où il peut aller avec des milliards² de choses à faire.
Faudrait peut-etre préciser. |
|
|
| jdat |
| quote: | Originally posted by stanymi
nan mais attends t'as vu la question ???
"ou aller et que faire ?"
-->putain t'as des milliards d'endroits où il peut aller avec des milliards² de choses à faire.
Faudrait peut-etre préciser. |
lol Stany il est vener
American Express-- From its administrative headquarters in the Paris suburb of Reuil-Malmaison, at 4 rue de Louis-Blériot, 92561 Reuil-Malmaison CEDEX, Amex operates a 24-hour phone line (tel. 01-47-14-50-00) that handles questions about American Express services (banking, wire transfers, or emergencies that include lost or stolen Amex cards) within greater Paris. Tours, mail drop, money exchange, and wire-transfer services are available at 11 rue Scribe, 9e (tel. 01-47-14-50-00; Métro: Opéra), and a smaller branch at 38 av. Wagram, 8e (tel. 01-42-27-58-80; Métro: Ternes). Both are open for banking services Monday to Saturday from 9am to noon and from 2 to 5pm. Foreign exchange and participation in the company's many guided bus tours in and around Paris are offered at all three branches Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, and Sunday (rue Scribe branch only) from 10am to 4:30pm.
Babysitters-- The best selection of English-speaking sitters is found at Kid Services, 17 rue Molière, 1e (tel. 01-42-61-90-00).
Banks-- Banks in Paris are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. A few are open on Saturday. Ask at your hotel for the location of the bank nearest you. Shops and most hotels will cash your traveler's checks, but not at the advantageous rate a bank or foreign-exchange office will give you, so if you don't have access to your funds through an ATM, make sure you've allowed enough funds for "le weekend."
Business Hours-- Opening hours in France are erratic, as befits a nation of individualists. Most museums close 1 day a week (often Tues) and national holidays; hours tend to be from 9:30am to 5pm. Some museums, particularly the smaller ones, close for lunch from noon to 2pm. Most museums are open Saturday, but many close Sunday morning and reopen in the afternoon. Generally, offices are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but don't count on it. Always call first. Large stores are open from 9 or 9:30am (often 10am) to 6 or 7pm without a break for lunch. Some shops, particularly those operated by non-native French owners, open at 8am and close at 8 or 9pm. In some small stores, the lunch break can last 3 hours, beginning at 1pm.
Dentists-- For emergency dental service, call S.O.S. Dentaire, 87 bd. du Port-Royal, 13e (tel. 01-43-37-51-00; Métro: Port-Royal), Monday to Friday from 8pm to midnight and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am to midnight. For 24-hour walk-in relief, we suggest L'Hôpital Salpetrière, 47 Bd. de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris (tel. 01-42-16-00-00), which specializes in handling accidents affecting the mouth, teeth, and jaws, as well as agonizing toothaches. You can also call or visit the American Hospital, 63 bd. Victor-Hugo, Neuilly (tel. 01-46-41-25-25; Métro: Pont de Levallois or Pont de Neuilly; Bus: 82). A 24-hour English/French dental clinic is on the premises.
Drugstores-- After regular hours, ask at your hotel where the nearest 24-hour pharmacie is. You'll also find the address posted on the doors or windows of other drugstores in the neighborhood. One all-night drugstore is the Pharmacie Derhy, in La Galerie Les Champs, 84 av. des Champs-Elysées, 8e (tel. 01-45-62-02-41; Métro: George V).
Electricity-- In general, expect 200 volts AC (60 cycles), though you'll encounter 110 and 115 volts in some older establishments. Adapters are needed to fit sockets. Many hotels have two-pin (in some cases, three-pin) sockets for electric razors. It's best to ask at your hotel before plugging in any electrical appliance.
Embassies/Consulates-- If you have a passport, immigration, legal, or other problem, contact your consulate. Call before you go, as they often keep strange hours and observe both French and home-country holidays.
The Embassy of the United States, at 2 av. Gabriel, 8e (tel. 01-43-12-22-22; Métro: Concorde), is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm. Passports are issued at its consulate at 2 rue St-Florentin (tel. 01-36-70-14-88; Métro: Concorde). Getting a passport replaced costs $55. The Embassy of Canada is at 35 av. Montaigne, 8e (tel. 01-44-43-29-00; Métro: Franklin D. Roosevelt or Alma-Marceau); it is open Monday to Friday from 9am to noon and 2 to 4pm. The Canadian consulate is at the embassy. The Embassy of the United Kingdom, at 35 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, 8e (tel. 01-44-51-31-00; Métro: Concorde or Madeleine), is open Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 12:30pm and 2:30 to 5pm. The consulate is at the same address. The Embassy of Australia is at 4 rue Jean-Rey, 15e (tel. 01-40-59-33-00; Métro: Bir Hakeim), and is open Monday to Friday from 9:15am to noon and 2:30 to 4:30pm. The Embassy of New Zealand is at 7 ter rue Léonard-de-Vinci, 16e (tel. 01-45-00-24-11; Métro: Victor-Hugo); it is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm and 2:30 to 6pm. The Embassy of Ireland, at 4 rue Rude, 16e (tel. 01-44-17-67-00; Métro: Etoile), is open Monday to Friday from 9:30am to noon.
Emergencies-- For the police, call tel. 17; to report a fire, call tel. 18. For an ambulance, call the fire department at tel. 01-45-78-74-52; a fire vehicle rushes patients to the nearest emergency room. For S.A.M.U., an independently operated, privately owned ambulance company, call tel. 15. For less urgent matters, you can reach the police at 9 bd. du Palais, 4e (tel. 01-53-73-53-71 or 01-53-73-53-73; Métro: Cité).
Hospitals-- Open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 7pm, Central Médical Europe, 44 rue d'Amsterdam, 9e (tel. 01-42-81-93-33; Métro: Liège or St-Lazare), maintains contacts with medical and dental practitioners in all fields. Appointments are recommended. Another choice is the American Hospital of Paris, 63 bd. Victor-Hugo, Neuilly (tel. 01-46-41-25-25; Métro: Pont de Levallois or Pont de Neuilly; Bus: 82), which operates 24-hour medical and dental services. An additional clinic is the Centre Figuier, 2 rue du Figuier, 4e (tel. 01-49-96-62-70; Métro: St-Paul). Call before visiting.
Internet Access-- To surf the Net or check your e-mail, try the Cybercafé Latino, 13 rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique, 5e (tel. 01-40-51-86-94; www.cybercafelatino.com; Métro: Maubert-Mutualité), open daily from 1pm to 2am, or Le Rendez-vous Toyota, 79 av. des Champs-Elysées, 8e (tel. 01-56-89-29-79; www.lerendez-voustoyota.com; Métro: George V), open Tuesday to Thursday from 10:30am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday from 10:30am to midnight, and Sunday from 10:30am to 9pm. See also Le Web Bar in chapter 10.
Liquor Laws-- Supermarkets, grocery stores, and cafes sell alcoholic beverages. The legal drinking age is 16, but persons under that age can be served alcohol in a bar or restaurant if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Wine and liquor are sold every day of the week, year-round. Hours of cafes vary. Some open at 6am, serving drinks to 3am; others are open 24 hours. Bars and nightclubs may stay open as late as they wish.
The Breathalyzer test is used in France, and a motorist is considered "legally intoxicated" with 0.5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood (the more liberal U.S. law is 1g per liter). If convicted, a motorist faces a stiff fine and a possible prison term of 2 months to 2 years. If bodily injury results, sentences can range from 2 years to life.
Mail/Post Offices-- Most post offices in Paris are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm and Saturday from 8am to noon. The main post office (PTT) for Paris is at 52 rue du Louvre, 75001 Paris (tel. 01-40-28-76-00; Métro: Louvre). It's open 24 hours a day for the sale of stamps, phone calls, and sending faxes and telegrams, with limited hours (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm and Sat 8am-noon) for services like the sale of money orders. Stamps can usually be purchased at your hotel reception desk and at cafes with red TABAC signs. You can send faxes at the main post office in each arrondissement.
Airmail letters within Europe cost .45€; to the United States and Canada, .65€; and to Australia and New Zealand, .80€. You can have mail sent to you poste restante (general delivery) at the main post office for a small fee. Take an ID, such as a passport, to pick up mail. American Express offers a poste restante service, but you may be asked to show an American Express card or traveler's checks.
Newspapers/Magazines-- English-language newspapers are available at nearly every kiosk. Published Monday to Saturday, the International Herald-Tribune is the most popular paper with visiting Americans and Canadians; the Guardian provides a British point of view. For those who read in French, the leading domestic newspapers are Le Monde, Le Figaro, and Libération; the top magazines are L'Express, Le Point, and Le Nouvel Observateur. Kiosks are generally open daily from 8am to 9pm.
Pets-- If you have certificates from a vet and proof of rabies vaccination, you can bring most house pets into France.
Police-- Call tel. 17 for emergencies. The principal Préfecture (police station) is at 9 bd. du Palais, 4e (tel. 01-53-71-53-71; Métro: Cité).
Restrooms-- If you're in dire need, duck into a cafe or brasserie to use the toilet. It's customary to make some small purchase if you do so. In the street, the domed self-cleaning lavatories are a decent option if you have small change; Métro stations and underground garages usually have public lavatories, but the degree of cleanliness varies.
Safety-- In Paris, be especially aware of child pickpockets. They roam the capital, preying on tourists around attractions like the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Notre-Dame, and they also often strike in the Métro, sometimes blocking a victim from the escalator. A band of these young thieves can clean your pockets even while you try to fend them off. Their method is to get very close to a target, ask for a handout (sometimes), and deftly help themselves to your money or passport.
Although public safety is not as much a problem in Paris as it is in large American cities, concerns are growing. Robbery at gun- or knifepoint is uncommon, but not unknown. Be careful.
Telephone-- Public phones are found in cafes, restaurants, Métro stations, post offices, airports, and train stations, and occasionally on the streets. Finding a coin-operated telephone in France is an arduous task. A simpler and more widely accepted method of payment is the télécarte, a prepaid calling card available at kiosks, post offices, and Métro stations and costing 7.45€ to 15€ for 50 and 120 units, respectively. A local call costs one unit, which provides you with 6 to 18 minutes of conversation, depending on the rate. Avoid making calls from your hotel, which might double or triple the charges.
To call long distance within France, dial the 10-digit number (9-digit in some cases outside Paris) of the person or place you're calling. To make a direct international call, first dial 00, listen for the tone, then slowly dial the country code, the area code, and the local number. The country code for the U.S. and Canada is 1; Great Britain, 44; Ireland, 353; Australia, 61; New Zealand, 64; and South Africa, 27.
An easy and relatively inexpensive way to call home is USA Direct/AT&T World Connect. From within France, dial any of the following numbers: (tel. 0800/99-00-11, -10-11, -11-11, or -12-11). Then follow the prompt, which will ask you to punch in the number of either your AT&T credit card or a MasterCard or Visa. Along with the U.S., the countries participating in the system -- referred to as World Connect -- include Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. By punching in the number of the party you want in any of these countries, you'll avoid the surcharges imposed by the hotel operator. An AT&T operator is available to help should complications arise during the process.
Time-- France is usually 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time and 9 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time in the United States. French daylight saving time lasts from around April to September, when clocks are set 1 hour ahead of the standard time.
Tipping-- By law, all bills show service compris, which means the tip is included; additional gratuities are customarily given as follows: For hotel staff, tip the porter 1.05€ to 1.50€ per item of baggage, and 1.50€ per day for the chambermaid. You're not obligated to tip the concierge, doorman, or anyone else unless you use his or her services. In cafes and restaurants, waiter service is usually included, though you can leave some small change, if you like. Tip taxi drivers 12% to 15% of the amount on the meter. In theaters and restaurants, give cloakroom attendants at least .75€ per item. Give restroom attendants in nightclubs and such places about .30€. Tip the hairdresser about 15%, and don't forget to tip the person who gives you a shampoo or a manicure 1.50€. For guides for group visits to museums and monuments, .75€ to 1.50€ is a reasonable tip.
Water-- Drinking water is generally safe, though some who are unused to it have gotten diarrhea. If you ask for water in a restaurant, it'll be bottled water (for which you'll pay), unless you specifically request tap water (l'eau du robinet).
Each of Paris's 20 arrondissements possesses a unique style and flavor. You'll want to decide which district appeals most to you and then try to find accommodations there. Later on, try to visit as many areas as you can so you get the full taste of Paris.
1st Arrondissement (Musee Du Louvre/Les Halles) "I never knew what a palace was until I had a glimpse of the Louvre," wrote Nathaniel Hawthorne. Perhaps the world's greatest art museum, the Louvre, a former royal residence, still lures visitors to the 1st arrondissement. Walk through the Jardin des Tuileries, Paris's most formal garden (laid out by Le Nôtre, gardener to Louis XIV). Pause to take in the classic beauty of place Vendôme, the opulent home of the Hôtel Ritz. Zola's "belly of Paris" (Les Halles) is no longer the food-and-meat market of Paris (traders moved to the new, more accessible suburb of Rungis); today the Forum des Halles is a center of shopping, entertainment, and culture.
2nd Arrondissement (La Bourse) Home to the Bourse (stock exchange), this Right Bank district lies between the Grands Boulevards and rue Etienne-Marcel. From Monday to Friday, brokers play the market until it's time to break for lunch, when the movers and shakers of French capitalism channel their hysteria into the area restaurants. Much of the eastern end of the arrondissement (Le Sentier) is devoted to wholesale outlets of the Paris garment district, where thousands of garments are sold (usually in bulk) to buyers from clothing stores throughout Europe. "Everything that exists elsewhere exists in Paris," wrote Victor Hugo in Les Misérables, and this district provides ample evidence of that.
3rd Arrondissement (Le Marais) This district embraces much of Le Marais (the swamp), one of the best-loved Right Bank neighborhoods. (It extends into the 4th as well.) After decades of decay, Le Marais recently made a comeback, though it may never again enjoy the prosperity of its 17th-century aristocratic heyday; today it contains Paris's gay neighborhood, with lots of gay/lesbian restaurants, bars, and stores, as well as the remains of the old Jewish quarter, centered on rue des Rosiers. Two of the chief attractions are the Musée Picasso, a kind of pirate's ransom of painting and sculpture the Picasso estate had to turn over to the French government in lieu of the artist's astronomical death duties, and the Musée Carnavalet, which brings to life the history of Paris from prehistoric times to the present.
4th Arrondissement (Ile De La Cité/Ile St-Louis & Beaubourg) It seems as if the 4th has it all: Notre-Dame on Ile de la Cité, Ile St-Louis and its aristocratic town houses, courtyards, and antiques shops. Ile St-Louis, a former cow pasture and dueling ground, is home to dozens of 17th-century mansions and 6,000 lucky Louisiens, its permanent residents. Seek out Ile de la Cité's two Gothic churches, Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame, a majestic structure that, according to poet e. e. cummings, "doesn't budge an inch for all the idiocies of this world." You'll find France's finest bird and flower markets along with the nation's law courts, which Balzac described as a "cathedral of chicanery." It was here that Marie Antoinette was sentenced to death in 1793. The 4th is also home to the freshly renovated Centre Pompidou, one of the top three attractions in France. After all this pomp and glory, you can retreat to place des Vosges, a square of perfect harmony and beauty where Victor Hugo lived from 1832 to 1848 and penned many of his famous masterpieces. (His house is now a museum)
5th Arrondissement (Latin Quarter) The Quartier Latin is the intellectual heart and soul of Paris. Bookstores, schools, churches, clubs, student dives, Roman ruins, publishing houses, and expensive boutiques characterize the district. Discussions of Artaud or Molière over cups of coffee may be more rare than in the past, but they aren't out of place. Beginning with the founding of the Sorbonne in 1253, the quarter was called Latin because students and professors spoke the language. You'll follow in the footsteps of Descartes, Verlaine, Camus, Sartre, James Thurber, Elliot Paul, and Hemingway as you explore. Changing times have brought Greek, Moroccan, and Vietnamese immigrants, among others, offering everything from couscous to fiery-hot spring rolls and souvlaki. The 5th borders the Seine, and you'll want to stroll along quai de Montebello, inspecting the inventories of the bouquinistes, who sell everything from antique Daumier prints to yellowing copies of Balzac's Père Goriot, in the shadow of Notre-Dame. The 5th also has the Panthéon, built by Louis XV after he recovered from gout and wanted to do something nice for St. Geneviève, Paris's patron saint. It's the resting place of Rousseau, Gambetta, Zola, Braille, Hugo, Voltaire, and Jean Moulin, the World War II Resistance leader whom the Gestapo tortured to death.
6th Arrondissement (St-Germain/Luxembourg) This is the heartland of Paris publishing and, for some, the most colorful Left Bank quarter, where waves of young artists still emerge from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The secret of the district lies in discovering its narrow streets, hidden squares, and magnificent gardens. To be really authentic, stroll with an unwrapped loaf of sourdough bread from the wood-fired ovens of Poilâne at 8 rue du Cherche-Midi. Everywhere you turn, you'll encounter historic and literary associations, nowhere more so than on rue Jacob. At no. 7, Racine lived with his uncle as a teenager; Richard Wagner resided at no. 14 from 1841 to 1842; Ingres lived at no. 27 (now it's the office of the French publishing house Editions du Seuil); and Hemingway once occupied a tiny upstairs room at no. 44. The 6th takes in the Jardin du Luxembourg, a 60-acre playground where Isadora Duncan went dancing in the predawn hours and a destitute Ernest Hemingway went looking for pigeons for lunch, carrying them in a baby carriage back to his humble flat for cooking.
7th Arrondissement (Eiffel Tower/Musée D'Orsay) Paris's most famous symbol, la Tour Eiffel, dominates Paris and especially the 7th, a Left Bank district of residences and offices. The tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, despite the fact that many Parisians (especially its nearest neighbors) hated it when it was unveiled in 1889. Many of Paris's most imposing monuments are in the 7th, like the Hôtel des Invalides, which contains Napoleon's Tomb and the Musée de l'Armée, and the Musée d'Orsay, the world's premier showcase of 19th-century French art and culture, housed in the old Gare d'Orsay. But there's much hidden charm here as well. Rue du Bac was home to the swashbuckling heroes of Dumas's The Three Musketeers and to James McNeill Whistler, who moved to no. 110 after selling Mother. Auguste Rodin lived at what's now the Musée Rodin, 77 rue de Varenne, until his death in 1917.
8th Arrondissement (Champs-Elysées/Madeleine) The showcase of the 8th is the Champs-Elysées, stretching from the Arc de Triomphe to the Egyptian obelisk on place de la Concorde. By the 1980s, the Champs-Elysées had become a garish strip, with too much traffic, fast-food joints, and panhandlers. In the 1990s, Jacques Chirac, then the Gaullist mayor, launched a cleanup, broadening the sidewalks and planting new trees. Now you'll find fashion houses, elegant hotels, restaurants, and shops. Everything in the 8th is the city's best, grandest, and most impressive: It has the best restaurant (Taillevent), the sexiest strip joint (Crazy Horse Saloon), the most splendid square (place de la Concorde), the best rooftop cafe (La Samaritaine), the grandest hotel (the Crillon), the most impressive arch (Arc de Triomphe), the most expensive residential street (avenue Montaigne), the world's oldest subway station (Franklin D. Roosevelt), and the most ancient monument (the 3,300-year-old Obelisk of Luxor).
9th Arrondissement (Opéra Garnier/Pigalle) From the Quartier de l'Opéra to the strip joints of Pigalle (the infamous "Pig Alley" of World War II GIs), the 9th endures, even if fashion prefers other addresses. Over the decades, the 9th has been celebrated in literature and song for the music halls that brought gaiety to the city. 17 bd. de la Madeleine was where Marie Duplessis, who gained fame as the heroine Marguerite Gautier in Alexandre Dumas the younger's La Dame aux camellias, died. (Greta Garbo played her in the film Camille.) Place Pigalle has nightclubs but is no longer home to cafe La Nouvelle Athènes, where Degas, Pissarro, and Manet used to meet. Other attractions include the Folies-Bergère, where cancan dancers have been high-kicking since 1868. It is the rococo Opéra Garnier (home of the Phantom) that made the 9th the last hurrah of Second Empire opulence. Renoir hated it, but generations later, Chagall did the ceilings. Pavlova danced Swan Lake here, and Nijinsky took the night off to go cruising.
10th Arrondissement (Gare Du Nord/Gare De L'Est) The Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est, along with porno houses and dreary commercial zones, make the 10th one of the least desirable arrondissements for living, dining, or sightseeing. We try to avoid it, except for two longtime favorite restaurants: Brasserie Flo (tel. 01-47-70-13-59), 7 cour des Petites-Ecuries, best known for its formidable choucroute, a heap of sauerkraut garnished with everything; and Julien (tel. 01-47-70-12-06), 16 rue du Faubourg St-Denis, called the poor man's Maxim's for its Belle Epoque interiors and moderate prices.
11th Arrondissement (Opéra Bastille) For many years, this quarter seemed to sink lower and lower into decay, overcrowded by working-class immigrants from the far reaches of the former Empire. The opening of the Opéra Bastille, however, has given the 11th new hope and new life. The facility, called the "people's opera house," stands on the landmark place de la Bastille, where on July 14, 1789, 633 Parisians stormed the fortress and seized the ammunition depot, as the French Revolution swept across the city. Over the years, the prison held Voltaire, the Marquis de Sade, and the mysterious "Man in the Iron Mask." The area between the Marais, Ménilmontant, and République is now being called "blue-collar chic," as the artistes of Paris have been driven from the costlier sections of the Marais and can now be found walking the gritty sidewalks of rue Oberkampf. Hip Parisians in search of a more cutting-edge experience are now found living and working among the decaying 19th-century apartments and the 1960s public housing with graffiti-splattered walls.
12th Arrondissement (Bois De Vincennes/Gare De Lyon) Very few out-of-towners came here until a French chef opened a restaurant called Au Trou Gascon . The 12th's major attraction remains the Bois de Vincennes, sprawling on the eastern periphery of Paris. This park is a longtime favorite of French families, who enjoy its zoos and museums, its royal château and boating lakes, and its Parc Floral de Paris, a celebrated flower garden boasting springtime rhododendrons and autumn dahlias. Venture into the dreary Gare de Lyon for Le Train Bleu (tel. 01-43-43-09-06), in the Gare de Lyon, 12e, a restaurant whose ceiling frescoes and Art Nouveau decor are national artistic treasures; the food's good, too . The 12th, once a depressing urban wasteland, has been singled out for budgetary resuscitation and is beginning to sport new housing, shops, gardens, and restaurants. Many will occupy the site of the former Reuilly rail tracks.
13th Arrondissement (Gare D'Austerlitz) Centered around the grimy Gare d'Austerlitz, the 13th might have its devotees, but we've yet to meet one. British snobs who flitted in and out of the train station were among the first of the district's foreign visitors and wrote the 13th off as a dreary working-class counterpart of London's East End. The 13th is also home to Paris's Chinatown, stretching for 13 square blocks around the Tolbiac Métro stop. It emerged out of the refugee crisis at the end of the Vietnam War, taking over a neighborhood that had held mostly Arab-speaking peoples. Today, recognizing overcrowding in the district, the Paris civic authorities are imposing new, not particularly welcome, restrictions on population densities.
14th Arrondissement (Montparnasse) The northern end of this large arrondissement is devoted to Montparnasse, home of the "lost generation" and stamping ground of Stein, Toklas, Hemingway, and other American expats of the 1920s. After World War II, it ceased to be the center of intellectual life, but the memory lingers in its cafes. One of the monuments that sets the tone of the neighborhood is Rodin's statue of Balzac at the junction of boulevards Montparnasse and Raspail. At this corner are some of the world's most famous literary cafes, including La Rotonde, Le Select, La Dôme, and La Coupole. Though Gertrude Stein avoided them (she loathed cafes), other American expatriates, including Hemingway and Fitzgerald, had no qualms about enjoying a drink here (or quite a few of them, for that matter). Stein stayed at home (27 rue de Fleurus) with Alice B. Toklas, collecting paintings, including those of Picasso, and entertaining the likes of Max Jacob, Apollinaire, T. S. Eliot, and Matisse.
15th Arrondissement (Gare Montparnasse/Institute Pasteur) This is a mostly residential district beginning at Gare Montparnasse and stretching to the Seine. In size and population, it's the largest quarter of Paris but draws few tourists and has few attractions, except for the Parc des Expositions, the Cimetière du Montparnasse, and the Institut Pasteur. In the early 20th century, many artists -- like Chagall, Léger, and Modigliani -- lived here in a shared atelier known as "The Beehive."
16th Arondissement (Trocadéro/Bois De Boulogne) Originally the village of Passy, where Benjamin Franklin lived during most of his time in Paris, this district is still reminiscent of Proust's world. Highlights include the Bois de Boulogne; the Jardin du Trocadéro; the Maison de Balzac; the Musée Guimet (famous for its Asian collections); and the Cimetière de Passy, resting place of Manet, Talleyrand, Giraudoux, and Debussy. One of the largest arrondissements, it's known today for its well-heeled bourgeoisie, its upscale rents, and some rather posh (and, according to its critics, rather smug) residential boulevards. The arrondissement also has the best vantage point to view the Eiffel Tower, place du Trocadéro.
17th Arrondissement (Parc Monceau/Place Clichy) Flanking the northern periphery of Paris, the 17th incorporates neighborhoods of bourgeois respectability (in its west end) and less affluent neighborhoods in its east end. It boasts two of the great restaurants of Paris, Guy Savoy and Michel Rostang.
18th Arrondissement (Montmartre) The 18th is the most famous outer quarter of Paris, containing Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge, Sacré-Coeur, and ultratouristy place du Tertre. Utrillo was its native son, Renoir lived here, and Toulouse-Lautrec adopted the area as his own. The most famous enclave of artists in Paris's history, the Bateau-Lavoir, of Picasso fame, gathered here. Max Jacob, Matisse, and Braque were all frequent visitors. Today, place Blanche is known for its prostitutes, and Montmartre is filled with honky-tonks, souvenir shops, and terrible restaurants. You can still find pockets of quiet beauty, though. The city's most famous flea market, the Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt, is another landmark.
19th Arrondissement (La Villette) Today, visitors come to what was once the village of La Villette to see the angular Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, a spectacular science museum and park built on a site that for years was devoted to the city's slaughterhouses. Mostly residential, and not at all upscale, the district is one of the most ethnically diverse in Paris, the home of people from all parts of the former Empire. A highlight is Les Buttes Chaumont, a park where kids can enjoy puppet shows and donkey rides.
20th Arrondissement (Pére-Lachaise Cemetery) The 20th's greatest landmark is Père-Lachaise Cemetery, the resting place of Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Isadora Duncan, Sarah Bernhardt, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Colette, and many others. Otherwise, the 20th arrondissement is a dreary and sometimes volatile melting pot comprising residents from France's former colonies. Though nostalgia buffs sometimes head here to visit Piaf's former neighborhood, Ménilmontant-Belleville, it has been almost totally bulldozed and rebuilt since the bad old days when she grew up here.
The following suggested itineraries will allow first-time visitors to experience Paris's highlights in only a few days.
If You Have 1 Day
Get up early and begin your day with some live theater by walking the streets around your hotel. Find a cafe and order a Parisian breakfast of coffee and croissants. If you're a museum and monument junkie and don't dare return home without seeing the "musts," the top two museums are the Musée du Louvre and Musée d'Orsay, and the top three monuments are the Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre-Dame (which you can see later in the day). If it's a toss-up between the Louvre and the d'Orsay, we'd choose the Louvre because it holds a greater variety of works. Among the monuments, we'd make it the Tour Eiffel for the panoramic view of the city.
If your day is too short to visit museums or wait in line for the tower, we suggest you spend your time strolling the streets. Ile St-Louis is the most elegant place for a walk. After exploring this island and its mansions, wander through such Left Bank districts as St-Germain-des-Prés and the area around place St-Michel, the heart of the student quarter. As the sun sets, head for Notre-Dame, standing along the banks of the Seine. This is a good place to watch the shadows fall over Paris as the lights come on for the night. Afterward, walk along the Seine, where vendors sell books and souvenir prints. Promise yourself a return visit and have dinner in the Left Bank bistro of your choice.
If You Have 2 Days
Follow the above for day 1, except now you can fit in on day 2 more of the top five sights. Day 1 covered a lot of the Left Bank, so if you want to explore the Right Bank, begin at the Arc de Triomphe and stroll down the Champs-Elysées, Paris's main boulevard, until you reach the Egyptian obelisk at place de la Concorde, where some of France's most notable figures lost their heads on the guillotine. Place de la Concorde affords terrific views of La Madeleine, the Palais Bourbon, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Musée du Louvre. Nearby place Vendôme is worth a visit, as it represents the Right Bank at its most elegant, with the Hôtel Ritz and Paris's top jewelry stores. Now we suggest a rest stop in the Jardin de Tuileries, west and adjacent to the Louvre. After a bistro lunch, walk in the Marais for a contrast to monumental Paris. Our favorite stroll is along rue des Rosiers, the heart of the Jewish community. Don't miss place des Vosges. After a rest, select a restaurant in Montparnasse, following in Hemingway's footsteps. This area is far livelier at night.
If You Have 3 Days
Spend days 1 and 2 as above. As you've already seen the Left Bank and the Right Bank, this day should be about your special interests. You might target the Centre Pompidou and the Musée Carnavalet, Paris's history museum. If you're a Monet fan, you might head for the Musée Marmottan-Claude Monet. Or perhaps you'd rather wander the sculpture garden of the Musée Rodin. If you select the Musée Picasso, you can use part of the morning to explore a few of the Marais's art galleries. After lunch, spend the afternoon on Ile de la Cité, where you'll get not only to see Notre-Dame again but also to visit the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette and others were held captive before they were beheaded. And you certainly can't miss the stunning stained glass of Sainte-Chapelle in the Palais de Justice. After dinner, if your energy holds, you can sample Paris's nightlife -- whatever you fancy: the dancers at the Lido or the Folies-Bergère, or a smoky Left Bank jazz club, or a frenzied disco. If you'd like to just sit and have a drink, Paris has some of the most elegant hotel bars in the world -- try the Crillon or the Plaza Athénée.
If You Have 4 Days
For your first 3 days, follow the above. On day 4, head to Versailles, 21km (13 miles) south of Paris, the greatest attraction in the Ile de France. When Louis XIV decided to move to the suburbs, he created a spectacle unlike anything the world had ever seen. Most of the palace remains intact, in all its opulence and glitter. A full day here almost feels like too little time. After you return to Paris for the night, take a good rest and spend the evening wandering around the Left Bank's Latin Quarter, enjoying the student cafes and bars and selecting your bistro of choice for the evening. Two of the livelier streets for wandering are rue de la Huchette and rue Monsieur-le-Prince.
If You Have 5 Days
Spend days 1 to 4 as above. On day 5, devote at least a morning to Montmartre, the community formerly known for its artists atop the highest of Paris's seven hills. Though the starving artists who made it the embodiment of la vie de bohème are long gone, there's much to enchant, especially if you wander the back streets and avoid place du Tertre. Away from the tacky shops and sleazy clubs, you'll see picture-postcard lanes and staircases known to Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Utrillo. It's virtually mandatory to visit Sacré-Coeur, for the view if nothing else. If it's your last night in Paris, let your own interests take over. Lovers traditionally spend it clasping hands in a walk along the Seine; less goo-goo-eyed visitors can still find a full agenda. Try an evening at Willi's Wine Bar, with more than 250 vintages and good food. For a nightcap, we always head for the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz, where Garbo, Coward, and Fitzgerald once lifted their glasses. If that's too elegant, head for Closerie des Lilas in the 6th arrondissement, where you can rub shoulders with the movers and shakers of the film and fashion industries.
Walking Tours | Walking Tour 1
Walking Tour: Montmartre
Start: Place Pigalle (Métro: Pigalle).
Finish: Place Pigalle.
Time: 5 hours, more if you break for lunch. It's a 4km (2 1/2-mile) trek.
Best Time: Any day it isn't raining. Set out by 10am at the latest.
Worst Time: After dark.
There are soft-white three-story houses and slender barren trees sticking up from the ground like giant toothpicks -- that's how Utrillo, befogged by absinthe, saw Montmartre. Toulouse-Lautrec painted it into a district of cabarets, circus freaks, and prostitutes. Today Montmartre remains truer to the dwarfish Toulouse-Lautrec's conception than it does to Utrillo's.
Before all this, Montmartre was a sleepy farm community with windmills dotting the landscape. The name has always been the subject of disagreement, some arguing it originated from the "mount of Mars," a Roman temple at the top of the hill, others asserting it's "mount of martyrs," a reference to the martyrdom of St. Denis, who was beheaded here with fellow saints Rusticus and Eleutherius.
Turn right after leaving the Métro station and go down boulevard de Clichy; turn left at the Cirque Medrano, and begin the climb up rue des Martyrs. On reaching rue des Abbesses, turn left and walk along this street, crossing place des Abbesses. Go uphill along rue Ravignan, which leads to tree-studded place Emile-Goudeau, in the middle of rue Ravignan. At no. 13, across from the Timhôtel, is the:
Bateau-Lavoir (Boat Washhouse)
Though gutted by fire in 1970, this building, known as the cradle of cubism, has been reconstructed by the city. While Picasso lived here (1904-12), he painted one of the world's most famous portraits, The Third Rose (of Gertrude Stein), as well as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Other residents were van Dongen, Jacob, and Gris; Modigliani, Rousseau, and Braque had studios nearby.
Rue Ravignan ends at place Jean-Baptiste-Clément. Go to the end of the street and cross onto rue Norvins (on your right). Here rues Norvins, St-Rustique, and des Saules collide a few steps from rue Poulbot, a scene captured in a famous Utrillo painting. Turn right and go down rue Poulbot. At no. 11 you come to:
Espace Dalí Montmartre
This phantasmagoric world of Espace Montmartre Dalí (tel. 01-42-64-40-10) features 300 original Dalí works, including his famous 1956 lithograph of Don Quixote.
Rue Poulbot crosses tiny:
Place du Calvaire
Here you find a panoramic view of Paris. On this square once lived artist/painter/lithographer Maurice Neumont (a plaque marks the house).
From place du Calvaire, head east along rue Gabrielle, taking the first left north along the tiny street rue du Calvaire, which leads to:
Place du Tertre
This old town square is tourist central. All around the square are terrace restaurants with dance floors and colored lights, while Sacré-Coeur gleams through the trees. The cafes overflow with people, as do the indoor and outdoor art galleries. Some of the "artists" still wear berets (you'll be asked countless times if you want your portrait sketched). The square is so loaded with local color that it can seem gaudy and inauthentic.
Take a Break--Many restaurants in Montmartre, especially those around place du Tertre, are unabashed tourist traps. An exception is La Crémaillère 1900, 15 place du Tertre, 18e (tel. 01-46-06-58-59). As its name suggests, this is a Belle Epoque dining room, retaining much of its original look, including many paintings. You can sit on the terrace opening onto the square or retreat to the courtyard garden. A full menu is served throughout the day, including a standard array of French classics. Go any time daily from noon to 12:30am.
Right off the square fronting rue du Mont-Cenis is:
St-Pierre
Originally a Benedictine abbey, this church has played many roles: a Temple of Reason during the Revolution, a food depot, a clothing store, and even a munitions factory. These days, one of Paris's oldest churches is back to being a church.
Facing St-Pierre, turn right and follow rue Azaìs to:
Sacré-Coeur
The basilica's Byzantine domes and bell tower loom above Paris and present a wide vista. Behind the church, clinging to the hillside, are steep, crooked little streets that have survived the march of progress.
Facing the basilica, take the street on the left (rue du Cardinal-Guibert), then go left onto rue du Chevalier-de-la-Barre and right onto rue du Mont-Cenis. Continue on this street to rue Cortot, then turn left. At no. 12 is the:
Musée de Vieux Montmartre
Musée de Vieux Montmartre (tel. 01-46-06-61-11) presents a collection of mementos of the neighborhood. Luminaries like Dufy, van Gogh, Renoir, and Suzanne Valadon and her son, Utrillo, occupied this 17th-century house, and it was here that Renoir put the final touches on his Moulin de la Galette .
From the museum, turn right, heading up rue des Saules past a winery, a reminder of the days when Montmartre was a farming village on the outskirts of Paris. A grape-harvesting festival is held here every October. The intersection of rue des Saules and rue St-Vincent is one of the most visited and photographed corners of the Butte. Here, on one corner, sits what was the famous old:
Cabaret des Assassins
This was long ago renamed Au Lapin Agile. Picasso and Utrillo frequented this little cottage, which numerous artists have patronized and painted. On any given afternoon, French folk tunes, love ballads, army songs, sea chanteys, and music hall ditties stream out of the cafe and onto the street.
Turn left on rue St-Vincent, passing the Cimetière St-Vincent on your right. Take a left onto rue Girardon and climb the stairs. In a minute or two, you'll spot on your right two of the windmills (moulins) that used to dot the Butte. One of these, at no. 75, is the:
Moulin de la Galette
This windmill (entrance at 1 av. Junot) was built in 1622 and was immortalized in oil by Renoir (the painting is in the Musée d'Orsay). When it was turned into a dance hall in the 1860s, it was named for the galettes (cakes made with flour ground inside the mills) that were sold here. Later, Toulouse-Lautrec, van Gogh, and Utrillo visited the dance hall. A few steps away, at the angle of rue Lepic and rue Girardon, is the Moulin Radet, now part of a restaurant.
Turn right onto rue Lepic and walk past no. 54. In 1886, van Gogh lived here with his brother Guillaumin. Take a right turn onto rue Joseph-de-Maistre, then left again on rue Caulaincourt until you reach the:
Cimetière de Montmartre
This final resting place is second in fame only to Père-Lachaise and is the haunt of Nijinsky, Dumas fils, Stendhal, Degas, and Truffaut, among others.
From the cemetery, take avenue Rachel, turn left onto boulevard de Clichy, and go to place Blanche, where stands a windmill even better known than the one in Renoir's painting, the:
Moulin Rouge
One of the world's most talked about nightclubs, Toulouse-Lautrec immortalized the Moulin Rouge. The windmill is still here, so is the cancan, but the rest has become an expensive, slick variety show with an emphasis on undraped females.
From place Blanche, you can begin a descent on:
Boulevard de Clichy
En route, you'll have to fight off the pornographers and hustlers trying to lure you into sex joints. With some rare exceptions, notably the citadels of the chansonniers (songwriters), boulevard de Clichy is one gigantic tourist trap. But everyone who comes to Paris invariably winds up here.
The boulevard strips and peels its way down to where you started:
Place Pigalle
The center of nudity in Paris was named after a French sculptor, Pigalle, whose closest brush with nudity was a depiction of Voltaire in the buff. Toulouse-Lautrec had his studio right off the square at 5 av. Frochot. Of course, place Pigalle was the notorious "Pig Alley" of World War II. When Edith Piaf was lonely and hungry, she sang in the alleyways, hoping to earn a few francs for the night.
Walking Tours | Walking Tour 2
Walking Tour: Latin Quarter
Start: Place St-Michel (Métro: St-Michel).
Finish: The Panthéon.
Time: 3 hours, not counting stops.
Best Time: Any weekday, Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm.
Worst Time: Sunday morning, when everybody is asleep.
This is the precinct of the Université de Paris (known for its most famous branch, the Sorbonne), where students meet and fall in love over café crème and croissants. Rabelais named it the Quartier Latin after the students and the professors who spoke Latin in the classroom and on the streets. The sector teems with belly dancers, restaurants, cafes, bookstalls, caveaux (basement nightclubs), clochards (bums), chiffonniers (ragpickers), and gamins (kids).
A good starting point for your tour is:
Place St-Michel
Balzac used to draw water from the fountain (Davioud's 1860 sculpture of St. Michel slaying the dragon) when he was a youth. This was the scene of frequent skirmishes between the Germans and the Resistance in the summer of 1944, and the names of those who died here are engraved on plaques around the square.
Take a Break--Open 24 hours, Café le Départ St-Michel, 1 place St-Michel (tel. 01-43-54-24-55), lies on the banks of the Seine. The decor is warmly modern, with etched mirrors reflecting the faces of a diversified crowd. If you want to fortify yourself for your walk, opt for one of the warm or cold snacks, including sandwiches.
To the south, you find:
Boulevard St-Michel
Also called by locals Boul' Mich, this is the main street of the Latin Quarter as it heads south. This is a major tourist artery and won't give you a great insight into local life. For that, you can branch off onto any of the streets that feed into the boulevard, and find cafes, bars, gyro counters, ice-cream stands, crêpe stands, and bistros like those pictured in movies set in Paris in the 1950s. The Paris Commune began here in 1871, as did the student uprisings of 1968.
From place St-Michel, with your back to the Seine, turn left down:
Rue de la Huchette
This typical street was the setting of Elliot Paul's The Last Time I Saw Paris (1942). Paul first wandered here "on a soft summer evening, and entirely by chance," in 1923 and then moved into no. 28, the Hôtel Mont-Blanc. Though much has changed, some of the buildings are so old they have to be propped up by timbers. Paul captured the spirit of the street more evocatively than anyone, writing of "the delivery wagons, makeshift vehicles propelled by pedaling boys, pushcarts of itinerant vendors, knife-grinders, umbrella menders, a herd of milk goats, and the neighborhood pedestrians." (The local bordello has closed, however.) Today you see lots of Greek restaurants.
Branching off from this street to your left is:
Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche
This is said to be the shortest, narrowest street in the world, containing not one door and only a handful of windows. It's usually filled with garbage or lovers or both. Before the quay was built, the Seine sometimes flooded the cellars of the houses, and legend has it that an enterprising cat took advantage of its good fortune and went fishing in the confines of the cellars -- hence the street's name, which means "Street of the Cat Who Fishes."
Now retrace your steps toward place St-Michel and turn left at the intersection with rue de la Harpe, which leads to rue St-Séverin. At the intersection, take a left to see:
St-Séverin
A flamboyant Gothic church named for a 6th-century recluse, St-Séverin was built from 1210 to 1230 and was reconstructed in 1458, over the years adopting many of the features of Notre-Dame, across the river. The tower was completed in 1487 and the chapels from 1498 to 1520; Hardouin-Mansart designed the Chapelle de la Communion in 1673 when he was 27, and it contains some beautiful Roualt etchings from the 1920s. Before entering, walk around the church to examine the gargoyles, birds of prey, and reptilian monsters projecting from its roof. To the right, facing the church is the 15th-century "garden of ossuaries." The stained glass inside St-Séverin, behind the altar, is a stunning adornment using great swaths of color to depict the Seven Sacraments.
After visiting the church, go back to rue St-Séverin and follow it to rue Galande, then continue on until you reach:
St-Julien-le-Pauvre
This church is on the south side of square René-Viviani. First stand at the gateway and look at the beginning of rue Galande, especially the old houses with the steeples of St-Séverin rising across the way; it's one of the most frequently painted scenes on the Left Bank. Enter the courtyard and you'll be in medieval Paris. The garden to the left offers the best view of Notre-Dame. Everyone from Rabelais to Thomas Aquinas has passed through the doors of this church. Before the 6th century, a chapel stood on this spot. The present church goes back to the Longpont monks, who began work on it in 1170 (making it the oldest church in Paris). In 1655, it was given to the Hôtel Dieu and in time became a small warehouse for salt. In 1889, it was presented to the followers of the Melchite Greek rite, a branch of the Byzantine church.
Return to rue Galande and turn left at the intersection with rue St-Séverin. Continue until you reach rue St-Jacques, turn left, and turn right when you reach boulevard St-Germain. Follow this boulevard to rue de Cluny, turn left, and head toward the entrance to the:
Musée de Cluny
Even if you're rushed, see The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and the remains of the Roman baths.
After your visit to the Cluny, exit onto boulevard St-Michel, but instead of heading back to place St-Michel, turn left and walk to place de la Sorbonne and the:
Sorbonne
One of the most famous academic institutions in the world, the Sorbonne was founded in the 13th century by Robert de Sorbon, St. Louis's confessor, for poor students who wished to pursue theological studies. By the next century it had become the most prestigious university in the West, attracting such professors as Thomas Aquinas and Roger Bacon and such students as Dante, Calvin, and Longfellow. Napoleon reorganized it in 1806. The courtyard and galleries are open to the public when the university is in session. In the Cour d'Honneur are statues of Hugo and Pasteur. At first glance from place de la Sorbonne, the Sorbonne seems architecturally undistinguished. In truth, it was rather indiscriminately reconstructed in the early 1900s. A better fate lay in store for the:
Eglise de la Sorbonne
Built in 1635 by Le Mercier, this church contains the marble tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, a work by Girardon based on a design by Le Brun. At his feet is the remarkable statue Learning in Tears.
From the church, go south on rue Victor-Cousin and turn left at rue Soufflot. At street's end lies place du Panthéon and the:
Panthéon
Sitting atop Mont Ste-Geneviève, this nonreligious temple is the final resting place of such distinguished figures as Hugo, Zola, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Curie.
Walking Tours | Walking Tour 3
Walking Tour: The Marais
Start: Place de la Bastille (Métro: Bastille).
Finish: Place de la Bastille.
Time: 4 1/2 hours, with only brief stops en route. The distance is about 4.5km (2 3/4 miles).
Best Time: Monday to Saturday, when more buildings and shops are open. If interiors are open, often you can walk into courtyards.
Worst Time: Toward dusk, when shops and museums are closed, and it's too dark to admire the architectural details.
When Paris began to overflow the confines of Ile de la Cité in the 13th century, the citizenry began to settle in Le Marais, a marsh that used to be flooded by the Seine. By the 17th century, the Marais had become the center of aristocratic Paris and some of its great mansions (hôtels particuliers), many now restored or still being spruced up, were built by the finest craftsmen in France. In the 18th and 19th centuries, fashion deserted the Marais for the expanding Faubourg St-Germain and Faubourg St-Honoré. Industry took over, and once-elegant hotels deteriorated into tenements. There was talk of demolishing the neighborhood, but in 1962 the community banded together and saved the historic district.
Today, the 17th-century mansions are fashionable once again. The International Herald Tribune called this area the latest refuge for the Paris artisan fleeing the tourist-trampled St-Germain-des-Prés. (However, that doesn't mean the area doesn't get its share of tourist traffic; quite the contrary.) The "marsh" sprawls across the 3rd and 4th arrondissements bounded by the Grands Boulevards, rue du Temple, place des Vosges, and the Seine. It has become Paris's center of gay/lesbian life, particularly on rues St-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, des Archives, and Vieille-du-Temple, and is a great place for window-shopping in trendy boutiques, up-and-coming galleries, and more.
Begin your tour at the site that spawned one of the most celebrated and abhorred revolutions in human history:
Place de la Bastille
On July 14, 1789, a mob attacked the Bastille prison located here, igniting the French Revolution. Now nothing of this symbol of despotism remains. Built in 1369, its eight huge towers once loomed over Paris. Within them, many prisoners, some sentenced by Louis XIV for "witchcraft," were kept, the best known being the "Man in the Iron Mask." And yet when the revolutionary mob stormed the fortress, only seven prisoners were discovered. (The Marquis de Sade had been shipped to the madhouse 10 days earlier.) The authorities had discussed razing it, so the attack meant little. But what it symbolized and what it unleashed can never be undone, and each July 14 the country celebrates Bastille Day with great festivity. Since the late 1980s, what had been scorned as a grimy-looking traffic circle has become an artistic focal point, thanks to the construction of the Opéra Bastille on its eastern edge.
It was probably easier to storm the Bastille in 1789 than it is now to cross over to the center of the square for a close-up view of the:
Colonne de Juillet
The July Column doesn't commemorate the Revolution but honors the victims of the July Revolution of 1830, which put Louis-Philippe on the throne after the heady but wrenching victories and defeats of Napoleon Bonaparte. The winged God of Liberty, whose forehead bears an emerging star, crowns the tower.
From place de la Bastille, walk west along rue St-Antoine for about a block. Turn right and walk north along rue des Tournelles, noting the:
Statue of Beaumarchais
Erected in 1895, it honors the 18th-century author of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, set to music by Rossini and Mozart.
Continue north for a long block along rue des Tournelles, then turn left at medieval-looking rue Pas-de-la-Mule (Footsteps of the Mule), which will open suddenly onto the northeastern corner of enchanting:
Place des Vosges
This is Paris's oldest square and once its most fashionable, boasting 36 brick-and-stone pavilions rising from covered arcades that allowed people to shop no matter what the weather. The buildings were constructed according to a strict plan: The height of the facades is equal to their width and the height of the triangular roofs is half the height of the facades. It was begun on Henri IV's orders and called place Royal; the king intended the square to be the scene of businesses and social festivities and even planned to live there, but Ravaillac had other plans and assassinated Henri 2 years before its completion. In 1559, Henri II was killed while jousting on the square, near the Hôtel des Tournelles; his widow, Catherine de Médicis, had the place torn down. By the 17th century, the square was the home of many aristocrats. During the Revolution, it was renamed place de l'Invisibilité, and its statue of Louis XIII was stolen (probably melted down). A replacement now stands in its place.
In 1800, the square was renamed place des Vosges because the Vosges département was the first in France to pay its taxes to Napoleon. The addition of chestnut trees sparked a controversy; critics say they spoil the perspective. Even though its fortunes waned when the Marais went out of fashion, place des Vosges is back big time. Over the years, the famous often took up residence: Descartes, Pascal, Cardinal Richelieu, courtesan Marion Delorme, Gautier, Daudet, and Mme de Sévigné all lived here. But its best-known occupant was Victor Hugo (his home, now a museum, is the only house open to the public).
Place des Vosges is the centerpiece of many unusual, charming, and/or funky shops. At 20 place des Vosges is one of the best of these:
Deborah Chock
This shop (tel. 01-48-04-86-86) sells reproductions of the colorful and contemporary paintings of Deborah Chock, who is noted for the pithy phrases on the background of her paintings that reflect insights from the worlds of poetry, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. Use it as a debut before you explore the many other art galleries in the neighborhood. The staff is English-speaking and well versed in the currents of the Paris art scene.
Take a Break--Two cafes hold court from opposite sides of place des Vosges, both serving café au lait, wine, and eaux de vie, sandwiches, pastries, and tea: Ma Bourgogne at no. 19 (tel. 01-42-78-44-64), on the western edge, and La Chope des Vosges at no. 22 (tel. 01-42-72-64-04).
Near the square's southeastern corner at 6 place des Vosges, commemorating the life and times of a writer whose works were read with passion in the 19th century, is the:
Maison de Victor Hugo
Hugo's former home is now a museum (tel. 01-42-72-10-16) and literary shrine. Hugo lived there from 1832 to 1848, when he went into voluntary exile on the Channel Islands after the rise of the despotic Napoleon III.
Exit from place des Vosges from its northwestern corner (opposite the Maison de Victor Hugo) and walk west along rue des Francs-Bourgeois until you reach the intersection with rue de Sévigné, then make a right. At no. 23 is the:
Musée Carnavalet
This 16th-century mansion is now a museum (tel. 01-44-59-58-32) devoted to the history of Paris and the French Revolution.
Continue to a point near the northern terminus of rue de Sévigné, noting no. 29 (now part of the Carnavalet). This is the:
Hôtel le Peletier de St-Fargeau
The structure bears the name of its former occupant, who was considered responsible for the death sentence of Louis XVI. It's used as offices and can't be visited.
At the end of the street, make a left onto lovely rue du Parc-Royal, lined with 17th-century mansions. It leads to place de Thorigny, where at no. 5 you'll find the:
Musée Picasso
The museum occupies the Hôtel Salé, built by a salt-tax collector. You can visit the museum either now or come back at the end of the tour.
Walk northeast along rue Thorigny and turn left onto rue Debelleyme. After a block, near the corner of rue Vieille-du-Temple, at 108 rue Vieille-du-Temple, is a worthwhile art gallery among the dozens in this neighborhood:
Yvon Lambert
This gallery (tel. 01-42-71-09-33) specializes in contemporary and sometimes radically avant-garde art by international artists. The art is displayed in a cavernous main showroom, spilling over into an "annex" room. An excellent primer for the local arts scene, it provides an agreeable contrast to the 17th-century trappings all around you.
Continue north for 2 short blocks along rue Debelleyme until you reach rue de Bretagne. Anyone who appreciates a really good deli will want to stop at 14 rue de Bretagne:
Les Iles Grecques
This deli (tel. 01-42-71-00-56) is the most popular of the area's ethnic take-out restaurants, a perfect place to buy picnic supplies before heading to square du Temple (up rue de Bretagne) or place des Vosges. You'll find moussaka, stuffed eggplant, stuffed grape leaves, olives, tarama (a savory paste made from fish roe), and both meatballs and vegetarian balls. It's open Monday from 3:30 to 8pm and Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 2pm and 3:30 to 8pm.
After you fill up on great food, note that at the same address is:
Hier, Aujourd'hui, et Demain
At this shop (tel. 01-42-77-69-02) you can appreciate France's love affair with 1930s Art Deco. Michel, the owner, provides an array of bibelots and art objects, with one of the widest selections of colored glass in town. Works by late-19th-century glassmakers such as Daum, Gallé, and Legras are shown. Some items require special packing and great care in transport; others (many amusing) can be carted home as souvenirs.
Now walk southeast along rue Charlot to no. 10 at the corner of rue Pastourelle, where you'll be tempted by the fabrics of:
Dominique Picquier
Looking to redo your settee? This stylish shop (tel. 01-42-72-39-14) sells a wide roster of fabric (50% cotton, 50% linen) that stands up to rugged use. Most patterns are based on some botanical inspiration, like ginkgo leaves, vanilla pods and vines, and magnolia branches. Most cost 75€ per meter (3 1/4 ft.), although some particularly plush velvets can go as high as 150€ per meter.
Nearby, at 9 rue Charlot, adjacent to the corner of rue Charlot and rue du Perche, is the Marais's large experimental art gallery, the:
Passage de Retz
Opened in 1994, this avant-garde gallery (tel. 01-48-04-37-99) has about 630 sq. m (6,781 sq. ft.) of space to show off its highly amusing exhibits. It has shown Japanese textiles, American abstract expressionist paintings, modern Venetian glass, contemporary Haitian paintings, and selections from affiliated art galleries in Québec.
Walk 1 block farther along rue Charlot, turn left for a block onto rue des 4 Fils, then go right on rue Vieille-du-Temple to no. 87, where you'll come across Delamair's:
Hôtel de Rohan
The fourth Cardinal Rohan, the larcenous cardinal of the "diamond necklace scandal" that led to a flood of destructive publicity for Marie Antoinette, once lived here. The first occupant of the hotel was reputed to be the son of Louis XVI. The interior is usually closed to the public, except during an occasional exhibit. If it's open, check out the amusing Salon des Singes (Monkey Room). Sometimes you can visit the courtyard, which boasts one of the finest sculptures of 18th-century France, The Watering of the Horses of the Sun, with a nude Apollo and four horses against a background of exploding sunbursts. (If you want to see another Delamair work, detour to 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois to see the extraordinary Hôtel de Soubise, now housing the Musée de l'Histoire de France
Along the same street at no. 47 is the:
Hôtel des Ambassadeurs de Hollande
Here, Beaumarchais wrote The Marriage of Figaro. It's one of the most splendid mansions in the Marais, and despite its name was never occupied by the Dutch embassy.
Continue walking south along rue Vieille-du-Temple until you reach:
Rue des Rosiers
Rue des Rosiers (Street of the Rosebushes) is one of the most colorful and typical streets remaining from Paris's old Jewish quarter, and you'll find an intriguing blend of living memorials to Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions. The Star of David shines from some of the shop windows; Hebrew letters appear, sometimes in neon; couscous is sold from shops run by Moroccan, Tunisian, or Algerian Jews; restaurants serve kosher food; and signs appeal for Jewish liberation. You'll come across many delicacies you might've read about but never seen, such as sausage stuffed in a gooseneck, roots of black horseradish, and pickled lemons.
Take a Break--The street offers a cornucopia of ethnic eateries that remain steadfast to their central European, Ashkenazi origins. Chez Jo Goldenberg, 7 rue des Rosiers (tel. 01-48-87-20-16), has plenty of room to sit down and eat.
Take a left onto rue des Rosiers and head down to rue Pavée, which gets its name because it was the first street in Paris, sometime during the 1300s, to have cobblestones placed over its open sewer. At this "Paved Street," turn right and walk south until you reach the St-Paul Métro stop. Make a right along rue François-Miron and check out no. 68, the 17th-century:
Hôtel de Beauvais
Though the facade was damaged in the Revolution, it remains one of Paris's most charming hotels. A plaque announces that Mozart lived there in 1763 and played at the court of Versailles. (He was 7 at the time.) Louis XIV presented the mansion to Catherine Bellier, wife of Pierre de Beauvais and lady-in-waiting to Anne of Austria; she reportedly had the honor of introducing Louis, then 16, to the facts of life. To visit the interior, apply to the Association du Paris Historique on the ground floor.
Continue your walk along rue François-Miron until you come to a crossroads, where you take a sharp left along rue de Jouy, cross rue Fourcy, and turn onto rue du Figuier, where at no. 1 you'll see the:
Hôtel de Sens
The structure was built between the 1470s and 1519 for the archbishops of Sens. Along with the Cluny on the Left Bank, it's the only domestic architecture remaining from the 15th century. Long after the archbishops had departed in 1605, the wife of Henri IV, Queen Margot, lived here. Her new lo |
|
|
| d&b |
| ah ben là il est heureux il va pouvoir trouver quoi faire.. :p |
|
|
| maxxyme |
T'as trouvé ça où jdat ?
Parce que là j'avoue que c'est un peu indigeste à lire sur le forum (je lirai bien ça un de ces jours, mais dans un format un peu plus "soft" ;)) |
|
|
|
|
