Take Paris Personally:
Tips to Get the Most From Your Visit

• Paris is organized into 20 'arrondissements ' , around the left and right banks of the Seine .   Popular 'quartiers ' like the Marais, St. Germain des Pres, and Montmartre are neighborhoods within larger arrondissements.

Getting into Paris with ease

From CDG Airport : 3 options 

• RER B train into Gare du Nord, Chatelet, or Luxembourg
• Air France buses   to the Arc de Triomphe or Montparnasse ,
• Roissy Bus to Opera;   all these connect with major metro or bus lines

• Air France buses to Montparnasse or Invalides (same route)
• Orly Bus to Denfert Rochereau Metro stop (in Montparnasse )

 Getting Around in Paris

• Walk! Paris is compact, quite safe and a visual delight to walk in. Having a good map is essential .   Invest in an easy to carry, very detailed Michelin "Paris Plan" or " Paris Par Arrondissement".
• Or, use the extensive Metro and bus system.   The same tickets work on the buses and metro.   Buy a carnet of ten tickets, or, get a weekly or monthly carte orange.    Some public buses offer exceptional sightseeing.. eg the 24 along the left bank of the Seine , over to Madeleine and St. Lazare, or the 29 from Gare St. Lazare, through the Place des Victoires, and the Marais towards Place de la Bastille.   Note : not all buses run on Sundays/holidays. Consult the maps.
• Get out on the river!   A great way to see the major monuments, Notre Dame, the beautiful bridges crossing the Seine, life along the Quais, etc. Bateaux Mouches and Bateaux Parisiens have one hour cruises for approx $7.00. or longer lunch or dinner cruises.. much more expensive but fun to do once.In warmer weather the "Batobus" Seine shuttle makes various stops in central Paris .   Also, consider cruises on the charming Canal St. Martin.

Getting Cash, Using Credit Cards

• To use cash machines in Paris you need a NUMERIC four digit pin.   
• Credit cards: MC and Visa widely accepted, AMEX is not.

Finding Out What's Happening in Paris

• Publications:
  Two good bets:   Pariscope and Officiel des Spectacles publications; buy from newstands (published Wednesdays, under one Euro!   Invaluable.. and comprehensive!)   Both in French but generally understandable.   Pariscope has a small English section written by 'Time Out' in the back.
• Check the Metro and News Kiosk Posters:
  You'll see striking posters all over Paris promoting upcoming events or current activities.   Look for art, culture, sporting events, special festivals, exhibitions, brocantes , marche aux puces , activities for children. puppet shows.   Music lovers: look for posters for free, or full-fee concerts in the major churches.

Accessing the Riches of Paris ' 100 plus Museums and Monuments

Always check opening days, look for evening hours-much less crowded ways to see the Louvre and Orsay.   Museums always close at least one day per week, usually Mondays or Tuesdays.   First Sundays many offer free admission.

• Private museums (eg. The Jacquemart Andre) with fees to enter
• City of Paris Museums (Carnavalet, Musee de l'Art Moderne, Cognac Jay) Note:   Currently admission is free at all City of Paris Museums.
• The National Museums (eg. The Louvre, Pompidou Center , Orsay, Rodin, Picasso, Guimet, Cluny )   Entrance fees, or use the indispensable pass.

Must Do:   Buy a National Museum and Monuments pass:

1, 3, or 5 day versions. Purchase in any major metro station, or tourist offices. or at the participating museums.   You can purchase with a credit card.   Benefit :   Unlimited visits, come and go as you please and do not stand on line!   Includes all the favorites-the Louvre (separate entrance off rue de Rivoli for pass holders!), St. Chapelle, Musee D'Orsay, Rodin Museum, Arc de Triomphe, Chateau de Versailles, Picasso, the Guimet, Invalides, and many, many more!

Accomodation:   Where and how to stay

• Hotels are rated one through four stars.   Generally a two or three star has charm, and is more than adequate unless you are seeking luxury level accomodations.
• Consider renting a short-term apartment.   Likely to be substantially cheaper than a hotel and you have a kitchen!
• Aparthotels such as the Citadines chain or the Home Plazza Bastille offer little charm but are a compromise between a hotel and apartment .

Useful Resources for accomodations 

Sandra Gustafson's Great Sleeps Paris is an excellent and reliable source for hotel and apartment services recommendations.

Two great web links with extensive information on reliable apartment rental sources, B&B's or hotels are:

• www.frenchlinks.com   links section on writer and custom tour guide Rachel Kaplan's comprehensive site
• www.jack-travel.com    the online "Jack's Inimitable Travel Guide"

Paris Dining: When and how to eat

Despite increasingly busy schedules, Parisians take dining and quality of food very seriously.   You will find a range and level of quality in French dining that is fabulous. wonderful for the visitor who wants to sample great food, French or foreign.   Paris Restaurants generally have limited serving hours, they are open for lunch and dinner and run the gamut from small ethnic establishments specializing in couscous to the temples of French gastronomy.  

Be sensitive to the type of restaurant you are dining in. do not expect the most avant garde French cuisine in a traditional French creperie or bistro, and do not expect to go to a three star restaurant and rush through dinner, or have a salad only.   Regional French cuisine plays a big role in defining Paris restaurants, and is a good key to unlocking very pleasurable dining experiences.

• Bistros are casual, neighborhood restaurants often featuring regional French cuisine/cooking.   There are also many notable "gourmet" bistros, run by chefs who offer superb food in casual surroundings.
  Remember :   Lunch and dinner are available at fixed hours!   Lunch between noon and 2:30 or 3:00 p.m.   Dinner between 7:30 (early for Parisians!!) and 11:30 or midnight . Book for 8:30 or later and you will not be dining with solely American, British or Canadian compatriots. Bistros offer fixed price menus, often with two or three course fixed price and/or a la carte options.   Menus are always posted outside.   If all you want is a salad or soup DO NOT expect to find this in a bistro. instead, go to a café, perhaps a brasserie, a patisserie or a specialty restaurant offering faster foods.   Tax and Service is always included in prix fixe menus.   You do not need to leave an additional tip, but, in my opinion, should if the service is excellent.
• Brasseries are restaurants that serve throughout the day, with large and flexible menus.   The often specialize in Alsatian food, or, offer excellent fresh shellfish. unusual in France, you will find beer as well as wine in Brasseries.   If you have evening theatre tickets your best bet for a pre-theater meal is a brasserie.   Paris has some stunning art nouveau brasseries, worth visiting for the décor as much as for the food.   Bofinger, near La Bastille, Balzac in the Latin Quartier, Lipp in St. Germain des Pres, Julien near Gare du Nord.Chez Jenny near Republique,   Brasserie Flo, all are classic, art nouveau brasseries to visit.
• Cafes:   Paris abounds in cafes ranging from the highly designed, historic, to fabulous to funky.   Cafes are open early morning through late night and are a good source for a coffee, a drink and a snack or light meal.   Many cafes offer a plat du jour in addition to baguette sandwiches or croque monsieurs.
• Wine Bars :   For good wine and often for good, simple food, visit one of Paris' atmospheric wine bars.   Wines by the pichet, bottle, or glass, often reflective of a particular region, can be accompanied by cheeses, charcuterie plates, and sometimes by plats du jour.   Paris wine bars vary widely in elegance, personality, style but they are invariably well worth visiting.   Wine bars can be another source of an excellent light supper before evening theatre or concerts.
• Tea Salons :   A great option for a break from too much exploring , shopping, or cultural overload. Paris offers a fabulous range of tea salons, from elegant temples of tea and superb pastry, to comfortable spaces with good tea and nice light meals and pastries, to zen-like spaces specializing in a particular region or type of tea.   Good for lunch, light dinners, or an afternoon break.
• Traiteurs :   I include traiteurs, (a general term for shops offering prepared food) because often you want a good meal to take away, for a picnic, to your hotel, or apartment.   Paris, capital of civilized and good eating, offers excellent traiteurs in virtually every neighborhood ranging widely across cuisines and types of food on offer.   You may visit upscale food shops like Fauchon, or the stunning Grand Epicerie at the Bon Marche, or shop in the thousands of food stores than line Paris market streets, or, in the roving markets called 'marche volants'.  

Tips on Food Shopping 

• Supermarches: French supermarkets are very good sources for food gifts, and, for take away food or snacks
• Market Streets: Permanent market street, eg. rue Cler in the 7 th or rue Moufettard in the 5 th .   Small shops generally close on Mondays, open 8-1:00, 4-8.
• Roving Markets: Paris' fabulous 'marche volants' set up from one to three days a week in virtually every Paris neighborhood.   They are always worth a visit, but especially the more varied and upscale markets such as Ave. Saxe Breteuil, Ave. President Wilson, Richard Lenoir where you can find all manner of fabulous prepared and fresh food plus flowers, or, great buys in nice scarves, sometimes good leather goods, wine, spices, cookware, salt and pepper grinders, and on and on.   A must for assembling unforgetable picnics! Hours: generally 8-1:00 or 1:30.   Never on Mondays.
• Patisseries: Paris' incomparable pastry shops, often offer bread and croissants
• Boulangeries:   bakeries, which often include some pastry but feature bread
• Charcuteries : stores selling meats, pates, French 'cold cuts'
• Fromageries: shops specializing in Cheese. often are also affineurs, (they age the cheeses on offer in their facilities).   You'll smell the best when you walk in!
• Les Grands Magasins:   The Bon Marche, on the Left Bank, has an incredible block long "Grand Epicerie" rue de Sevres.. Galleries Lafayette on the right bank offers the Lafayette Gourmet Food Halls.. both are fantastic options for food gift or takeway to cook, or ready made. food and wine from all over France, beautifully displayed..
• Monoprix Stores:   Most Monoprix stores have good food departments where you can pick up reasonably priced prepared foods, groceries, cheeses, charcuterie, fruit etc.

Moving Around with Ease.Clustering the Great Sights

• Eiffel Tower with Champs de Mars, Rue Cler, Invalides, Rodin Museum, one-hour cruise on Bateau Mouches, OR , right bank sites like Trocadero, Musee Guimet, Musee de L'Art Moderne, walk up to Arc de Triomphe
• Louvre with Palais Royal, Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Madeleine, Eglise St. Roch (Tuesdays at 12:30 concerts..),   historic passages such as Gallerie Vivienne, Bourse, shopping around Place des Victoires
• Musee D'Orsay, St. Germain, Luxembourg Gardens   OR walk/bus to Notre Dame, cross river to Latin Quarter, Bookinistes along quais, Luxembourg Gardens
• Notre Dame, Conciergerie, St. Chapelle, Ile St. Louis, Ile de la Cite, ancient section of Latin Quarter (left bank) or Marais (right bank), bookinistes along Seine. Can also combine with Louvre. walk along Seine
• Beauborg/Pompidou Centre, Les Halles ,   with Marais, Republique, or Bastille
• Place de la Madeleine, Rue St. Honore shopping, Tuileries, Musee D'Orsay

 Not to be missed Quartiers : for starters!

• The Marais/Bastille for art, nonpareil shopping, cafes, history, clubs
• St. Germain des Pres for fabulous shopping, antiques, art, churches, museums
• Luxembourg Gardens, Luxembourg Quartier, gorgeous gardens, literary history
• The Louvre, Palais Royal and Tuileries
• The Latin Quarter: cafes, history, bookinistes along the Seine
• Canal St. Martin and Republique
• Montmartre; art, history, Sacre Coeur, village atmosphere
• Batignoles: a charming, upscale, village-like neighborhood in the 17th

Recommendations for Great Guides for Walks and Custom Tours

• Rachel Kaplan www.frenchlinks.com
  Professionally guided shopping, art, antiques, gardens, neighborhoods, gastronomy, Jewish culture tours and more!   Tour Paris and environs with the author of Little Known Museums In and Around Paris, and, Best Buys to French Chic-- an Insider's Savvy Shopping Guide to Paris!
• Christiane Michels www.parisphototours.com
  Amateur and professional photographers will want to tour Paris neighborhoods with this bi-lingual Paris resident and professional photographer.   Contact Christiane for a custom tour-- she's also happy to tour and photograph you-- and guide you to memorable Paris photos!
• Paris visitors who are active bicyclists will want to check out Mike's Bike Tours.   Mike's offers tours on bikes or the new Segways. www.mikesbiketoursparis.com

Take Paris Personally is a beginning summary of the incredible riches of Paris-truly one of the world's best cities for art, history, culture, gastronomy, shopping-whatever your interests.

To dig deeper and get to exactly what YOU want from Paris, consult expert advisors and guides like Sally Peabody, through Your Great Days in Paris , www.yourgreatdaysinparis.com , or, Paris-based Rachel Kaplan, for custom, guided tours through www.frenchlinks.com     We can get you to the up and coming neighborhoods, the best shopping sources, the most wonderful restaurants and winebars-and much more!  

We know Paris!   We'd love to share it with you!

sally@yourgreatdaysinparis.com
Your Great Days in Paris