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Tips for Paris

  • Matt Biddulph
    Matt suggests

    Centre Pompidou has free wifi

    Added December 12th 2007

    Rambuteau metro

    There are lots of nice places to sit and work around the Pompidou - the cafe, the big leather chairs, or even crosslegged on the floor in the corridors if you need to borrow a power socket (there are a few scattered around, and nobody seems to mind you using them).

    There's free wifi throughout the building. You need to fill in an online form, and it's limited to 90 minutes, but very useful.

    www.centrepompidou.fr
    This tip is tagged / wifi
  • Bill Woodcock
    Bill suggests

    Tea in Paris

    Added December 4th 2007

    multiple locations

    Mariage Frères is one of the best tea importers and blenders in the world, and operates several very nice tea-rooms in Paris, with French-style tea service, beyond their principal business of selling tea.

    www.mariagefreres.com
    This tip is tagged / restaurant / tea / teahouse
  • Boris Anthony
    Boris suggests

    Tipping norms

    Added December 10th 2007

    bistro, café, restaurants, bars

    In France, a service charge of 15% is usually included and indicated as "service." A little extra is however welcome for good service.

    This tip is tagged / tipping
  • marco paglia
    marco suggests

    Marché Les Enfants Rouge

    Added February 9th 2008

    rue de Bretagne

    Check out this little market. It has nice food, but especially a bar that serves delicious vine for cheap prizes. Only during the week end.

    This tip is tagged / bar / drink / fun / market / vine / food / weekend
  • Siobhan McKeering
    Siobhan suggests

    Ladurée

    Added December 27th 2007

    21 rue Bonaparte - 75006 Paris

    There are a few Ladureé tea rooms - one on the Rue Royale and one on the Champs Elysées. But there is one on the Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement which is just gorgeous and there is more room inside for customers.

    This tip is tagged / teahouse / cafe / tea / restaurant
  • David Whittle
    David suggests

    Tipping norms

    Added January 29th 2008

    bistro cafe restaurants bars

    re Boris's comment about tipping norms.

    Everywhere in France, the cost of service is included in the bill, by law.

    A small additional tip may be appreciated but is not expected.

    This tip is tagged / tipping
  • Claire  Goasdoué
    Claire suggests

    Bike for fun

    Added June 5th 2008

    Evening/night

    Bonjour!
    I have been living in Paris for about 8 months now, and I really got to "feel" this amazing city ... the day I jumped on a Vélib :)
    What I recommend you: evening/night rides, anywhere - just forget about taking a cab to go back home - and go gO GO !!

    www.velib.paris.fr
  • Vanessa Carolina Marcano
    Vanessa Carolina suggests

    Cool off during the summer

    Added December 27th 2007

    Ligne 8 - Station Balard

    Parc Andre Citroen - a beautiful park with cold water jets that refresh your youthful spirit and wash off your bad mood due to the heat! It wasn't particularly hot when I went, but the experience was excellent! Just take your bag with snacks, beer/wine and music to have a great time. Best of all, you can give your pocket a rest, because it's free. If you want to ride the hot air balloon, though, it's about 10 euros.

    This tip is tagged / park / summer / water
  • Alexander Baxevanis
    Alexander suggests

    A beautiful international bookshop

    Added February 25th 2008

    37 Rue de la Bucherie, on the Left Bank opposite Notre-Dame

    Shakespeare and Company first opened its doors in 1951. For over fifty years, the bookshop has housed numerous writers and hosted readings by published and unpublished authors. Upon entering, you will find yourself in a place Henry Miller described "A wonderland of books".

    www.shakespeareco.org
    This tip is tagged / bookstore / books / shopping / literature
  • Ilan Abehassera
    Ilan suggests

    LeWeb

    Added November 21st

    This tip is tagged / leWeb08
  •  
Mr & Mrs Smith
on Paris
Cityscape: Boulevards and brasseries
City Life: Born to be bon vivants
  • + Getting There

    Automobiles

    Parking can be a challenge, and expensive, but if you want to rent a car your best bet is a hire car is from Hertz go to www.hertz.co.uk as Smithcard members get a ten per cent discount; simply quote '635230' when you reserve the car.

    Planes

    A taxi from Charles de Gaulle airport to the centre costs about €50; buses run regularly into town at a fraction of the cost. RER/TGV trains run from CDG to Gare du Nord every 15 mins from 5h30-23h30 and take 35 mins.

    Trains

    There are six main stations in Paris, all of which are central and link to the underground system. See www.sncf.com/indexe.htm.

  • + Local Knowledge

    Dialing

    France: 33. Paris: 1.

    Reads

    Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire; A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens; A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway; Paris: Capital of the World by P L R Higonnet; Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell; Perfume by Patrick Süskind. Three to Kill by Jean-Patrick Manchette; The Shoe Queen by Anna Davis.

    Do go / Don't Go

    Paris grinds to a halt in August, the national holiday. We love springtime, when the blossom is out.

    Cuisine

    Still-walking steak; croque monsieur; chèvre salad.

    Taxis

    Can be hailed in the street if you're more than 100 metres from a rank (these are all over Paris and have phones if no taxi is waiting). From about €8 you can get a multi-trip ticket (Paris Visite) for Métro, buses and trams.

    Tipping

    In bars, leave small change amounting to about ten per cent. Restaurants usually state service compris; but it is polite to leave change.

    Currency

    Euro.

    Packing

    Sunglasses, silk scarf, cigarette-holder. Map - the taxi drivers can be uncertain sometimes.

  • + Worth Doing

    Arts

    The Louvre (www.louvre.fr) houses some of the world's most famous art (open late on Mondays and Wednesdays; closed Tuesdays and some holidays). The Musée National d'Art Moderne is on level four of the Pompidou Centre (www.centrepompidou.fr). Musée National Picasso Paris is in an old house in the Marais, and is full of the artworks Pablo couldn't bear to part with; the venue is as alluring as the art itself (www.musee-picasso.fr), also the case for Musée d'Orsay, a converted train station (www.musee-orsay.fr).

    And...

    Crazy Horse on Avenue George V (www.lecrazyhorseparis.com) is a cabaret performance in a small theatre where drinks are brought to your seat, meaning you never have to tear your eyes from the semi-naked burlesque dancing girls. Bonheur at the legendary Lido Theatre on Avenue des Champs-Elysées (www.lido.fr) is another kitsch cabaret show that can be lots of fun.

    Shopping

    Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré is one of the city's famous long streets full of designer boutiques; our favourite is Colette, a celebrated lifestyle shop with fashion, books and a café. There are lots of shops, cafés and restaurants in the Marais and Latin Quarter. Porte de Clignancourt market is a fleamarket for clothes and antiques, open Monday-Saturday until 19h. Or arrange to have a selection of Parisian vintage pieces brought to you by Ooh La La! (ring +33 684 765 865 ahead of your trip for details).

    Viewpoint

    Crowded but irresistible, the Eiffel Tower is open 09h30-23h; from mid-June to end August, 09h-midnight. If that doesn't take your fancy, how about the 200-year-old Arc de Triomphe, one of France's most iconic monuments and the epicentre of city-planner Baron Haussmann's star of boulevards; it's worth clambering up its many internal stairs to peer down the Champs Elysées and enjoy pleasingly photogenic panoramic views of the city. Open daily, 10h-22.30h (23h in summer), excluding 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Tickets cost €8 and must be bought 30 minutes before closing.

    Something

    Visitors can now make an excursion to the beach without leaving the city, thanks to the palm-tree-lined white sand of Paris Plage, a summertime addition to the right bank of the Seine (near the Pont Neuf and Hotel de Ville).

  • + Diary

    21 June La Fête de la Musique - the start of summer sees streets lined with stages for live bands. May-June French Open tennis championship (www.fft.fr/rolandgarros/en). June-July Paris Jazz Festival - free concerts in the Parc Floral at weekends. 14 July Bastille Day. August- September Open-air classical music festival, in the Parc Floral every weekend.

Mr & Mrs Smith recommend