Paris is known as the “City of Lights” and fully deserves its name. But Paris is much more than that, is one of the best tourist destinations, offering everything a tourist could want.
A stay in Paris should include, at least, a visit to the Louvre, one of the most impressive and famous museums in the world, a climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral tour.
You should climb the steps to Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, to wander through Tertre Square in front of the basilica or Latin Quarter (Saint Germain, Boulevard Saint Michel), visit Pigalle district and feel the atmosphere of the street singers, in front of Centre Pompidou.
What to expect in Paris
√ Language: French
√ Currency: Euro, 1 euro = 100 cents
√ Clime: Paris has a typical Western European oceanic climate which is affected by the North Atlantic Current.
Cuisine
In recent years, the kitchen has become more healthy. Given that a typical Parisian meal is high in cholesterol, it is said that French cuisine is enjoyable for the stomach, but not for the heart. Today there are over 5000 restaurants in Paris, with variations of menus and prices.
Breakfast must include the traditional Parisian croissant that can be bought from a local patisserie or boulangerie.
Also from boulangerie you can buy many types of bread. The most famous is the baguette as well as a pain chocolat (bread with chocolate chips), pain aux noix (bread with nuts), pain de campagne (traditional bread), brie bread (bread with very thick crust, made in Normandy).
Restaurants
√ A Parisian bistro is a smaller restaurant where the menu varies daily and is written in chalk.
Dishes are specific and include “coq au vin” (rooster cooked with wine, mushrooms and garlic optional), “pot-au-feu” (a kind of stew beef with vegetables), “confit de canard” (specialty
rate), ‘calves’ liver’ (based on liver), “entrecote” (beef steak) and “turbot have beurre” (turbot is a fish).
√ “Bistrot à Vin”, great place for a romantic dinner, is a bistro that has a wine bar and offers the usual dishes, sausages, cheese and meat.
√ Brasserie, French equivalent of the brewery, is open all day and offers many types of wine and beer and also traditional dishes: Sauerkraut (sour cabbage) and seafood.
√ A café serves coffees, teas and alcoholic drinks but also croquettes, different types of salad, fries.
√ In a “Salon de Thé” are no alcoholic beverages, but you will find cakes, salads, sandwiches. Usually these cafes are open only around noon.
Getting around
The best way to visit Paris is by using the underground metro. Paris has an excellent network of underground lines. There are 16 subway lines (1-14, 3bis and 7bis). and the metro circulates between 5 am and 12:30 at night (Saturday night until 1:30 ). Line 14 is automatic fully and is called Meteor.
One of the ways to visit many museums and touring objectives at a lower price is Paris Museum Pass, a prepaid ticket that provides access to over 70 attractions and museums.
√ In the heart of acrowded city like Paris, Arc de Triomphe is linked to our collective subconscious in a way that exceeds its artistic and architectural value.
The construction of the monument, which was meant to be a tribute to the victories of the Emperor Napoleon, was not completed until the Battle of Waterloo. “Arc de Triomphe” measures 49.5 meters high, 45 meters wide and 22 deep and is the second largest triumphal arch existing in the world. It is so big that in the closing celebrations War I, a pilot flew with his biplane under it.
√ If you go in Paris you should necessarily visit the Eiffel Tower.
The monument gets its name from the designer, Gustave Eiffel and is the tallest building in Paris.
Together with its antenna of 24 meters, the structure measures 325 meters high. When the construction was completed in 1889, the structure was declared the tallest building in the world, a title which belonged until 1930 to the Chrysler Building in New York. The tower weighs over ten thousand tons.
Eiffel Tower has two restaurants: Altitude 95 on the first floor (95 m high) and Jules Verne on the second floor.
√ Basilica Sacre Coeur is a Roman Catholic basilica, a popular tourist attraction in Paris.
Architect Paul Abadie designed the basilica after winning a competition against 77 other architects. He was known for his restoration of the Cathedral of Saint Front of Périgueux.
The entrance to the cathedral is free. There is also a museum and a treasury.
√ Notre Dame is not the largest cathedral in the world, but it certainly is the most famous.
This Gothic masterpiece is located on the Île de la Cité, a small island in the heart of the city. Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully began construction in 1163.
Notre Dame has two organs: Great Organ, which has five keyboards and 56 notes, 111 registers and 7374 tubes; and Organ Choir, which has two keyboards and 1,840 tubes.
The cathedral is open daily between 7:45 am and 6:45 pm.
√ Moulin Rouge, built in 1889 by Josep Oller is another famous place in Paris.
Moulin Rouge is so famous because it is considered the place where modern form of the can-can dance was born.
√ The Louvre Museum, full of historical value is the national museum of France.
Since 2008 the Louvre Museum collection is divided into eight categories: Ancient Egypt; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Empire; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Painting; Prints and Drawings.
Today the museum has over 380,000 objects and 35,000 works of art.
The collection of paintings includes over 6,000 pieces dating from the XIII century until 1848. In Louvre you can also found the masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, among many other works of art of inestimable value.
√ Castle of Versailles was the official residence for the kings of France between 1682 and 1790. Originally it was just a hunting box, built in 1624 by Ludovic XIII. It was expanded by Ludovic XIV in early 1669.
The famous Hall of Mirrors has 73 meters long, 10.5 meters wide and 12.3 meters high. On its ceiling are painted several scenes from the life of King Ludovic XIV.
√ Place de la Concorde is the largest public square in Paris and separates the Tuileries gardens of the Avenue Champs-Elysees.
The construction of the market, which has the shape of an octagon began in 1754 and was completed in 1763.
√ Paris Opera House was built between 1862 and 1875 by architect Charles Garnier.
The idea to build a new opera appeared since 1820 when it was discovered an underground lake and Lloyd Webber recalled in “The Phantom of the Opera”. Although this problem has been solved, the lake still exist in the basement of the building.
Where to stay in Paris (our proposal)
1. Hotel Printania – 150 rue d’Avron, 75020 Paris
Location: Downtown
̶ Single: 36 Euro / night
̶ Double: 44 Euro / night
2. Hotel Batignolles Villiers – 11 Rue Des Batignolles, 75017 Paris
Location: Downtown
̶ Single: 49 Euro / night
̶ Double: 56 Euro / night
3. Comfort Hotel Place du Tertre – 16 Rue Tholozé, 75018 Paris
Location: In the city center, a few minutes from the Moulin Rouge and the Champs-Elysees.
̶ Single: 64 Euro / night
̶ Double: 64 Euro / night