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Paris Tips (your guidebook may not tell you)
Here are some tips that relate specifically to Paris. Since there is so much one can say
about Paris, I'm trying to minimize it by pointing out things specific to our group, to
Americans, or simply small items that tend to be missed in guidebooks.
As with all my suggestions and tips, these are from personal experience, however, you
may find something different.
I noted that a couple of you mentioned meeting at TGIFs. I agree that this is a great idea.
Even though TGIFs is not a sports bar or even a Parisian setting, it is easy to find,
most of the employees speak English, and overall, it would probably be the most open to
hosting a bunch of loud, energetic US soccer fans (let's face it, it's an American Restaurant).
So, if you plan on meeting there, here are the directions.
(Note: If you have a map that shows the location of the Hard Rock Cafe, TGIFs is
right next door. Both are located on the border of the 9th and 2nd arrondisement, on
Blvd. Montmarte (which has nothing to do with the Sacre Coeur or the Montmarte
area).
First, it all depends where you are coming from, but you will want to get onto Metro 8
or 9 (they run parallel for a short distance), and head towards the stations below.
There are two possible stations you can get off of (and the distance is about the same).
If you get off at station Richelieu Drouot, you will notice 2 streets merging into one.
One street is Blvd. Haussman and the other is Blvd. des Italiens. Both merge into Blvd.
Montmarte. Walk in the direction of Blvd. Montmarte (about 50 yards up the street,
on the left side is a McDonald's, about a half block from there is Hard Rock and then
TGIFs (all are on the left side).
If you get off at station Rue Montmarte, you will walk up Blvd. Montmarte (away from
Blvd. Poissonniere) and TGIFs will be on the right (before the Hard Rock and the
McDonalds).
For both stations, the walk is about 100 -150 yards.
While in Paris, you will travel almost everywhere by metro (subway). Here are some
basics that you may want to take note of:
a) Most of the trains stop running between 12:00 and 12:30. I heard once before that
they are going to extend that during the World Cup, however, I can't confirm it. To be
safe, when your at the metro stations, get use to reading the white signs above the
tracks which list the first (premier) and last (dernier) trains. If you miss the last train,
then you will have to find a taxi, and trust me, they aren't always easy to find (especially
late at night!)
b) Expect the Metros to be very, very crowded, especially before and after games!
There is no weight or space limit, so if a person can fit, they will. To give you an idea
how bad it gets, last year (after the Bastille celebration) my feet were not touching the
ground for three stops. We just rolled like a human wave. With that in mind, be
especially careful of pickpockets and your possessions. Also, when they come to your
stop, don't be afraid to be aggressive and force yourself out (obviously try to use polite
and use hand signals, but sometimes, you have to push)..
c) If you hear an announcement on the train in French, it probably means that this is the
train's last stop. The best way to confirm that is watch the French people on the train
(they will roll their eyes and get off), and then look at the people standing along the
tracks (they just stand and don't board the train). Sometimes, someone is nice and will
tell you in English, but don't rely on that.
d) This will be helpful in the next section, but Paris is divided in metro zones. Zones 1
& 2 is the main portion of the city. Zone 3 is the immediate suburbs, and Zone 4-6 is
the far outlying areas. If you look at a Metro map you will notice a central odd shaped
white area, this is Zone 1 & 2. For the most part, you will only travel in these areas.
However, there are a few trips in the other zones. For example, Zone 3 includes the
airports, the stadium in St. Denis, and the La Defense area (but not Parc de Prince).
Zone 5 includes Versaille. The reason I bring this up is really for the next section (ticket
costs). I find I don't really go into these other zones, however, you may want to add up
your own personal trips to see if you do.
Cost of Metro tickets. There are several ways to buy Metro Tickets, below I've
broken out the costs for you, HOWEVER, I notice this year, they have a new pass
called a Mobifoot Pass (just for soccer). I don't know how much it costs, but it is valid
in all of the World Cup Cities. Maybe someone else can give some help on this.
Method 1) Individual tickets cost 10Fr per ticket (all costs are per the Lonely Planet
Guide).
Method 2) A carnet (book) of 10 tickets costs 46 Fr or 4.6 per ticket (obviously
better deal)
Method 3) A Formule 1 Pass cost 40 Fr for unlimited travel for 1 day in Zones 1 - 3
(or 100 Fr for zones 1-5). But, here's the math; this means, to make it equal the book
of 10 tickets, you would have to make 9 trips in one day (count your trips, but 9 is a
lot of trips).
Method 4) The Paris Visite Pass is also valid for unlimited travel for zones 1-3, but for
2/3/5 days at a cost of 70/105/165 Fr. So, for it to balance out to the book of 10
tickets you would have to ride the metro 16 times in 2 days, 23 times in 3 days, and 36
times in 5 days; or 7-8 times per day (that's better, but it's still a little high)
Method 5) The Carte Orange (the local method). The Carte Orange is what Parisians
use for the metro. It allows you to unlimited travel for zones 1 & 2 (you can buy zone
3, but it's more expensive). It's good from Monday to Sunday (so look at your
calendar), and it only costs 70 Fr. So, math wise, if you use the full 7 days, all you
need is 3 trips per day to be cheaper than the book of 10 tickets. HOWEVER, REMEMBER TO
NOTE THE MONDAY TO SUNDAY RESTRICTION.
If you think the Carte Orange is the way for you to go, you will need a passport photo
(you can get one from an automatic machine in some of the metro stations), then go to
a ticket window and show them this statement:
Je voudrais une Carte Orange avec un coupon hebdomadaire.
One last note about passes, if you get on a metro without a ticket, the fine is instant and
rather expensive (and they do have guards checking constantly). A pass is only valid
for one person per ride. Note that Carte Oranges have a photo attached, so it can't be
shared like the others. Another thing is, as I said, estimate your trips. I personally only
use the metro about 4-5 times per day, however I prefer walking a lot (I get to see
more of the city that way). Others of you may be different.
The Museum Pass. The Carte Musees et Monuments covers the major museums,
costs 70/140/200 Fr for 1/3/5 days. If you plan on going to museums a lot, not going
on a Sunday, and don't qualify for a student (under 25) or senior discount, then it is
probably a good buy. However, let me point out, the Louvre only costs 45 Fr to get it,
the Musee D'Orsay 36 Fr, the Musee Rodan is 28 Fr, and unfotunately the Modern
Art Museum (in the Georg Pompidou Center) is closed this year (so I won't detail it's
ticket price).
By the way, if you don't have a guidebook, any tourist office can give you a little
pamplet book (about 10 pages) detailing all of the museums.
1) Musee D'Orsay (Impressionist art)
2) Musee Rodan (Rodan & Claudel)
3) Musee d'Armee (in Les Invalides, a museum dedicated to French military history,
from knights in shining armor to WWII. Even though it's in French, it's still really
interesting (and make sure you see the US items in the WWI and WWII sections)
4) Musee Picasso (Picasso, from beginning to Modern)
5) Musee Orangerie (Impressionist, including Monet's Lilies)
There are plenty of other museums, some I like, some I didn't, and some, quite frankly,
I haven't seen yet.
a) If you like churches, one of my favorite is St. Etienne, right next door to the
Pantheon (by the way the Pantheon is interesting too. It has the graves of France's
most famous: Madam Curie, Victor Hugo, Voltaire, etc, however it is all in French).
You need to go inside the church to understand why. It's rather nice in there.
b) If you go to Ste. Chapelle, do it on a sunny day. The best part of Ste. Chapelle is
the windows, and you need the sun to get a full feeling of it.
c) Pere Lachaise. For those interested in Jim Morrison's grave. I hate to disappoint
you, but they got rid of the graffiti tribute to the Lizard King. They also have a
uniformed guard standing close by. Apparently in the past, fans were writing on the
surrounding tombs, and (as you can imagine) the estates of those people complained.
Pere Lachaise is still a very interesting place though, however here is a tip: The map at
the main entrance is almost worthless. Instead, when you get off the metro station "Pere
Lachaise", you will immediately see a newsstand in front of you. They sell a map for 10
Fr, which is well worth it.
d) Another activity that is well worth the money is climbing to the top of Notre Dame
(you need to be in decent shape though). There are a lot of places you can climb to see
Paris from a distance (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, Georg
Pompidou), however, I liked Notre Dame the best. Probably because it's the most
enchanting (you get to see gargoyles eye-to-eye)
e) I also recommend going to the Eiffel Tower about an hour before sunset. The sunset
from the tower is incredible, and you get to see it change colors as the lights go on (by
the way, most people think it's prettier at night).
Right now, those are the main items I can think of, however, always feel free to ask
questions. I'm always happy to answer them.
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