These are some pieces of information – merely operational - for people who are going to Paris.
The flight: We were 4 and travelled with Ryan Air company, we left from Treviso (mentioned as Venice) and arrived in Bouvais (mentioned as Paris); We paid 189 € each. Flying with a low cost company implies secondary stopovers and uneasy timetables. I recommend it only if there is a considerable price difference (at least 50,00 €) with a regular flight (Air France). A little airport has lot of good qualities, such as few gates, few people, cheaper parkings) but also lacks (poor organization, little information)… The check in area of the Airport in Treviso is as big as my living room, the one in Bouvais seems a place for village fairs (the boarding area is under a marquee, the diffuser is incomprehensible); since the latter is 80 km far from Paris, you must buy the ticket for the bus (travel time: 1 hour 15 minutes, double ticket €26,00). For the return home you must get up very early in the morning (the bus takes you to Port Maillot, 15 arrondissement, from where you must travel by underground or by taxi).
Accommodation: I would recommend Isabelle Harand – Lebarbenchon (mobile +33 0683175243 domicile +33 0153691286; e-mail address: Vincent.labarbenchon@wanadoo.fr) because of the comfortable apartment (next to the Eiffel Tower, 15 arrondissement, two bedrooms + room at the entrance and cooking area) and the price paid (650 € for one week) despite the narrow place (25 km² all).. I found the apartment through Lodgis agency actually which has an excellent website with detailed pictures of the apartments and which e-mails you back very quickly : yet we must pay the agency, 150 €, and you should agree to fax your own credit card…
If you directly contact Isabelle you economize on this expenses and you can get bigger apartments. Please read this: we had to complain with Isabelle about the poor cleanliness of the apartment soon as we arrived there; the charwoman kept on saying that she changed and washed the sheets but we found some “human” traces that proved it wrong and that made us feel uneasy the first night we were there; Isabelle proved to be understanding as she didn’t let us pay the cleaning and the caution money.
Museums: Despite what I read about the non-cheapness of Museum-card I want to highlight its chance (rather than its cheapness); its cost is differential (I think 15-36-54 €) according to the days (1-3-5); it’s called Museums pass or Cart musées and allows the access to 70 museums (not only in Paris but also in the nearby places, such as Versailles) jumping the queues (thanks to the reserved passages, but not always because detector checks are often concentrated, as in the Sainte Chapelle) and visiting easily museums in the reference days. Since it is difficult to see more than 2/3 museums in a day (the admission ticket costs 8€) the economical advantage is little but I recommend it anyway because it lets you enter panoramic sites too (Notre-Dame towers, the edge of the Arc de Triomphe) and allows flexibility, which is very important as to visiting the Louvre museum (you’d better pay 3 2-hour lasting flying visits than an entire day lasting one).
Please read this: you must know exactly what to see, avoid cards including visits on Monday and on Tuesday (these are days during which museums are often closed), search for the 3 days lasting card some days before (it is difficult to find since it is the most required one) not only in museums but also in Fnac bookshop and in underground station most of all.
Underground: Before leaving I looked at the several possibilities as to season tickets (10-ticket, Paris Visite card, Orange card, Mobilis card etc..). I would recommend the Orange card because it covers the 1-2 area, so the interesting one excepting for the Defence), it costs 15 € or so while the Paris Visite more than 54 € (that’s not peanuts!).
Please read this: it is true that the Orange card is only for RESIDENTS in Paris and as such is not advertised from touristic websites and you may be fined (45 €) if you use it as a tourist (there are inspections but they are occasional).
It should be said that operators at the counters don’t allow you to buy the Orange card for all we have already said but you should insist more or find more helpful operators.
You can buy the card also at automats that issue its magnetic part only (the one opening the gates) while the very part of the card (on which you stick your picture and the one you should carry with you) is issued at counters only and should be filled in with checkable data (so you’d better show the card pointing at the picture and not stopping in case of inspections especially if you don’t speak a “resident” French).
Anyway, you risk using the Orange card (italic astuteness, alas!) but you do economize a lot!!!!!!!
Guide/Restaurants: the Routard guide plays at home of course and so it is satisfactory (even if not so updated, since when we went to Paris the most updated one was of the year 2003); I would recommend “Chez Clement” (it is a chain of 6 restaurants in the 2,4,8,14,15 e 17 arrondissement). It is nice and there you find a good service; the fixed menu, which costs 15 or 30 €, is not so bad and it’s enjoyable; you are served with huge fish courses especially for the ones who love raw food; we have been to the one opposite the Opera (2 arrondissement).
You should go to “Au pied de Fouet”, where you can pay from 15 to 20 € (we spent 22 € to drink three bottles of wine more) in rue de Babylone (7 arrondissement) in a genuine French atmosphere (there were no tourists) and very Parisian (narrow places).
Waiters are very funny at the “Lescure” in rue de Mondavi 7 (1 arrondissement behind the Concorde underground station; try the ones starting from the Louvre area and in the neighbourhood). There you can have a fixed menu without surprises, a promiscuous and folkloristic atmosphere. A genuine Bistrot scene with various waiters’ jokes.
It’s a pity that we don’t remember where we have been one evening at dinner in the 14 arrondissement, in the nearby of Edgar Quinet underground station; it was a restaurant recommended by Lonely Placet and where we ate very finely and tastily, and we drank two excellent bottles of Chateau des Ponts and we paid 40,00 € each…
The rue Depart/Boul. De Montparnasse is full of haunts (and sexy shops) and recommended if you want to eat fish (just for a change!).
What to see and what to do: you should decide according to your attitudes, preferences and time…
Reading the Routard I would recommend the 3-star places (page 10): Invalides, Eiffel Tower (beware of the unavoidable and unpredictable queues for the return, it’s the only place where you can’t use the Museums card), Notre Dame, Ile de la Citè and Saint Louis, Saint Chapelle (maybe in a sunny day) and Conciergerie, Saint Germain des Pres (what a great area it is!), Monmartre (folkloristic area with many artists, not always skilled, but as numerous as flies) Place Vendome, Palais Royal, Operà, Jardin de Tuileries and Luxemburg, Cimitière du Pere Lachaise (our girls didn’t appreciate the gravestone line and always said “Why should someone come to Paris to see Morrison’s, Chopin’s, Zola’s and Balzac’s tombs?”. These are conflicting views typical when more couples have a trip together), Louvre museum (you must go there, even if you are no judge of culture and if you won’t see much. Pei pyramid enriches the whole complex with a modern contrast), Orsay museum, Beaubourg/Centre Pompidoux (with a modern arts museum), Istitut de France, Pont Neuf, La Citè des Sciences et de l’industrie in the Villette (a scientific park with many attractions, such as the Géode, which is not to be missed (a cinema whose visual field is of 180°)
Last notes:
Have an abundant breakfast in the several boulangeries/patisseries, a sandwich “à importer” for lunch and go to the restaurants recommended by the guides to have dinner (you eat good fish in Paris and you can economize if you are well informed about it).
As to places and museums to visit, you should organize your personal route before leaving to spare time; everywhere you can find maps (in changes too); the underground is a very useful resource for your moves because of its capillarity; use it as more as possible; watch out for inspections and for frenetic Parisians (There were smiles for us only from tourist operators, whatever….)
Bon voyage à tout le monde.
