France: Paris

[bjorn]

Everything you've heard about Paris is true.

Paris has gone from being just a city (though it was never "just" anything) to being an icon for everything connected with art, culture, and style. The city has charmed writers, diplomats, historians - and ordinary people - for centuries. Its elegance and romance are legendary. Sure, history seeps from every building on your way from Notre Dame to Montmartre, but the capital of France is more about atmosphere than anything else. Sipping vin blanc at a cafe on Rue du Montparnase where long-dead philosophers gathered is an experience not just another glass of wine. Kissing under the Pont Neuf, shopping at Au Printemps during the July sales, or wandering the grand avenues on a starry evening is what Paris is about.

Just go, and lose yourself in Paris. You'll be glad you did.

When to go:
Paris is best in the spring and early summer. Autumn months are lovely, too, and by this time, most of the tourists have gone home. It's cold in the winter, but there's still fun stuff to do. Remember that August is Parisian vacation-time, so many shops and restaurants will be closed then. Also, it's really hot and sticky, so it's not the best time weather-wise, either.

What to Do:
History/Ruins:
The origins of Paris go back as far as the third century BC, and while there aren't remnants that are quite that old, the city is the backdrop for many of the major historical events that you've read or heard of. Everywhere you look, there is a building or monument that relates to French or world history. The Eiffel Tower, Napoleon's Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre, Jardin des Tuileries, le Pantheon, Notre-Dame are just a start.

Museums:
There seems to be a museum for every interest in Paris. The most famous painting and the most famous museum in the world are in Paris. Not only does the Musee du Louvre have the Mona Lisa, but the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, and Whistler's Mother also hang in its hallowed halls. The museum will interest historians as well as art-lovers, as it, too, played a significant role in Parisian history. Other art museums to see are L'Orangerie, where Monet's Water Lilies fill rooms, the beautiful Musee d'Orsay or the new, high-tech modern art Centre Georges Pompidou. Several painters merit museums devoted only to their work, like the Espace Dali Montmartre, Musee Bourdelle, Musee National Picasso, Musee Rodin, Musee Zadkine, and Atelier-Musee Henri Bouchard. You can find photography exhibits at the Centre National de la Photographie, Tribal Art, Oriental Art, decorative art at Musee des Antiquites Nationales.

You can find exhibits on writers like the ones at the Maison de Victor Hugo and the Maison de Balzac. There are also galleries and shows on music, cinema, religion, science and technology, and medicine. Up for some architecture? Try the Pavilion de l'*beep*. For something a little different, check out the Counterfeiting Museum, Musee de la Curiosite, the Musee de l'Eroticisme, and the Wine Museum.

Shopping:
Shopping in Paris is legendary, especially shopping for fashion. There are even people who pop over for the weekend just to get the latest fashions along hoity-toity avenue Montaigne or rue du Faubourg St-Honore. But what's less known is that Paris also has some great bargains. Rues du Four, de Grenelle, du Cherche-midi, du Dragon, and des Sts- Pères are all prime streets to grab a fashion deal. The discount department store Tati has become as famous among tourists as among locals for great buys and an excellent selection. For a real slice of Parisian life, wander around a Monoprix, which sells clothes, toiletries, and household goods - it also has a supermarket.

Dig up the best antiques in the Carre des Antiquaires or Faubourg St-Honore in St-Germain. You can find flea markets all over town, most famously at St-Ouen, Vanves. Summertime brings the tons of brocantes - antiques and collector's markets that have some great pieces at great prices.

Food/Culinary Info:
In addition to traditional French food, there is a wide range of ethnic restaurants, too - North and West African, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Greek and lots more, though they are not necessarily any cheaper. The number of vegetarian restaurants is on the rise, so although there's not exactly one in every street, being a veggie in Paris is now much easier than it used to be. Indian, Jewish and Italian restaurants are also a good bet for non-meat dishes. In general, the latest you can walk into a restaurant and order is about 10pm.

Contrary to what you might expect, eating out in Paris need not be an enormous extravagance. There are numerous fixed-price menus under 10USD providing simple but well-cooked fare; paying a little more than this gives you the chance to try out a greater range of dishes, and once over 20USD you should be getting some gourmet satisfaction.

Adventure:
Paris is known for its bridges, and a great way to see them is from the water. Bateaux Mouches sail along the Seine, and offer 1 ½-hour tours.

Natural Wonders:
The parks and gardens of Paris are world-famous. A stroll through the Jardin de Tuileries and Jardin des Plantes, is comparable to visiting a historic museum. The gardens have existed since the 1600's and reflect the style of that era. Other gardens across the city reflect the English garden style. The various cemeteries around town are also filled with natural wonders. Perhaps the most famous is the Cimetière du Père Lachaise where Jim Morrison of the Doors is buried.

Cultural Comments
Most of Paris' main squares and boulevards have cafes spreading out onto the pavement and, although these are usually the priciest places to drink, it can be worth paying the earth for a coffee for the chance to observe the street life. Using the terrace or seating inside the cafe means you will pay around double the price you would pay at the bar. If you find a bar with stools, you can get the best of both worlds.

Arts:
The brand new high-tech Centre Georges Pompidou is as recognizably Parisian as the classical Louvre. Churches offer a wealth of art and lessons in architecture. Most recently, Parisian designers have looked to the Metro, religious buildings, and sports stadiums as inspiration. See their influence on the completion of Evry Cathedral, the first new cathedral built in France since World War II, the Stade de France (in time for the World Cup), and new Metro stations.

Paris is home to an outstanding array of art exhibition centers and art galleries. The exhibitions mainly focus on contemporary and post-contemporary art, but there are exhibition halls devoted to applied arts, graphic arts, technology, photography, fashion, Impressionism, Art Brut (self-taught artists with very traditional, rural techniques), surrealism, minimalism, and pretty much every other-ism that's made its way through Paris at one time or another. Local publications like Beaux Arts, the bilingual (French and English) Art Press, the trendy Blocnotes or Purple, Galeries Mode d'Emploi, and the Journal des Expositions hold the latest information on what's happening where.

Music and theatre are well represented, as Paris offers some of the best opera and classical music around. Paris has historically been one of the world's famous jazz cities, and the greats still frequent the clubs here. Grand guignols are traditional marionette theatre, a pleasant, slap-stick diversion.

Festivals/Events:
La Fête de Bastille

In celebration of the French Revolution of 1789, the French go all out with parades, street dances, and fireworks. The entire country takes the day off, though much of the action takes place on the night before. In Paris, the eve of Bastille Day is marked with public balls, the most famous being the one sponsored by the Communist Party on the Ile St. Louis. There and elsewhere, class differences dissolve into the night, as Frenchmen and women join together in egalitarian inebriation. Bastille Day falls on July 14.

Nightlife/Bars:
The scene in Paris is perhaps more image-conscious than fun-friendly, but that doesn't mean you can't have a memorable night out here. Parisian entertainment options are so diverse and free form that you can have total control in deciding what kind of night to have, from a mellow evening sipping coffee in a brasserie, to frequenting crazy dance clubs. Musical tastes at the top clubs are techno and house, although there are places for everything from 80s pop to indie rock, hip-hop, African music, and the latest phenomena, salsa.

The bar scene is a bit more subdued than the outlandish club scene, with neighborhood bistros and a surprisingly large number of Irish pubs seemingly dotting every other street corner.

Cafe Quotient:
Long before Starbuck's dominated the world's cafe scene, there was Paris. The city had mastered the art of the coffee shop as a meeting-place for artists, journalists, and revolutionaries as well as the center of French social, cultural, leisure, and political life. Today, Paris still has Starbuck's beat. With over 3,000 cafes dotting the city, there is enough variety to satisfy anyone, from regular corner cafes to bars and taverns, bistros, pastry shops - even literary haunts.

A new trend on the cafe scene is the cafe philo, or philosophical cafe, a craze started in 1992 to rescue French cafe culture from commercialization and oblivion. The idea behind cafes philos is to stimulate intellectual discussion. Moderators (animateurs - usually teachers or ex-teachers of philosophy) lead discussions in a relaxed, updated "fin de siecle" style.

Gay & Lesbian:
In the last few years, there has been an emergence of gay life in the public arena, even several openly gay national politicians and homosexual characters on national TV. This has done great things to the nightlife, and there now more than 200 gay bars and shops. Check out Scorp, Queen, and L'Insolite, -- and in Montmartre try Scream for a great time. There are also many straight-clubs that host gay nights, too. Look at the local papers to find out what's happening.

Aside from clubs, there is plenty of gay community in Paris, too. The rue Ste-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie and rue du Temple in the Marais are great, with sex shops, clubs, piercing parlors, and men's beauty shops galore. You'll also find a lot going on around the Halles, Marais and Bastille areas. Pick up a copy of Le 3 Keller a monthly brochure with great info on places to go and things to do. You can find it - and a free map to gay Paris at Centre Gai et Lesbien, 3 rue Keller or Les Mots à la Bouche, gay and lesbian bookshop.

With such a growing, active community, you can feel pretty safe here, but generally you should use discretion as far as public displays of affection.

Cost:
As with most major European destinations, Paris can be expensive. If you're up for the challenge of traveling cheaply (hostels and mostly do-it-yourself meals), you can get by on somewhere around US$40-50 per day. For slightly more cushy accommodations and some nice meals, you're looking at about US$90. Really want to live it up? Plan for about as much as US$200 daily. Of course, being a student has its perks in Paris - keep your eyes open for student discounts on many activities.

For those intent on some serious museum-viewing, purchasing the Paris Carte Musees et Monuments (CM) gives unlimited entry into over 70 museums throughout town, at surprisingly good value (available in one-day, three-day, or five-day versions). Keep in mind that most museums are closed Mondays or Tuesdays.

Want to dine in style? Picnicking is a very chic and cheap way to eat. A baguette and one of France's 400 cheeses is a great lunch that won't break the bank.

Getting Around:
Shuttles, busses, and trains make it a breeze to get from both Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports into the city. You can take a taxi, but it's a bit of a ride, so it can get pretty expensive.

Paris is a dream to navigate, easily divided into twenty arrondissements (neighborhoods), each with their own exclusive neighborly feel. Le Metro, Paris' subway, is clean, cheap, convenient, and very easy to use. The bus and subway runs most of the day, and after the metro closes at midnight, you can catch a night bus, which runs until early in the morning. Paris is a wonderful city to explore on foot, but as part of a big city, the metro and bus are the best ways to get to where you're going.

The same flat-fare tickets cost F8 and are valid for the bus and metro. Make sure you hold on to your ticket until the end of each ride, or you'll be fined (as much as F300) if the conductor asks to see it. If you're staying for a few days, pick up a Carte Orange, which (at F80) is good for a week's travel within the city center. There are also tourist passes available from Mobilis for one, three, or five days. When you're buying tickets, it's a good idea to get one for the next trip, as ticket windows can close as early as 10:00 pm.

Safety:
Though it's generally a safe place, Paris is a big city, has its share of crime. Keep your wits about you, especially on the subway at rush hour and on the way to or from the airport, where pickpockets tend to target unsuspecting travelers. As you would guess, they also frequent tourist attractions, so be aware.

Language:
French is the national language. With all the tourism, you'll find Parisians who speak English, but bring a phrasebook or learn a little French before you go. It's much appreciated by your hosts.

Party/Social Scene:
Something thing to keep in mind is that Paris is not a 24/7 city, closing time is around two or three am. For listings of what's on in the city, there are two weekly guides, Pariscope and L'Officiel des Spectacles, which come out on Wednesdays; Pariscope (F3) is the handiest with a small Time Out section in English.

Other Info:
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