Pariscope: all entertainment in Paris You feel like going to a cinema, an exhibition, a concert, a festival or a night club in Paris. What is on and where do you find it? Buy the Pariscope entertainment guide, available every Wednesday. It lists all entertainment for the week to come.
The Pariscope is a weekly small format magazine of about 200 pages full of information about films, theater plays, concerts, exhibitions, restaurants, boat cruises, walking tours and childrens’ performances, all sorted by arrondissement. You can pick up Pariscope every Wednesday at any newsstand for a mere 40 cents.
Pariscope is in French. If you need some help in English, check out this website.
Journées européennes du Patrimoine Now is your chance to visit the Elysee Palace, the Palais Royal or the Sorbonne. During the weekend of September 18 and 19, a lot of historical buildings that are normally out of limits will open their doors to the public during the Journées européennes du Patrimoine. You can visit these buildings for free.
Take a look inside the Elysee Palace, the National Assembly, the Hôtel de Ville, the Villa Seurat, the Observatoire, cinema Le Grand Rex and the workshops of transport company RATP. What’s more, entrance to the municipal museums are free during this weekend, including temporary exhibitions. Note that some popular monuments have long lines.
During the Journées there is a Marché flottante (a farmers’ market) on quai de Montebello opposite Notre Dame. Producers from the southwest of France exhibit their produce.
Budget bus tour of Paris You would like a tour by bus, but you find the Open Tour buses or the Cars Rouges too expensive? The new Foxity bus tours are an alternative. They do not run as frequently as the other tour buses, but tickets are a lot cheaper. Moreover, you can book a seat for the top floor, and in rain and cold weather you will be dry and warm, downstairs as well as upstairs.
The buses run between 6 and 8 times a day, depending on the season. The tour lasts one and a half hours. During that time you will pass more than 50 monuments and sites and an audio guide will explain the details. You cannot get off, you go the entire route. Start and end of the route is the Place de la Madeleine. Take a look at the route on the website of Foxity.
A seat on the top floor costs 12 Euros (children under 12 years free, 12-25 years and over 65 years 10 euros). At the lower floor everybody pays 9 Euro. All places can be booked by the Internet. Your tickets will be sent by e-mail. 8/2010
Paris from a bird’s-eye view The Louvre seen from above, the Place de la Concorde from a bird’s-eye view, the Palais Royal as if you flew over it, the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Coeur, Versailles from the air. You will see many famous sights in the movie that photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand made for the World Exhibition in Shanghai. In 2006 he already published a book with aerial photographs of Paris, Paris vu du ciel.
The film takes just over 15 minutes. Some parts are rather dark, but you get a nice picture of the city from an aerial view. Photo: Yann Arthus-Bertrand
7/2010
Paris transport prices went up As of July 1, 2010, the prices of tickets and daily and weekly passes for public transport in Paris have gone up. Individual tickets for metro, bus and tram will now cost 1.70 Euros (was 1.60), a carnet of 10 tickets goes up from 11.60 to 12 Euros. If you buy a carnet, you will save more than before the price increase: 5 in stead of 4.40 Euros. Single bus fares rose from 1.70 to 1.80 Euros. A price increase of the Paris Visite card will not be effective until November 2010.
Price increases at a glance:
ticket/pass
prices from 1-7-2010 (in Euros)
single ticket t+
1.70 (bought in the bus 1.80)
carnet (10 tickets t+)
12.00
Mobilis day pass
1-2 zones 6.10
1-3 zones 8.20
1-4 zones 10.15
1-5 zones 13.65
1-6 zones 17.30
weekly Passe Navigo Découverte
7 days, 1-2 zones 18.35
7 days, 1-3 zones 23.85
7 days, 1-4 zones 29.05
7 days, 1-5 zones 33.40 (no rise)
7 days, 1-6 zones 37.60 (no rise)
Pavillon du Lac reopened in Parc Buttes-Chaumont The Pavillon du Lac in the middle of the Parc des Buttes Chaumont has been completely restored and renovated. The building of brick and glass from the 19th century was shut down for ten years. It now has four lovely terraces overlooking the lake and the park. There is a café-restaurant, a tapas bar and a tea room. In summer you can even go dancing.
If you are in the park walking or jogging, you can just take a seat at one of the three terraces on the ground floor or on the veranda on the first floor, which has a beautiful wooden fence. The Pavillion du Lac sits on the shore of the lake, at the side of the rue Manin.
More restaurants in the park are the Chalet à gauffres (pancakes and waffles, near the entrance at rue Manin), Restaurant Pavillon Puebla (on the side of the rue Simon Bolivar) and the popular café-restaurant Rosa Bonheur (2, avenue de La Cascade, on the side of the rue Botzaris).
5/2010
Promenades along the Seine
In two years time, you may be taking a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Seine on wide walking paths when cars are banned from the Left Bank. More space for pedestrians and cyclists, no traffic noise and lots of facilities for sports, culture and nature, cafés and floating gardens. At least, if mayor Delanoë has his way.
He has launched a plan to replace the expressway on the Left Bank with promenades (an area of 4,5 hectare). On the Right Bank opposite the Ile Saint-Louis he proposes to cut down traffic by installing red lights and more pedestrian crossings.
Along the Left Bank, two kilometers of urban highway will disappear between the Pont de l'Alma and the footbridge Passerelle Senghor, roughly the area between the musée du Quai Branly and the musée d'Orsay. Instead, there will be beautiful walkways and terraces, islands, and a descending terrace opposite the Grand Palais and the Louvre.
The City Council will vote on the plan In July 2010. It must be completed by 2012 at a cost of around 40 million Euros.
Giant picture of Paris A beautiful panorama photo of Paris in 26 gigapixels, made of 2346 stitched photos. It is the biggest assembled panoramic image of the world. If printed, it would measure more than two football stadiums. The photo was created by the French photographers Arnaud Frich and Martin Loyer. They climbed the tower of Saint-Sulpice in the 6th arrondissement on September 8 last year and took the pictures from there.
You can find the picture at www.paris-26-gigapixels.com. Thanks to very deep zooming capabilities, the smallest details of Paris monuments are at anyone’s reach. Besides there is (limited) information about twenty monuments, including the Eiffel Tower, La Défense, the butte Montmartre and the Louvre. The music is from the film Le Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain from 2001. Finally, you can try to find ten errors in the picture. One for instance is a group of exotic animals on some Paris rooftops. How did they do it? Look at http://blog.paris-26-gigapixels.com/en/. 3/2010
Paris nightlife guide Looking for a jazz club, cabaret, karaoke bar or nightclub? A show, dancing or restaurant? Finding a place for your evening out in Paris has now become easy. The Paris Nightlife website www.parisnightlife.fr has been launched by the City of Paris.
Over 300 nightspots, clubs, restaurants and concert venues are listed in French and English. All information is available: program, price, how to get there, website, phone numbers, pictures and even videos. It is a practical guide for nights out in Paris and includes a handy map to help you navigate from one area of the city to another. You can pick up the map for free from the branches of the Office du Tourisme and at stations, hotels and hostels. 3/2010
Work in progress at Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay has started an extensive renovation that will last 18 months. During this period the museum remains largely open. Especially the 5th floor, home of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, will be completely done over. That's why that floor is closed from mid-December 2009.
The galleries are redesigned and rearranged for a better visitors’ flow and to improve security. The famous paintings of the 5th floor (Manet, Monet, Cézanne, Degas and Renoir) move temporarily to level 0, as are the paintings by Van Gogh, Seurat and Gauguin. After renovation, the Impressionists go back to the 5th floor, but the Post-impressionists stay on the ground floor.
Here is a map of the museum during the renovation. If you are looking for a certain work of art or a particular artist, you might try the Orsay search engine. 12/2009
Online tickets for the Eiffel Tower
At last! You can now buy your tickets for the Eiffel Tower online. Previously this was only possible for groups, but since December 1 also for individual visitors. You can choose from two types of tickets: one for all 3 floors and the elevator and one for the 1st and 2nd floor and the elevator.
You first choose the type of ticket, the date of your visit and the number of persons. Then you choose a visiting time, you sign up as a customer and finally you pay with your credit card. You can print the tickets at home, download them on your mobile phone or have them sent by mail (this costs extra). You have to show the tickets at the foot of the Eiffel Tower at visiting time, where they will be scanned. Now let's hope that the rows will disappear ...
Faces on the wall
Maybe you have seen it already somewhere in Paris: a face on a wall that is sticking out its tongue. This is street art by Gregos, an artist in Paris. Two years ago he started with colorless faces, but from this year he painted them before he glued them to the wall.
From 2009 Gregos has painted some 40 faces and stuck them on a wall somewhere in Paris. You will find most of them in the Montmartre area, but also in other tourist neighbourhoods. On Gregos’ website you will find more faces and also a map with the location of the faces. 11/2009
First time in Paris
Your first time in Paris can be difficult: there are a dizzying number of attractions from which you must choose. How to make a choice from all the beautiful buildings, interesting museums and trendy shops?
You can find many suggestions in A day in Paris. But here is a day program that you can start with in minutes, with complementary walking directions. It is menu 15: from the Arc de Triomphe to the Champs-Elysées and the avenue Montaigne, to the Paris museum of modern French art, the Eiffel Tower and last but not least a Seine river cruise.
Menu 15: Champs-Elysées - avenue Montaigne - Princess Diana's Memorial - Musée d'Art moderne de la ville de Paris - Eiffel Tower - Seine river cruise
Go to place Charles de Gaulle and cross the street using the pedestrian tunnel. Visit the Arc de Triomphe.
Take the Champs-Elysées at your own pace (there are lots cafés to have a coffee or take a lunch) up till the Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées.
Go right into avenue Montaigne. Here you willl find the boutiques of haute couture like Prada, Gucci, Chanel and Dior, jeweler Bulgari, top hotel the Plaza-Athenée and the art-deco Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.
Follow the avenue Montaigne untill place de l’Alma. A replica of the torch of the Statue of Liberty indicates the Memorial for princess Diana, who died here in 1997 in a car accident.
Walk to the Seine and turn right down avenue New York. On the other side of the Seine you will see the modern musée du Quai Branly and behind that the Eiffel Tower. On your right stands the Palais de Tokyo, that houses the Paris collection of modern art by French artists, the Musée d’Art moderne de la ville de Paris. The collection is worth viewing, especially the halls of Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy.
Follow the avenue de New York and admire the view of the Eiffel Tower on the other side of the river. Opposite the Eiffel Tower is the Palais de Chaillot and the Trocadéro Gardens. Cross the river at the Pont d’Iéna. Watch the tower from the outside or buy a ticket and go up.
Go back to the Seine. Here are the quays where you can embark on a Seine river cruise. It is a very nice way to see all the beautiful buildings and bridges that border the river. And you can rest your feet! 10/2009
Villa La Roche by Le Corbusier restored Villa La Roche, built by architect Le Corbusier in 1925, has been thoroughly restored. After 15 months of work, the villa in the 16th arrondissement is open to the public again. It is fully refurbished and restored to the situation in 1925, the year of building. The building is also adapted to to modern security standards.
The most striking aspect of the renovation are the walls, repainted in the original colors. Before, all walls were white, but now they're sienna, ocher and gray-blue. Moreover, the lighting has been restored to the original state. Interior photographs from the twenties were used to copy the original lamps. Apart from the hall, the painting gallery and the dining room you can now also visit the the guard’s area, the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedroom. The pictures of the rooms before and after the restoration show the difference.
Villa La Roche was built for a friend of Le Corbusier, the banker and art lover Raoul La Roche. The house meets his 5 points of architecture: supporting pillars, a roof garden, the ribbon windows, the free plan and the free facade. Although the house is now 84 years old, it still looks very modern. www.fondationlecorbusier.fr 10/2009
Parc André Citröen up for renovation
Beginning this autumn the Parc André Citröen (15th arrondissement) will undergo a large-scale renovation. Visible neglect is already present; dried up channels and ponds, withering flora, damaged masonry and lifeless fountains bear sad witness to the situation.
During the next few years refurbishment and an expansion will take place. The entrance will be placed on the south side of the park, near the Goreges Pompidou Hospital. Houses adjacent to the hospital are going to be demolished, thus creating room for an expansion of almost 9000 m2.
Parc André Citröen dates from 1992 and is famous for its modern design, greenhouses, colour gardens, fountains and waterworks. Previously the Citroën car factories were situated here. 9/2009
Picasso Museum closed Since August 2009 The Picasso Museum has been closed. Plans are afoot for the extensive transformation of the 17th century Hôtel Salé that houses the museum , adapting it to technical and safety standards of the present age. The work is scheduled to be finished in 2012. The architect, Jean-Francois Bodin, has already re-designed three other Parisian museums. Cost: 20 million Euros.
The first phase of the work consists of the renovation of the exhibition spaces and the entrance. Simultaneously, the entire collection will be examined and catologued. During the whole of the renovation the Picasso masterpieces will journey to Spain, Abu Dabi, Japan, Hamburg and Seattle for exhibition. The proceeds of this tour will contribute to the expenses of the renovation.
The second phase of the renovation involves the placement of a new building next to the Hôtel Salé in the gardens, intended for educational activities and an auditorium. 9/2009
Guide to the metro What does a ticket machine look like? How to find the correct line? How do the entry gates work? How to find the correct platform? Questions already asked by numerous visitors to Paris. Luckily a brochure is available in both English and French which explains all. Parisian Public transport, RAPT, offers a booklet with photos and written explanations about buying tickets, passing the gates, finding the right platform and even how the exit works. This booklet can be downloaded from the RAPT website.
Everything you might want to know about Paris and Ile-de-France transport can be found at Paris by train.
Incidentally, the prices for tickets and subscriptions were increased on the first of July 2010 (Paris Visite in November 2010). The price of a single ticket is 1,70 Euros and the price for a book of ten tickets (a carnet) has been raised from 11,60 to 12 Euros. 8/2009/updated 11/2009/updated 7/2010
Parisian public holidays
On official public holidays many shops and museums in Paris are closed while others can be open, as are a number of other sights and monuments. Even at a restaurant you may find the door closed. Which public holidays should you take into account? And when is what closed?
The French official holidays are:
Janary 1
New Year's Day (Jour de l'An)
April 25 (2011) April 9 (2012)
Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques)
May 1
Labor Day (Fête du Travail)
May 8
Liberation Day 1945
June 2 (2011), May 17 (2012)
Acension Day (Ascension)
June 13 (2011), May 28 (2012)
Whit Monday (lundi de Pentecôte)
July 14
Fête Nationale (Bastille Day)
August 15
Assumption (Assomption)
November 1
All Saints Day (Toussaint)
November 11
Armistice Day (Armistice 1918)
December 25
Christmas (Noël)
On January 1st and December 25th, most shops, restaurants and museums are closed. Consult the list of museums and monuments that are closed on public holidays.
8/2009
Architecture by bus
A scheduled bus tour along strikingly modern buildings and projects in the field of architecture. This is the Archi-bus. An idea made up by the Parisian public transport organization RATP and the Pavillon de l'Arsenal (The Museum of Parisian Architecture).
For bus routes 64 and 96, the local Ney-Flandre bus and the T3 tramway there is a brochure describing around 15 noteworthy 20th century buildings along the route. These are, among others, residential flats, offices, schools, utility buildings, sports halls, cinemas and museums.
You can download the brochures from the site of the Pavillon de l'Arsenal. Each building is described and the architects and dates of construction are listed. A road map shows all the noted buildings. 5/2009
The difference between metro and RER
Metro and RER are both rail networks by which you reach your destinations in and outside Paris. But what’s the difference between the two? Are the tickets interchangeable? Can you travel on both networks with one ticket? How many lines does each network have? Take a look at the list below.
metro
RER
what does the name mean?
Métropolitain
Réseau Express Régionale
what is it?
an underground train system
a commuter train system
where does it run?
within the Paris city limits
In Paris and the surrounding area (Ile-de-France)
how many lines?
16 lines (14 main lines and two branch lines, 3bis and 7bis)
5 lines, A - E
how many zones?
2
1-6
tickets?
ticket t+ (fixed price)
ticket t+ (fixed price) inside Paris, outside Paris a billet Ile-de-France (variable price according to distance)
schedules service?
no
yes
keep ticket for exiting?
no
yes, you exit the station by putting your ticket in the ticket slot
change lines?
to other metro lines, RER, bus or tram within Paris
to other metro lines, RER, bus or tram within Paris
under or above ground?
mostly underground
within Paris mostly underground, outside Paris aboveground
passes?
Mobilis, Passe Navigo Découverte for a week or month, Paris Visite
Mobilis, Passe Navigo Découverte for a week or month, Paris Visite
Paris at your feet
The Eiffel Tower offers a spectacular view of Paris. The city lies at your feet, and in clear weather you can see for 50 km. But perhaps it was raining just when you were there, or was it foggy? Then check this video for a clear view.
• A panoramic visit from the 2nd floor at 115 m altitude.
• Looking in four directions: north, south, east and west. Click on "Selection d’un vue" and choose a direction.
• The flashing lights of the Eiffel Tower at night. 4/2009
Pariscope: all entertainment in Paris
are normally out of limits will open their doors to the public during the Journées européennes du Patrimoine. You can visit these buildings for free. 
The Louvre seen from above, the Place de la Concorde from a bird’s-eye view, the Palais Royal as if you flew over it, the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Coeur, Versailles from the air. You will see many famous sights in the movie that photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand made for the World Exhibition in Shanghai. In 2006 he already published a book with aerial photographs of Paris, Paris vu du ciel.
As of July 1, 2010, the prices of tickets and daily and weekly passes for public transport in Paris have gone up. Individual tickets for metro, bus and tram will now cost 1.70 Euros (was 1.60), a carnet of 10 tickets goes up from 11.60 to 12 Euros. If you buy a carnet, you will save more than before the price increase: 5 in stead of 4.40 Euros. Single bus fares rose from 1.70 to 1.80 Euros. A price increase of the Paris Visite card will not be effective until November 2010.
e lake and the park. There is a café-restaurant, a tapas bar and a tea room. In summer you can even go dancing. 
Along the Left Bank, two kilometers of urban highway will disappear between the Pont de l'Alma and the footbridge Passerelle Senghor, roughly the area between the musée du Quai Branly and the musée d'Orsay. Instead, there will be beautiful walkways and terraces, islands, and a descending terrace opposite the Grand Palais and the Louvre. 
You can find the picture at 
The galleries are redesigned and rearranged for a better visitors’ flow and to improve security. The famous paintings of the 5th floor (Manet, Monet, Cézanne, Degas and Renoir) move temporarily to level 0, as are the paintings by Van Gogh, Seurat and Gauguin. After renovation, the Impressionists go back to the 5th floor, but the Post-impressionists stay on the ground floor. 
Faces on the wall
Follow the avenue Montaigne untill place de l’Alma. A replica of the torch of the Statue of Liberty indicates the Memorial for princess Diana, who died here in 1997 in a car accident. 
the river. Opposite the Eiffel Tower is the Palais de Chaillot and the Trocadéro Gardens. Cross the river at the Pont d’Iéna. Watch the tower from the outside or buy a ticket and go up.
Parc André Citröen up for renovation 
Since August 2009 The Picasso Museum has been closed. Plans are afoot for the extensive transformation of the 17th century Hôtel Salé that houses the museum , adapting it to technical and safety standards of the present age. The work is scheduled to be finished in 2012. The architect, Jean-Francois Bodin, has already re-designed three other Parisian museums. Cost: 20 million Euros. 
What does a ticket machine look like? How to find the correct line? How do the entry gates work? How to find the correct platform? Questions already asked by numerous visitors to Paris. Luckily a brochure is available in both English and French which explains all. Parisian Public transport, RAPT, offers a booklet with photos and written explanations about buying tickets, passing the gates, finding the right platform and even how the exit works. This booklet can be 
Parisian public holidays 
