Lonely Planet Paris , livre ebook

Paris

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Paris
Paris’ Top 16
What’s New
Need to Know
First Time Paris
Top Itineraries
If You Like…
Month by Month
Travel with Children
Like a Local
For Free
Museums & Galleries
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
LGBT Travellers
Parks & Activities
The Seine

Explore Paris

Neighbourhoods at a Glance
Eiffel Tower & Western Paris
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Champs-Élysées & Grands Boulevards
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Louvre & Les Halles
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Montmartre & Northern Paris
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Sports & Activities
Bastille & Eastern Paris
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
The Islands
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Shopping
Latin Quarter
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Sports & Activities
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Montparnasse & Southern Paris
Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Sports & Activities
Day Trips from Paris
Disneyland Paris
Château de Versailles
Fontainebleau
Chartres
Giverny
Sleeping

Understand

Understand Paris
Paris Today
History
Fashion
Architecture
Literary Paris
Painting & Visual Arts
Film
Music

Survival Guide

Transport
Arriving in Paris
Air
Train
Bus
Getting Around Paris
Train
Bicycle
Bus
Boat
Taxi
Car & Motorcycle
Tours
Directory A–Z
Accessible Travel
Customs Regulations
Discount Cards
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Emergency
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Medical Services
Money
Opening Hours
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Taxes & Refunds
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Language
Paris Maps
Eiffel Tower & Western Paris
Champs lys es
Grands Boulevards
Louvre
Les Halles
Montmarte & Pigalle
Gare du Nord & Canal St-Martin
Gare du Nord & Canal St-Martin East
Clichy & Gare St-Lazare
Le Marais
M nilmontant & Belleville
Bastille & Eastern Paris
The Islands
Latin Quarter North
Latin Quarter South
St-Germain
Les Invalides
Place d’Italie & Chinatown
Montparnasse
15e

Table of Contents

Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Paris

Museums, monument-lined boulevards, boutiques and classical bistros are enhanced by a new wave of multimedia galleries, design shops and tech start-ups.

Iconic Architecture
The cloud-piercing Eiffel Tower; broad Arc de Triomphe guarding the glamorous avenue des Champs-Élysées; gargoyled Notre Dame cathedral; lamplit bridges spanning the Seine; and art nouveau cafes’ wicker-chair-lined terraces are enduring Parisian emblems. Despite initial appearances, however, Paris’ cityscape isn’t static: there are some stunning modern and contemporary icons, too, from the inside-out, industrial-style Centre Pompidou to the mur végétal (vertical garden) gracing the Musée du Quai Branly, and the glass sails of the Fondation Louis Vuitton contemporary-art centre.

Glorious Food
France’s reputation for its cuisine precedes it, and whether you seek a cosy neighbourhood bistro or a triple-Michelin-starred temple to gastronomy, you’ll find that every establishment prides itself on exquisite preparation and presentation of quality produce, invariably served with wine. Enticing patisseries, boulangeries (bakeries), fromageries (cheese shops) and crowded, colourful street markets are perfect for putting together a picnic to take to the city’s beautiful parks and gardens. A host of culinary courses offers instruction for all schedules, abilities and budgets.

Stylish Shopping
‘Parisian’ is synonymous with style, and fashion shopping is the city’s forte. Paris remains at the forefront of international trends, and browsing emerging and established designer boutiques and flagship haute couture houses is a quintessential part of any visit. You’ll also find hip concept shops, and resplendent art nouveau department stores, along with a trove of vintage shops and flea markets, atmospheric bookshops, adorable children’s wear and toy shops, art and antique dealers, venerable establishments selling professional cookware, and, of course, gourmet-food and wine shops galore.

Artistic Treasures
With an illustrious artistic pedigree – Renoir, Rodin, Picasso, Monet, Manet, Dalí and Van Gogh are but a few of the masters who have lived and worked here over the years – Paris is one of the world’s great art repositories. In addition to big hitters like the incomparable Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay’s exceptional impressionist collection, and the Centre Pompidou’s cache of modern and contemporary art, scores of smaller museums showcase every imaginable genre, a diverse range of venues mount major exhibitions through to offbeat installations, plus there’s the city’s vibrant street art.

View over Pont Alexandre III to Hôtel des Invalides | DENNIS VAN DE WATER / SHTTERSTOCK ©

Why I Love Paris
By Catherine Le Nevez, Writer
Paris’ grandeur is inspiring, but what I love most about the city is its intimacy. Its quartiers (quarters) are like a patchwork of villages, and while it’s one of the world’s major metropolises – with all of the culture and facilities that go with it – there’s a real sense of community at the local shops, markets and cafes that hasn’t changed since my childhood. Yet because every little ‘village’ has its own evolving character, I’m constantly discovering and rediscovering hidden corners of the city.
For more about see our writers
Paris’ Top 16

Eiffel Tower
1 No one could imagine Paris today without its signature spire. But Gustave Eiffel only constructed this graceful tower – then the world’s tallest, at 320m – as a temporary exhibit for the 1889 Exposition Universelle. Luckily, its popularity (and radiotelegraphy antennas) assured its survival beyond the World Fair and its elegant art nouveau webbed-metal design has become the defining fixture of the city’s skyline. Head here at dusk for the best day and night views of the glittering city, and toast making it to the top at the sparkling Champagne bar.
1 Eiffel Tower & Western Paris

VIEW TO THE EIFFEL TOWER FROM THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE | FEEL GOOD STUDIO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Paris’ Top 16
Arc de Triomphe
2 If anything rivals the Eiffel Tower as the symbol of Paris, it’s this magnificent 1836-built monument to Napoléon’s 1805 victory at Austerlitz – Napoléon commissioned the monument the following year. The intricately sculpted triumphal arch stands sentinel in the centre of the Étoile (star) roundabout; use the pedestrian tunnels below ground to reach it safely. Some of the best vistas in Paris radiate from the top, including swooping views along the luxury-shop-lined Champs-Élysées, Paris’ most glamorous avenue, now car free on the first Sunday of every month.
1 Champs-Élysées & Grands Boulevards

GIANCARLO LIGUORI / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Paris’ Top 16
Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris
3 A vision of stained-glass rose windows, flying buttresses and frightening gargoyles, Paris’ glorious cathedral, the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, on the larger of the two inner-city islands, is the city’s geographic and spiritual heart. This Gothic wonder took nearly 200 years to build, but it would have been demolished following damage during the French Revolution had it not been for the popularity of Victor Hugo’s timely novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which sparked a petition to save it. Climb its 400-odd spiralling steps for magical rooftop views.
1 The Islands

RUDIERNST / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Paris’ Top 16
Louvre
4 The Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo are just two of the priceless treasures housed inside the fortress turned royal palace turned France’s first national museum, the Musée du Louvre. Stretching along the Seine, this immense museum can seem overwhelming, but there are plenty of ways to experience it even if you don’t have the nine months it would take to glance at every artwork and artefact here. One of the best is via its thematic trails, from the ‘Art of Eating’ to ‘Love in the Louvre’.
1 Louvre & Les Halles

PAWEL LIBERA / GETTY IMAGES ©

Paris’ Top 16
Parisian Dining
5 Whether you’re at an unchanged-in-decades neighbourhood haunt, a beautiful art nouveau brasserie, a switched-on, experimental neobistro or a feted haute cuisine establishment helmed by a legendary chef – such as Restaurant Guy Savoy, ensconced in the neoclassical former mint, the Monnaie de Paris – the food and the dining experience are considered inseparable. France pioneered what is still the most influential style of cooking in the Western world and Paris is its showcase par excellence. Do as Parisians do and savour every moment.
5 Eating

VENTDUSUD / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Paris’ Top 16
Musée Rodin
6 The lovely Musée Rodin is the most romantic of Paris’ museums. Auguste Rodin’s former workshop and showroom, the 1730-built, beautifully restored Hôtel Biron, is filled with Rodin’s own sculptural masterpieces like The Kiss, the marble monument to love, as well as creations by his protégée, sculptor Camille Claudel, and by other artists whose works Rodin collected, Monet, Van Gogh and Renoir among them. Its pièce de résistance is the mansion’s rambling, rose-scented sculpture garden, which provides an entrancing setting for contemplating works like The Thinker (pictured below).
1 St-Germain & Les Invalides

WJAREK / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Paris’ Top 16
Specialised Shopping
7 Paris, like any major city, offers international chains (including icons that originated her