Paris
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Paris is one of the most significant of European metropoles and important center of gastronomy, fashion, art and architecture. The city has appr. 2,2 million residents, while the whole metropolitan area covers over 12 million. It is straddling the Marne and Seine rivers, and these made a conflux at the Charenton-le-Pont in the 12th arrondissement.
The Celtic tribe Parisii inhabited the city area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC, and the city were named after them. The Roman Empire conquered the Paris basin in 52 BC and the Gallo-Roman town was originally called Lutetia, which became a prosperous city with a forum, baths, temples, and an amphitheatre. Clovis the Frank, the first king of the Merovingian dynasty, made the city his capital from 508. Under the rule of the Capetian kings, Paris gradually became the largest and most prosperous city in France. At the time of the sparkling French Revolution in the 18th century,, Paris was the center of all action and terror of the revolution regime.
Significant areas
The city of Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements, in a clockwise spiral from the centre of the city (which is known as Kilometre Zero and is located at the front of Notre Dame).
– 1st arrondissement
The centre area of Paris and an excellent starting point. Here is e.g. Louvre, the Jardin des Tuileries, and Les Halles.
– 7th arrondissement
Eiffel Tower, Musée d’Orsay and Les Invalides
– 18th arrondissement
Montmartre, Pigalle, and Église Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre can be found here.
Recreation
Nuxe Spa (32-34 rue Montorguei, Châtelet – Les Halles district). Since 2002, this luxurious spa has been active in former wine warehouse. Relaxing and tepid vaulted stone cellars give a visitor view of histrical Paris together the therapeutical spa treatment. 13 treatment rooms, including two doubles, as well as a ‘sensorial’ pool in stone with a temperature of 35°C, offers a rare chance to relax just a few steps from Les Halles.
Baja Bikes offers guided bicycle tours for reasonable prices.
Shopping
The shopping district around the area From Porte Maillot to George-V, avenue Montaigne and the Champs-Élysées is well-known for haute couture and luxury fashion, here is forsale products from e.g. Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Dior.
Aésop (256 rue Saint-Honoré). This boutique sells treatments for hair, skin and body, using herbal and natural products without any animal ingredients, colours or synthetic fragrances.
Puces de Montreuil (Avenue du Professeur André Lemierr). This flea market at the Nation district is an excellent place to looking for second-hand clothing, but here a visitor can find almost everything.
What to explore
Catacombs
This complex of underground ossuaries, as a part of tunnels, ” the quarriers of Paris”, is located south of the former city gate at Place Denfert-Rochereau. As a former mine area and burying place of remnants of 6 million people from several Paris cemeteries, it is now one of the 14 museums of the City of Paris and visitors can join the guided tours. Chalkstone tunnels, walls made of human skulls and bones, and underground interior attracts thousand and thousand tourists per year – as well as local members of the underground rave culture and cataphiles.
Saint Germain des Près
This area located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in 6th arrondissement is a famous for its tiny cafes. It was the headquarters of the existentialist movement and in cafés like Les Deux Magots or Café de Flore, a visitor can sip coffee or pastis sharing same atmosphere with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and other French intellectuals. Served by Mabillon and Saint-Germain-des-Prés stations of Paris Métro.
Musée d’Orsay
This idyllic museum at the Rue de Lille, and on the left bank of the Seine river houses the most remarkable collection of impressionist and post-impressionist artwork in the world, includinc painters Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh. It also holds collections of architecture and decorative arts, and photography. Very, very preferable sight for an art-enthusiastic. Opening hours
Pro tip: With the Paris Pass, a visitor has a free access to most significant museums and other attractions.
Panthéon
This Neoclassicist building in the Latin Quarter, 5th arrondissement, is a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens. It was constructed between 1758 and 1790. By burying its great people in the Panthéon, the French nation acknowledges the honour it received from them. As such, interment here is severely restricted and is allowed only by a parliamentary act for “National Heroes”.
From 1906 to 1922 Auguste Rodin’s famous sculpture The Thinker were here. Among those buried in its necropolis are Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo and Émile Zola.
Thermes de Cluny
These ruins of Gallo-Roman thermal baths in the 5th arrondissement are partly an archeological site, and partly incorporated into the Musée national du Moyen Age.
Ruins in present condition constitute about one-third of a massive bath complex that is believed to have been constructed around the beginning of the 3rd century. The best preserved room is the frigidarium with intact architectural elements such as Gallo-Roman vaults, ribs and consoles, and fragments of original decorative wall painting and mosaics.
How to get around in Paris
Paris has an excellent underground train system, the Métro. There are 16 Métro lines (lignes) (1-14, 3bis, and 7bis). Fully automated line 14 is called the Méteor.
There are also many suburban train lines (Transilien) departing from the main train stations. The journey planner, map of the public transport, and ticket prices are visible here.
Vélib operates as a communal bike rental around the city.
How to get in Paris
Nearest international airport is Charles De Gaulle Airport, located 25 kilometres northeast of the city. List of its airlines is here. RER commuter train lines operates between the airport and the city, and it has stations in T3 terminal (from where you can take the free CDGVAL shuttle train to T1) and T2. Trains stop at Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Luxembourg, Port-Royal, Denfert-Rochereau and Cité Universitaire.
There is no central railway station in Paris.
List of the major railway hubs in the city:
- Gare du Nord, (10th), Métro: Gare du Nord – TGV trains to and from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Cologne, Germany (Thalys), and the United Kingdom (Eurostar) and regular trains from Northern Europe. Passengers coming in by train from Charles de Gaulle Airport can also get off here.
- Gare d’Austerlitz, (13th), Métro: Gare d’Austerlitz – regular trains to and from the centre and southwest of France (Orléans, Limoges, Toulouse the long way), Spain and Portugal and arrival of majority of the night trains.
- Gare de l’Est, (10th), Métro: Gare de l’Est – ICE/TGV to and from Luxembourg, Saarbrücken, Kaiserslautern, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart, Munich in Germany.
- Gare de Lyon, (12th), Métro: Gare de Lyon – regular and TGV trains to and from Southern and eastern France: French Alps, Marseille, Lyon, Dijon, Switzerland (by TGV Lyria): Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchatel – Bern – Interlaken, Basel – Zurich, and Italy.
- Gare de Bercy, (12th), Métro: Bercy. Overnight trains from and to Italy and regular trains to Auvergne.
- Gare St Lazare, (8th) Métro: St-Lazare – trains to and from Basse-Normandie, Haute-Normandie.
- Gare Montparnasse, (15th), Métro: Montparnasse-Bienvenüe – TGV and regular trains to and from the west and south-west of France (Brest, Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse the fastest way and Spain).
The SNCF (French national railways) operates train lines between Paris and all major French cities.
Eurolines and Megabus operates bus lines between Paris and several European metropoles.
Several highways link Paris with the rest of France: A1 and A3 to the north, A5 and A6 to the south, A4 to the east and A13 and A10 to the west.
Top 5 in Paris
- Strolling in catacombs
- Cafés in Saint Germain des Près
- Musée d’Orsay
- Panthéon
- Pubbing in bistros of Pigalle
Text: Timo Hellman
Photos: With the CC licence / Stefan Krause, Germany, Mark Jaroski, Foreade, (WT-shared) Riggwelter, Mbzt, BKP, Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Velual, Piero d’Houin, Francisco Anzola, Traumrune, Stefan Krause, Germany[/fusion_text]
