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CITY DIRECTORY |
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AIRLINES Aer Lingus, 47 av de l'Opéra, 2e (tel 01.47.42.12.50, );
Air Canada, 106 bd Haussmann, 8e (tel 08.20.87.08.71, ); Air France, 119
av des Champs-Élysées, 8e (tel 01.42.99.21.01 or 08.02.80.28.02, );
British Airways, 12 rue Castiglione, 1er (tel 08.25.82.54.00, ); British
Midland, 4 pl de Londres, Roissy-en-France 95700 (tel 01.48.62.55.65, );
Delta, 4 rue Scribe, 9e (tel 01.47.68.92.92, ); Qantas, 7 rue Scribe, 9e
(tel 01.44.55.52.05, ).
AIRPORT INFORMATION Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (tel 01.48.62.22.80 for
recording in English; Orly (tel 01.49.75.15.15).
AMERICAN EXPRESS , 11 rue Scribe, 9e (tel 01.47.77.79.50; Mº Opéra).
Bureau de change open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, public
hols 9am-5pm. In a pinch, there is Chequepoint, open 24 hours every day,
150 av des Champs-Élysées, 8e (tel 01.49.53.02.51; Mº Charles-de-Gaulle-Etoile).
BIKE RENTAL Charges start from about 12.20 a day with a caution (deposit)
of 152.44-381.10. If you want a bike for Sunday, when all of Paris takes
to the quais , you'll need to book in advance. Try Paris-Vélo, 2 rue du
Fer-à-Moulin, 5e (tel 01.43.37.59.22; Mº Censier-Daubenton) for 21-speed
and mountain bikes; Paris À Vélo C'est Sympa/Vélo Bastille, 37 bd
Bourdon, 4e (01.48.87.60.01; Mº Bastille), which also runs good bicycle
tours; Bike N'Roller, 6 rue St-Julien-Le-Pauvre, 5e (tel 01.44.07.35.89;
Mº/RER St-Michel); or the Maison du Vélo, 11 rue Fénélon, 10e (tel
01.42.81.24.72; Mº Gare du Nord or Poissonnière), with summer outlets at
the Gare-de-l'Est and Gare-du-Montparnasse.
BOAT TRIPS Bateaux-Mouches boat trips on the Seine start fromthe
Embarcadère du Pont de l'Alma, on the Right Bank in the 8e (reservations
tel 01.42.25.96.10, information tel 01.40.76.99.99; Mº Alma-Marceau).
The rides, which usually last an hour, depart at 11am, 11.30am, 12.15pm,
1pm and every half hour from 2pm to 10pm most of the year round;
departure times are less frequent in winter (7.62, under-14s 3.05).
There are also lunch and dinner trips, though these are outrageously
priced and you'll need to dress smartly. The main competitors to the
Bateaux-Mouches are Bateaux Parisiens (tel 01.44.11.33.44; Mº Trocadero),
Bateaux-Vedettes de Paris (tel 01.47.05.71.29; Mº Bir-Hakeim) and
Bateaux-Vedettes du Pont Neuf (tel 1.46.33.98.38; Mº Pont-Neuf). They're
all much the same, and can be found detailed in Pariscope under "Croisières"
in the "Visites-Promenades" section and in L'Officiel des Spectacles
under "Promenades" in the "À Travers Paris" section.
An alternative way of riding on the Seine - one in which you are
mercifully spared the commentary - is the Batobus (tel 01.44.11.33.99).
CUSTOMS With the Single European Market you can bring in and take out
most things as long as you have paid tax on them in an EU country, and
they are for personal consumption. Duty-free was abolished on June 30,
1999, for all trips beginning and ending in the EU. However, there are
still personal allowance limits on what were once duty-free goods -
alcohol, tobacco and perfume. Each person is allowed up to 800
cigarettes, 400 cigarillos, 200 cigars, 1kg of smoking tobacco, 90
litres of wine (no more than 60 litres of which can be sparkling wine),
10 litres of spirits, 20 litres of fortified wine and 110 litres of beer.
Limits for non-EU countries are: 200 cigarettes or 250g tobacco or 50
cigars; 1 litre spirits or 2 litres fortified wine, or 2 litres
sparkling wine; 2 litres table wine; 50gm perfume and 250ml toilet water.
DISABILITY For publications detailing wheelchair access in Paris,
contact ADF (Association des Paralysées de France), 17 bd Auguste-Blanqui,
13e (tel 01.40.78.69.00), which publishes Paris comme sur des Roulettes
(Paris on Wheels) in French for 7.47; or CNRH (Comité National Français
de Liaison pour la Réadaptation des Handicapés), 236bis rue Tolbiac, 13e
(tel 01.53.80.66.66), whose guide, Paris-Île de France: Guide
Touristique pour les Personnes à Mobilitée Réduite is available in
English for 9.15. In the UK, RADAR (Royal Association for Disability and
Rehabilitation), 12 City Forum, 250 City Rd, London EC1 (tel 020/7250
3222, fax 020/7250 0212, minicom tel 020/7250 4119) offers Access in
Paris by Gordon Couch and Ben Roberts (£6.95, Quiller Press), a guide to
accommodation, monuments, museums, restaurants and travel to the city.
DOCTORS see Emergencies, below.
ELECTRICITY 220V out of double, round-pin wall sockets. If you haven't
bought the appropriate converter ( adapteur ) or transformer (
transformateur - for US appliances) before leaving home, head for the
electrical section of a department store, where someone is also more
likely to speak English; cost is around 9.15. If you are using an
appliance larger than an electric razor or a radio - a laptop computer
for example - you will need an adapter capable of transforming a large
electrical load. La Samaritaine carries such converters in its hardware
section; cost is around 18.29.
EMBASSIES/CONSULATES Australia: 4 rue Jean-Rey, 15e (tel 01.40.59.33.00;
Mº Bir-Hakeim); Britain: 35 rue du Faubourg-St-Honoré, 8e (tel
01.44.51.31.02; Mº Concorde); Canada: 35 av Montaigne, 8e (tel
01.44.43.29.00; Mº Franklin-D-Roosevelt); Ireland: 4 rue Rude, 16e (tel
01.44.17.67.00; Mº Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile); New Zealand: 7ter rue
Léonardo-de-Vinci, 16e (tel 01.45.00.24.11; Mº Victor-Hugo); USA: rue
St-Florentin, 1er (tel 01.43.12.22.22; Mº Concorde).
EMERGENCIES Fire brigade (Sapeurs-Pompiers) tel 18; Ambulance (Service
d'Aide Médicale Urgente - SAMU) tel 15; Doctor call-out (SOS Médecins)
tel 01.47.07.77.77 or 01.43.37.77.77; Rape crisis (SOS Viol; Mon-Fri
10am-6pm) tel 08.00.05.95.95; SOS Help (crisis line/any problem: 3-11pm)
in English tel 01.47.23.80.80. For a list of English-speaking hospitals,
see below.
EURO France is one of twelve European Union countries which have changed
over to a single currency, the euro (). Euro notes are issued in
denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros, and coins in
denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 and 2 euros.
EXCHANGE Some of the more conveniently located bureaux de change are at:
Charles-de-Gaulle airport (daily 7am-10pm) and Orly airport (daily
6.30am-11pm); Gare d'Austerlitz (Mon-Fri 7am-9pm), Gare de l'Est (summer
6.45am-10pm; winter 6.45am-7pm), Gare de Lyon (Mon-Sat 8am-8pm), Gare du
Nord (8am-8pm), Gare St-Lazare (summer 8am-8pm; winter 8am-6.45pm);
Office de Tourisme de Paris (127 av des Champs-Élysées, 8e; 9am-7.30pm;
Mº Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile) .
FILM Camera film is expensive in Paris. Stores like Monoprix will
generally be cheaper than shops closer to the tourist sites. Since most
museums and monuments will not allow you to use a flash, consider
purchasing very high-speed film which is designed to take photos in low
light.
HAMMAMS or Turkish baths, are much more luxurious than the standard
Swedish sauna. Prices begin at 12.20 and rise steadily. Some worth
trying include: Les Bains du Marais, 31-33 rue des Blancs-Manteaux, 4e,
tel 01.44.61.02.02 (Mº Rambuteau & Mº St-Paul); women: Mon 10am-8pm &
Tues 10am-11pm, men: Thurs 10am-11pm, Fri & Sat 10am-7pm, mixed : Wed &
Sat 8pm-midnight, Sun 11am-11pm; Cleopatra Club, 53 bd de Belleville,
11e, tel 01.43.57.34.32 (Mº Belleville), Tues-Sun 10am-6.30pm, closed
Aug, women only; Hammam de la Mosquée, 39 rue Geoffroy-St-Hilaire, 5e,
tel 01.43.31.38.20 (Mº Censier-Daubenton), daily 10am-9pm; hours and
days for men and women change, so phone first, but generally women on
Mon & Wed-Sat and men on Tues & Sun; closed Aug.
HOSPITALS English-speaking hospitals include the American Hospital, 63
bd Victor-Hugo, Neuilly-sur-Seine (tel 01.46.41.25.25; Mº Porte Maillot
then bus #82 to terminus); and the Hertford British Hospital, 3 rue
Barbès, Levallois-Perret (tel 01.46.39.22.22; Mº Anatole-France).
INTERNET ACCESS You can stay online while travelling at the following
cybercafés. Expect to pay approximately 0.15 per minute. Cybercafé
Latino , 13 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, 5e; Cyber Cube , 5 rue Mignon,
6e, Mº Grands-Boulevards (Mon-Sat 10am-10pm); Phonebook of the World ,
11-15 rue des Halles, 1er, Mº Châtelet ( ); Web 46 , 46 rue de
Roi-de-Sicile, 4e, Mº St-Paul (Mon-Fri 11am-midnight, Sat noon-9pm, Sun
1pm-midnight); Web Bar , 32 rue de Picardie, 3e. In addition, most post
offices now have a computer geared up for public internet access. You
need to buy a card first (7.62, including 1hr connection) which can be
recharged at 4.57 for an hour's connection.
LAUNDRY Self-service laundries have multiplied in Paris over the last
few years, and you'll probably find one near where you're staying. If
you can't immediately spot one, look in the phone book under "Laveries
Automatiques". They're often unattended, so come pre-armed with small
change. The smallest machines cost around 3.35 for a load, though some
laundries only have bigger machines and charge around 6.86. Dryers run
about 0.46 for 5min. Generally, self-service laundry facilities open at
7am and close between 7pm and 9pm. The alternative blanchisserie , or
pressing services, are likely to be expensive, and hotels in particular
charge very high rates. If you're doing your own washing in hotels, keep
quantities small as most forbid doing any laundry in your room.
LEFT LUGGAGE Located at all the main train stations. You cannot leave
luggage at the airports.
LOST BAGGAGE Airports: Orly (tel 01.49.75.04.53); Charles de Gaulle (tel
01.48.62.10.86).
LOST PROPERTY Bureau des Objets Trouvés, Préfecture de Police, 36 rue
des Morillons, 15e; tel 01.55.76.20.00 (Mº Convention). Mon, Wed & Fri
8.30am-5pm, Tues & Thurs till 8pm. For property lost on public
transport, phone the RATP at 01.40.06.75.27.
PHARMACIES All pharmacies, signalled by an illuminated green cross, are
equipped to give first aid on request (for a fee). When closed, as many
are on Sundays, they all display the address of the nearest open
pharmacy. Pharmacies open at night include Dérhy/Pharmacie des
Champs-Élysées, 84 av des Champs-Élysées, 8e tel 01.45.62.02.41; 24hr;
Mº George-V); Pharmacie Européenne, 6 place de Clichy, 9e (tel
01.48.74.65.18; 24hr; Mº Place-de-Clichy); Pharmacie des Halles, 10 bd
Sébastopol, 4e (tel 01.42.72.03.23; Mon-Sat 9am-midnight, Sun
noon-midnight; Mº Châtelet); Pharmacie Matignon, 2 rue Jean-Mermoz, 8e
(tel 01.43.59.86.55; daily 8.30am-2am; Mº Franklin-D-Roosevelt);
Pharmacie Internationale de Paris, 5 pl Pigalle, 9e (tel 01.48.78.38.12;
daily to 1am; Mº Pigalle); Grand Pharmacie de la Nation, 13 place de la
Nation, 11e (tel 01.43.73.24.03; Mon noon-midnight, Tues-Sat
8am-midnight, Sun 8pm-midnight; Mº Nation).
POST OFFICE Main office at 52 rue du Louvre, Paris 75001 (Mº
Châtelet-Les Halles) open daily 24hr for letters, poste restante, faxes,
telegrams and phone calls; currency exchange Mon-Fri 8am-7pm, Sat
8am-noon. Branch offices are located in every neighbourhood - look for
the bright-yellow signs and the words "la Poste" or "le PTT"- and are
generally open Mon-Fri 9am-7pm & Sat 9am-noon.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS January 1, New Year's Day; Easter Sunday; Easter Monday;
Ascension Day (40 days after Easter); Pentecost or Whitsun (seventh
Sunday after Easter, plus the Monday); May 1, May Day/Labour Day; May 8,
Victory in Europe Day; July 14, Bastille Day; August 15, Assumption of
the Virgin Mary; November 1, All Saints' Day; November 11, 1918
Armistice Day; December 25, Christmas Day.
PUBLIC TOILETS Ask for les toilettes or look for signs for the WC
(pronounced "vay say"); when reading the details of facilities outside
hotels, don't confuse lavabo , which means washbasin, with lavatory.
French toilets in bars are still often of the hole-in-the-ground
squatting variety, and tend to lack toilet paper. Standards of
cleanliness aren't always high. Toilets in railway stations and
department stores are commonly staffed by attendants who will expect a
bit of spare change. Some have coin-operated locks, so always keep 50
centimes and 1F and 2F pieces handy for these and for the frequent
tardis-like public toilets found on the streets. These beige- or
brown-coloured boxes have automatic doors which open when you insert
coins, and are cleaned automatically once you exit. Children under ten
aren't allowed in on their own.
RADIO The main French news broadcasts are at 7.45pm on Arte and at 8pm
on F2 and at TF1. English-language news on the BBC World Service can be
found on 648kHz or 198kHz long wave from midnight to 5am (and Radio 4
during the day). The Voice of America transmits on 90.5, 98.8 and
102.4FM. Radio France International (RFI) broadcasts the news in English
between 3 and 4pm on 738kHz AM. For radio news in French, there's the
state-run France Inter (87.8FM), Europe 1 (104.7FM), or round-the-clock
news on France Info (105.5FM).
SAFER SEX A warning: Paris has the highest incidence of AIDS of any city
in Europe; people who are HIV positive are just as likely to be
heterosexual as homosexual. Condoms ( préservatifs ) are readily
available at supermarkets, clubs, from dispensers on the street - often
outside pharmacies - and in the métro. From pharmacies you can also get
spermicidal cream and jelly ( dose contraceptive ), suppositories (
ovules , suppositoires ), and (with a prescription) the pill ( la
pillule ), a diaphragm or IUD ( le stérilet ). Pregnancy test kits (
tests de grossesse ) are sold at pharmacies; if you need the
morning-after pill (the RU624), you will have to go to a hospital.
SALES TAX What is called VAT (Value Added Tax) in Britain is referred to
as TVA in France ( taxe sur la valeur ajoutée ). The standard rate in
France is 20.6 percent; it's higher for luxury items and lower for
essentials, but there are no exemptions (books and children's clothes
are therefore more expensive than in the UK). However, non-EU residents
who have been in the country for less than six months are entitled to a
refund ( détaxe ) of some or all of this amount (but usually around 14
percent) if you spend at least 182.93 in a single trip to one shop. The
procedure is rather complicated: present your passport to the shop while
paying and ask for the three-paged bordereau de vente a l'exportation
form. They should help you fill it in and provide you with a
self-addressed envelope. When you leave the EU, get customs to stamp the
filled-in form; you will then need to send two of the pages back to the
shop in the envelope within three months; the shop will then transfer
the refund through your credit card or bank. The Centre de
Renseignements des Douanes (tel 01.53.24.68.24) can answer any
customs-related questions.
SMOKING Laws requiring restaurants to have separate smokers' ( fumeurs )
and non-smokers' ( non-fumeurs ) areas are widely ignored. Non-smokers
may well find themselves eating elbow-to-elbow alongside smokers, and
waiters are not that likely to be sympathetic. Smoking is not allowed on
public transport, including surburban trains, or in cinemas. Most office
reception areas are non-smoking. But smoking is still a socially
acceptable habit in France, and cigarettes are cheap in comparison with
Britain, for example. Note that you can only buy tobacco in tabacs.
STUDENT INFORMATION CROUS , 39 av Georges-Bernanos, 5e (tel
01.40.51.36.00; Mº Port-Royal).
TELEPHONES You can make international phone calls from any telephone box
( cabine ) and can receive calls where there's a blue logo of a ringing
bell. A 50-unit (7.41) and 120-unit (14.74) phonecard (called a
télécarte ) is essential, since coin boxes have been almost phased out.
Phonecards are available from tabacs and newsagents as well as post
offices, tourist offices and some train-station ticket offices;
alternatively, you can use a credit or calling card. All calls are timed
in France and off-peak charges apply on weekdays between 7pm and 8am,
and after noon on Saturday until 8am Monday. For calls within France -
local or long-distance - dial all ten digits of the number. For
international calls, calling codes are posted in the telephone box;
remember to omit the initial 0 of the local area code from the
subscriber's number.
TELEVISION French TV has six terrestrial channels: three public (France
2, Arte/La Cinquième and France 3); one subscription (Canal Plus, with
some unencrypted programmes); and two commercial open broadcasts (TF1
and M6). In addition, there are the cable networks, which include LCI
(French news), CNN, the BBC World Service, BBC Prime ( Eastenders ,
etc), Planète, which specializes in documentaries, Paris Première (lots
of VO - version originale - films), and Canal Jimmy ( Friends and the
like in VO). There are several music channels : MTV for rock and pop,
Mezzo for classical and Muzzik for classical and jazz.
TIME France is one hour ahead of Britain (Greenwich Mean Time), six
hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (eg New York), and nine hours ahead
of Pacific Standard Time (eg Los Angeles). Australia is eight to ten
hours ahead of France, depending on which part of the continent you're
in. Remember also that France uses a 24hr clock, with, for example, 2am
written as 2h and 2.30pm written as 14h30. The most confusing are noon
and midnight - respectively 12h and 00h. Talking clock tel 36.99. Alarm
tel 36.88, or with a digital phone dial *55* then the time in four
figures (eg 0715 for 7.15am) then #. To annul, dial #55* then the time,
then # (costs around 0.56).
TOURS The best walking tours of Paris in English are those offered by
Paris Walking Tours (tel 01.48.09.21.40; 1hr 30min; 9.15), with subjects
ranging from "Hemingway's Paris" to "Historic Marais". A full list of
times, meeting points and prices can be found in Pariscope in the Time
Out Paris English-language section. The Paris transport authority, RATP,
also runs numerous excursions, some to quite far-flung places, which are
far less expensive than those offered by commercial operators. Details
are available from RATP's Bureau de Tourisme, place de la Madeleine, 1e
(tel 01.40.06.71.45; Mº Madeleine).
TRAFFIC & ROAD CONDITIONS For Paris's traffic jams listen to 105.1 FM
(FIP) on the radio; for the boulevard périphérique and main routes in
and out of the city, ring 01.48.99.33.33.
TRAIN INFORMATION SNCF information in English tel 01.45.82.08.41.
Eurostar tel 08.36.35.35.39, ; Hoverspeed SeaTrain Express tel
08.00.90.17.77.
TRAVEL AGENCIES Council Travel, 16 rue de Vaugirard, 6e (tel
08.00.14.81.48; Mº Odéon), is a dependable student/youth agency as is
OTU Voyages, 119 rue St-Martin, 4e, opposite the Pompidou Centre (tel
01.40.29.12.12). Access Voyages, 6 rue Pierre-Lescot, 1er (tel
01.44.76.84.50; Mº Châtelet-Les Halles), has cheap transatlantic and
train fares.
WEATHER Paris and Île de France tel 08.36.68.02.75; rest of France tel
01.36.68.01.01. On the internet at and
WOMEN'S GROUPS The Maison des Femmes, 163 rue de Charenton, 12e (tel
01.43.43.41.13, fax 01.43.43.42.13; Mº Reuilly-Diderot & Mº
Gare-de-Lyon), is the meeting place of a myriad of women's
organizations. Open Wed & Fri 4-7pm; café Fri 7-10pm. The Bibliothèque
Marguerite Durand, 3rd floor, 79 rue Nationale, 13e (tel 01.45.70.80.30;
Mº Tolbiac), is the first official feminist library in France. Open
Tues-Sat 2-6pm.
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