Hotel Palma
77 avenue Gambetta
Angle 2 rue des Gâtines
75020 Paris
Tel : 33(0)1 46 36 13 65
N° vert : 0800 24 46 46
Fax : 33(0)1 46 36 03 27
E-mail : hotel.palma@wanadoo.fr
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Courtesy of
Paris
Eiffel Tower News
for the guests of
Hotel Palma
"I love Paris every moment.
Every moment of the year, I love Paris.
Why! Oh why do I love Paris?
Because my love is here..."
Frank
Sinatra
Explore Paris
Welcome to Paris! This "Paris monuments"
page was designed for you, hopefully a future guest of
Hotel Palma
, who may visit Paris for the first time. The idea is to give you pieces of
advice to acquaint you with the City of Light, and help you prepare for this
exciting trip. Read on!
Prepare well for a
stroll
Once you have settled down in your comfortable
hotel room and are getting ready to take your first stroll, take
some time to dress appropriately.
First,
put on a really good pair of walking shoes to feel
comfortable in the Parisian streets. Walking in Paris means stopping often to
look at amazing details and buildings. This constant stop-and-go will wear you
down if you aren't comfy in your shoes.
Visiting
the Eiffel Tower means waiting often over 30 minutes to gain access to the ticket
booth, then waiting some more for the elevator on the way up, and waiting some
more for the elevator on the way down. So to your feet, a
pair of good shoes will make a big difference!
Parisian
weather is fickle in springtime and during fall: what starts out as a
great clear day can turn rainy and chilly in the afternoon. Pack a sweater and
a rain breaker if you are visiting during these seasons. Summer is usually fine
(70-85°F), August is generally hotter (80-95°F). Winter is rainy and cold, almost
as cold as in NYC.
In any case, take
your umbrella along, it may become your best friend -- especially if
you intend to take pictures of everything. Rain and camera lenses don't like
each other.
Street-savvy tips
Now that you're dressed and all ready to
venture outside, here are a couple of useful tips:
-
Avoid taking a taxi during the day, and notably in the morning until
11:00, and in the late afternoon from 4:00 to 8:00. Streets are jam-packed during
those periods, and seeing the meter run while you're a sitting in bumper-to-bumper
traffic is a disheartening experience.
-
Taxi fares: taxi meters show your fare and one of three letters: A, B,
or C. If you are within Paris and on the ring outside Paris (the peripheral
boulevard), the A rate applies from 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM, and the B rate turns
on from 8:00 PM till 6:00 AM. When you leave Paris intra-muros, the driver will
turn on the B rate during the day and the C rate from 8:00 PM. If you are far
from Paris, the C rate always applies. You will pay extra for every luggage
you load in the trunk and if you take the cab from an airport. Don't try to
hail a cab in the street too close to a train station: taxi drivers can't load
passengers within a 100-meter radius from the train stations. Go to the station
taxi head instead, or further away from the station.
-French people do lunch between 12:00 and 1:30
PM, and dinner between 7:30 and 10:00 PM. If you wish
to avoid the crowd, lunch at 12:00 tops and dine out from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. Restaurants
rarely serve between 2:00 and 6:00 PM.
-
Having a drink at the terasse of a sidewalk cafe is
a necessary experience in Paris (skip it between November and March though,except
if weather permits). However, terasse drinks are often charged premium prices.
- Although they are saddled with a
reputation, cafe waiters are not necessarily rude:
they're just in a hurry. So don't take offense if they are impatient with you.
Smile and show them what you want on the menu. They won't return the smile,
but you will get your order quickly.
-
In Parisian restaurants, it is not customary for your waiter to come
back to you once you are served to see if everything is allright: they assume
this is the case. So don't feel you are ignored: just call the waiter when you
wish to have your bread basket replenished. If you dine out at an expensive
restaurant, waiters will tend your table diligently. Otherwise, it won't be
the case.
-
Gratuity: your restaurant/cafe check already includes a 15% gratuity.
If you feel like giving an extra tip to your cafe waiter, leave EUR 1 ($.97)
on the table. In a restaurant, you may leave EUR 3-5 ($2.7-4.5, more if you
are in an expensive place) but again, that's not expected in either case. Your
credit card receipt won't show any gratuity line.
Armed
with these few basic advices, you are ready to conquer the asphalt. On to places
to visit!
Paris monuments and hallmarks
This world-famous landmark was built for the Universal Fair of 1889, held to
commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. It stands 1050 ft high.
Admission (elevator to the top) is EUR 9.90 for adults, EUR 5.30 for children
under 12. Opening hours: Jan 1-Jun 13: 9:30am-11pm daily (stairs: 9:30am-6pm);
Jan 14-Aug 31: 9am-midnight daily.
Work on the Hunchback's gothic home began in 1163 AD and was completed circa
1345 AD. The house of God can accommodate over 6,000 worshippers. Admission
in the Cathedral is free, going to the towers costs about EUR 6. No elevator,
people with a heart condition should abstain. Opening hours: 8:00AM-6:45PM daily.
Towers: 9:30AM-6:45PM daily. Masses: 8AM, 9AM, 12AM, 6:45PM.
Champs Elysees and the Arch of Triumph:
The Champs Elysees avenue probably only deserves its nickname of "most beautiful
avenue in the world" for its lower section, starting Place de la Concorde and
ending at Grand Palais. The rest of the avenue mainly features overpriced shops
and restaurants - with a few exceptions in the side streets. Walk to the Arch
of Triumph, at the top of the avenue, and visit the 50-meter high structure
built to commemorate Napoleon's victories. Admission is about EUR 6, and free
for children under 12. Opening hours: 9:30AM-11:00PM daily from April to October,
and 10:00AM-11:00PM daily from Nov-March.
Montmartre and the Church of the Sacred
Heart:
The Romano-Byzantine basilica crowns the Montmartre hill. Its construction began
in 1875 and was completed in 1914. Admission is free, except for the crypt and
dome (about EUR 5). For a fun ride, go to the Anvers metro station, walk to
"Rue Tardieu" and take the "funiculaire" (a one-car train which brings you almost
to the top of the hill). Montmartre itself used to be a village outside Paris.
The hill is famous for its architectural landmarks, its artistic life, and more
recently, for 'Amelie'. It counts no less than 7 museums!
http://www.tecnilog.com/cartes/cpa/montmartre/mont.htm
Its building started in 1671 under the reign of King Louis the XIVth, and about
30 years later. From its inception, the place was designed to serve as a home
to impoverished soldiers and wounded veterans of the French army. It comprises
the veteran hospital itself, a church, several museums, and the tomb of Napoleon
I. Admission is EUR 6 for adults, and free for children under 12. Opening hours:
October to March 31: 10AM-4:45PM, April-September 30: 10AM-5:45PM
http://www.invalides.org/
Located on Ile de la Cité, the construction of this gothic church started
under Louis IX in 1240 AD to house relics believed to be Jesus's Crown of Thorns
and parts of the Holy Cross. Amongst other remarkable details, the tall stained-glass
windows which are mainly original work. Admission is about EUR 6. Opening hours:
10:00AM-5:00PM.
Its construction started in the early XVIIth century under Henri IV. It was
completed in 1612. Initially named 'Royal Square', it was renamed 'Place des
Vosges' by Napoleon I as an homage to the inhabitants of the Vosges region who
had been particularly quick to pay their taxes. The square is remarkable both
by its style (it is lined with 36 buildings, all dating from Henri IV) and by
its shops and its little park where Parisians like to loaf on sunny Sundays.
Find more comments on Paris landmarks
and monuments at www.paris-eiffel-tower-news.com.
Walking in Paris
Paris offers a number of interesting itineraries
for strollers. You can follow the waterways (river Seine, St
Martin Canal, river Bièvre) or the 17-km long railway transformed into a
most surprising walkway
hung some 50 feet above the hustle-bustle of the city. You can also spend some
quality time in any of the large public parks which the city counts (Luxembourg,
Buttes-Chaumont, Montsouris, Georges Brassens), discover the gardens
of the 14th district, or else decide to learn live history and architecture
in areas like St-Sulpice and St Germain-des-Prés.
A
lively and interesting city
This is but a glimpse of the many places
you will want to visit during your stay in Paris. Guests of the hotel are offered
a Complimentary Pass to the Members
Only section of the Paris Eiffel Tower News website, which features a
lot more information on Paris.
The Complimentary
Pass can be retrieved from the Thank You page which displays after your reservation
request has been received by the hotel.
The
hotel personnel wishes to be of service to you during your stay in Paris. |
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