Rough Guide. Paris Directions

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Contents

Ideas

Amnésia Café

The most relaxed and upmarket gay venue

in the city, affecting a cosy, sofa-filled

Friends

vibe by day and lots of cocktail-

fuelled bonhomie at night.

쑺 P113 쑺 THE MARAIS 왘

Gay Pride

The big event of the calendar is the half-

million-strong pride march on the last

Saturday of June, with lots of spin-off

concerts, parties and events.

쑺 P.206 쑺 ESSENTIALS 쒀

L’Open Café

The original out-and-proud café, at the

very apex of the “pink triangle”. Famous

for its tables outside on the street, which

make a great venue for posing and people-

watching.

쑺 P.113 쑺 THE MARAIS 쑽

Contents

Ideas

The obvious lure of

Disneyland aside,

Paris has plenty of

attractions and

activities to keep

most children

happy: puppet

shows, funfairs,

zoos and adventure parks,

not to mention more off-

beat attractions such as

the creepy catacombs (see

p.146) and dingy sewers

(see p.138). In addition,

nearly every park, big or

small, has its play area

with swings and slides.

Just as much of a delight

for many children is Paris’s

vibrant atmosphere,with

its street performers and

buskers, lively pavement

cafés and brightly lit

carrousels.

Kids Paris

Disneyland

Disney’s vast theme park may not be very

French but the children will love it. Even

cynical adults may find it hard to resist

the more exciting rides.

쑺 P.184 쑺 EXCURSIONS 쒀

Jardin d’Acclimatation

No child could fail to be enchanted by this

wonderland of mini-canal and train rides,

adventure parks, trampolines, bumper

cars, puppet theatres and farm animals.

쑺 P.178 쑺 WESTERN PARIS 쒀

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Parc de la Villette

The Géode Omnimax cinema is just one of

the many attractions for kids in this

futuristic park.

쑺 P.168 쑺 EASTERN PARIS 쑽

Jardin du Luxembourg boats

One of the timeless pleasures of the

Luxembourg gardens is hiring a toy boat

and sailing it to and fro across the circular

pond.

쑺 P.128 쑺 ST-GERMAIN 쒀

Sandpits

Paris seems to have sandpits in spades – at

least one in every park and recreation area,

as in the Palais Royal garden here.

쑺 P.94 쑺 THE GRANDS BOULEVARDS

AND PASSAGES

쑽

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For all that Paris is

one of the world’s

great ethnically

mixed cities, you

could be forgiven for

not noticing, as the

majority of the black

and North African

population lives out

in the suburbs. The

vigorously revived Jewish

quarter, on the other hand,

is right in the heart of the

city. As a visitor, the best

way to get a flavour of

ethnic Paris is to try the

food: Vietnamese and

African cuisine is

particularly well

represented, alongside the

famous couscous cafés.

Alternatively, visit the

wonderful Institut du

Monde Arabe (see p.117)

or try a hammam steam

bath – an outing that has

become a Parisian

institution.

Ethnic Paris

Vietnamese restaurants

The best restaurants in so-called

Chinatown, in the south of Paris, are the

Vietnamese ones. Try the pho soup and

the excellent desserts.

쑺 P.150 쑺 SOUTHERN PARIS 쒀

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Couscous

Couscous is North Africa’s gift to Paris. You

can find it everywhere, from fast-food cafés

with just a couple of seats to more elabo-

rate settings, such as the fine

belle époque

Chez Omar

in the Marais.

쑺 P.115 쑺 THE MARAIS 쒀

Hammam at the Paris

mosque

Of all Paris’s hammams, or bath houses, the

Paris mosque’s feels the most authentic,

and you can relax with a mint tea in the

courtyard afterwards.

쑺 P.122 쑺 QUARTIER LATIN 쒀

Waly Fay

This cosy but elegant West African restau-

rant is distinctly upmarket. The stews are

richly spiced and the ambience warm and

welcoming.

쑺 P.174 쑺 EASTERN PARIS 쑽

The Jewish Quarter

Paris’s lively Jewish quarter is little more

than one street but there’s no mistaking

when you hit it, crammed full as it is of

kosher food shops, Hebrew bookstores and

falafel stalls.

쑺 P.110 쑺 THE MARAIS 쒀

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Paris may lack the

large open spaces

of London or New

York, but this is

more than made up

for by its beautiful

parks, from the

majestic formal

gardens of the

Tuileries and Jardin du

Luxembourg to the wilder,

less ordered green spaces

of the Bois de Boulogne

and Bois de Vincennes on

the city’s periphery. Paris’s

parks are places where

people come to meet each

other, relax and have fun:

families stroll or sit out in

the open-air cafés, elderly

men play chess under the

chestnut trees and children

mess around in sandpits or

get treated to pony rides.

Green Paris

Place des Vosges

The place des Vosges’s harmonious

ensemble of pink-brick buildings form an

elegant backdrop to the attractive and

popular garden at its centre.

쑺 P.111 쑺 THE MARAIS 쑽

Bois de Boulogne

This huge swathe of parkland, with its

many attractions, such as the Parc de

Bagatelle rose garden, is a favourite

Parisian retreat.

쑺 P.177 쑺 WESTERN PARIS 쑽

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Ideas

Jardin du Luxembourg

For all its splendid Classical design, the

Luxembourg is still the most relaxed and

friendly of Paris’s parks.

쑺 P.128 쑺 QUARTIER LATIN 쑽

Parc André-Citroën

On the edge of the city, sloping down to the

river, this public park is famous for its imag-

inative design, balloon ride and its capri-

cious, computer-controlled fountains.

쑺 P.148 쑺 SOUTHERN PARIS 쑽

Jardin des Tuileries

The French formal garden par excellence:

sweeping vistas, symmetrical flowerbeds

and straight avenues.

쑺 P.82 쑺 THE CHAMPS-ELYSEES 쒀

AND TUILERIES.

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Paris presents a

glamorous, unruffled

facade to the world.

Its monuments are

beautifully kept, its

boulevards regularly

planned and its

apartment blocks

designed to an

elegant, uniform

standard. The best

way to scratch that

glossy surface is to

go underground.

You can walk through the

sewers and the bone-lined

catacombs, explore the

foundations of the city’s

greatest religious

monument, and of course

you can travel on the Métro

system. The rubber-

wheeled ride may be soft

and the service dependable

but this isn’t smooth,

insulated travel. Down here

you’re rubbing shoulder to

shoulder with real, working

Paris.

Underground Paris

The Catacombs

The fascinating, tunnel-like quarries

underneath Montparnasse are lined with

literally millions of human bones,

evacuated from the overcrowded Paris

cemeteries in the nineteenth century.

쑺 P.146 쑺 MONTPARNASSE 쒀

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Sewers

A fascinating underground exhibition on a

little-known, but vital side of the city’s life.

쑺 P.138 쑺 EIFFEL TOWER AREA 쒀

Crypte archéologique

This atmospheric site beneath the square of

Notre-Dame reveals remains of medieval

and Gallo-Roman houses, as well as the old

cathedral.

쑺 P.71 쑺 THE ISLANDS 쑽

The Métro

There’s no better way to get around the city

than by the fast and efficient Métro. The

stations are stylish too.

쑺 P.203 쑺 ESSENTIALS 쑽

Contents

Ideas

Generations of

writers and artists

from all over Europe

and the Americas

have made their

home in Paris, for a

time at least, and

quarters such as

Montmartre,

Montparnasse and

St-Germain are

incredibly evocative

of particular artistic

eras. For the visitor,

there’s a peculiar

thrill about warming

the same café seat

as Picasso or

Hemingway, though

today’s prices mean you’re

more likely to be sitting

next to a successful

publisher than a penniless

novelist. For the latter,

you’ll have to go to the

classic Left Bank

bookshop, Shakespeare &

Co, where the staff all

seem to be looking for

Parisian inspiration.

Artistic and literary Paris

Musée du Montparnasse

Montparnasse was

the

artistic Bohemia

of the early twentieth century, and the

Musée de Montparnasse holds excellent

exhibitions of the era’s great artists.

쑺 P.144 쑺 MONTPARNASSE 쑽

Shakespeare & Co

The original Shakespeare & Co that

published Joyce’s

Ulysses

was over on rue

de l’Odéon, but this is still a superb

English-language bookshop and literary

meeting place.

쑺 P.124 쑺 QUARTIER LATIN 쑽