Location: Île-de-France region Map
Paris is the capital of France. Divided into
twenty arrondissements, it is the capital of the Île-de-France
region and the seat of the metropolis of Greater Paris.
It is
established in the center of the Paris Basin, on a loop of the
Seine, between the confluences with the Marne and the Oise. Occupied
since the 3rd century BC by the Gallic people of Parisii, the
original site of Lutèce takes the name of Paris around 310 and then
develops by successive enclosures. Capital of the kingdom of the
Franks during the reign of Clovis, Paris became one of the main
cities of France during the 10th century, with royal palaces, rich
abbeys and a cathedral. During the 12th century, with the University
of Paris, the city became one of the first centers in Europe for
education and the arts. The royal power being fixed in this city,
its economic and political importance does not cease growing. Thus,
at the beginning of the fourteenth century, Paris was one of the
most important cities in the Christian world. From the 16th century,
it was the metropolis of the French colonial empire until the 20th
century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the capital of one
of the main European and world political and cultural powers. In the
19th century, it was the capital first of the Napoleonic Empire and
then of the arts and pleasures. In the 20th and 21st centuries it is
one of the main cities of the European Union. Since the Middle Ages,
it has thus occupied a leading role in the world through its
activity and its influence.
The city underwent profound
transformations under the Second Empire, giving the old medieval
Paris the face of modern Paris, characterized by large boulevards
and open squares. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first
line of the Paris metro was inaugurated, then the construction of
low-cost housing and the introduction in the second half of the 20th
century of an urbanism of towers and bars transformed many districts
of the arrondissements. peripheral devices. The center of the
capital was deeply renovated in the 1970s with the move from Les
Halles to Rungis, replaced by the underground Forum of Les Halles
and the RER station of Châtelet-Les Halles, and the construction of
the Center Pompidou. At the same time, the ring road and the road on
the bank were built.
Inner Paris, with an area of 105 km2,
had 2,145,906 inhabitants on 1 January 20201. Its area of
attraction, which today extends over 18,941 km2 and 1,929
municipalities, has 13 064,617 inhabitants on January 1, 2018, thus
constituting the most populated area of attraction in France and the
European Union. The Paris conurbation had, in 2020, 10,858,874
inhabitants, which made it the largest conurbation in Western Europe
ahead of London.
In addition to many headquarters of
international companies, the city hosts several European and
international institutions. It is also one of the main financial
capitals of the world. It is also the world capital of luxury, haute
couture and haute cuisine.
The economic fabric of Paris is
characterized mainly by higher tertiary activities. Information and
communication activities are strongly represented there, such as
audiovisual programming and broadcasting, the national written press
and publishing. The financial and insurance activities, the head
office, legal and accounting activities of large international
companies characterize the territory. The importance of commerce and
local services is also specific, since a little more than a third of
jobs in the retail trade in the Paris conurbation are found in
Paris. The density of housing, population, activities and networks
nevertheless lead to certain problems of travel, atmospheric
pollution, supply of the capital or the cost of real estate.
Tourist destination visited each year by some ten million foreign
tourists (thirteen for Paris and the inner suburbs), Paris has a
world-famous architectural heritage such as Notre-Dame de Paris
cathedral, the Eiffel tower, the Louvre museum and the Triumphal
arch. From the classicism of certain buildings in the city center to
the neo-classical (Museum of Modern Art and Palais de Chaillot) or
modern (Maison de l'Unesco, CNIT vault, Maison de la Radio et de la
Musique) styles, the trend to gigantism asserts itself with the
towers of the Front de Seine and the districts of Italy and
Montparnasse.
Events, concerts, festivals and other
activities punctuate the cultural life of the capital, such as the
international fashion week, which takes place every six months,
Paris Plages in summer or Nuit blanche in October. The capital also
hosts major sporting events such as the Roland Garros tournament,
the arrival of the Tour de France or the Paris marathon and is home
to renowned sports clubs such as the Paris Saint-Germain football
club and the rugby union club of French stadium. Paris organized the
Olympic Games in 1900, then in 1924, and will host them again in
2024.
The Paris metropolitan area consists of 20 districts -
the so-called arrondissements. These are numbered 1 through 20 and
spiral clockwise around the center. An arrondissement consists of a
number of sub-districts, the 'Quartiers'.
As of July 11, 2020,
the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements are combined into a single
sector called Paris Centre.
1st arrondissement (1er): Louvre,
Tuileries Garden, Place Vendôme, Les Halles and Palais Royal.
2nd
Arrondissement (2e): Paris Bourse, National Library.
3rd
arrondissement (3e): National Archives, Musée Carnavalet, Conservatoire
des Arts et Métiers.
4th arrondissement (4e): Notre-Dame Cathedral,
Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), Beaubourg, le Marais (artists' quarter,
formerly Jewish Quarter), Center Pompidou
5th arrondissement (5e):
Jardin des Plantes, Latin Quarter, university district (Sorbonne),
Panthéon, bouquinist stands
6th arrondissement (6e): Luxembourg
Gardens, St-Germain des Prés
7th arrondissement (7e): Eiffel Tower,
Field of Mars, Hôtel des Invalides, Musée d'Orsay, government district
8th arrondissement (8e): Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, Elysée Palace,
la Madeleine, Grand Palais, Parc Monceau
9th arrondissement (9e):
Opéra Garnier, luxury department stores (Galeries Lafayette, Le
Printemps)
10th arrondissement (10e): Canal St Martin, Gare du Nord,
Gare de l'Est
11th Arrondissement (11e): Bars and restaurants on Rue
Oberkampf, Bastille, Place de la Nation, New Jewish Quarter
12th
arrondissement (12e): Opéra Bastille, Parc de Bercy, Promenade plantée,
Quartier d'Aligre, Gare de Lyon, Bois de Vincennes
13th
Arrondissement (13e): Chinese Quarter, Place d'Italie, La Butte aux
Cailles, Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF)
14th arrondissement
(14e): Montparnasse, Parc Montsouris, Petit Montrouge, Plaisance
15th
arrondissement (15e): Tour Montparnasse (tallest building in Paris),
Gare Montparnasse, Front de Seine
16th arrondissement (16e): Bois de
Boulogne (largest city park), Palais de Chaillot, Musée de l'Homme,
Trocadéro, Hippodrome
17th arrondissement (17e): Palais des Congres,
Place de Clichy
18th arrondissement (18e). Montmartre, Basilica of
Sacre Coeur, Pigalle, Moulin Rouge, Barbes
19th arrondissement (19e):
Museum of Science and Industry, Parc de la Villette, Bassin de la
Villette, Parc des Buttes Chaumont
20th arrondissement (20e): Père
Lachaise Cemetery (graves of numerous celebrities)
A special
feature is the Île de la Cité, which represents the oldest part and the
"nucleus" of the city, it belongs partly to the 1st and partly to the
4th arrondissement.
Surrounding the core of the city are the
suburbs (banlieue). To the west of Paris are the wealthy suburbs
(Neuilly, Boulogne, Saint Cloud, Levallois), while to the northeast are
the poorer immigrant neighborhoods.
La Défense, in the west,
already outside the city, is the architecturally spectacular office
district with the unusual skyline.
The two major Paris airports are managed by the company Aeroports de
Paris, whose detailed website has the answer to many questions.
Charles de Gaulle airport serves most long-haul flights, while Orly
airport in the south serves mostly national and European destinations
(many low-cost airlines). Before departure, you should make sure from
which airport the flight departs. Due to the high number of tourists,
the airports are very large, considerable running and search times have
to be planned for. AirFrance also offers a shuttle service between both
airports and to the city center.
1 Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Airport (aéroport Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, IATA: CDG) . Feature:
changing table.
Charles de Gaulle Airport has a direct connection
from Terminals 1 and 2 with the RER B (suburban train) to the city
centre. Trains run at short intervals during the day and are usually a
very fast and convenient mode of transport. The journey to the city
center (Chatelet les Halles) takes around 45 minutes, with express
trains running regularly non-stop from the airport to Gare du Nord
around 10 minutes faster. Fare: €10.30 (as of Jul 2022).
From the
Opéra, the Roissybus costs €13.70.
There are two terminals in Roissy
that are very far apart. You should therefore find out from the airline
about the right terminal before leaving Paris and plan the appropriate
walking routes. Attention: The RER B alternately serves 2 destinations:
On the one hand, the trains (RER B3) go to the airports, the RER B5 to
Mitry-Claye.
2 Paris Orly Airport (aéroport de Paris Orly, IATA:
ORY)
For Orly Airport, take the RER B south to Antony and change to
Orlyval. This goes directly to the terminals (price: €11.30 Paris-Orly,
only Orlyval €9.30). The journey to the main transfer point Les Halles
takes at least 30 minutes.
Alternatively, you can take the RER C to
Pont de Rungis, from where a shuttle bus runs to the terminals. Fare:
RERC + shuttle bus “GO C Paris”: €6.35 (as of Jul 2022).
There is
also a bus connection to Orly from/to Denfert-Rochereau (Orlybus) for
€9.50.
Aside from that:
3 Paris Beauvais-Tillé Airport
(aéroport de Beauvais-Tillé, IATA: BVA). Tel.: +33 (0)977 40 24 20, +33
(0)892 68 20 66 .
Many budget airlines land here (Blue Air, Ryanair,
Wizz Air). The airport is approximately 82 km north of central Paris.
From Porte Maillot there is a shuttle bus for €16.90 (as of Jan 2023)
that goes to the airport in 1h15. The airport operator recommends taking
the shuttle bus 3h15 before the actual departure.
By train
Paris is the central railway hub of France. A total of seven major train
stations receive rail traffic from all directions. The variety brings
with it some peculiarities. Anyone who is used to German main train
stations, where you can easily switch between long-distance trains, will
have to rethink Paris. Here the trains end at one of the terminal
stations, which bundle the trains in one direction. To change trains,
you have to take the metro to the other station (metro tickets can often
be bought in the on-board bistro of a TGV). Since some of the stations
are very far-flung, you may have to allow for long walks of 20 minutes
or more.
Cycle tourists who want to switch from one train station
to another will find a detailed description of all options including
route descriptions and GPS tracks for the journey from one train station
to another in the bike travel wiki.
train stations
For
travelers from Germany, the train stations Gare du Nord and Gare de
l'Est are of particular importance, for travelers from Switzerland the
Gare de Lyon. The ICE and TGV high-speed trains, among others, operate
here.
4 Gare du Nord : Northern France, connections from Brussels,
Amsterdam, London, West Germany (Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen, Dortmund).
5 Gare de l'Est : Eastern France, Southern Germany (Munich, Ulm and
Stuttgart), Frankfurt, Luxembourg and direct to Moscow once a week.
6
Gare de Lyon : South of France, Switzerland (Zurich, Geneva and Basel),
Barcelona and Milan.
7 Gare de Bercy : Gare de Lyon alternate
station. Motorail trains and regional trains depart from there for
central France.
8 Gare d'Austerlitz: Regional services to central and
southern France and night trains within France.
9 Gare Montparnasse :
west and south-west France, towards Nantes.
10 Gare Saint-Lazare :
Regional services to Normandy.
Paris is the central port of call
for various European high-speed trains, Thalys from Holland, Belgium and
Germany, Eurostar from England. Since June 2007 there have been 6 daily
ICE or TGV connections from Frankfurt am Main via Mannheim and
Saarbrücken (3 hours 43 minutes via Karlsruhe, 3 hours 55 minutes via
Saarbrücken), as well as one TGV connection from Munich (5 hours 47
minutes) and four from Stuttgart (3 h 13 min) via Karlsruhe to Paris
Est.
If you want to continue your journey by public transport
from a Paris train station, you can buy tickets for Paris local
transport (Métro, bus, RER) on the TGV. The same price applies as on
site. This offer is not available in the ICE on this route.
At
the Gare de l'Est there are lockers in the basement (near the entrance
to the metro station). The luggage is screened in a similar way to an
airport check. The middle locker holds a large suitcase and costs 7.50
euros/24 hours, the largest locker comfortably holds two large suitcases
and costs 9.50 euros/24 hours (as of 03/2019). It is only possible to
pay with coins, but there is an exchange machine at the exit.
Touring - Eurolines Germany offers regular scheduled bus connections
to Paris at low prices, starting in Aachen, Augsburg, Berlin, Bielefeld,
Bochum, Braunschweig, Bremen, Darmstadt, Dresden, Duisburg, Düsseldorf,
Essen, Flensburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe,
Kiel, Cologne, Lübeck, Mannheim, Munich, Nuremberg, Saarbrücken,
Stuttgart and Ulm (Eurolines serves many other cities outside of
Germany, with the destination Paris). The timetable and prices can be
called up using the form linked at the beginning.
Flixbus/MeinFernbus offers daily (night) connections from Berlin via
Hanover, Munich via Stuttgart to Paris and back.
The Gare
routière Internationale de Paris-Galliéni bus station, Avenue du Général
de Gaulle, F 93170 Bagnolet, Tel. (+33) 01 41 86 24 21 or 08 92 89 90
91, Metro station Galliéni is the destination of both bus companies. It
is located directly on the city limits formed by the ring road
(Boulevard Périphérique) in the suburb of Bagnolet and is served by a
taxi station and the metro line 3. The latter crosses Paris from east to
north-west with connections to the tram, numerous metro lines and the
RER A, C and E commuter train lines.
Paris is also a central hub for the trunk road network. The motorways
in France are subject to tolls, the prices are relatively high, but this
is also reflected in the good road surface quality and moderate traffic
conditions. From the east, the E 50 is the most important connection to
the German trunk road network (via Saarbrücken or Strasbourg and the
A4). Paris itself is surrounded by two ring roads, the outer A85 and the
inner boulevard periphérique.
The streets of Paris are
notoriously congested, and even more so since Mayor Delanoë, in
agreement with the Police Prefect, has reduced the "Grands Boulevards"
to one lane (plus regular bus lane) in each direction. Even at
intersections where nothing is moving, the Frenchman drives in first,
the rest will find itself. The French way of parking (if the parking
space is too small, you just push the front and back, then it's ok) has
improved slightly in recent years, but it's still advisable to be
careful with new cars. Scratches and small dents are common, especially
on painted bumpers. And just because it's a Porsche or Ferrari, the
French are no exception.
From Italy: Arriving by car is perfect
for those who are not in a hurry and want to stop along the way to
discover new places. From northern Italy it is not too many travel
hours, calculated, from Turin and Milan it takes about 9 hours. On the
other hand, those departing from the south will have to make stops to
eat or stay overnight.
From any town on the peninsula, you can
reach France by crossing the Mont Blanc Tunnel, then taking the A40
motorway towards Genève-Lausanne-Paris and continuing on the A6/E15
towards Auxerre-Paris.
When you arrive in Paris, it is advisable
to park your car and use public transport, which is certainly faster and
more comfortable to get around the city center.
It is therefore
not advisable to drive directly into the city by car, unless the hotel
has a car park. Street parking in Paris costs between €4 and €6 per hour
and the maximum parking time is 6 hours. Parking is only permitted in
the white-bordered parking spaces marked "payant". The yellow-bordered
parking spaces are reserved for suppliers.
It is better to head
for a guarded multi-storey car park. Most are underground. On the
outskirts they are cheaper. In the center there is the parking garage of
the Forum des Halles at the Louvre, the day ticket (24h) costs 36 € (as
of 2012). The q.park website offers a complete overview. The latter is
in French, but the search function is easy to use.
If you intend to come to Paris with your own ship, you should keep
the opening hours of the locks in mind and reserve your berth well in
advance. There are two marinas at his disposal, managed by Fayolle
Marine on behalf of the City of Paris under the name Ports de Plaisance
de Paris:
The Port de Plaisance Paris Bastille, centrally located
between the square of the same name and the Seine in the 4th
arrondissement, offers green and flowered quays, a children's playground
and a restaurant despite the cramped space. The infrastructure includes
a flooded basin with 170 anchorages for a maximum ship length of 25 m.
The port office (capitainerie) provides information and weather reports.
Worth mentioning and commendable are the efforts of the Yacht Club Paris
Bastille to promote international understanding. With this aim, the club
organizes, among other things, a barbecue every first Thursday of the
month for the yacht owners from all over the world who are anchored
locally.
The stops Nautique de la Villette on the more spacious
Bassin de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement is not far from the
Parc de La Villette and the Cité des Sciences, but can only be reached
from the Seine via one of the city's canals and numerous locks. The
flooded basin, designed as an alternative port for shorter stays, has 24
berths for a maximum ship length of 15 m. There is also a separate port
office.
Both ports have all the usual amenities and connections
(water and electricity connections at all berths, sanitary facilities,
nearby metro and bus stops, etc.). See also: Ports en Île-de-France with
addresses of other marinas in the Paris area.
If you are not the
lucky owner of your own yacht, you do not have to miss out on the
pleasure of reaching Paris by water. He can reach the city from Le Havre
on a Seine cruise ship. See: His river cruises.
Sights are spread out over a large area, and downtown
is chronically congested with cars. It is better to leave your own car
at home or outside the city. The metro and RER are the fastest means of
transport in Paris. In addition, many sights can be easily reached on
foot (RATP information flyer on local transport).
Two apps are
helpful for orientation: Bonjour RATP and Next Stop Paris. While the
Bonjour RATP app, which can also be set in English, is a typical local
transport app for all users, the Next Stop Paris app, which can also be
set in German, focuses on the needs of tourists and hides many other
facts.
Within Paris, the metro is a very quick way to get
around. There are about 300 stations on 16 lines that run frequently and
regularly (a train about every two to eight minutes). In addition to the
M lines 1-14 as well as 3bis and 7bis, there are also the suburban
trains RER A-E to the surrounding areas, which can be used within Paris
with the same ticket as the metro trains. The metro runs daily between
5.30am and 1.15am, with an extra hour on Fridays, Saturdays and before
public holidays.
Tickets are sold individually as paper tickets
for €1.90 at the machines at the stations. With the Navigo Easy card,
which has replaced all other paper tickets, the 10-ticket (carnet) only
costs €14.90. This card is available for a one-time fee of €2 at the
ticket counters in the metro stations (sometimes you have to be a little
persistent with the seller and tell the exact name, since the Navigo
cards are better known than the Navigo Easy cards). The Navigo Easy can
be topped up as often as you like at the machines or at the counter
(with any number of single tickets, a 10-ticket or day tickets for
€7.50) and are valid for 10 years. You can see how many trips are still
charged at every machine or via [app].
The tickets on the Navigo Easy card cannot be split. Each participant in
a travel group therefore needs their own Navigo Easy card.
If
tickets are bought directly from the bus driver (2 €), they are only
valid for one trip without changing trains. These tickets can only be
paid for in cash and usually only by matching them. Since 2020, tickets
can be purchased via SMS. These tickets are not valid for connecting
journeys. Daily, multi-day, weekly and monthly tickets are also offered
on the bus. The ticket must be validated each time you board a bus or
tram or scanned when entering the metro area so that the access barrier
opens. It is possible to change trains with the same ticket between
metro and RER within zone 1 or between bus and tram, but not between bus
or tram and metro or RER. With this ticket you can use the entire metro
network, including to La Défense. With the RER, the ticket is only valid
within zone 1, which is within the Périphérique. Those who travel to
Paris by train may have the option of buying a metro ticket in advance
from the TGV (on-board bistro) (slightly more expensive than at the
machines) in order to avoid long waiting times at the machines.
If you take the RER outside Paris, it will be more expensive. La Défense
is in zone 3, the zone 1-3 ticket costs €2.80, as a day ticket: €10.
Palace of Versailles is in zone 4: €3.65, day ticket: €12.40, Disneyland
is in zone 5: €5, day ticket: €17.80. A trip from the city center to
Orly Airport costs €9.50 by Orly Bus and €12.10 by RER and Orlyval, and
€10.30 to Charles de Gaulle Airport by RER. Check RATP for more fares
and route schedules.
The Navigo card is ideal for longer stays
(bring your passport photo with you). This is a card in the size of a
credit card, with which you can pass the entrance barriers without
contact and which costs a basic price of €5 for those who do not live in
Paris. For example, the card can be topped up at the machine for all
zones for €22.80 per week or €75.20 per month (as of April 2022). The
weekly ticket is valid from Monday midnight to Sunday midnight, the
monthly ticket from the first to the last day of the calendar month.
The Paris Visite ticket, intended for tourists, is available for a
period of one to five calendar days (until midnight), either for use
from the 1st-3rd or 1st-5th Zone. A ticket for one day in the area of
1.-3. Zone 12 €, children 6 €, for 3 days 26.65 € or 13.30 € (as of
04-2022). In addition, the ticket includes some vouchers for tourist
attractions. This ticket is only worthwhile if you take advantage of
many discounts. Otherwise you should better buy the Navigo-Easy card,
especially since it can be used very flexibly for day tickets as well as
for single journeys. A current overview (2021) of all ticket options
relevant to tourists can be found at paristipps.com.
The
Châtelet-Les Halles station is the central hub for public transport. The
endlessly long aisles between the different Metro and RER lines are
provided with runways. Almost half of the trains pass through this huge
underground station, which also includes a large shopping mall. When you
come to the surface, you are in the middle of Paris, only about a
five-minute walk from the Seine. The City Hall (Hôtel de Ville), the BHV
department store, the Center Pompidou, the Palais de la Cité are just a
few steps away. Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Louvre can also be reached
quickly from there.
The trains run regularly and on time. They
get a bit crowded during peak hours (7am-8am, 4pm-6pm), but you can
always find at least standing room. The trains are checked regularly and
are also quite clean. Incidentally, both the trains and the underground
stations are unusually warm.
In Paris, you don't walk to catch a
metro. They drive at a very tight pace. If one train is gone, then you
just take the next one, which will come in a few minutes.
In
particular, crossing stations are often very confusing, since the metro
does not run completely underground, but also runs on viaducts above the
streets. The stations are a good distance apart and you have to know
which line you have to go to.
Metro stations often have numerous
stairs and rarely elevators or escalators. This can lead to considerable
difficulties if you have limited mobility or if you are taking a
stroller with you.
It should be borne in mind that the stations
often have several exits. It is generally advisable for tourists to take
a look at the posted station plans and choose the right exit.
In
the inner city areas of the metro, the numerous street musicians and
street performers offer their shows for a donation. Some of them also
come on the trains and make fun of them. If you linger and watch the
artist, a small donation is appropriate. They are usually happy about
little money.
However, pickpockets and other criminals are also
on the move, especially in the highly frequented stations. Neck pouches
protect against pickpocketing. Also, be careful when using cell phones
on the metro, especially near the doors. Thieves take advantage of the
distraction, steal the phone and make off through the already closing
doors.
The above-ground metro trains offer a perfect view of the
city. Unfortunately, there aren't that many of them in the inner city
area. For a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower, take line 6 between
Bir-Hakeim and Trocadero.
The bus system in Paris is very well organized and
complements the metro network. The metro tickets can be used, but you
cannot use them to transfer to the metro or RER, but you can use them to
transfer to other buses or trams.
The RATP tourist buses can be
used with a t+ ticket (metro/bus ticket):
Montmartrebus – It runs all
year round from Place Pigalle (metro 2 and 12) up the Butte (hill) and
serves all the main points of Montmartre up to the Jules Joffrin metro
station on line 12.
Balabus - It serves the capital's main
attractions between Gare de Lyon train station and La Defense. It runs
between April and September, on Sunday afternoons and public holidays.
Archi-Bus - Exploring contemporary architecture in Paris, multiple
lines.
In addition to numerous lines that run across the city at short intervals, there is also the so-called Noctambus/Noctilien, a night service that runs all night according to the timetable.
The tram network consists of ten lines, all of which operate on the outskirts of Paris or in the nearby Paris suburbs. The T4 west of Paris is operated by SNCF as a tram-train. All other lines are operated by the RATP.
Finding a taxi in Paris is not that difficult during the week. At weekends it can sometimes take over an hour to find a free taxi. A glowing white taxi sign means the taxi is available, while a yellowish sign means an occupied taxi. In France it is normal for nobody to sit in the front apart from the driver (although exceptions for four-person driving are possible). Statistically, taxi fares in Paris are the second cheapest compared to the other (old) EU capitals. So you can cross the whole city at night for little money. Some taxi drivers try to scam unsuspecting tourists and charge higher prices than normal. It helps (if you speak French or the taxi driver is able to speak English) to talk to the taxi driver. This increases the probability that this does not set an excessive tariff.
Paris has already expanded the network of cycle paths
and is continuing to work on making the city more bicycle-friendly
(route planner). On Sundays, some roads (e.g. along the Seine) are
completely closed to car traffic and can be used by non-motorized
traffic in both directions.
With Velib, a bicycle rental company
has established itself with a close-knit network of rental points. You
can choose between normal bikes (green) and electric bikes (blue). You
can buy a day pass for €5 per normal bike (max. 5) or a week pass for
€15 per bike by credit card directly at the stations. 300 euros will be
blocked as security per bike. It should be noted that only the first 30
minutes are free. After that the fees increase (1st additional 30 min:
1€, 2nd 2€, 3rd and more: 4€!). This only applies to conventional bikes,
e-bikes are chargeable from the very first minute. After parking the
bike, a bike can be rented again after a few minutes without incurring
any additional fees (daily or weekly fee). As long as you use a bike for
a maximum of 30 minutes, there are no additional costs apart from the
daily rate.
For longer stays, you can register online and choose
cheaper monthly passes.
The stations are fully automatic, i. H.
you take out a subscription with a credit card. You will then receive a
subscription number with a password for borrowing or you can connect the
subscription to your Pass Navigo. Then you approach the bike stand with
the Pass Navigo, it opens, you ride your bike to your destination and
park the bike there at a bike stand belonging to the rental service.
Broken bikes often have the saddle turned backwards, which makes it
easier to find a working bike.
A dent on his car usually means nothing to a citizen
of Paris. He certainly has pride in ownership, but that is not nearly as
pronounced. If you value your car, park it in a safe place and then take
public transport.
There is typical big city traffic with a
shortage of parking spaces. Driving slowly to look for a parking space
can be acknowledged with horns. The old cliché of the dented car after
accidentally applying the handbrake is still valid to a limited extent.
Where there is little space, you get some. It should be noted that at
the Arc de Triomphe right before left applies, here is stopped in a
circle.
Traffic in Paris has its own rules. At night, cars often
do not drive with dipped headlights, but only with side lights, and
lanes are usually ignored. Three vehicles are driving side by side on a
two-lane road. If the parking space is too small for the car, it will be
made larger.
There are two different types of traffic lights,
important and unimportant. The important things get noticed, the
unimportant ones sometimes don't. As a pedestrian, you shouldn't
necessarily trust the little green man and still look to the right and
left. That makes life a lot easier.
Traffic in Paris takes some
getting used to. A special type has become established, particularly at
the large junctions. The entire boulevard périphérique, the ring road
around downtown Paris, is the first challenge. Offensive driving
behavior is the rule here. Then there are the two real challenges in
Paris, the Place de la Concorde and the Place de Charles de Gaulle
roundabout. Some people drove into this roundabout and only got out
after several laps, even if not where they wanted to.
Since 2022,
a speed limit of 30 km/h has applied in almost the entire Parisian area.
Anyone familiar with the Joe Bar comics will get a pretty good impression of motorized two-wheel traffic in Paris. Illegal races on the autobahn ring road and rapid movement in city traffic are still part of everyday life. It is undisputed that with such a vehicle you are absolutely superior to the car and hardly have any parking worries.
Ulrich Wickert's famous report from 1984 on how to
cross the busy 5 Place de la Concorde is still valid today. The French
motorist decides who has the right of way over pedestrians using one
criterion: if the pedestrian, fearing death, looks neither to the left
nor to the right when crossing the street, the motorist stops. On the
other hand, if the pedestrian pays attention to the traffic, the driver
no longer needs it, says the Frenchman. So if you lose your nerve in the
middle of the road and suddenly check on the cars: good luck!
The
rule for traffic lights described above also applies here: important and
unimportant. Pedestrian traffic lights are among the unimportant and are
usually run over even when they are red. If you go through a pedestrian
traffic light, you should be careful despite the green sign. Conversely,
however, it is also completely normal to ignore a red traffic light when
traffic permits.
Paris has enough sights, large and small, to take a
lifetime to explore. Since not everyone has the necessary time and
resources for this, it is important to plan well. The article A week in
Paris offers a little help for a stay in Paris.
Many sights close
at 5 p.m. and the last entry is correspondingly earlier. The day should
therefore be well planned and started early. The evacuation by security
personnel can begin as early as one hour before closing for remote
departments and upper floors. Things that are important to you should
therefore not be put off until the last minute. Museums and historical
places in France are often and often rebuilt, also because of the old
building fabric. A look on the Internet is helpful shortly before the
trip if you don't want to stand in front of closed doors.
Since
visitors are searched at many attractions for security reasons, long
queues must be expected in some cases. And if you take home one term
from the French language, it's not merci or baguette, merde or metro,
it's "no flash" or "pas de flash" (no flash). If this constant
admonition of security guards still makes sense in the case of paintings
because of the fading colors, one doubts the underlying logic in the
case of crystals, stone statues, animal models made of cheap plastic or
explanatory text panels. However, one encounters them in many museums
around the world.
The most important sights are outlined in the
following section. Since there are so many, more sights are described in
the respective arrondissements.
6
Eiffel
Tower (La Tour Eiffel), 7th Arr. (Bir-Hakeim Paris#MetroTrocadéro
Paris#MetroParis#MetroÉcole Militaire Paris#MetroChamps de Mars - Tour
Eiffel RER C) . The symbol of Paris. It was built by Alexandre Gustave
Eiffel in 1889 for the then world exhibition (historical photographs).
The 324 m high tower was actually supposed to be demolished after 20
years, but was retained because of its technical importance (e.g. as a
radio station). 7 million visitors climb the tower every year. There are
three viewing platforms at heights of 57, 115 and 274 meters. Open: last
lift to 3rd platform: 9:30am - 11pm, 14 Jun - 31 Aug: 9am - 12am, to 2nd
platform: 12:45am. Price: Stairs to the 1st and 2nd platform: €10.70,
with the elevator to the 1st and 2nd platform €17.10, to the 3rd
platform €26.80, young people up to 24 years and children reduced.
7
Arc de Triomphe, 8th Arr. (Charles de Gaulle - Étoile
Paris#MetroParis#MetroParis#MetroRER a) . Located in the middle of the
Place Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, the Arc de Triomphe was built between
1806 and 1836 to honor the French army. You can climb onto a viewing
platform with a view over the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower. It
then goes up through a narrow spiral staircase (you need a bit of
physical fitness. You should not advise an elderly or sick person to do
this. It is stuffy and narrow). Below is a small museum on the history
of the Arc de Triomphe. Open: viewing platform 10 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.,
from April to September until 11 p.m. Price: €13, free for EU citizens
up to 25 years old.
8 Tour Montparnasse, 15th arr. . A 209 meter high
skyscraper that towers over the Montparnasse district and is visible
from afar. On the 56th floor at a height of 196 meters there is a
viewing platform with a restaurant and bar with an excellent view over
Paris. From here it is possible to reach an open roof terrace via a
staircase. Open: Summer 9:30am - 11:30pm, Winter 9:30am - 10:30pm.
Price: €20, young people and children reduced.
9
Pantheon, 5th Arr. (Cardinal Lemoine
Paris#MetroLuxembourg RER b) . France's National Hall of Fame but built
as the Church of St Genoveva. The leaders of the French Revolution
rededicated the imposing domed building as the Hall of Fame and the
burial place of famous French personalities. The front of the abbey
church, built between 1764 and 1790, is reminiscent of a Greek temple
and followed a fashion of the time. The church is surmounted by a mighty
dome. The Pantheon also serves as the final resting place of famous
figures including Victor Hugo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Emile Zola.
Open: Apr-Jun: daily 10am-6.30pm, Jul-Sep 10.45am-7pm, Oct-Mar 10am-6pm.
Price: Adults €11.50, EU citizens up to the age of 25 free (incl.
panorama tower, must be asked explicitly at the ticket office).
10
Invalides' Home (Hôtel des Invalides), 7th arr. (La Tour Maubourg
Paris#MetroInvalides RER c) . The monumental building houses various
buildings and museums. Open: Wed - Mon 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Tue 10 a.m. - 9
p.m. Price: Adults €14, EU citizens up to 25 years free.
Garrison
Church - Cathedral of St. Louis des Invalides
Les Invalides - Église
du Dôme with Napoleon's tomb
Musée de l'Armée - Army Museum
Musée
des Plans-Reliefs - Museum of military models
Musée de l'Ordre de la
Liberation - Museum of the Military Order
Historic Charles-de-Gaulle
- Museum about the war hero and statesman
Opéra Garnier (Palais
Garnier), 9th arr. (Opéra Paris#MetroParis#MetroParis#MetroAuber RER a)
. Opera house opened in 1875. Also known for the novel Phantom of the
Opera. Open: Daily 10am - 5pm (except for afternoon events, see
website). Price: adults €14.
Paris Memorial de la Deportation
Notre- Dame de
Paris (cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris), 4th arr. (Cité Paris#Metro Hôtel
de Ville Paris#MetroParis#Metro Saint-Michel - Notre Dame RER b) . The
church on the Île de la Cité is one of the symbols of Paris and attracts
many visitors at any time of the year. The cornerstone was laid in 1163
by Pope Alexander III. laid and built in the following 170 years as a
magnificent Gothic building. The dimensions of the nave and the medieval
rosettes in the transepts are impressive. The cathedral was badly
damaged in the fire of April 15th and 16th, 2019 and cannot be visited.
Open: since the big fire no longer accessible and largely closed off
until further notice. Price: free.
Sacré-Cœur (basilique du
Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre), 18th arr. (Anvers Paris#Metro Abesses
Paris#MetroFunicular Funiculaire de Montmartre (incline) Bus
interchangeMontmartrobus) . The basilica is located on the Montmartre
hill and from its steps there is a beautiful view over Paris. The church
was built between 1875 and 1914 and is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus. Inside, a huge mosaic of Jesus Christ is impressive. If you make
the effort to visit Sacré-Cœur and climb the hill, be sure to check out
the bohemian quarter next door. Not only is there a nice place to eat
and buy all sorts of artists' paintings and shops, it's also a very
pretty neighborhood with lots of street life. Price: free.
Sainte- Chapelle, 1st Arr.
(Cite Paris#Metro) . A High Gothic jewel. The church was built by King
Louis IX in the 13th century. built on the Île de la Cité in Seine to
house relics of Jesus' cross and crown of thorns. The church consists of
two floors. The upper floor impresses with huge stained glass windows
that practically surround the whole room. Open: Mar - Oct: 9:30am - 6pm,
Nov - Feb: 9am - 5pm. Price: €8, EU citizens up to 25 years free.
In France, most state museums are open for free on the
first Sunday of the month (the Louvre is a particular exception during
the summer months). Minors and some young people under the age of 25
enjoy free admission to all state museums. The permanent collections of
the numerous municipal museums are free (except, for example, Catacombes
and Maison Europénne de la Photographie). Many museums are closed on
Mondays or Tuesdays. Once a year, usually in May, around 900 French
museums stay open until 1am for the Nuit des Musées (Long Night of
Museums).
Musee du
Louvre (Musee du Louvre), 1st Arr. (Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre
Paris#MetroParis#Metro). Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 20 53 17, fax: +33 (0)1 40 20
54 52, email: info@louvre.fr . The most famous and largest museum in the
world with the attractions Mona Lisa (La Joconde in French), Venus de
Milo and Nike of Samothrace. The German audio guide is limited to a
meager 350 works of art. You can spend several days in the Louvre.
Features: free WiFi, wheelchair accessible, cloakroom, photography
allowed, no touching, no loud speaking, no smoking, no drinking. Open:
Wed - Mon 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Price: adults €15, EU citizens up to 25 years:
free. Payment types accepted: cash, debit card.
Musee d'Orsay,
7th arr. (Solferino Paris#Metro, Musée d'Orsay RER c). Tel.: +33 (0)1 40
49 48 14 . Outstanding museum on all art movements from the period
between 1848 and 1914 in the former Belle Époque train station. Such a
complete documentation of an epoch can hardly be found anywhere else in
the world. Some of the best-known works by van Gogh, Rodin and the many
world-renowned French Impressionists of the time can be seen here up
close. The building was a train station for a world exhibition in the
1930s and is worth seeing in its own right. The German audio guide is
very good and a very worthwhile investment. The security measures are
also a bit more relaxed, so that the Musée d'Orsay has the higher fun
factor compared to the Louvre. Appropriate duration: one day. Feature:
Photography prohibited. Open: Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 9:30 a.m. - 6
p.m., Thu 9:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m. Price: adults: €14, EU citizens up to 25
years: free, audio guide: €5.
Center Pompidou (Centre national
d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou), 4th arr. (Rambouteau Paris#Metro,
Hôtel de Ville Paris#MetroParis#Metro). Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 78 12 33 .
Opinions differ on the architecture of the art and culture center with
the museum for modern and contemporary art. The prestigious glass
building is surrounded by tubes in which escalators run. Everything that
is necessary to supply the building (escalators, water, etc.) is housed
on the outer facade. Walls can be moved inside as desired. Inside you
will find art from 1905 to the present day, e.g. B. Works by Matisse,
Picasso, Dalí, Kandinsky and Warhol. The building also houses various
libraries and a center for industrial design. Open: daily 11 a.m. to 9
p.m., Thurs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Tues closed. Price: €14, under 18s free.
Panorama ticket for the 6th floor: €3, EU citizens under the age of 26
free.
Musée Picasso, 3rd arr. (Chemin vert Paris#Metro,
Saint-Paul RER c) . Located in the former "Hôtel Salé", the museum owns
around 250 works by Picasso as well as numerous works of art from his
private collection (including by Georges Braque, Paul Cézanne, Henri
Matisse, Joan Miró and Amedeo Modigliani). Feature: wardrobe. Open:
Tue-Fri 10:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat+Sun 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Price: €14,
under 18s and EU citizens under 26 free.
Grand Palais, 8th Arr.
(Champs-Elysées - Clemenceau Paris#MetroParis#Metro, Invalides
Paris#MetroParis#MetroRER c) . The Grand Palais is an exhibition
pavilion built for the 1900 World's Fair and is now used primarily as a
national art gallery for temporary exhibitions. Open: closed for
renovations until 2024.
Rodin Museum, 7th arr. (Varenne
Paris#Metro) . Located in the immediate vicinity of Les Invalides, the
Rodin Museum is housed in the Hôtel Biron, a city villa built by the
architect Jean Aubert between 1728 and 1731, commissioned by Abraham
Peyrenc de Moras. This wig maker, who had become very wealthy, did not
enjoy his palace for long - he died shortly after its completion.
However, he left behind a masterpiece of French Rococo: the decorative
stucco ornaments inside, the design of the facades and, last but not
least, the south terrace bear witness to this. His widow rented the
house to the Duchess du Maine, a niece of Louis XIV. After her death in
1753, the property was sold to Marshal Biron, whose name it still bears
today. Features: No smoking, no drinking. Open: Tuesday to Sunday from
10am to 6:30pm. Price: €13 adults; free for persons under 18 years, also
for EU citizens under 26 years. Audio guide German (for museum,
temporary exhibitions and garden): 6 €.
City of Sciences and
Industry, 19th arr. (Porte de la Villette Paris#MetroÎle-de-France
tramway line 3b). Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 05 70 00, email:
infocontact@universcience.fr . The largest natural science museum in
Europe. Open: Tue - Sat 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Price:
€12 for adults; €9 reduced.
Marmottan Monet Museum, 16th arr. (La
Muette Paris#Metro, Boulainvilliers RER c). Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 96 50 33 .
It houses the largest collection of works by the painter Claude Monet.
Musée de Cluny (Musée national du Moyen Âge - thermal baths and hotel de
Cluny), 5th arr. (Cluny - La Sorbonne Paris#Metro, Saint Michel - Notre
Dame Paris#MetroRER bRER c) . The museum houses a unique collection of
medieval art. The building is a medieval palace built on the ruins of a
Roman thermal baths from the 200's and is a sight in itself.
Musée
Carnavalet (Museum of the City of Paris), 3rd arr. (Saint-Paul
Paris#Metro) . A very interesting museum with many exhibits that give an
understanding of the history and development of Paris. Open: Tue-Sun 10
a.m. - 6 p.m. Price: free.
Champs Elysees (avenue des Champs Elysees), 8th Arr. .
Unfortunately, the boulevard in the 8th arrondissement is past its
prime. Today there are mainly expensive restaurants, burger shops
(McDonald's) for tourists and a few shops. Nevertheless, the street
still has its charm. Another tip when approaching the Arc de Triomphe
via the Champs Élysées is an underpass on the right side of the road
that takes you under the roundabout directly to the Arc de Triomphe. The
walk from the Louvre up the Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe takes
about 30 - 45 minutes, depending on your pace.
Place de la Concorde
(place Louis XV), 8th arr. . Place worth seeing with large fountains in
the heart of Paris. Here stood the famous guillotine that Louis XVI. and
cut off the heads of Marie-Antoinette and other well-known people.
Place Charles de Gaulle (place de l'Étoile), 8th arr. (Charles de Gaulle
- Étoile Paris#MetroParis#MetroParis#MetroRER a) . worth seeing place on
which the Arc de Triomphe stands.
Place du Tertre, 18th arr. (Bus
interchange Montmartrobus) . in the "artists' district" on Montmartre.
Place Vendome, 1st Arr. . between the Opera and the Seine - one of the
classiest squares in the city dedicated to upscale luxury (jewelers) and
the headquarters of the legendary Hotel Ritz.infoedit
26 Place des
Victoires, 1st arr. / 2nd Arr. . 500 m north of the Louvre
Place des
Vosges, 4th arr. beautiful square in the Marais, which impresses with
its uniform development from 1612. Around the green center there are
arcades with small shops, galleries and restaurants (especially the very
expensive Ambroisie), but in bad weather there is also a clochard.
Place de la Bastille, 4th arr. / 12th Arr. . This is where the notorious
and feared state prison of the arbitrary royal rule stood until the
storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. On the same day, the medieval
fortress was almost completely destroyed by the angry people. Today you
can find the outline of the prison in the pavement in one of the side
streets at the edge of the square. East of the square is Carlos Ott's
Opéra Bastille, which opened in 1989.
1 Jardin des Tuileries, large park between the Louvre
and the Place de la Concorde
2 Jardin du Luxembourg - the park is
located in the Luxembourg district and borders the Palais du Luxembourg.
The gardens are the green heart of the district. Its large octagonal
pond is often traversed by legions of toy boats in the summer. Metro:
Luxembourg (RER), Notre-Dame-des-Champs or Odéon.
3 Jardin des
Plantes - the botanical garden is located in the southeast of the city,
on the south bank of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement
4 Champ de
Mars (Field of Mars) - flanked by the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and
the Ecole Militaire to the southeast.
Due to its location, 5 Parc
Monceau is probably the most distinguished park in the city. Here you
can still see governesses from the area with the little ones entrusted
to them.
6 Parc des Buttes Chaumont is a larger park in the 19th
arrd., whose small temple on an artificial hill offers a beautiful
panoramic view of the Paris skyline. Restaurants, lakes, waterfalls and
grottos complete the picture.
7 Bois de Boulogne - west of the city,
one of the two large parks. There are many recreational facilities such
as jogging trails, horse riding facilities, etc. and playgrounds. In
addition, the Bagatelle Castle with its park and rose garden worth
seeing · 16th Arrd.
8 Bois de Vincennes – East of the city, one of
the two large parks. There are many recreational facilities such as
jogging trails, horse riding facilities, etc. and playgrounds. Also the
castle of Vincennes.
9 Jardins du Trocadéro on the opposite side of
the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. Huge water features and a
state-of-the-art aquarium are two of the many attractions here.
10
Parc de la Villette, 19th Arr. (Porte de la Villette
Paris#MetroÎle-de-France tramway Line 3bPorte de Pantin
Paris#MetroÎle-de-France tramway Line 3b) . The largest park in Paris in
the far north-east of the city is home to a futuristic ensemble of
different buildings and green spaces.
11 Cimetière de Montmartre , 20
Avenue Rachel, 18th Arrd.
29 Cimetière de Montparnasse (cimetière du
Montparnasse), 3 boulevard Edgar-Quinet, 75014 Paris, France. Tel.: +33
(0)1 44 10 86 50 . 3 Boulevard Edgar-Quinet, 14th Arrd.
30 Cimetiere
du Pere-Lachaise (Cimetiere de l'Est), 16, rue du Repos 75020 Paris.
Tel.: +33 (0)1 55 25 82 10, email: cimetiere.perelachaise@paris.fr . 16
rue du Repos, 20th arr..
Classic non-stop bus tours in multiple languages are
offered by
PARISCityVISION (merger of the former companies Cityrama
and Parisvision), 2 rue des Pyramides, 1er arr., Tel. 01 44 55 60 00.
Always overbooked, so booking is essential and it is better to be at the
meeting point 15 minutes before departure time arrives.
Hop-and-stop double-decker buses, in which each guest is equipped with
an audiophone and can interrupt the journey for one or more days at
their discretion and resume with one of the next buses, depending on the
ticket selected, are distinctive because of their blue, white, red or
dark red colors paint to be seen. Registration is not mandatory, the
ticket can be bought when boarding. Route and stops are shown below
TOOT bus
Big Bus Paris (formerly Les Cars Rouges).
Commented
bicycle tours are organized on special request by the Parisian bicycle
specialist Allovélo, 2 rue Beauregard, 2nd street, Tel.: 01 40 35 36 36.
The good news: the three-hour highly sociable Paris-by starts regularly
(every Thursday evening) with a maximum of 15 cyclists - night tour
"Allovélo aime la nuit" (Allovélo loves the night), to which you can
register individually. The mini-event is advertised with the slogan
bike, tour guide, biscuit, drinks, assistance and...smile. In fact,
everything is included (missample (repair kit and rain cape just in
case) on this offbeat and poetic journey through romantically
illuminated Paris, through dimly lit alleyways, into hidden courtyards
and gardens, past fountains and statues to several aglow with the lights
Monuments Ça c'est Paris, Ville lumière!.
If you want to save on
the costs, you can take a sightseeing tour in the regular bus - of
course without comment and better outside of rush hour - for which you
only need the corresponding ticket valid for bus and metro (see above).
There are worthwhile routes with numerous sights along the way, but also
lesser-known corners
Bus line N° 21: Gare Saint-Lazare - Opéra
Garnier - Palais-Royal - Théâtre Français - Palais du Louvre - Pont-Neuf
- Palais de la Cité - Palais du Luxembourg - Parc Montsouris - Stade
Charléty
Bus line N° 27: Opéra Garnier - Palais-Royal - Musée du
Louvre - Pont du Carrousel - Pont des Arts - Pont-Neuf - Pont
Saint-Michel - Luxembourg
Bus line N° 29: Gare Saint-Lazare - Opéra
Garnier - Bourse - Marais district with Place des Vosges, Bastille and
the New Opera - Gare de Lyon
Bus line N° 73: Musée d'Orsay -
Assemblée Nationale - Place de la Concorde - Grand Palais - Petit Palais
- Champs-Élysées - Arc de Triomphe - La Défense
Bus line N° 82:
Palais du Luxembourg - Montparnasse - Hôtel des Invalides - École
Militaire - Champ de Mars - Eiffel Tower - Avenue Foch - Porte Maillot
Bus line N° 63 is less productive but not uninteresting. It runs from
the Trocadéro via the Quai d'Orsay past the bridges of the Seine to the
Assemblée Nationale, then via the Boulevard Saint-Germain with the
church of the same name to the Institut du Monde Arabe and beyond to the
Jardin des Plantes and serves in the opposite direction the Hôtel de
Cluny (Museum of the Middle Ages) and the Saint-Sulpice church.
Private German-speaking city tours through the Paris districts are offered by HelpTourists. There are different neighborhoods to choose from, including the artistic district of Montmartre, the Jewish district of the Marais, the Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain-des-Prés or the Parisian passages. The guides are young and dynamic and are happy to tell you about life in Paris and share their insider tips. Advantage: Date, time and duration of the city tours (2, 4, 6 or 8 hours possible) can be freely selected. Booking at denise@helptourists.com.
The City of Arts continues to attract young
avant-garde artists, designers and talents from all over the world. Your
stay is encouraged by the City of Paris, which has a number of "cités
d'artistes" or artists' colonies, but also by various foreign cultural
centers based in Paris, most of which are affiliated with the Forum des
instituts culturels étrangers à Paris (FICEP). The Goethe-Institut
maintains two German-French meeting places. Admission to the exhibitions
and performances at these cultural centers is largely free.
Center
culturel du Mexique 3rd Arr.
Center culturel suédois 3rd Arr.
Center Wallonie-Bruxelles 4th arr.
Institute Finlandais 5th Arr.
Center tcheque 6th Arr.
Center culturel canadien 7th Arr.
Center
culturel italy 7th arr.
Institut Neerlandais 7th Arr.
Center
culturel du Taiwan 7th Arr.
Maison du Danmark 8th Arr.
Maison de
la culture du Japan 15th Arr.
Goethe Institute 16th Arr.
Fondation
Mona Bismarck 16th Arr.
Other meeting points of the art and
culture scene are "La Maison des Métallos" in the 11th arr., "Le 104" in
the 19th arr., "Les Docks en Seine" in the 13th arr. and the alternative
artist collective "La Générale en Manufacture" located just outside the
city but easily accessible in the former ceramics school in Sèvres
(Hauts-de-Seine).
The Montmartre Round, also known as Les
Montmartrois de Paris, is a private initiative with the aim of making it
easier for artists, sponsors and those interested in art to meet and
exchange ideas with like-minded people in Paris. Where? In Montmartre,
of course.
Several associations of art gallery owners and antique
dealers regularly organize vernissages. The special events include, for
example, the collectively organized vernissages and exhibitions listed
below:
in Saint-Germain-des-Pres. Around 100 gallery owners, art
publishers and antique dealers organize the Art Saint-Germain-des-Prés
festival every year, usually in May or June. The 18th edition will take
place from May 28th to 31st, 2016. Art, design, valuable books,
engravings, photographs and much more to admire.
In the Fauboug
Saint-Germain, between rue des Saints-Pères, rue de l'Université, rue du
Bac and Quai Voltaire, the 120 gallery owners and antique dealers, who
have formed the Carré Rive Gauche association since 1978, invite you
every spring for 5 days to spend 5 days to discover immeasurable
treasures and award the Prix Carré Rive gauche des écoles d'art on this
occasion.
around the Champs-Elysées, 80 gallery owners have announced
their 20th edition of the Nocturne Rive Droite for June 1, 2016 from
5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. A unique opportunity to stroll from one gallery
to another in one of the trendiest districts of Paris in the evening
with a glass of champagne.
Paris has around 150 theaters, only the most important
of which are listed here. More information can be found in the district
articles.
Opéra National de Paris (Paris Opera Houses) with
locations
2 Opéra Garnier , also called Palais Garnier − old opera,
the largest theater in the world, opened in 1875
3 Opéra Bastille −
on Place de la Bastille, inaugurated in 1989
4 Comedie Française −
5 Theater des Champs Elysees
6 Theater du Chatelet
7 Theater des
Bouffes-Parisiens
8 Moulin Rouge
9 Lido Varieté, revue theater
Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes (see 5th
arrondissement)
Parc zoologique de Paris in the Bois de Vincennes
urban forest (see 12th arrondissement)
There are golf clubs on the 16th arr. and on the
outskirts in Saint-Cloud in the Hauts-de-Seine department (see there).
The racecourses, all three of which have a history of more than a
hundred years, are located in the two city forests, the Bois de Boulogne
(16th arrd.) and the Bois de Vincennes (12th arrd.) (see there). There
are other racecourses around Paris in Saint-Cloud, Maisons-Laffitte,
Enghien, Chantilly and Evry.
A covered skating rink can be found on
the 12th floor (see there). In the winter months, outdoor skating rinks
have also been set up for several years, mostly in front of the town
hall (Hôtel de Ville, 1st arr.) and in front of the Montparnasse train
station (14th arr.).
The Prince Park Stadium (Parc des Princes) has a
capacity of around 50,000 spectators.
Salon de coiffure Djélani Maachi, 40 rue Coquillière, 1st street, Tel.: 01 42 33 57 47, Pont Neuf metro station. By appointment only. The crazy tip for moonstruck: Djélani Maachi, Figaro of his stand and make-up artist, adopts the old wisdom that the haircut on the night of the full moon promotes growth and fullness of hair and opens his hairdressing salon on the full moon from 10 p.m. until dawn. Ca, c'est Paris!
Paris is one of the most famous shopping cities on
this planet, all world brands are represented here. The motto is: "No
luxury is too much, no price is too high." Many of these luxury brands
can be found less on the Champs Elysèes and more on the Avenue
Montaigne, which branches off from it and is also worth a short walk.
Apart from the big department stores (see below), France is a
country of small shops. The prices are accordingly. And unfortunately
sometimes the hygienic conditions. The city government gives the number
of retail stores as 61,800 (as of 2007/2008). It privileges the
family-run shops, which is why supermarkets are rather rare. They are
almost always located on side streets off the boulevards. Once you've
found one, it's better to remember it.
Opening hours of most
shops:
Monday-Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m
Sunday: small
grocery stores are often open on Sundays, but closed on Mondays. So you
should stock up on time.
You can clearly see the difference to Germany in the
food: If you know the right addresses, you quickly realize that food of
this first-class quality is simply not delivered to Germany. Even if you
go to a delicatessen or organic food store and spend a lot of money,
this quality simply doesn't exist in Germany. The French certainly don't
have more money than Germans.
There are weekly markets in every
district (see article on the relevant arrondissements). The maraichers,
who bring top-quality produce from their own orchard and fresh,
home-grown vegetables to Parisian markets, can be recognized by the
traces of the morning-turned earth under their fingernails.
Cheese drove Charles de Gaulle to despair. "Comment voulez-vous governor
un pays où il existe 246 varietés de fromage?" ("How do you want to
govern a country where there are 246 different types of cheese?") spoke
the media-savvy head of state. In other words, in France there is no way
around cheese. Either you eat it in Paris at some point, or you just
haven't been to France after all. The sometimes very aromatic and
strongly fragrant varieties may not be to everyone's taste, but you
should have tried them.
Some excellent chocolatiers sell
chocolate in Paris, and they still make their shiny black delicacies
themselves. No matter how expensive it is, La Maison du Chocolat is hard
to beat in the race for the best pralines in the world. Even if the
significantly cheaper chocolate bar (4.50 euros / 100 grams) tempts as a
compromise, you should rather choose the pralines. You can try them, we
recommend the Caramel variety.
In addition to works on modern art, the bookshop in
the Center Pompidou also offers travel guides, e.g. the travel and
shopping guide "Paris Pas Cher" and an extensive range of postcards.
Many small and charming bookshops can be found at the foot of the
Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre, especially near the Abbesses metro station.
You can buy (and sell) used books at the Bouquinists on the banks of
the Seine, between the Île de la Cité and the Pont-Neuf, at Shakespeare
& Compagnie, 37 Rue de la Bûcherie or at Gibert Jeune on the Quai
Saint-Michel (both 5th arrdt.), valuable antiquarian books in
Saint-Germain-des-Prés near the Odéon theater (6th arrdt.). A market for
antiquarian and old books takes place every weekend in Parc Georges
Brassens, 104 rue Brancion (15th arrdt), metro station Porte de Vanves.
Sat+Sun from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After the aristocratic lords were shaved off a head in
the revolution, many top French chefs were forced to open their own
restaurants. To this day, Paris is considered the home of top
gastronomy. The prices per meal/person can be over 200 euros. However,
you should inform yourself beforehand, not every super expensive
restaurant is worth this price.
If you want to have a fine lunch,
then you go to areas where there are hardly any tourists or, ideally, no
tourists. The system is then knitted on the locals and their wallets.
There are lunch menus with between three and four courses for little
money. You might only get an apple for dessert. But the other dishes are
very good and very tasty. The cuisine is international. Due to the
colonial past, there are also numerous Arabic, Asian or African
influences. For about 10 euros you get a couscous. There is also a small
Jewish quarter in the Marais near the Place de la Bastille. In general,
you have to say that you have to cut corners when it comes to hygiene.
You should look at the restaurants with open eyes and select (or
deselect).
The numerous bistros on the boulevards are also part
of Parisian culture. Here you can enjoy coffee all day long, sometimes
with a baguette. The humming traffic doesn't matter, it's just there.
But it's very relaxing. Different prices apply in the bistros. If you
drink your coffee at the counter, it's the cheapest. A coffee in a
bistro with a seat is a bit more expensive, and the top is the coffee on
the street, which is the most expensive (price example from June 2015:
cup of coffee (that's an espresso according to German understanding) in
the outdoor area of a bistro at Montmartre 1, 80 euros, at the counter
1.00 euros). But you should definitely try the coffee on the street. You
can breathe real Parisian air there.
Fast food restaurants are
somewhat rarer than in other world cities, with McDonald's and
QuickBurger being the main ones. Burger King and Pizza Hut hardly exist.
The Subway sandwich chain is only slowly gaining ground. Don't be
surprised: the burger recipes at McDonald's differ from those in
Germany.
A cheap alternative can be one of the numerous canteens
that are spread over the entire city. All canteens offer lunch, some
also open in the evenings and at weekends, occasionally with brunch.
Refectories and cafeterias are open to everyone, but the reduced prices
only apply to students. With an international student ID, you can get
away with about 3.50 euros for a meal, guests should expect double that.
Paris is known to be an expensive place. This is
especially true for the beer in the evening. A few examples: Beer (0.5
"une pinte") in a normal pub: about 7 euros, entrance to a disco with
"conso" (free drink) about 15-20 euros. However, you can get a good
bottle of wine for as little as 12 euros in most pubs. It's a pity in
Paris that all the bars close at half past one and - if you don't want
to end the evening yet - you have to go to a club. To give a few tips:
1 Rex Club, 5 vols Poissonnière (2nd Arr., Bonne Nouvelle metro
station). Tel: (0)1 42 36 10 96 . Techno temple with top DJs in the
basement of the "Grand Rex" cinema. Open: Wed-Sun 11.30pm until dawn.
Insider tips: Here are some cheap bars that are mostly frequented by
local students:
2 Bistrot des Artistes, 6 rue des Anglais, 75005
Paris (Metro Place St Michel). Tel: +33 6 25002654. Alternative bar with
vernissages and sometimes live music. Open: 17-2, Sun 19-24 h.
3 Time
Out Mouffetard, 22 rue du Pot de Fer, 75005 Paris. Tel.: +33 9 54974003
. During happy hour, a beer (0.5l) is only half the price. Open: 16-2 h
(FriSat -5 h).
Tribal Cafe, 3 Cour des Petites Ecuries, 75010 Paris
(Château d'Eau Metro). Phone: +33 1 47705708 . If you order a drink from
Wed-Sat at 9 p.m., you get couscous or moules frites (mussels with
French fries) for free! In addition, extremely cheap drink prices. Open:
13-2 h.
To get an overview of the music scene in Paris, it's
worth taking a look at Lylo magazine. All events are listed here sorted
by days and districts. Further information such as admission prices,
style and an overview of bars and discos make Lylo the perfect basis for
planning your evening.
If you want to go to the cinema, you don't
necessarily have to understand French. In France, subtitled original
versions are often shown. Provided there are still cinemas free for
Hollywood films with all the French films. In the program, these films
are marked with VOST (Version Original Sous-Titrée), which corresponds
to the OmU in German cinema programs.
Lost in Frenchlation
organizes screenings of French films with English subtitles in changing
art house cinemas. You can get information about the next events via
newsletter.
Parisian nightlife is unmanageable. In an attempt to
get a perspective, L'Officiel des spectacles offers its expertise in the
areas of cinema, theatre, exhibitions, concerts, children and guided
tours both online and weekly from Wednesday in printed form in
newsagents (€ 1.80). Like the city, the offer is huge and you have to
see what suits your own interest profile. But it is very likely that you
will find something.
You shouldn't miss the opportunity to sit on
a boulevard in the evening and drink a glass of red wine, which is at
best mediocre, with someone you really like. Here you can experience
Parisian flair like nowhere else. Paris traffic never stops. You sit in
the bistro area on the street. If this weren't possible in Hanover, it's
possible in Paris. Everything is more relaxed there.
It's
difficult to get a seat in the bistros that were still selling coffee in
the afternoon. Oddly enough, the street scenery doesn't bother me at all
in the evening rush hour. The service is reserved. You are not
threatened with orders.
camping
Paris only has one official RV park. The
Parking Wurtz parking space has space for 80 vehicles and is located in
the 13th arrondissement on a parking lot with a paved surface, is
illuminated, but offers no supply and disposal.
Camping Indigo Paris
Bois de Boulogne is located in the 16th arrondissement on the edge of
the Bois de Boulogne urban park.
The Huttopia Versailles campsite is
a bit further out but it is very pretty and ideally located near the
Porchefontaine RER station in Versailles.
Hotels
For the
individual companies see the respective sections in the districts.
Cheap
Depending on their proximity to the center, hotels in Paris
are relatively expensive. We recommend hotels near the center (example:
13th, 14th, 15th Arr.) with a metro connection. A 2-star hotel that
deserves these stars costs about 80 euros per single room, anything
below that usually has a catch. A fairly safe choice are comparatively
cheap hotel chains, such as Ibis Hotels or Novotel.
Families with
children are a little better off in the greater Paris area than in other
major European cities, where the Accor chain operates 16 hotels with
fully furnished apartments that are not even exorbitantly expensive. The
apartments can accommodate up to 6 people.
Middle
Due to the
convenient location at the western terminus of the M1 metro, the
neighboring business district of La Défense with its modern business
hotels is an alternative worth considering, especially on weekends.
Upscale and luxury
The fashionable squandered part of their
millions in unaffordable luxury hotels in the 5-star category, which are
qualified as palaces according to the strictest selection criteria. Of
the eight establishments that received this label of "excellence à la
française" in France in 2011, four are located in the capital. Parisian
couples save up for the wedding night. The appropriately stylish and
romantic marriage proposal is sent to one of their restaurants. German
politicians on state visits live in the Bristol, right next to the
Elysée Palace.
The four Parisian palaces are: Le Meurice (1st
arrd.), Le Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme (2nd arrd.), Le Bristol (8th arrd.)
and Le Plaza Athénée (8th arrd.)
Other prestigious luxury hotels
that withdrew from the competition due to upcoming restoration campaigns
or other reasons, or did not meet the criteria, are Le Ritz (1st Arrd.),
Le Crillon (8th Arrd.), Le Georges V. (8th arrd.) and Le Fouquet's
Barrière (8th arrd.).
Universities and Grandes Écoles
There are 13
universities in Paris, almost half of which are located in the
traditional student district of the Latin Quarter (5th arrondissement).
One is in the adjacent 13th district, one in the 16th district, and the
rest outside the city limits. The "Campus France Germany" information
office offers a flyer on studying in France.
In France, Grandes
Écoles are the specialized elite universities that are only accessible
through a selective selection process. Ten of these schools are located
in and around Paris.
libraries
Libraries can be found in all
arrondissements. The most prestigious is the Bibliothèque Nationale de
France, which is spread across several locations. In the historical
building of the BNF (site Richelieu 2nd Arrd.) valuable manuscripts,
medals and plans are kept more or less under lock and key. The most
famous department is the new BNF or Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand
(Site Tolbiac, 13th arrd.). Like the three other departments, both see
themselves as researcher libraries with a diminishing number of reading
places for non-researchers.
In the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève
next to the Panthéon (5th arrondissement) and in the Bibliothèque
publique d'information (BPI) in the Center Pompidou (4th arrondissement)
one runs the risk of having to wait in line for a place to read.
Not to be scoffed at are the 57 smaller but well-stocked Bibiothèques
municipales (municipal libraries) that can be found in every
arrondissement and lend books to those lucky enough to have a permanent
address in Paris.
German libraries maintain the following
institutions:
German Forum for Art History (Centre Allemand
d'Histoire de l'Art), 10, Place des Victoires, 75002 Paris (2nd arrdt.).
Phone: +33 1 42606782, Fax: +33 1 42606783, Email: contact@dt-forum.org.
German Historical Institute Paris (Institut Historique Allemand de
Paris), Hôtel Duret-de-Chevry, 8, rue du Parc-Royal, 75003 Paris (3rd
arrdt.). Tel.: +33 1 44542380, fax: +33 1 42715643, email:
bibliothek@dhi-paris.fr .
Goethe-Institut Paris, 17 Avenue d'Iéna,
75116 Paris (16th arrd.). Tel.: +33 1 44439260, fax: +33 1 44439269,
e-mail: bibliothek-paris@goethe.de . Open: Tues-Fri 9am-9pm, Thurs
9am-4pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Fondation de l'Allemagne - Maison Heinrich
Heine (Maison Heinrich Heine), Cité Internationale Universitaire de
Paris, 27 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris (14th arrdt). Tel: (0)1 44 16
13 01
Foreigners wishing to work in France must be in
possession of a valid residence and work permit. Citizens of European
member states are exempt from this obligation. In addition, the
candidate for employment must apply for registration with the central
social insurance fund, with the employer usually helping. The latter is
obliged to ensure that the foreign worker undergoes the obligatory
medical examination by the medecine du travail within a certain period
of time and must pay the related costs.
Various organizations
arrange holiday jobs. For job seekers from Germany, the best-known and
probably the most efficient contact point is the Franco-German Youth
Office, which also provides assistance in other areas of Franco-German
exchange.
All in all, downtown Paris is safe. Even the red light
areas can be walked through at night with almost no problems. However,
one should take the usual safety precautions. Pickpockets are, of
course, ubiquitous. It is also advisable to avoid some suburbs (French:
banlieues) in the north and south, as these are social hotspots.
At tourist spots (especially Sacre Coeur) there are handsome African
immigrants who like to flirt with the ladies, tie a piece of yarn around
their arm and talk something about "bring good luck" and "Hakuna Matata"
and then demand 10 euros from the puzzled men . (Of course, this can
also happen to men and children/teens who get involved.) The best thing
to do is to put your hands in your pockets and just keep walking.
Beware of groups of young girls who are "armed" with a clipboard and
hunt for signatures. While they literally surround you and explain their
action, accomplices steal your valuables. It's best to continue straight
away and never get involved in a conversation. This scam often takes
place at the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.
Paris has doctors and hospitals of all specialties.
The emergency doctor system is excellently developed.
Pharmacies
that are open 24 hours a day are listed below. Other pharmacies that are
open late in the evening are added to the corresponding section of the
respective district. It is advisable to check this information, which is
correct to the best of your knowledge and the current status (2009), by
telephone if necessary as a precaution.
Pharmacie Dhery, 84
Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Galeries des Champs-Elysées on the 8th arr.,
Tel. 01 45 62 02 41. George V metro station.
Pharmacie Perrault, 6
Place de Clichy, 9th arr., Tel. 01 48 74 65 18. Place de Clichy metro
station.
Grande Pharmacie Daumesnil, 6 Place Felix Eboué, 12th arr.,
Tel. 01 43 43 19 03. Metro station Daumesnil.
The French are wrongly known for their lack of foreign
language skills. French people are very proud of their style and
language. In Paris, the tourist can assume that communication in English
is possible everywhere. In the service area, German is often spoken. So
there should be almost no problems communicating as long as you stay
near the well-known sights.
In France, it is customary to greet
the person with "Bonjour" before addressing someone. This applies to any
interaction, including in restaurants, shops, etc. Failure to say hello
is considered very impolite.
Press: An international newspaper
kiosk in front of Fouquet's, 99 Avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8th arr.
stocks the press from almost the entire world.
Toilets: You will
hardly find the old French standing toilets in Paris anymore, the toilet
bowl has also found its way here in the last 20 years. There are now
public toilets in numerous places, the operation of which is not always
immediately apparent. This means that you are not allowed to enter
immediately when the previous user leaves the cabin, but wait until the
door closes, the cleaning process is running and the toilet is then
released again. Public toilets often lack paper and soap, so you should
have an emergency supply with you. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many of
these toilet buildings have also had dispensers with disinfectant on the
outside.
Post offices can be identified by the yellow La Poste
sign, can be found in all districts and are generally open from Monday
to Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Saturdays until 12 p.m. The main
post office (see below) is open all day, every day. Stamps are not only
available at the post office, they should also be available in bistros
and shops signposted "Tabac". If you get a negative answer there, asking
for the corresponding postcard works wonders. It should be borne in mind
that the sale of stamps, especially in areas with a high number of
tourists, means a high investment without any profit. As a rule, you can
also make phone calls in the "Tabacs".
Internet cafes are rarer
than in comparable big cities. You have to be prepared to search for
something.
Main Post Office, 52 rue du Louvre, 1st Arrd. Tel:
(0)1 40 28 20 00. Delivers express mail even in the middle of the night
and is particularly useful when you have lost everything and want to use
the fastest route by postal mandate would like to have cash sent from
abroad. Open: 24 hours a day, 24 hours a day.
The ancient name of the city was Lutetia (also:
Lutezia). Lutetia developed from the middle of the 3rd century BC. from
the Celtic settlement of Lutetia of the Parisii tribe on the Seine
island, now called île de la Cité. The name Lutetia was first mentioned
in writing in 53 BC. in the sixth book of Julius Caesar's account of the
Gallic wars De bello Gallico.
When the Romans settled in 52 B.C.
Approaching the city a second time after a first failed approach, the
Parisii set fire to their main town, Lutetia, and destroyed the bridges
before taking position. The victorious Romans ceded the island to them
and built a new Roman city on the left bank of the Seine in a dominant
position on the hill later called Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. Thermal
baths, a forum and an amphitheater were built there. The city became
known as Civitas Parisiorum or Parisia in the Roman Empire, but
initially remained relatively insignificant in occupied Gaul. In the 4th
century, the current name of the city prevailed.
The name of the
chemical element lutetium, discovered in 1905, derives from the name
lutetia.
Roman rule was ended by the Merovingians in the 5th
century. In 508, Paris became the capital of the Merovingian Empire
under Clovis I (466–511). After that, Paris became the capital of a
Frankish sub-kingdom under one of his sons. During the Carolingian rule,
the Normans repeatedly raided the city. The Capetians made Paris the
capital of France. Philip II Augustus (1165-1223) had the city
fortified. A wall was built on the right bank of the Seine in 1190 and a
rampart on the left bank in 1210. At that time there were numerous
merchants on the right bank of the Seine. At the instigation of Philip
II, the Louvre was built on the western edge of the city.
In 1181
the first covered market hall was opened and in 1301 a royal palace was
built on the île de la Cité. The Sorbonne in the south of Paris
developed from several small schools. Charles V (1338–1380) had the wall
on the left bank of the Seine renewed to protect the city from the
English. In 1370, at his instigation, a wall was also built on the right
bank, where the grands boulevards now run. During the Hundred Years'
War, Paris was occupied by English forces from 1420 to 1436.
During the Huguenot Wars between 1562 and 1598, the
city remained in Catholic possession. On St. Bartholomew's Night on
August 24, 1572, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in Paris. At the
behest of Louis XIV (1638-1715), street lighting was installed, the
water supply was modernized and the Invalides and Salpêtrière hospitals
were built. He had the Parisian city walls removed and the "Nouveau
Cours" built in their place, a ring road that later became the Grands
Boulevards. The king's residence was moved to Versailles. Nevertheless,
Paris remained the political center of France, owing to its large
population and its leading economic role in the country.
When the
French Revolution broke out in 1789, it was the people of Paris who
paved the way for the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of
the first French Republic. In 1844, under King Louis-Philippe, a new
fortification was built on the site of today's Boulevard périphérique
city highway, the Thierssche city fortifications. It was 39 kilometers
long and, with its 94 bastions and 16 forts, was the largest
fortification in the world.
Paris was the site of six world
exhibitions in 1855, 1867, 1878, 1889, 1900 and 1937, which underlined
the cultural and political importance of the city. In the Second Empire
under the prefect of Paris Haussmann, there were major changes in the
city, which still characterize the cityscape today (extensive demolition
of old quarters and creation of large streets (boulevards)). The
catastrophic course of the war of 1870/71 brought the end of the Second
Empire; after the siege by German troops, the capital capitulated, after
which the so-called Paris Commune was formed in the spring of 1871. Made
up of workers, artisans and petty bourgeois, it revolted against the
conservative provisional government of the republic. During the Third
Republic before 1914, Paris experienced an economic and cultural heyday
in the Belle Époque. The architectural style of this period can be seen
in a train station, the Gare de Lyon, on a bridge, the Pont Alexandre
III and the subway stations. In 1900 Paris was the venue for the 2nd and
in 1924 the 8th modern Olympic Games. During World War I, Paris was
first attacked from the air by a German plane on August 30, 1914, and on
January 31, 1918 it was bombed by German zeppelins and Gotha G-bombers,
killing 63 people. The last German air raid of World War I on Paris took
place in September 1918. During the victory celebration on July 14,
1919, the Japanese general staff also paraded on the Champs Élysées.
In 1921, Paris had around 2.9 million inhabitants, the highest in
its history to date. Urban housing construction was no longer able to
keep up with demand. From around 1925, a phase of domestic political
instability began in France (see Third French Republic). There were
rapidly changing governments. The global economic crisis also
contributed to this. It began in many countries in the winter of 1929
and in France with a delay in 1931. On February 6, 1934, a major
anti-parliamentary street battle broke out in Paris, in which the
fascist Croix de Feu movement was significantly involved. After the
resignation of Édouard Daladier (1934), Gaston Doumergue formed a
government of national unity (Union Nationale) without communists and
socialists. On April 26 and May 3, 1936, the newly formed popular front
of socialists, communists and radical socialists won the parliamentary
elections with the slogan "bread, peace, freedom". The socialist Léon
Blum became Prime Minister in 1936/37 and 1938. His successor was twice
the radical socialist Édouard Daladier.
During World War II, the
Battle of France broke out in June 1940 after the British evacuated the
mainland during the Battle of Dunkirk (May 26-June 4). Before the German
troops were advancing on Paris, the French government avoided Bordeaux
via Tours. Thousands of residents also fled Paris. At General Weygand's
request, to avert unnecessary fighting and destruction, the government
declared Paris an open city on June 11.
After the Army High
Command 18 under Colonel General Georg von Küchler had been assured by a
negotiator that the city would be evacuated by the 7th French Army,
Wehrmacht units moved into the seemingly deserted Paris on June 14
without a fight. No strategic goals were associated with the capture of
Paris. At the Arc de Triomphe, Küchler and the Commander-in-Chief of
Army Group B, Colonel-General Fedor von Bock, inspected the 18th Army's
march past. In 1943/44 the Navy maintained a naval hospital in the city.
The city was spared from major destruction. Until the liberation on
August 25, 1944, Paris was occupied by the German Wehrmacht. The German
city commander of Paris, General Dietrich von Choltitz (1894-1966),
capitulated on that day, refusing an order from Hitler to defend Paris
or "just let it fall into enemy hands as a field of rubble".
Violent conflicts surrounding the Algerian war also shook Paris in the
early 1960s. Both the far-right OAS and the pro-independence movement
FLN terrorized the city with bombings and attacks on police officers and
public facilities. On October 17, 1961, around 30,000 people wanted to
demonstrate peacefully for Algeria's independence. In the Paris
massacre, the police violently suppressed this demonstration; at least
150 protesters were killed. When the police violently broke up a
demonstration of the Parti communiste français on February 8, 1962,
another incident occurred in the Charonne metro station in which nine
people were killed.
During the May 1968 riots, the city saw
student revolts and mass strikes.
The suburbs (banlieues) of
Paris were the starting point and center of the riots in France in 2005,
during which there were numerous violent riots by mostly young
immigrants. In the Islamist terrorist attacks in January 2015, including
on the editorial offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the
three assassins killed a total of 17 people. In a series of attacks,
also Islamist, on November 13, 2015 in six locations in Paris and
Saint-Denis with hostage-taking in the Bataclan concert hall, bomb
attacks around the Stade de France football stadium, in which a friendly
game against Germany took place in front of 80,000 spectators and
President Hollande was present , and several shootings killed well over
a hundred people.
The urban area has an area of 105.40 square kilometers. That corresponds roughly to the area of Koblenz or Gelsenkirchen and less than 12 percent of the area of Berlin. However, this is only the area of the core city. The metropolitan area covers a land area of 14,518 square kilometers. This roughly corresponds to the area of Schleswig-Holstein. The city is located in the center of the Paris Basin at an average depth of 65 m. Depending on the water level, the Seine leaves the city area in 25 m. Paris is surrounded by the two large city forests, which serve as local recreation areas for the population.
Paris is located in the temperate climate zone. The
mean annual temperature is 10.8 degrees Celsius and the average annual
precipitation is 649.6 millimeters. The warmest month is July with an
average of 18.4 degrees Celsius, the coldest January with an average of
3.5 degrees Celsius. Most precipitation falls in May with an average of
65.0 millimeters, the least in August with an average of 43.0
millimeters.
Since 1873 regular meteorological measurements have
taken place in Paris. The lowest temperature recorded so far was −23.9
degrees Celsius and dates from December 10, 1879. The heat record is
42.6 degrees Celsius and was measured on July 25, 2019 in Parc
Montsouris. The highest air temperature up to that point was 40.4
degrees Celsius and was also measured in Parc Montsouris on July 28,
1947.
The Paris Basin forms a large layered landscape. The
layers of the Mesozoic and the Paleogene (earlier Early Tertiary) lie in
a bowl-like shape and have been worked out by the erosion to form a
wide-ranging stepped landscape, the steps of which are each directed
outwards.
Only in the eastern part do tectonic fault lines
predominate at the descent of these steps towards the Saône gorge. They
cause the steep drops of the Langres plateau and the Côte d'Or (up to
636 meters), which are famous wine-growing regions because they have
more sunshine hours in the leeward rain shadow and still enjoy the
advantages of south exposure.
A certain non-uniformity exists
insofar as the sequence of strata is more perfect in the north-eastern
part than in the west. The somewhat stronger prominence of the east wing
also resulted in generally larger differences in height and a more
prominent formation of the steps. Inward from the basin, the Eocene
Limestone rises up as a significant step, in the interior of which the
Île-de-France, the metropolitan area of Paris, lies embedded.
The Seine connects Paris with Burgundy inland and with the English Channel on the north coast. The easy crossing here was the most important factor in the birth and development of the city, which has its origins on the largest of the Seine islands, which were numerous at the time. It splits the city into two unequal halves, the northern bank, the right bank (Rive Droite), which is roughly dedicated to trade and finance, and the southern half of the city on the left bank (Rive Gauche), which is seen as the quarter of the intellectuals with the Latin Quarter and is in demand as a residential area. Since 1991, the 365-hectare Parisian Seine bank between the Pont de Sully and the bridges Pont d'Iéna (right bank) and Pont de Bir-Hakeim (left bank) has been a World Heritage Site.
The Île de la Cité in the heart of the city was
settled in ancient times, making it the oldest part of the capital. In
1584 Henry III. connect three small and marshy islands off the western
tip of the island and annexed them to the larger one. The area grew over
the centuries from originally 8 to a total of 17 hectares. In this way,
a “royal” square, the Place Dauphine, could be created with a uniform
border development, and the sale of the houses raised the money to build
a bridge, which establishes the connection to the two banks of the
Seine. The Pont Neuf (German "New Bridge") is today the oldest of the
preserved bridges in Paris.
The Île Saint-Louis, the smaller of
the adjacent Seine islands, is also an amalgamation of two islets, the
Île aux Vaches and the Île Notre Dame. Unlike its big sister, the Cité,
it remained undeveloped until the early 17th century. In 1614, Louis
XIII. the building contractor Christophe Marie with the development of
the site. Marie filled in the arm of the Seine, enclosed the two small
islands with a quay wall and had bridges built to the riverbanks. From
around 1618 the area was initially developed with houses for craftsmen
and merchants, and from 1638 also with luxurious city palaces for high
dignitaries. The development with straight streets followed a fixed
basic plan that can still be seen today.
The former Île des
Cygnes (Swan Island) was connected in 1773 to the Champ de Mars, the
military school's maneuvering field. Its name passed to the Île aux
Cygnes, an artificial dam created in 1825 in the Seine, on which, among
other things, stands a copy of the Statue of Liberty. The dam was built
as the foundation for a conspicuous bridge, the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, the
lower level of which was to accommodate the supports for the Metro
viaduct above.
The highest natural elevation within the city limits is the hill (Butte) Montmartre with a height of 129 meters. The funicular Funiculaire de Montmartre goes up the hill. The vineyard planted on the north slope is no longer the only one in Paris, since wine also grows in the Parc Georges Brassens in the Parc de Belleville and in the Parc de Bercy.