Moon Paris Walks

PARIS WALKS

Step off the plane and head right for the newest, hippest café in town. Find out where to get the best fish in the city or where they have locally brewed beer on tap. In Moon Paris Walks, our authors give you inside information on numerous hidden gems. Skip the busy shopping streets and stroll through the city at your own pace, taking in a local attraction on your way to the latest and greatest concept stores. Savor every second and make your trip a truly great experience.

PARIS-BOUND!

You’re about to discover Paris—the city of wide avenues, world-famous monuments, and of course, la vie Parisienne. Start the day with a cup of coffee and a croissant, which—just like the locals—you can have in a café standing at the counter. Shop in amazing stores, from those of top designers to small, vintage boutiques in one of the city’s many charming neighborhoods. Don’t forget to take in some culture with a visit to a museum or a walk in one of the many parks and gardens. Plus, there is good food and good wine to be had in every neighborhood. We’ll show you where.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

In this book, local authors share with you the genuine highlights of their city. Discover the city by foot and at your own pace, so you can relax and experience the local lifestyle without having to do a lot of preparation beforehand. That means more time for you—what we call “time to momo.” Our walks take you past our favorite restaurants, cafés, museums, galleries, shops, and other notable attractions—places we ourselves like to go to.

None of the places mentioned here have paid to appear in either the text or the photos, and all text has been written by an independent editorial staff. This is true for the places in this book as well as for the information in the time to momo app and all the latest tips, themed routes, neighborhood information, blogs and the selection of best hotels on www.timetomomo.com.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The six walks in this book allow you to discover the best neighborhoods in the city by foot and at your own pace. The routes will take you past museums and notable attractions, but more importantly, they’ll show you where to go for good food, drinks, shopping, entertainment, and an overall good time. Check out the map at the front of this book to see which areas the walks will take you through.

Each route is clearly indicated on a detailed map at the beginning of each chapter. The map also specifies where each place is located. The color of the number tells you what type of venue it is (see the key at the bottom of this page). A description of each place is then given later in the chapter.

Without taking into consideration extended stops at various locations, each route will take a maximum of three hours. The approximate distance is indicated at the top of the page, before the directions.

PRICE INDICATION

Along with the address and contact details for each location, we give an idea of how much you can expect to spend there. Unless otherwise stated, the amount given in restaurant listings is the average price of a main course. For sights and attractions, we indicate the cost of a regular full-price ticket.

GOOD TO KNOW

Paris consists of the area between the two ring roads that encircle the city: the Boulevard Extérieur and the Périphérique. Everything outside of these roads is considered the banlieues. The River Seine runs through the city, splitting it into the Rive Droite (Right Bank) and the Rive Gauche (Left Bank). In addition, Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements (districts). Each arrondissement has a name and a number. The first, called Louvre, is located in the very center of the city. From there, the arrondissements spiral outwards clockwise through the city. The number of the arrondissement is generally indicated on the street signs.

Most stores in Paris open around 10:00am and close around 7:30pm, although small shops and some grocery stores close between noon and 3:00pm. Small neighborhood convenience stores are an exception and usually don’t close until midnight. Many grocery stores and food markets are open Sunday mornings but closed on Mondays. In the traditionally Jewish Marais neighborhood and in Montmartre, most shops are open on Sundays.

Stores in France have clearance sales twice a year: three weeks in July-August and three weeks in January. During these sales you can find some really good deals. Check the exact dates ahead of time because you don’t want to miss this.

In August, many restaurants, cafés, and shops (such as bakeries and butchers) are closed the entire month for vacation. Be sure to keep this in mind.

MUSEUMS

With its beautiful, prestigious museums, Paris is paradise for museum lovers. But when it comes to opening hours, beware—some museums are closed Mondays, others Tuesdays. There is generally no rhyme or reason to it. The Paris Museum Pass (www.parismuseumpass.com) offers access to more than 60 museums and monuments. A two-day pass costs €42, a four-day pass €56, and a six-day pass €69, although you often have to pay extra for temporary exhibits beyond the permanent collection. You can purchase these passes at participating museums and monuments, or at the tourist office at 25 Rue des Pyramides. If you’d rather not wait in line, consider buying your tickets online beforehand. Often there is a separate entrance for people with pre-purchased tickets and the Museum Pass. Note that many museums offer free entrance to people from within the EU under the age of 26 and discounts to the disabled and seniors over 60. On the first Sunday of the month, some museums are also open to the general public free of charge.

FRENCH FOOD CULTURE

In France, people take food seriously. The French love to eat and to talk about food. The two most important meals are le déjeuner (lunch) and le dîner (dinner). Le petit déjeuner (breakfast), on the other hand, tends to be a relatively simple affair: coffee, tea or hot chocolate and a tartine (bread with jam) or croissant. Breakfast is eaten at home or in a café, most of which open early. In the morning, people in cafés take their coffee and croissant at the counter. This is perhaps not as comfortable as getting a table, but it’s definitely cheaper—it can sometimes even be half the price. Order a café (espresso), café allongé (espresso diluted with hot water), café crème (espresso with warm milk), café au lait (espresso with cold milk) or a noisette (a small cup of espresso with a splash of cold milk). Lunch is usually eaten out. Many companies give their employees meal vouchers, called ticket restaurant, and lunch is often used to discuss business. Between 12:30pm and 2:30pm restaurants are therefore generally quite busy. A traditional French lunch consists of three courses, although you can opt for just an entrée (starter) or plat (main course). Don’t forget to see if there is a menu du jour or plat du jour (daily specials). An increasingly popular dessert in Paris is the café/thé gourmand: Coffee or tea served alongside a dessert sampler. Parisians often work late in the evenings and generally don’t eat until 8:00pm during the week, so restaurants don’t open for dinner until around 7:30pm. On weekends restaurants don’t start getting busy until after 9:00pm. Parisians love to eat out, so restaurants are usually packed. If you want to be sure to get a table, reserve ahead of time. After a meal, tipping isn’t necessary. If you do leave a tip, it means you were especially satisfied, and of course this is appreciated. Never seat yourself in a restaurant—always let the server bring you to a table.

You may find that Parisians come across as being a little stuffy, but a friendly “Bonjour” whenever you enter a restaurant or shop can work wonders. Make sure it’s always the first thing you say wherever you go and you’ll be surprised at the service you get.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

In addition to days like Easter, Pentecost, and Ascension Day, which don’t fall on a specific date, the following are official holidays in France:

January 1 > New Year’s Day

May 1 > Labor Day

May 8 > Victory in Europe Day (end of WWII in 1945)

July 14 > Bastille Day (Quatorze Juillet)

August 15 > Assumption Day

November 1 > All Saints’ Day

November 11 > Armistice Day (end of WWI in 1918)

December 25 > Christmas Day

On June 21, the evening of the summer solstice, Paris celebrates the Fête de la Musique. It is a day of musical revelry when people everywhere—in the streets, cafés, bars, concert halls, or at home—listen to and make music and dance in the streets.

From the evening of July 13 until early in the morning of Quatorze Juillet you can dance in fire halls at the Bal des Pompiers—Fireman’s Ball. Various festivities are organized throughout the city on July 14.

Starting in early January, cakes known as galettes des rois—each with a little charm baked inside—begin to appear in French bakeries. Every French family buys these cakes. According to tradition, once the cake is cut the youngest person at the table gets to decide who gets which piece. Whoever finds the charm then has to buy the next cake.

HAVE ANY TIPS?

Shops and restaurants in Paris come and go fairly regularly. We do our best to keep the routes and contact details as up-to-date as possible, and this is immediately reflected in our digital products. We also do our best to update the print edition as often as we can. However, if despite our best efforts there is a place that you can’t find or if you have any other comments or tips about this book, please let us know. Email info@momedia.nl, or leave a message on www.timetomomo.com.

TRANSPORTATION

Paris is not only the City of Light, it is also the city of cars. In an effort to reduce traffic, Paris developed a reliable public transportation network that includes a subway system (Métro), commuter trains (RER), and buses. The same ticket can be used for all of these types of transportation. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket window or from machines in Métro stations, RER stations, and RATP bus stations, which are part of Paris’s public transportation system. Individual tickets cost €1.80, but a bundle of ten—known as a carnet—is cheaper: €14.10.

The Métro runs every day between 5:30am and about 1:00am, or 2:00am on Saturdays—exact times vary per station. On Sundays, the Métro runs less frequently. Tickets are valid for one ride and transfers are allowed, provided you don’t leave the station. The RER is a regional commuter train that extends into the suburbs but can also be used within Paris. RER lines don’t stop as frequently as the Métro. The RER runs from 4:45am to 1:00am. Paris’s many buses are also convenient for getting to know the city. You can find a map of Métro and RER lines at the back of this book. Paris’s public transportation company, RATP, has a useful free app called Next Stop Paris (Visiter Paris en Métro).

As far as taxi prices go, Paris is pretty reasonable. It’s also fairly easy to hail one of the 15,000 cabs that drive around the city. Note, however, that a taxi will only stop if it is at least 50 meters away from a designated taxi stand. When both the light and the big taxi sign on the roof are illuminated, the taxi is available, but if the sign is not on, the taxi is occupied. You can also arrange a cab by phone: Taxis G7 (phone: 01 41 27 66 99) and Taxis Bleus (phone: 08 91 70 10 10).

BIKING

Paris is becoming increasingly more bike-friendly. The city currently has some 400 kilometers of pistes cyclables (bike lanes). Every Sunday certain roads, such as those near the Canal St.-Martin, are closed to cars. However, the average Parisian driver is still not accustomed to sharing the road with cyclists, so always be alert. Keep in mind that sometimes bike lanes end suddenly or cross over sidewalks, and pedestrians don’t always recognize the sound of a bike bell. So remember the word “attention” and be ready to use it to let people know you’re coming.

Vélib’, the city’s bike-share program, has over 20,000 bikes spread across 1,800 stations (www.velib.paris.fr). You’ll see the docked gray bikes and information kiosks all around town. The system is simple: Use your credit card at any station’s kiosk to buy a day pass (€1.70) or week pass (€8.00), then borrow any bike from a dock with a green light. You pay based on how long your bike is out of the dock. You can put your bike back in any available dock, but be sure that the green light goes back on when you do, otherwise it will make for a very expensive ride. The first half hour of each ride is free, the next half hour costs €1 and from there it gets continuously more expensive. Vélib’ is cheapest for short rides. Kids aged two to eight can also take advantage of the bike-share program with P’tit Vélib’. You’ll find these kids’ bikes in select spots, including Berges de Seine, the Bois de Boulogne, and Canal de l’Ourcq.

Guided bike tours in Paris are increasing in popularity. Numerous bike stores rent bikes, and tours are offered by companies such as Holland Bikes (www.hollandbikes.com), Paris Bike Tour (www.parisbiketour.net), and Paris à Vélo c’est Sympa! (www.parisvelosympa.com).

TOP 10: RESTAURANTS

1   Go for a romantic dinner on the terrace at Minipalais. > click here

2   Dine in the bedroom or by the ping-pong table at Le Derrière. > click here

3   Enjoy the nice terrace at Le Saut du Loup in the Tuileries. > click here

4   Order typical French fare at Bouillon Chartier. > click here

5   Join the locals for a healthy lunch at the hip Café Pinson. > click here

6   Savor exquisite French cuisine at Le Chateaubriand. > click here

7   Dine under a glass ceiling at Le Dôme du Marais. > click here

8   Enjoy the best pita bread in Paris at Miznon in the Marais. > click here

9   Splurge and enjoy the amazing view at the hip Georges. > click here

10 Eat in a secret courtyard at Hôtel Particulier Montmartre. > 23 Avenue Junot Pavillon D 18th arr.

TOP 10: SHOPPING

1   Visit Les Grands Magasins department stores. > click here

2   Stroll through Galerie Vivienne’s shopping arcades. > click here

3   Discover the unique BHV department store. > click here

4   Get hip, stylish Parisian clothes at Claudie Pierlot. > click here

5   Try on designer shoes at Iris. > click here

6   Plunge into the world of fabrics at Marché St.-Pierre. > click here

7   Pick up tasty French treats at Fauchon. > click here

8   Mingle with locals looking for deals in Rue de Marseille. > click here

9   Treat yourself to high-end tea at Mariage Frères. > click here

10 Marvel at the specialty foods at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche. > click here

TOP 10: NIGHTLIFE

1   Dance under the bridge next to the Seine at Faust.