Travel facts
Currency: € Euro.
Visas:
Generally tourists from Europe, USA and the Commonwealth do not require Visas for French holidays. Check out: French Consulate Website
Getting there:
Flights into Charles de Gaulle are serviced by Regional Express Rail to the centre of Paris (Gare du Nord).
Getting around:
Paris Metro. You can buy a 1,2,3 or 5 day travel card at most metro and train stations. For more information check out www.ratp.fr/
Tipping:
10-15% is normal in cabs and
restaurants (where a service
charge is usually included in your
bill).
Restaurants
| Le Bar Huitres The Oyster Bar Metro: Vavin 112, boulevard du Montparnasse 75014 PARIS Do you know which European country is the leading producer of oysters` France of course! To enjoy them all year round, the Bar à Huîtres is the ideal spot. Oysters are evidently the stars on the menu, but a variety of fish and shellfish is also featured, including prawns, clams, winkles, salmon, sole and skate - a treat for seafood-lovers! Tel: 00 33 1 43 20 71 01 Nearest Hotels: to Le Bar Huitres |
| Chez Catherine Chez Catherine Metro: George V 3,rue Berryer, Paris 75008 Catherine Guerraz`s new chic gastonomic hotspot. Guerraz continues to provide tasty, homestyle cuisine with a creative twist. Features an extensive wine list. Tel: 00 33 1 40 76 01 40 Nearest Hotels: to Chez Catherine |
| Drouant Drouant Metro: Opera 16-18 place Gaillon, 75002 Paris Drouant opened in Paris in the 1880`s as a simple Bistro which was hugely popular with the artistic community. At that time the Bistro was frequented by the likes of Pierre Auguste Renoir, Auguste Rodin and Camille Pissarro . By the 1920`s Drouant was transformed into a luxury restaurant specialising in seafood and wine and by pre- World War II was one of the most famous restaurants in Paris. Today the restaurant retains much of it`s charm and elegance and serves refined French cuisine in an ambient atmosphere. Tel: 00 33 1 42 65 15 16 Nearest Hotels: to Drouant |
| Georges Georges Metro: George V 19 rue Beaubourg, Centre Georges Pompidou, 75004 Paris Situated on the top floor of the Pompidou Centre the fashionable Georges restaurant was designed by young French/New Zealand architects Dominique Jacob and Brendan McFarlane. The cutting-edge, avant-garde design includes four bubble-like spaces decorated in aluminum and rubber, some large enough to accommodate tables. Several large bay windows offer expansive views of the Parisian sky line. Georges serves modern, light French cuisine. Tel: 00 33 1 44 78 47 99 Nearby Hotels: to Georges |
| Chez Michel Chez Michel Metro: Gare du Nord 10 rue de Belzunce, 75010 Paris Chez Michel is an intimate French Bistro started up by Thierry Breton. The restaurant is situated a few blocks from the Gard du Nord neatly tucked away behind a local church. The food is heavily influenced by Breton`s native Brittany, diners can expect traditional, wholesome French fare using seasonal ingredients with a heavy emphasis on fresh fish and vegetable. Tel: 00 33 1 40 76 01 40 Nearest Hotels: to Chez Michel |
Bars
| Le Cabaret Le Cabaret Metro: Palais Musee 2 Place du Palais Royal Paris, 75001 A glamorous North African meets Middle Eastern restaurant-bar designed by the brilliant Jacques Garcia. Hip regulars sip cocktails on soft-cushioned beds set in low-ceiling alcoves; the lace curtains and walls of deep-purple adding to the exotic and sensual mix. Colonial African art and clubby sounds rev up the atmosphere, as does the eye-candy on the dance floor: models, Vogue-reading beauties and boys straight off fashion ad billboards. Cigars can be purchased behind the bar while house drinks include wicked Cosmopolitans and wild Caipirinhas. Be warned that the door policy is as strict as White House security, but there`s a pleasing absence of pretentious VIP areas once past the gate. Tel: 00 33 1 5862 5625 Nearest Hotels: near Le Cabaret | ||
| Buddha Bar Buddha Bar Metro: Concorde 8 Rue Boissy d` Anglais, Paris, 75008 Hmm... no prizes for guessing what dominates the floor space inside this ultra-cool Parisian imbibery. You might think it`s the Buddha that attracts the oh-so-trendy set here, as it`s always flattering to stand next to someone more rotund, but there`s more to it than that. A popular haunt with drinkers and diners alike, it`s easy to while away the hours here over cocktails or with a dish from their well-balanced menu. Tel: 00 33 1 53 05 90 00 Nearest Hotels: to Buddha Bar |
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| Le Bar Dix Le Bar Dix Metro: Odeon 10 rue de l`Odéon, Paris 75006 It`s been here forever, this homely cavern of a bar, and generations of students have glugged back jugs of home-made sangría in the cramped, twilit upper bar, tattily authentic with its Jacques Brel record sleeves, Yves Montand handbills and pre-war light fittings. Spelunkers and hopeless romantics negotiate the hazardous stone staircase for the cellar bar, with its candlelight and century-old advertising murals. Regularly cited as the place to go to encounter a dose of authentic Left Bank atmosphere, Le Bar Dix is certainly not short of character. Housed in a charmingly crumbling basement space, with a juke box that plays an eclectic range of old pop records, and walls papered with decades-old advertising murals, it`s a romantic spot, popular with students and bookish types drifting over from nearby Shakespeare and Co. Tel: 00 33 01 43 26 66 83 Nearest Hotels: to Le Bar Dix | ||
| Café Charbon Café Charbon Metro: Odeon 109 rue Oberkampf, Paris 75011 This beautifully restored building set off the Oberkampf boom, its booths, mirrors, chandeliers and adventurous music policy putting trendsetters at their ease. Fine dining, sound DJing and retro chic are the key elements. Two decades later, the formula still works and inspires other bars in the vicinity. Tel: 00 33 01 43 26 66 83 Nearest Hotel: Le General Batofar | Batofar Metro: Bibliotheque 11 quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris Batofar is an eclectic mixture of bar, club, restaurant, concert venue and gallery. Situated in a former lighthouse ship on the banks of the river Seine, Batofar can be found amongst the growing swarm of barges moored in front of the Bibliothèque Nationale. The venue aims to reflect the urban future and organises events focusing on individual cities such as Berlin, Budapest and London to mention but a few. Guest bands and DJs and other artists feature heavily on the lie up. Tel: 00 33 1 53 60 17 30 Nearest Hotels: to Café Charbon Harry`s New York Bar | Harry`s New York Bar Metro: Opera 5 rue Daunou, 75002 Paris The grandfather of all Paris cocktail bars claims to have invented the Bloody Mary in 1921. It is still a hard-drinking haunt populated by locals and inebriated expats well into the early hours. The address, according to the owners, is `Sank Roo Doe Noo`. Tel: 00 33 1 53 05 90 00 Nearest Hotels: to Harry`s New York Bar |