The 60 Best Places to Eat, Sleep and Play in Paris This Summer
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THEPARIS60 Summer 2006 The 60 best places to eat, sleep and play in Paris this summer With more than 5 million reviews and opinions, TripAdvisor makes travel planning a snap for the 20 million travelers visiting our site each month. INTRODUCTION TripAdvisor, the most trusted source for where to eat, sleep and play in thousands of destinations around the world, has collected the best insider tips from its 20 million monthly visitors to produce a unique series of travel guides to 25 top summer destinations. In addition to the best hotels, restaurants and attractions for every type of traveler, you’ll get great advice about what to pack, how to get around and where to find the best views. Be sure to check out the summer travel guides for all 25 destinations at www.tripadvisor.com/triptips. Every time you download a guide, you’ll be entered for a chance to win one of 10 trips worth up to $5,000 to one of our top summer destinations. You’ll find reviews for more than 160,000 hotels, 65,000 attractions and 90,000 restaurants on TripAdvisor.com. Learn from Inside other travelers what to expect before you make your plans. PARIS Elegant, romantic, exciting, unforgettable… It can only be Paris. Founded in the third century, on what is now the Île de la Cité, PACKING TIPS Paris did not become France’s capital until the sixth century. 1. Comfort zone—“Paris is best seen on Throughout its history, the city has prospered and has been at foot, but wear comfortable shoes as the forefront of cultural and political innovation, most notably you cover immense distances.” during the French Revolution of the late 18th century. In the —TripAdvisor Member, Tokyo, Japan early 1900s, the halcyon years of the belle époque ushered in 2. Smart move—“Always carry your the Art Nouveau movement, bringing with it advances in the valuables in a money belt.” arts and sciences. —TripAdvisor Member, Seabrook, Texas As capitals go, Paris is relatively small, with a population of just 3. Convenience—You’ll need to carry lots of small change: “For first timers to over two million. Explore its plethora of landmarks on foot and Paris, a little tip...You have to pay to use you’ll quickly work up an appetite for the superb cooking for the restrooms.” —TripAdvisor Member, San Carlos, which its restaurants and cafés are famous. Calif. tripadvisor.com 2 Top VIEWS PARIS’S BEST VIEWS The Eiffel Tower “was easily one of “A boat ride on the Seine is an absolute “Stand at the arch opposite the Louvre the biggest highlights of my trip through must. Many of the most beautiful around sunset. In the distance, you see Europe. I’ve been up other skyscrapers and monuments were built along the Seine the Champs Elysées with the Arc de landmarks and usually my response is ‘Eh, River. The night cruise is also beautiful Triomphe at the end. To your left, you see so what now?’ But this was one experience because all the buildings are illuminated. the Eiffel Tower light up in the distance that I will remember for the rest of my life.” Most of the boat companies are located and the Musée d’Orsay to your immediate —TripAdvisor Member, San Francisco, Calif. by the Trocadero near the Eiffel tower.” left. We spent an hour watching the lights Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, quai Branly, —TripAdvisor Member, Alsace, France get brighter as the sun disappeared and 01-44112323 night fell.” —TripAdvisor Member, Durban, South Africa Musee du Louvre , 99 rue de Rivoli, 01-40205312 Where to PLAY TOP 10 Attractions 1. Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel), Champ de Mars, quai Branly, 01-44112323 6. Musée Rodin, 77 rue de Varenne, Hotel Biron, 01-44186110 2. Musée du Louvre, 99 rue de Rivoli, 01-40205317 7. Père-Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetièrre du Père-Lachaise), 16 rue du 3. Musée d’Orsay, 62 rue de Lille, 01-40494814 Repos, 01-55258210 4. Notre Dame Cathedral (Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris), 6 place 8. Arc de Triomphe, place Charles de Gaulle, 01-55377377 du Parvis, Ile de la Cité, 01-42345610 9. Luxembourg Gardens (Jardin du Luxembourg), place Edmond-Rostand, 5. Sacré-Coeur, 35 rue de Chevalier, Montmartre, Place du Parvis du place Auguste-Comte, rue de Vaugirard, 01-42342000 Sacré Coeur, 01-53418900 10. Centre Pompidou, place Georges Pompidou, 01-44781233 FAMILIES At Disneyland Paris, “the kids thoroughly In the city itself, there are donkey rides and Vedettes de Paris organizes river cruises enjoyed themselves.”—TripAdvisor a puppet show at the Jardin des Tuileries with an onboard pirate. It “has smaller Member, East Yorkshire, England along the Seine. ships than the other lines and a very convenient dock at Pont Neuf.” Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallee, Jardin des Tuileries, Rue de Rivoli 01-60306030 —TripAdvisor Member, California Vedettes de Paris, Port de Suffren, 01-44181950 “You can’t imagine the wealth, expanse and beauty of the place.” ROMANCE Keep an open mind about the Eiffel Tower. For a romantic day out of the city and a Sacré-Coeur is a grand basilica “I was quite cynical about it, but it turned glimpse of how French royalty lived, visit the whose famous white dome provides out to be one of the biggest highlights of my Chateau de Versailles and its magnificent excellent views of the city. “It was simply trip.”—TripAdvisor Member, San Francisco, gardens. “You can’t imagine the wealth, breathtaking.”—TripAdvisor Member, Calif. expanse and beauty of the place.” California —TripAdvisor Member, Oklahoma Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, quai Branly, Sacré-Coeur, 35 rue de Chevalier, 01-44112323 Palace of Versailles, Versailles, 01-30837800 Montmartre, Place du Parvis du Sacré Coeur, 01-53418900 Call an Expedia Travel Specialist now 877-633-3716 tripadvisor.com 3 Where to PLAY BUDGET Entry to Notre Dame Cathedral is free, Père-Lachaise’s 118 acres contain the It costs nothing to wander the Champs- although you will be charged if you want to final resting places of the famous and the Elysees. The grand, tree-lined boulevard is climb the towers. “Entering the cathedral infamous. Luminaries from Oscar Wilde “incredibly charming and a lot of fun.” is almost overwhelming. It is impossible to Jim Morrison, and Marcel Proust to —TripAdvisor Member, San Diego, Calif. to put into words just how beautiful and Gertrude Stein and Alice B.Toklas, are impressive this building is.”—TripAdvisor buried here. It’s a “slightly spooky treat.” Member, Laurel, Md. —TripAdvisor Member, Evanston, Ill. Notre Dame Cathedral, 6 Place du Parvis, Père-Lachaise Cemetery, 16 Rue du Repos, Ile de la Cité, 01-42345610 01-55258210 TripAdvisor members have posted more than 250,000 photos on the site. The good, the bad, and the very candid. It’s almost like being there! ADVENTURE The brave should head down into Les Fat Tire Bike Tours offers bicycle tours If you enjoy in-line skating, join the Catacombs, which hold the skeletons of of Paris (day and night), Versailles and more. thousands of like-minded people for Pari several million people. “This is a real tomb, Also, check out their Segway tours. “We Roller, and skate your way through the with real bones. It’s not for small children, booked a Versailles bike tour with Fat Tire city (starting at the Montparnasse Metro the faint of heart or the infirm.” Bike Tours and we had a grand time! It was station) every Friday night from 10 p.m. to 1 —TripAdvisor Member, Washington, D.C. exciting to navigate the streets of Paris on 17 a.m. “To participate, you just need to come Les Catacombs, place Denfert-Rochereau, bikes, take the train to Versailles and then with your skates. There is indeed only ONE 01-43224763 shop for a picnic lunch at a great French condition to your participating in the skate, market!”—TripAdvisor Member, Los but it is a vital one: You absolutely must be Angeles, Calif. a GOOD skater!” —TripAdvisor Member, Paris, France “a real tomb, with real bones...” Fat Tire Bike Tours Paris, 24 rue Edgar Faure, 01-56581054 Pari Roller, 62 rue du Long, 01-44183039 EDUCATIONAL/HISTORICAL The Arc de Triomphe “is a superb Considered the world’s greatest art The beautiful Musée d’Orsay was once a monument, one of the finest in Europe. museum, the Louvre offers an unparalleled railroad station and now houses a stunning Really enjoyed the view from the top.” collection of items covering the full collection of Impressionist art. “Fantastic! —TripAdvisor Member, Los Angeles, Calif. spectrum of art. “There is something there Superb! Magnificent! Tremendous!” Arc de Triomphe, place Charles de Gaulle, for everyone.”—TripAdvisor Member, —TripAdvisor Member, Oxford, England 01-55377377 Stuttgart, Germany Musee d’Orsay, Rue de Lille, 01-40494814 Musée du Louvre, 99 rue de Rivoli, 01-40205317 RELAXATION During the day, you can relax in the For sun-worshippers, there’s the Paris “My wife has always wanted to go to Luxembourg Gardens, which are Plage, an artificial beach on the banks of Moulin Rouge so I set this up as a surprise, “beautiful, peaceful and yet fun.” the Seine. expecting rubbish and to be ripped off at —TripAdvisor Member, Dunkirk, N.Y. every turn. Instead we had a great evening! I’d tell anyone, ‘Do it at least once!’”— Luxembourg Gardens, Place Edmond- “I’d tell anyone, TripAdvisor Member, Great Yarmouth, U.K. Rostand, Place Auguste-Comter, rue de ‘Do it at least once!’” Vaugirard, Moulin Rouge, Boulevard de Clichy, 01-42342000 01-53098282 Call an Expedia Travel Specialist now 877-633-3716 tripadvisor.com 4 What’s the TOUR How to Get Around Beware—“When crossing roads, expect the unexpected.