Paris has been among the top five most popular tourist destinations for many years, with about 15 million travelers annually.
The city hospitably welcomes everyone – there are three international airports in its vicinity: Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais. In addition, Paris is a major railway junction, with 7 railway stations located on its territory. Comfortable buses leave for the capital of France from large cities of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The same type of transport is relevant for tourists already in Europe. According to populationmonster, Paris is one of the largest cities in France.
A trip to Paris by car can be both more profitable than air travel, and quite the opposite: savings on tickets can easily be “eaten” by high gas prices and hotel costs along the way.
Districts of Paris
Paris is beautiful and dangerous. If you want to get acquainted with its first side endlessly, then it is better to leave the second side on the screens in the films of Luc Besson. Of course, a careless tourist can lose his wallet in the Louvre and under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in the prestigious districts of the first eight, but still there is a clear distinction between the city into tourist and unfavorable areas, and it makes sense to adhere to it not only when choosing housing, but also in planning walking routes. Paris is not only a city of cafes, bakeries, antique shops, bourgeois and pretty models, it is a city of immigrants, multinational crime and quarters where you should not go even during the day. More detailed information, some of which is better not to check for yourself, we have collected on a special page ” Paris arrondissement “.
Paris Hotels
Local hotels have a number of delicate features, for which it is better to be prepared in advance. Authentic Parisian hotels (namely, where travelers mainly aspire to) are located in old Haussmann buildings. Although the 19th century houses with wrought iron bars on the balconies look great on the outside, inside they will “delight” you with cramped rooms, a tiny elevator (where it exists at all – otherwise get ready to climb a narrow and steep staircase) and an ancient heating system. Of course, this does not apply to hotels of 4 and 5 * categories, the rooms in them meet all modern requirements – but the price starts at about 300 EUR per day.
Another important point: the “stardom” of Parisian hotels is a rather arbitrary thing – it depends on a number of factors, not all of which are important to every tourist. For example, if you are traveling light or have booked a room on the ground floor, having an elevator in the hotel will not help you in any way – but will add to the cost of the room. The same goes for the multilingual staff – will it help you much if the receptionist speaks Spanish? Many hotels deliberately underestimate their category in order to save on taxes – therefore, an expensive two-room apartment (100 EUR and more) for its class is almost always better than a cheap three-room apartment located in the same district – although in absolute terms the prices can be the same.
Transportation
Finding a clear system in the chaos and madness of the transport system of Paris is the true benefactor of the thoughtful and thorough tourist. Of course, being without preparation on the streets of this city, you can easily get confused. Why so many tickets and passes? How not to confuse the underground and the train underground? Why did the tram leave for the suburbs, and the bus sped past the stop?
Pause, inhale, exhale. Everything is strict, harmonious and logical, with travel cards – economically, on buses – conveniently. For beginners – excursions on the Seine and tourist buses with an audio guide in Russian, freaks and aesthetes – bicycle taxis, and those who are already on the “you” with Paris – electric cars and bicycles for rent. If you spend quite a bit of time in advance, then moving around the “city of Parisians” will no longer cause difficulties.
Rent a Car
Car rental in Paris has two important features: pleasant and not very pleasant. The good news for the auto traveler is the approximately equal cost of renting within the city and airports. The bad news: Parisians have long been accustomed to push parking, small scratches and dents do not bother them – but the same defects will become a problem for you when you talk to the rental office. Hence the conclusion: full insurance (aka “insurance with a zero deductible”) is almost mandatory, and this is money, and a lot of it – the price tag for full insurance of an economy class car starts at 20 EURin a day. Add about the same amount to pay for parking in the “expenses” column (you will not find free parking in Paris, unless you decide to visit the city in July-August) – and the idea of moving around the city in a rented car will no longer seem so brilliant to you.
Due to the high passenger traffic at airports, profitable rental offers last for a few minutes, so you should take care of booking a car in advance – otherwise you risk getting at the counter instead of an Opel Corsa for 30 EUR per day some BMW X5 six times more expensive.
Communication and Wi-Fi
Old telephone booths are disappearing from the streets of Paris, and in our time it is worth relying mainly on mobile communications – fortunately, the entire city is in the zone of reliable reception not only of 3G, but also of LTE. Russian operators vying with each other offer “tourist” rates with free incoming calls, but if you plan to make frequent calls from France, outgoing costs will hit your wallet.
Local operators Orange and SFR sell SIM cards to foreigners, all you need is a passport: the price of calls to Russia will be several times lower, in addition, the staff in Parisian mobile phone stores speak English.
When concluding a contract, require the sans engagement option (“sanz engagement”) – without a monthly fee. Although it seems less advantageous in terms of price per minute, without replenishment of the account such a contract will automatically terminate, and a fixed amount will be charged in the contract with the subscriber every month – even when you return home.
You can not bother with the intricacies of contracts at all, using the capabilities of Internet telephony. Parisians joke that in their city it is easier to find a Wi-Fi point than a working toilet, and there are no queues in front of Wi-Fi points. And they are right: in gardens, parks, next to attractions, in museums and near administrative buildings, you can often see white ovals with a purple inscription “Wi-Fi free zone”. Using the Internet is really free and has only two restrictions: when you enter the system, you need to register and the time of the Internet session should not exceed two hours.
Paris Pass
Travelers-innovators have long discovered museum and museum-transport maps of various cities and countries, allowing you to save money on visiting the most important and interesting sights. Paris does not lag behind the general trend and offers tourists several options for such subscriptions at once, combining entrances to the best museums, sightseeing walks, travel cards and guides. They differ slightly in content and seriously differ in price tag. Before buying, we advise you to thoroughly study the information about the main Paris passes and compare all the pros and cons in order to choose the right Paris Pass for yourself. Or you can immediately buy a Paris guest card online: it’s fast and convenient.
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