Rough Guides - Pocket Rough Guide Paris

A trip to Paris, famous as the most romantic of destinations, is one of those lifetime musts. Long the beating heart of European civilization, it remains one of the worlds most refined yet passionate cities. The very fabric of the place is exquisite, with its magnificent avenues and atmospheric little backstreets, its grand formal gardens and intimate neighbourhood squares. And for all the famed pride and hauteur of its citizens, the city seems to be opening itself up to visitors even more, as it pedestrianizes an increasing number of riverbanks and squares and makes more of its splendid monuments accessible.

Pont Alexandre III

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Passage Verdeau

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When to visit

Spring is the classic time to visit Paris; the weather is mild (average daily 620C), and plentiful bright sunny days are balanced by occasional freshening rain showers. Autumn, similarly mild, and winter (17C) can be very rewarding, but on overcast days the city can feel melancholic, and cold winds can really cut down the boulevards; winter sun, however, is the citys most flattering light, and hotels and restaurants are relatively uncrowded in this season. Paris in high summer (1525C) is not the best time to go: large numbers of Parisians desert the capital between July 15 and the end of August for the beach or mountains, and many restaurants and shops close down for much of this period.

The city is divided into twenty arrondissements in a spiral, centred on the Louvre. The inner hub comprises arrondissements 1er to 6e, and its here that most of the major sights and museums are to be found. Through the heart of the city flows the Seine, skirting the pair of islands where Paris was founded. The historic pillars of the city, the church of Notre-Dame and the royal palace of the Louvre, stand on the riverbank, along with one of the worlds most distinctive landmarks the Eiffel Tower. The Louvre has one of the worlds truly outstanding museums, while the art collections of the Muse dOrsay and Centre Pompidou are unrivalled.

Yet Paris is a city that manages to feel both global and local. There is a host of smaller museums, and alongside the great civic monuments lie distinct quartiers that make Paris feel more a collection of sophisticated villages than a modern-day metropolis. Communities still revolve around well-loved cafs and restaurants, and the student, LGBTQ and immigrant quarters are, by and large, lively and well-defined. So too are the wealthier districts, with their exclusive boutiques and restaurants. Neighbourhoods such as the elegant Marais, St-Germain and romantic Montmartre are ideal for shopping, sitting in cafs and aimless wandering, while throughout the city you can find peaceful green spaces, ranging from formal gardens and avant-garde municipal parks to ancient cemeteries.

Above all, Paris is a city defined by its food. Few cities can compete with the thousand-and-one cafs, brasseries, bistrots, restaurants, bakeries, food shops and markets that line the boulevards and back alleys alike. Youll find anything from ultra-modern fashion temples to traditional mirrored palaces, and from tiny neighbourhood bistrots to crowded Vietnamese diners. Parisian nightlife is scarcely less renowned: its theatres and concert halls pull in artists of the highest calibre, while the tiny venues hosting jazz gigs, art events and Parisian chanson nights offer a taste of a more local, avant-garde scene. The caf-bars and clubs of Pigalle, the northeastern districts and the Left Bank fill with the young and style-conscious from all over.

Le Comptoir Gnral

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Best places for a Parisian picnic

Picnicking on the grass is rarely allowed in central Paris except on the elegant place des Vosges. But public benches make civilized alternatives: try the pedestrian bridge, the Pont des Arts; the Parc Rives de Seine; the lime-tree-shaded square Jean XXIII, behind Notre-Dame; the intimate Jardin du Palais Royal; or the splendid Jardin du Luxembourg. Further out, the parks of Buttes-Chaumont and Andr-Citron offer idyllic spots for lounging on the grass.

Theres a real buzz about the current Paris dining scene, as talented young chefs open up new bistrots and rework French classics or experiment with unusual ingredients. A new wave of wine bars, or caves manger, are also coming up with interesting cuisine, often in the form of sharing plates, focusing on well-sourced fresh ingredients paired with natural or organic wines. For more traditional French cuisine, you dont have to look far: every quartier has its own local bistrot, serving staples such as steak au poivre. For a really authentic experience, go for a classic brasserie, where you can dine amid splendid original decor. You can almost always eat more cheaply at lunchtime, when most places offer set menus from around 15. Even some of the haute cuisine restaurants become just about affordable at lunch.

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Its easy to go drinking in Paris. Most cafs stay open late and serve alcoholic drinks as well as coffee; old-fashioned wine bars and English-style pubs can be found everywhere, while a new breed of hipster cocktail bars with a speakeasy vibe are currently very popular. The best areas for late-night drinking include Bastille, SoPi, the Haut Marais and Oberkampf, with numerous youthful venues, many doubling as clubs. On the Left Bank, the Quartier Latin has lots of postage-stamp-sized student dives, while St-Germain is the place for cheery posh partying.

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One of the most appealing shopping areas is St-Germain, with its wide variety of clothes shops and gourmet food stores. Designer wear and haute couture are concentrated around the Champs-Elyses and on rue du Faubourg-St-Honor, while more alternative fashion boutiques can be found in the Marais, especially around rue Charlot, and in Montmartre, in particular on rue des Martyrs. For quirky one-off buys and curios, head for the atmospheric passages (nineteenth-century shopping arcades), just off the Grands Boulevards.

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The Paris club scene is lively, with a variety of cool promoters offering eclectic, mixed programmes in a variety of venues from superclubs to refitted theatres and riverboats check out the boats moored beside the Bibliothque Nationale. Where the city truly excels though, is in its array of live music, from world music and rock to jazz and chanson. Montmartre is home to some iconic venues, as is the Rue des Lombards.

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