Category Archives: Paris tips

Insider information for Paris tourists

The Paris Opera, all you need to know

27 Sunday May 2018

Posted by in Paris Arts, Paris museums, Paris nightlife, Paris sidetrips, Paris tips, Paris travel, Paris Walks

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Palais-Garnier-Paris-Opera-House_1One of the fondest memories I have of my “student in Paris” days was attending performances at the Palais Garnier. Top tier and most of the time requiring opera glasses the experience was always magical.  If you’d like to visit the sumptuous building or are interested in any of L’Opera de Paris performances at a discount, here’s the insider lowdown:

Last-minute tickets

• €10 for seats with a limited view or no view of the stage at the Palais Garnier

Tickets for seats in the 6th category are only sold on the day of the performance at the box office of the Palais Garnier. These seats offer a limited view or no view of the stage depending on their location, however, tickets for them do provide access to the auditorium and allow the bearer to hear music played by a live orchestra and in some cases, catch a glimpse of what is happening on stage (with the possibility of getting a better view by standing when the seat is at the rear of a box).

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• €5 for a standing-room ticket in the circle of the Opéra Bastille

32 standing tickets are sold at 5€ each (category 10) at the Opera Bastille ticket offices (130 rue de Lyon – 75012 Paris) on the day of the performance: from 11:30 a.m. Monday to Saturday; and one hour prior to the performance on Sundays and bank holidays. Tickets are limited to two per person.

• Special reduced rates  Special reduced rates on last-minute tickets for an up-coming performance that are still available at the Paris Opera’s box offices 30 minutes prior to curtain-up:

For those under the age of 28 and the unemployed:

– €35 for a ticket to an opera.

– €25 for a ticket to a ballet or concert/recital.

– €10 for a ticket to a Sunday chamber music concert.

For senior citizens over the age of 65:

– €70 for a ticket to an opera.

– €40 for a ticket to a ballet or concert/recital.

– €15 for a ticket to a Sunday chamber music concert.

Not valid for Young People’s Avant-Premières, evenings for the Under 40s, or special evenings.

Discounted rates. Certain performances are subject to a 10% discount depending on the date: See prices.

Budget prices. Throughout the season, the Paris Opera offers performances at budget prices:

  • The programme of the Academy and chamber music concerts at the Amphithéâtre Bastille from €10 to €25 (depending on age),
  • Musical Middays at the Palais Garnier from €10 to €30 (depending on the seat category),
  • Concert-encounters at the Studio Bastille: €5.

France Paris French Opera Garnier Famous Building

Take an hour and twenty minute tour:  Your visit will begin with the “Rotonde des Abonnes” (Members’ Rotunda) which was formerly used to welcome the audience, and where you will be able to discover the unique signature of the architect Charles Garnier amongst the arabesques. 

The mysterious Prophetess Pythia will greet you before you take the majestic “Grand Escalier” (Main Staircase), which brings you to the auditorium, the lounges and the foyers. The abundant decor, the splendour of the various foyers and the variety of materials used will take your breath away. The numerous paintings and sculptures allow the Palais Garnier to be not only a theatre but also a museum at the same time.

Adult :

€15.50 per person

Child (-10years):

€8.50 per person

Student (-26years):

€11.00 per person

If you’re looking for some over-the-top splendor, love history as well as the arts, this downtown treasure is well worth the euros.  Did I mention the Chagall ceiling?

After your visit, consult your No Worries Paris guide for other things to do in the neighborhood. Printemps and Galeries Lafayette are just around the corner. Or try L’Opéra Restaurant. It’s built into the Palais Garnier opera house’s east facade.

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For what’s happening at the Bastille opera site go to: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en

FYI: For 1,000 euros you can adopt one of the Garnier’s red velvet plush seats. They’re going fast: https://fauteuils.operadeparis.fr/choisissez-un-fauteuil

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Snow, rain, sunshine in Paris

18 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by in Paris guide, Paris In The Rain, Paris photos, Paris tips, Paris travel, Paris Walks

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March weather can be iffy. If you’re planning to visit make sure you’re equipped for the chill. Bring a second pair of shoes, an umbrella, water repellant gear. You can wake up to sun and be drenched by 3 p.m.

When all else fails, duck into a cafe, or better yet, a place like Le Fumoir. You don’t even have to smoke, just chill and have a martini or two.

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Energized, head for the Picasso Museum, a safe dry elegant place and take it all in,  5 Rue de Thorigny, closes at 6.  

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Here’s the view from the back window. Another nice place to chill. Hope you get to see:

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Until next time. Hope you’re designing your own Paris itinerary with the city’s best walking guide, No Worries Paris. Merci!

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A Paris pique-nique en plein air

20 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by in French food and wine, Paris guide, paris patisseries, Paris shopping, Paris tips, Paris travel

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picnicRenoir

No doubt about it, the French love weekend meals outdoors in the fresh air.  The ritual can last hours and depending on consumption of wine, even longer. Picnic spots are numerous. I like Bercy, Parc Montsouris, Champs de Mars, Parc Monceau, Place des Vosges, Square du Vert-Galant, Bois de Boulogne, Quai de Valmy, just to name a few.

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Buying your picnic food can be a challenge. Finding central locations where everything is available can save time and frustration. Your neighborhood charcuterie probably carries most of what you’re looking for but you’ll have to add on a trip to the boulangerie, cheese and wine store.

Happily there are places that offer gourmet cold delicacies and all the trimmings, even dessert. Here are some addresses:

Galeries Lafayette Gourmet, 35 boulevard Haussmann

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GLG occupies two floors and offers a home delivery service. A feast for the eyes and the taste buds, cases of mouth-watering delicatessen will have you buying more than you can eat. Fresh produce and specialities from the best international and regional food brands abound. Tasting bars dot the first floor.

 

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Le Bon Marché, 38, rue de Sèvres

A temple of good taste, La Grande Epicerie de Paris sells 30,000 gourmet products.
It’s located on the ground floor of Le Bon Marché, Paris’s oldest department store, where its bakery, patisserie, butcher’s and cheese shop will all urge you to give in to gourmet temptation. Prices depend on the age and origin of the product, so you can just as easily enjoy a delicious lavender macaroon for two euros as bankrupt yourself for a bottle of olive oil.

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Marché Bastille

One of the biggest markets in Paris, the Marché Bastille’s food stalls sprawl up the Boulevard Richard Lenoir twice a week. It’s a great source of local cheeses, free range chicken and excellent fish. The piles of fruit, vegetables, saucisses, olives and quiches  are interspersed with stalls offering African batiks, cheap jewelery and bags, discount scarves and linens.

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Marché Mouffetard, 139 Rue Mouffetard
A wonderful, narrow crowded market street cobblestones and all. Charcuterie, creperies, cheeses, fruit, flowers, rotisserie chicken, pates, seafood shops wind down the hill. A moveable feast, you’re guaranteed a peek at how it used to be before le supermarche.

 

In Paris this summer? Celebrate Rodin.

14 Sunday May 2017

Posted by in Paris guide, Paris museums, Paris News, Paris tips, Paris travel, Paris Walks

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To mark the centenary of his death, the Musée Rodin and Réunion des musées nationaux Grand Palais are joining forces to celebrate Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). The exhibition reveals Rodin’s creative universe, his relationship with his audience and the way in which sculptors have appropriated his style.

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Featuring over 200 of Rodin’s works, it also includes sculptures and drawings by Bourdelle, Brancusi, Picasso, Matisse, Giacometti, Beuys, Baselitz and Gormley, shedding new light on this giant of sculpture.

Where: Grand Palais, Paris, France
Metro: Champs-Elysées Clémenceau (Lines 1, 13)

Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays from 10 am to 8 pm / Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 10 pm / Closed on Tuesdays

And if you’re looking for things to do after the show consult your No Worries Paris guide.

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“I literally read it cover to cover, which should be an indicator of its goodness. I really like this guide– it is detailed enough to provide weeks of new and exciting things to see, even for an extended stay.”  – J. A. Phillipi

 

Easter egg hunting in Paris

15 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by in French holidays, Paris tips, Paris travel

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EasterEgg

In France, offering eggs as Easter gifts began in the 4th century A.D. Church law dictated that Christians must abstain from eating meat or eggs during the 40 days of fasting that preceded Easter. On Easter Sunday, surplus eggs from hens that continued laying during the period were used to make an omelette. Legend had it that if on Easter Day, the first thing eaten was an egg that had been laid on Good Friday, you would be protected from illness until the following Easter.

To find the ‘chasses aux oeufs’ around Paris consult the list below:

TOUR EIFFEL

There will be more than 20,000 eggs scattered on the Champs de Mars vast lawn. Children aged 3-10, are welcome to retrieve eggs. Organised by the Secours Populaire, this Easter egg hunt ends with a delicious chocolate tasting.
Sunday 16 and Monday 17 April 10am-5pm.
€5 per child
Metro: Champ de Mars

SACRE COEUR

Two giant easter egg hunts lie waiting. Kids between ages 3-12 are invited to gather as many eggs as they can beneath the impressive Montmartre icon.
April 16 2017, 12.30pm-3pm
Metro: Abbesses
Obligatory reservation: 01 42 62 21 21

VINCENNES ZOO

Vincennes Zoo welcomes anyone between the ages of 7-77 to hunt. A 150,000 chocolate egg hunt is planned.  Perk: 8kg egg – jackpot of the day competition.
April 16 and 17
Activities are accessible through the entrance ticket to the park.  €22 for adults, €16.50 for 12-25, €14 for 3-11.
Metro: Porte Dorée

BERCY VILLAGE

Over a 1,000 chocolate eggs and rabbits have been hidden in the corner of Saint-Emilion court. When the count down begins kids will have only 20 minutes to fill their baskets. The most observant hunters will be offered a surprise by The Gourmande Cure.
April 16 from 2pm – 6pm.
Registration required on site. Free. Metro: Cour Saint-Émilion

 

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MUSEE de MONTMARTRE

Bring a basket or sack and enjoy the egg hunt in the Jardins Renoir. Reserved for kids 2-12. Reservations obligatory 01 49258941.

April 16, 17, 11:30 to 5:00, 12 rue Cortot, Paris 75018

CHAMPS ELYSEES

Atelier Renault Café des Champs-Elysées is organizing several hunts beneath the hoods. For kids from 6 to 14, the hunts are accompanied by culinary workshops where the children, under the leadership of a famous chef, will be invited to customize a chocolate Renault Sport RS01 with endless sugary toppings.
Sunday, April 16. Mini-hunts at 11am, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm.
Extras: Hunting for the big ones from 10.30am. Two workshop sessions at 2pm and 3pm. All the activities are free.
Metro: Franklin Roosevelt

 

If you’re in Paris March 3-April 15

20 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by in Paris guide, Paris tips, Paris travel, Paris Wanderings

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**PRESS IMAGE - USAGE MUST BE CLEARED**

If you’re a b+w fan and gravitate towards reading the celebrity news while waiting in the grocery line, don’t miss the Paparazzi photo exhibit at Galerie ArtCube, Rue de Furstenberg {metro Saint-Germain-des-Prés}.

On tap: Ron Galella, Jean Pigozzi, Sébastien Valiela, Christopher Makos and Alison Jackson, the outlaws who have been looking for the ultimate shot of a rock star, movie idol or socialite for the past 50 years. You’ll recognize quite a few. Sometimes seeing them framed and grouped is something special.

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Irreverent, cunning and intrusive as well as experts in mise en scène, the gaggle end up shining as documentarists of their time.

**PRESS IMAGE - USAGE MUST BE CLEARED**

Photos courtesy of courtesy of Galerie ArtCube

Paris: Get out of town day trips

19 Sunday Mar 2017

Posted by in Paris Day Trips, Paris sidetrips, Paris tips, Paris travel

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versaillSometimes it’s refreshing to break up hustle and bustle metropolis days with a break to the country. I’ve found some of the bus tours cheaper than hiring a guide, private car or taking the train. From my own experience, Paris City Vision has always delivered a first-class experience (and I’m not getting kickbacks), just my personal opinion. Here’s a rundown of the creme-de-la creme:

Versailles small group
$108
Half-Day Tour: Select either a morning or afternoon tour and depart from your Paris hotel bound for Versailles. Your host for the trip will give you recommendations about planning your Versailles visit and provide you with an audio guide for a tour of the palace and gardens.

Weekend visitors from April to October can see the famous fountain shows.

Versailles and Giverney
Guided $206 (all day)
• Skip the line ticket
• Entrance fees to the gardens
• Lunch with drinks

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Economy Versailles: RER from Paris:  A round trip ticket to Versailles by train costs 7,1€ per person. It takes less than 1-1/2 hours to get there. It’s the cheapest way to reach the chateau. Choose RER C; buy your tickets to Versailles-Château – Rive Gauche. The Palace of Versailles is only a 13-minute walk away from the train station. Be prepared to wait in line and spend all day wandering.

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Loire Valley Castles Day Trip  Chambord, Cheverny and Chenonceau.
Guided, all day $176. (such a deal)
Skip the line tickets, leave at 7:15 from a central Paris location. Guests traveling between November 1 and March 31 will receive a traditional lunch and drink.

Chateaux de Chambord, Chenonceau and Loire Valley Wine-Tasting Day Trip. $180
Wine-tasting at Nitray Vineyards
Eat a gourmet French lunch sourced from fresh, local ingredients

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Fontainebleau & Vaux le Vicomte. $75
Skip the line tickets
Full day excursion to Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte châteaux from Paris by luxury coach. Explore the imperial château in the heart of the forest of Fontainebleau. Visit the stunning Vaux le Vicomte château that inspired Versailles. Audio guide tour of the châteaux and free time to explore the magnificent French-style formal gardens. Leave Paris 9:15

Happy tripping!

 

 

 

 

Paris: an open book

09 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by in French holidays, Paris guide, Paris museums, Paris photos, Paris tips, Paris travel, Paris Walks

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No Worries Paris, a photographic walking guide brings the city to life. A look inside:

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“So many memorable walks at our own pace. Good maps, directions,  and the accompanying text is concise enough to read while on the walk.”  

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“A great help for me to plan my trip. I’m glad I’m prepared for what’s in store in the next two weeks.”

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“We had four full days to spend in Paris in September. We had never been there and wanted to make the most of our time. We decided to use the No Worries Paris guide, and it was a very good decision.”

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“Everything was beyond amazing!! I will never travel to Paris without using this guide again. Especially loved walking tours through the neighborhoods of the Marais and Latin Quarter.”

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“The experience, sights and information provided by our NWP was first class. I would happily recommend reading it cover to cover before your stay.”

Illustrated by hundreds of color photographs, NO WORRIES PARIS takes readers on a visually luscious journey along the city’s striking monuments, as well as into crannies of its villages and the full-on glamour of the fashion districts. Virtually all of Paris is covered in 10 Walking Tours, each with its own map. Walks take from a half-day to a day to complete, starting at one Metro stop and ending at another. The tours are complemented by 10 Walk Arounds, which are shorter in length, taking in the sights of a single attraction more on the fringes of the city’s arrondissements.

Practical travel tips and get-around information is included. Newcomers will most likely want to begin with monumental strolls. Francophiles may choose something more edgy and out-of-the-way. The common thread is that each walk is along a visually aesthetic pathway that has a story of its own to tell. Readers who want to get to know Paris by seeing it on foot—pausing occasionally for a gourmet taste, park bench timeout or perfumed sniff along the way— have found the right book.

No Worries Paris is available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s Books,  directly through the publishers (signed + discount) at Trailblazer Travel Books as well as your friendly independent bookstores nationwide.

Soldes (Sales), 6 weeks of them

19 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by in Paris Fashion Week, Paris guide, Paris photos, Paris shopping, Paris sidetrips, Paris tips, Paris travel, Paris Walks, Paris Wandering

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Paris’s “Winter Sales” began on January 11 and continue through February 21. It’s not just department stores that are having them. The big fashion houses are also in on the discount extravaganza and there are bargains to be had.

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The discounts are deep, 50 to 70% on selected items. Get there when the doors open, when everything is neatly piled and lines less long at the cash register. Some designers have to limit the number of shoppers in their department store boutiques. You’ll always see a queue of just-off-the-jetters who go for the big brand names.

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Values are waiting in the triangle d’or (Avenue Montaigne, Ave George V, and Rue Francois 1er),  where the finest Haute Couture shops in the world are located. The prestigious houses include: Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Dolce e Gabbana, Max Mara, Christian LaCroix, Valentino, Prada, Ungaro, Joseph, Bonpoint, Jean Louis Scherrer, Gucci, Pucci, Loewe, Krizia, Bulgari, Calvin Klein, Nina Ricci, Ines de la Fressange, Donna Karan, Celine, Yves Saint Laurent (headquarters), Bulgari, S.F. Dupont, Porthault Linens, Caron, Hermes, Gianfranco Ferré, Givenchy,  Kenzo. Rochas, Courreges, and Balmain. Be prepared to have your purse searched before entering.

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Tired just reading the list? The Georges V (31, avenue George V) to the rescue with a time-out drink at Le Bar or light meal in the L’Orangerie restaurant. The staff are always gracious and welcoming; the flower arrangements will take your breath away. Sidenote: If you’re a guest, free flower arranging classes are offered by their world-renowned flower magician ($200 for non-guests); the staff offer guests  a special morning hour-long jog at 7:30 along the Seine, through the Tuileries (free, once a week), room rates start at $800 a night.

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At 50-70%, even the couture prices may well be beyond your means. Depot-vente (secondhand boutiques) present another choice. Dive into the piles for some amazing bargains all year round:

Mistigriff, 83-85, rue Saint-Charles  75015, https://www.mistigriff.fr 

Chercheminippes, 124 rue du Cherche-midi 75006, http://www.chercheminippes.com.

Didier Ludot,  24 Galerie Montpensier – Jardin du Palais Royal  75001     http://www.didierludot.fr

Kiliwatch, 64 Rue Tiquetonne, 75002 http://www.kiliwatch.fr

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The Rooftop Igloos at Galeries Lafayette

15 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by in French food and wine, French holidays, Paris guide, Paris tips, Paris Wanderings

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Paris is very cold in January and it would be unheard of to venture to the open-air top floor of a department store for tapas and a cocktail. BUT, Paris’s innovative department store, Galeries Lafayette has come up with a unique idea by plopping a few heated see-through geodesic domes over the rooftop bar.

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The concept, brilliant, the view, magnifique. They call it a “cocooning vibe where serenity and tranquility reign supreme”.  Who wouldn’t want that?

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Here’s the menu:

Champagne, cocktails
Soft drinks, fruit juices
Hot drinks
Savoury and sweet tapas
Oysters
Foie gras
Regional French products
Seasonal dish of the day

Continuous service from 11.00 am to 8.00 pm. When they will be removed to make way for spring, I’m not sure.

Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, 40 boulevard Haussmann – 75009 Paris