FRANCE - Best of Europe 2014 - page 260

Manycompaniesofferbustourstoregionalsights. ParisVision runsuninspiredminivan
and bus tours to several popular regional destinations, including the Loire Valley, Cham-
pagne region, D-Day beaches, and Mont St-Michel (tel. [phone],
www.parisvision.com ) . Their minivan tours are pricier, but more personal and given in Eng-
lish, and most offer convenient pickup at your hotel (half-day tour about €80/person, day
tour about €190/person). Their full-size bus tours (operated by their Cityrama subsidiary,
www.pariscityrama.fr ) are multilingual, mass-marketed, and mediocre at best, but cheaper
than the minivan tours—worthwhile for some travelers simply for the ease of transportation
to the sights (about €70-150, destinations include Versailles, Giverny, and more).

Self-Guided Walk

Historic Paris
(See “Historic Paris Walk” map, here . )
(This information is distilled from the Historic Paris Walk chapter in Rick Steves' Paris, by
Rick Steves, Steve Smith, and Gene Openshaw. You can download a free audio version of
this walk; see here . )
Allow four hours to do justice to this three-mile walk; just follow the dotted line on the
“Historic Paris Walk” map. Start where the city did—on the Ile de la Cité, the island in the
Seine River and the physical and historic bull's-eye of your Paris map. The closest Métro
stops are Cité, Hôtel de Ville, and St. Michel, each a short walk away.
• On the square in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, view the facade from the bronze plaque
on the ground marked “Point Zero” (30 yards from the central doorway). You're standing
atthecenterofthecountry,thepointfromwhichalldistancesinFrancearemeasured.Find
the circular window in the center of the cathedral's facade.

▲▲▲ ▲▲▲ Notre-Dame Cathedral

This 700-year-old cathedral is packed with history and tourists. Study its sculpture and win-
dows, take in a Mass, eavesdrop on guides, and walk all around the outside.
Cost and Hours: Cathedral—free, Mon-Fri 8:00-18:45, Sat-Sun 8:00-19:15; Treas-
ury—€4, not covered by Museum Pass, Mon-Fri 9:30-17:40, Sat-Sun 9:30-18:10;
audioguide-€5, free English tours—normally Wed-Thu at 14:15, Sat-Sun at 14:30. The
cathedralhostsseveralMasseseverymorning,plusVespersat17:45.TheinternationalMass
is held Sun at 11:30, with an organ concert at 16:30. Call or check the website for a full
schedule. On Good Friday and the first Friday of the month at 15:00, the (visually under-
whelming)relicknownasJesus'CrownofThornsgoesondisplay(Mo:Cité,HôteldeVille,
or St. Michel; tel. [phone], www.notredamedeparis.fr ) .