Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
costs less if you're willing to restrict yourvisit to the two lower levels—and even less
if you're willing to use the stairs.
FreeConcerts:
Venuesofferingfreeorcheap(€6-8)concertsincludetheAmeric-
anChurch,HôteldesInvalides,St.SulpiceChurch,LaMadeleineChurch,andNotre-
Dame Cathedral. For a listing of free concerts, check
Pariscope
magazine (under the
“Musique” section) and look for events marked
entrée libre
.
Self-Guided Bus Tours:
Instead of paying €25 for a tour company to give you an
overviewofParis,ridebus#69forthecostofaMétroticket.Thisscenicroutecrosses
thecityeast-west,runningbetweentheEiffelTowerandPèreLachaiseCemetery,and
passingthesegreatmonumentsandneighborhoods:EiffelTower,EcoleMilitaire,Rue
Cler, Les Invalides (Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb), Louvre Museum, Ile de
la Cité, Ile St. Louis, Hôtel de Ville, Pompidou Center, Marais, Bastille, and Père La-
chaise.
Youcanboarddailyuntil22:30(lastdeparturefromEiffelTowerstop).It'sbestto
avoid weekday rush hours (8:00-9:30 & 17:30-19:30) and hot days (no air-condition-
ing). Sundays are quietest, and it's easy to get a window seat. Evening bus rides are
magical fromfallthroughspring(roughlySept-April), whenitgetsdarkearlyenough
toseethefloodlitmonumentsbeforethebusstopsrunning.IntheRueClerarea,east-
bound line #69 leaves from the Eiffel Tower on Avenue Joseph Bouvard. The first
stop is at the southwestern end of the avenue; the second stop is at the eastern end
(just before Avenue de la Bourdonnais).
Good-Value Tours:
At €12-15, Paris Walks' tours are a good value. The €11-13
Seine River cruises, best after dark, are also worthwhile.
Pricey
...
but worth it?
Certain big-ticket items—primarily the top of the Eiffel
Tower, the Louvre, and Versailles—are expensive and crowded, but offer once-in-
a-lifetime experiences. All together they amount to less than a ticket to Disney-
land—only these are real.
Nearby:
The
archaeological crypt
is a worthwhile 15-minute stop if you have a Paris
Museum Pass (€4 without Museum Pass, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, last entry 30
minutes before closing, enter 100 yards in front of the cathedral, tel. 01 55 42 50 10). You'll
see remains of the many structures that have stood on this spot in the center of Paris: Ro-
manbuildingsthatsurroundedatempleofJupiter;awallthatdidn'tkeeptheFranksout;the
main medieval road that once led grandly up the square to Notre-Dame; and even (wow) a
19th-century sewer.
