FRANCE - Best of Europe 2014 - page 330

Evening Museum Visits
Various museums are open late on different evenings—called visites nocturnes —offering
the opportunity for more relaxed, less crowded visits: the Louvre (Wed and Fri until 21:45),
Orsay (Thu until 21:45), Pompidou Center (Wed-Mon until 21:00), Grand Palais (Wed until
22:00), Holocaust Memorial (Thu until 22:00), Quai Branly (Thu-Sat until 21:00), Rodin
Museum (Wed until 20:45), and Marmottan Museum (Thu until 20:00). The Army Museum
may be open Tuesdays until 21:00 (April-Sept).
Summer Night Spectacle: An elaborate sound-and-light show (Grandes Eaux Noc-
turnes) takes place at the Château in Versailles on Saturdays (€23, mid-June-Aug at 21:00,
www.chateauversailles.fr ).

Night Walks
Go for an evening walk to best appreciate the City of Light. Break for ice cream, pause at
a café, and enjoy the sidewalk entertainers as you join the post-dinner Parisian parade. Re-
member to avoid poorly lit areas and stick to main thoroughfares. Consider the following
suggestions.

▲▲▲ ▲▲▲ Trocadéro and Eiffel Tower

This is one of Paris' most spectacular views at night. Take the Métro to the Trocadéro stop
andjointhepartyonPlaceduTrocadéroforamagnificentviewoftheglowingEiffelTower.
It's a festival of hawkers, gawkers, drummers, and entertainers.
Walk down the stairs, passing the fountains and rollerbladers, then cross the river to the
base of the tower, well worth the effort even if you don't go up (tower open daily mid-June-
Aug until 24:00, Sept-mid-June until 23:00).
From the Eiffel Tower you can stroll through the Champ de Mars park past tourists and
romanticcouples,andtaketheMétrohome(EcoleMilitairestop,acrossAvenuedelaMotte-
Picquet from far southeast corner of park). Or there's a handy RER stop (Champ de Mars-
Tour Eiffel) two blocks west of the Eiffel Tower on the river.

▲▲▲ Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe
TheAvenuedesChamps-Elyséesglowsafterdark.StartattheArcdeTriomphe(observation
deck open daily, April-Sept until 23:00, Oct-March until 22:30), then stroll down Paris'
lively grand promenade. A right turn on Avenue George V leads to the Bateaux-Mouches
river cruises. A movie on the Champs-Elysées is a fun experience (weekly listings in Pari-
scope under“Cinéma”),andadrinkorsnackatRenault'sfuturisticcarcaféisakick(at#53,
toll tel. [phone]).