Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Ile St. Louis and Notre-Dame
This stroll features floodlit views of Notre-Dame and a taste of the Latin Quarter. Take the
Métro (line 7) to the Pont Marie stop, then cross Pont Marie to Ile St. Louis. Turn right up
Rue St. Louis-en-l'Ile, stopping for dinner—or at least a Berthillon ice cream (at #31) or
Amorino Gelati (at #47). At the end of Ile St. Louis, cross Pont St. Louis to Ile de la Cité,
with a great view of Notre-Dame. Wander to the Left Bank on Quai de l'Archevêché, and
drop down to the river for the best floodlit views. From May through September you'll find
several permanently moored barges
(péniches)
that operate as bars. Although I wouldn't eat
dinner on one of these barges, the atmosphere is great for a drink, often including live music
on weekends (daily until 2:00 in the morning, closed Oct-April, live music often Thu-Sun
from 21:00). End your walk on Place du Parvis Notre-Dame in front of Notre-Dame (tower
open Sat-Sun until 23:00 in July-Aug), or go back across the river to the Latin Quarter.
Open-Air Sculpture Garden
Day or night, this skinny riverfront park dotted with modern art makes for a pleasant walk,
but it's especially fun on balmy evenings in the summer, when you may encounter rock
and salsa dancing. It's on the Left Bank across from Ile St. Louis, running between the
ArabWorldInstituteandJardindesPlantes(free,musicaround20:00,veryweather-depend-
ent, Quai St. Bernard, Mo: Cardinal Lemoine plus an eight-minute walk up Rue Cardinal
Lemoine toward the river).
Several companies offer evening tours of Paris. You can take a traditional, mass-produced
bus tour for €25 per person, or for a little more (around €100 per couple), take an hour-long,
vintage-car tour with a student guide. A pedicab will take you around for €40-50 per hour.
Do-it-yourself-ers can save money by hiring a cab for a private tour (€50 for one hour). All
options are described below.
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Deux Chevaux Car Tours
If rumbling around Paris and sticking your head out of the rolled-back top of a funky old
2CV car
à la
Inspector Clouseau sounds like your kind of fun, do this. Two enterprising
companies have assembled a veritable fleet of these “tin-can” cars (France's version of the
VW “bug,” which hasn't been made since 1985) for giving tourists tours of Paris day and
night (Paris Authentic and 4 Roues Sous 1 Parapluie). Night is best. The student-guides
are informal, speak English, and are passionate about showing you their city. Appreciate
the simplicity of the vehicle you're in. Notice the bare-bones dashboard. Ask your guide
to honk the horn, to run the silly little wipers, and to open and close the air vent—
c'est
