PARIS - France 2014 - page 213

or toll tel. [phone] inside France (office closed Sun). You can also go direct to the
Opéra Bastille's ticket office (open daily 11:00-18:00).

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), Rodin (Wed until 20:45), 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), and Marmottan Museum (Thu until 20:00). Parts of the
Army Museum are open Tuesdays until 21:00 (April-Sept).
Spectacles in the Gardens: An elaborate sound-and-light show (Les Grandes Eaux
Nocturnes) takes place at Versailles (€23, mid-June-mid-July Fri-Sat at 21:00, mid-July-
mid-Sept Sat only 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
acafé,andenjoythesidewalk entertainers asyoujointhepost-dinnerParisian 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 and join the party on Place du Trocadéro for a magnificent view of the glowing Eiffel
Tower (see the “Best Views over the City of Light” sidebar on here ). 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 24:45, Sept-mid-June until 23:45).
From the Eiffel Tower you can stroll through the Champ de Mars park past tourists
and romantic couples, and take the Métro home (Ecole Militaire stop, across Avenue de la
Motte-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
The Avenue des Champs-Elysées glows after dark. Start at the Arc de Triomphe (obser-
vation 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-