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Travel Guide — Paris

🌏Overview

Paris fits into 105 km² — a tenth of London — and that compactness changes everything: you walk from one monument to the next, and the twenty arrondissements coil outwards in a snail's spiral from the Louvre. The city reads better by neighbourhood than by landmark: the Marais and its mansions, Montmartre on its hill, the Latin Quarter and its bookshops, Belleville and its artist studios. Since 2024 the Olympics have left behind a swimmable Seine and 1,000 km of cycle lanes.

🏛️ Capital Paris

👥 Population 2.1 million (11 million in the metropolitan area)

💬 Language French

💴 Currency Euro (€)

💱 Exchange Rate 1 EUR ≈ 1.08 USD

🕐 Time Zone CET (UTC+1) / CEST (UTC+2 in summer)

📞 Dial Code +33

🚗 Drive Side Right

🏙️Major Cities

Paris

2.1 million

Twenty arrondissements spiralling out from the centre. The Right Bank holds business, the Marais and the department stores; the Left Bank the universities, Saint-Germain and the Musée d'Orsay.

Versailles

85,000

45 minutes on the RER C, Louis XIV's palace and its 800 hectares of gardens. The most popular day trip from Paris — arrive at opening or late afternoon.

Reims

180,000

45 minutes by TGV, the capital of Champagne. The cathedral where French kings were crowned, and cellars open for tastings.

Giverny

500

An hour and a quarter via Vernon, Claude Monet's house and gardens, with the water lily pond and the Japanese bridge. Open April to November.

Fontainebleau

15,000

An hour southeast, a château lived in by French rulers for seven centuries, bordered by a forest famous for bouldering.

⭐Top Attractions

Eiffel Tower 📍 Architecture

330 metres, built in 1889 for the World's Fair and meant to be dismantled after twenty years. Book online: summit tickets sell out weeks ahead in season.
Louvre Museum 🏛️ Culture

The most visited museum on earth, 35,000 works across 73,000 m². Seeing all of it is a fantasy: pick two wings. The Carrousel and Porte des Lions entrances are far less congested.
Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur 🌆 Urban

The hill kept its cobbled lanes, its vineyard and its last windmill. The basilica looks out over Paris from the city's highest point; Place du Tertre, just behind, is heavily touristed.
Musée d'Orsay 🏛️ Culture

Housed in a 1900 railway station, it holds the world's largest Impressionist collection: Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh. Many visitors prefer it to the Louvre for its more human scale.
Le Marais 🌆 Urban

The best-preserved quarter of pre-Haussmann Paris, spared the boulevards cut through the city in the 19th century. Private mansions, Place des Vosges, the Picasso Museum, and the one district where almost everything opens on Sunday.

☀️Weather & Seasons

🌍

Climate

Temperate oceanic: mild grey winters, warm rather than hot summers, rain spread across the year. Summer heatwaves have intensified markedly over the past decade.

✅

Best Time to Visit

April to June and September to October: comfortable temperatures, gardens in bloom or autumn colour, and fewer crowds than midsummer.

⚠️

Avoid

August, when many shops and restaurants close for the holidays, and late July for the heat. November and February are the greyest months.

Spring (Mar–May)

8°C to 20°C

The best season. Chestnut trees in bloom, terraces reopening. Bring a jacket: showers remain frequent.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

17°C to 30°C

Very long days, with light until 10 pm. Heatwaves are possible and older buildings rarely have air conditioning.

Autumn (Sep–Nov)

8°C to 21°C

September is excellent, with the cultural season reopening and Heritage Days. The weather turns noticeably in November.

Winter (Dec–Feb)

3°C to 9°C

Grey and damp rather than freezing, dark by 5 pm. Empty museums, Christmas markets, and the lowest hotel rates of the year.

📋Practical Info

🛂
Visa Schengen Area: stays of up to 90 days in any 180 for Canadian, American, British, Australian and most other non-EU nationals. Before you travel, check on travel-europe.europa.eu whether the ETIAS electronic authorisation is already required.
🔌
Voltage 230 V, Type E plugs (European standard). An adapter is required from North American or British plugs.
💧
Eau Tap water is drinkable and of good quality. The hundred or so Wallace fountains across the city dispense free drinking water, and some now serve sparkling.
💸
Pourboire Service is legally included in every restaurant bill: nothing is expected. Rounding up or leaving 5-10% for outstanding service is appreciated but never required. No tip at all for a coffee at the counter.
💵
Argent Cards work everywhere, including for small amounts, and contactless is universal. Keep some coins for markets, a few bakeries and paid public toilets.
🏥
Santé No mandatory vaccinations. The public health system is excellent; EU nationals use the European Health Insurance Card, everyone else needs travel insurance. Pharmacies, marked by a green cross, operate a night duty rota.
🚨
Urgences Ambulance (SAMU): 15 | Fire: 18 | Police: 17 | European emergency number: 112

🛡️Safety

★★★☆☆ Moderate

Paris is safe in terms of violence but ranks among the European capitals worst affected by pickpocketing. The risk is almost entirely that: pockets and bags, not assaults. Tourist districts stay busy until late.

📍 Areas to Watch

Extra care around Barbès, Château-Rouge, Stalingrad and near the Gare du Nord at night. On the underground, lines 1 and 4 and the RER B to the airport account for most thefts.

⚠️ Common Scams

The 'friendship bracelet' at Montmartre: someone ties a thread to your wrist and then demands payment — keep your hands in your pockets on the way up to Sacré-Cœur
The petition to sign near the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower: a distraction while an accomplice goes through your bag
The gold ring 'found' at your feet along the Seine, then sold to you as something valuable
Three-card monte on the bridges: the game is rigged, without exception

💡 Safety Tips

Carry your bag closed and in front of you on the metro, especially at Châtelet-Les Halles, the largest underground interchange in Europe
Be wary of engineered jostling as metro doors close: it is the single most common method
Dial 3117 or text 31177 to report a problem on public transport

📱Mobile Connectivity

Network Coverage Excellent 4G/5G coverage throughout Paris. Nearly all metro stations and tunnels are covered following the RATP rollout, including RER lines within the city.

Network Quality ★★★★★

Operators Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile

📶 Why you'll need mobile data

Citymapper and the Bonjour RATP app to navigate 16 metro lines, 5 RER lines and the tram network, with live disruptions
Booking timed entry for the Louvre, Orsay and the Eiffel Tower, which is compulsory and often full several days ahead
Unlocking a Vélib' bike or a scooter, which is done exclusively through an app
Paying for the metro with a digital ticket in the app, now that paper carnets have been withdrawn
Translating handwritten bistro menus, rarely available in English

Activate your ZapSim eSIM before you fly — connected the moment you land at Roissy, so you can buy your RER ticket without queuing at a counter.

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🚄Getting Around

✈️ From the Airport

Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle: RER B to the centre in 35 min (€11.80), Roissybus to Opéra in 60 min, flat-fare taxi at €56 to the Right Bank and €65 to the Left Bank. Orly: tram T7 or Orlyval, and metro line 14 now serves the airport directly in 25 min. Beauvais, used by low-cost carriers, is an hour and a quarter away by shuttle.

🗺️ Getting Around

The metro is the fastest way around: 16 lines, a station every 500 metres, running until 1:15 am on weekdays and 2:15 am at weekends. The rechargeable Navigo Easy card has replaced paper tickets. Paris is also very walkable, and easy by Vélib' on the cycle lanes left over from 2024.

📱 Essential Apps

Citymapper — the best multimodal journey planner for Paris
Bonjour RATP — the official app, with live service status
Vélib' — bike share, 1,400 stations across the metropolitan area

💡

A Navigo Jour pass or a topped-up Navigo Easy costs less than single tickets from the third journey onwards. Note that airport journeys are charged separately and are not covered by the day pass.

💰Budget & Costs

🍜 Budget Meal €12-18 (bakery, lunch formule, market)

🍽️ Mid-Range Meal €30-60 per person

🛏️ Budget Stay €90-140 (two-star hotel, hostel)

🏨 Mid-Range Stay €180-320

🎒 Backpacker Budget €80-120 per day

✨ Comfort Budget €250-400 per day

💡 Coffee costs half as much standing at the counter as it does on the terrace, and the law requires both prices to be displayed. The lunch formule — starter and main, or main and dessert — gets you into very good kitchens for €20-25; the same meal in the evening costs double.

🎌Culture & Etiquette

✅ Do

Say 'bonjour' on entering any shop before anything else: skipping it is the misstep Parisians react to most
Open with 'Excusez-moi de vous déranger' or 'Bonjour, parlez-vous anglais?' rather than launching straight into English
Eat dinner from 8 pm onwards: turning up at 6:30 will find the kitchen shut
Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
Give up your seat to elderly and pregnant passengers on the metro — it is expected, not optional

❌ Don't

Don't sit at a terrace table and then order at the counter: the two prices are different
Don't eat while walking down the street, sandwich shops aside — it still reads as impolite
Don't expect to be sold bottled water: ask for 'une carafe d'eau', which is free and entirely normal
Don't take line 1 or the RER B at rush hour with large luggage: it is the worst time on the worst line

💡 Did you know?

There is only one stop sign in the whole of central Paris, on rue de Chartres in the 19th arrondissement
The arrondissements spiral outwards like a snail shell from the centre, which is why the 16th and 17th sit side by side
300 km of quarries run beneath the city, of which only 1.7 km are open to the public in the Catacombs
The Eiffel Tower grows about 15 cm taller in summer as the iron expands in the heat

❓Travel FAQ

How many days do I need in Paris?

Three full days cover the essentials: one for the Louvre and the Marais, one for the Eiffel Tower, Orsay and Saint-Germain, one for Montmartre and the Canal Saint-Martin. Allow five if you add Versailles and another museum or two.

Is the Paris Museum Pass worth it?

Yes from three museums a day, and above all because it gives priority-queue access. Note that since timed entry became standard you still have to reserve a slot at the Louvre and Orsay — the pass does not exempt you from that step.

Do I need to speak French to get by?

No. English is widely understood in tourist areas and by anyone under forty. But opening every exchange with a French 'bonjour' changes the reception completely: it is a question of manners, not of language ability.

Do I really need mobile data in Paris?

Yes. Museum time slots, unlocking a Vélib', buying a digital transport ticket and following RATP disruptions all run through an app. The metro has no wifi at all but excellent mobile coverage — which is exactly where you will need it.

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