France Travel Guide for International Guests

Paris Travel Guide 

Paris Tourist Office “Paris je t’aime” website: ​https://parisjetaime.com/eng/ 

Ways to see Paris 

• Private drivers and excursions: https://www.parisconnection.fr/
• Bus tour: https://www.bigbustours.com/en/paris/paris-bus-tours 
• Bus tour: https://www.tootbus.com/en/paris/home 
• Boat tour: https://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/ 
• Walking tours, Paris Greeters: https://greeters.paris/en/ 

Sights to See

• Eiffel Tower 
• Arc de Triomphe
• Notre Dame Cathedral 
• Opéra Garnier / Galeries Lafayette shopping center + rooftop view 
• Père Lachaise cemetery 
• Sacre Coeur Basilica (in Montmartre neighborhood) 
• Invalides 
• Place de la Concorde 
• Place de Bastille 
• Pont Alexandre III (bridge) 
• Palais de Luxembourg / Jardin de Luxembourg 

Museums 

• Louvre 
• Musée D’Orsay 
• Rodin Sculpture museum 
• City of Science and Industry Museum 🦊
• Fondation Louis Vuitton
• Museum of Natural History 
• Musée National de l'Histoire de l'Immigration

Activities 

• Tour the Catacombes 
• Montparnasse Tower 
• Disneyland Paris 🦊
• Jardin d'Acclimatation 🦊
• Escape Game 
• Paris Zoological Park 🦊
• Cabaret / Moulin Rouge 

Noteworthy Neighborhoods 

• Montmartre 
• Latin Quarter 
• Le Marais 
• Champs-Élysées

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Transportation 

Apps and booking services 

• Great app for navigating public transportation is Citymapper. 
• Private taxis - Best site for price comparison and booking: https://gettransfer.com/en 
• Ride sharing apps available in France include Uber, Bolt, and FreeNow. 
• The Paris city taxis have an app called G7. 

City and regional transportation 

• There are metros, city buses, and ‘trains’ called the RER which are higher speed with fewer stops that also go further out of Paris center. 
• These tickets will cost 1.50 €–2.50 € each and include transfers.
• Tickets are sold on a “Paris mobility” card that they will sell you for an extra 2€ to load your tickets on. 
• The ticket for the airport is 13 € one way. 
• RATP website for more information on public transportation: https://www.ratp.fr/en/visiter-paris 

Airport Taxi to Paris 

Article with information: https://www.paris-airport.info/paris-airport-taxi.html

• There are two major airports in Paris, Charles de Gaulle (CDG or “Roissy”) and Orly. 
• If the taxi’s meter is turned off, it will be a flat rate, 50€ or 55€, depending on if you’re staying the right or left bank. 
• If you take an official taxi with the sign on the top, they are highly regulated and will likely be a safe choice.

Taxis from Paris to Chatignonville (wedding venue)

• $25–45 per person for a van of 6–9 people
• $160–350 total 
• TIP: Estimate going with 1-2 fewer people than the van holds for comfort, especially if carrying a lot of baggage. 

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Random things to know (or not) 

The French say “bonjour” every time you walk into a business, even if you don’t see anyone. You can just ‘say it to the air’. 

Don’t stand on the left side of an escalator. It is for walking traffic. The right side is for standing.

Numbers are formatted with a comma in the place of a period, and a space in the place of a comma. For example 1 218,56€ = 1,218.56 euro. 7,50€ will be 7.50 euro.

Tipping - don’t tip. anyone. period. It’s not expected. The locals do not tip. But you may be asked/fooled into leaving a tip as a tourist or English speaker. Feel free to use your judgement and leave a 1-5 euro tip for a big group or exceptional service. Anything more than that would be too much.

Be aware of pickpockets especially near the major train stations - Gare de Nord, Gare de l’Est, Gare de Lyon, or Gare Saint-Lazare. Paris is quite a safe city, but as a tourist, you run the risk of being a target of theft. 

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Aleah’s Recommendations 

Bars

• Ground Control - beer garden and cafeteria 
• BEER Paris - craft beer bar 
• Le Perchoir - rooftops 

Restaurants 

• Bouillon Chartier Grands Boulevards
• Les p'tites indécises - 2 Rue des Trois Bornes, 75011 Paris
• Bistrot Paul Bert 
• Fulgurances (restaurant) / Fulgurances en face (wine bar) 

Cafes with babies 👶 

• April Café - 13 Rue des Récollets, 75010 Paris