Things to do in Paris
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Les Cars Rouges
These red double-decker buses run to nine major sites around Paris, from roughly 10am to 6pm. In total, the tours last two hours and 15 minutes, and various audioguides can be downloaded as mp3s from its website.
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L’Équipe
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Left Bank Scooters
If you’d rather not pedal, sign up for a scooter tour around Paris or Versailles (€150/250).
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Laughing & Music Matters
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Lac Daumesnil
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Free Tour
A group tour of the city’s main highlights, it takes 3½-hours with two departures a day. It also runs daily two-hour tours of Montmartre for €12.
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Fnac
Buy tickets for concerts, theatre performances and other cultural events at billetteries (box offices) in Fnac.
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Context Paris
Small group walks led by specialists; interesting range of topics, from the popular foodie walks to art history.
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City Segway Tours
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London to Paris Family Adventure
8 days (London to Paris)
by G Adventures
“I see London! I see France! I see…” Uh, let’s just leave it there, shall we? Europe’s two preeminent capitals await you and the kids on this short-and-sweet…Not LP reviewed
from USD$2,399 -
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Bateaux Parisiens
Runs smaller boats that do one-hour river circuits with recorded commentary in 13 different languages. There are two locations: one northwest of the Eiffel Tower, the other south of Notre Dame.
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Fat Tire Bike Tours
Daytime bike tours of the city (€28; four hours) start at 11am daily from mid-February to early January, with an additional departure at 3pm from April to October. Night bicycle tours depart at 7pm from April to October and 6pm (not always daily) in low season. Other tours go to Versailles, Monet’s garden in Giverny and the Normandy beaches. Participants generally meet opposite the Eiffel Tower’s South Pillar at the start of the Champ de Mars; look for the yellow signs. Reserve in advance.
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Centre Régional des Œuvres Universitaires et Scolaires Censier
Branch of the Centre Régional des Œuvres Universitaires et Scolaires. It has variable hours that change according to university holiday schedules and weekend rotational agreements; check the schedule posted outside the branch or the CROUS website (www.crous-paris.fr) for current times.
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Passage Couverts
There are several covered shopping arcades off bd Montmartre , and walking through them is like stepping back into the sepia-toned Paris of the early 19th century. The passage des Panoramas, which was opened in 1800 and received Paris' first gas lighting in 1817, was expanded in 1834 with the addition of four other interconnecting passages: Feydeau, Montmartre, St-Marc and Variétés. The arcades are open till about midnight.
On the northern side of bd Montmartre, between Nos 10 and 12, is passage Jouffroy, which leads across rue de la Grange Batelière to passage Verdeau. Both contain shops selling antiques, old postcards, used and antiquarian books, gifts, pet toys,…
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Parc Floral de Paris
This magnificent botanical park is one of the highlights of the Bois de Vincennes. Natural landscaping and a magnificent collection of plants will keep amateur gardeners happy, while Paris’ largest play area (giant climbing webs and slides, jungle gyms, sandboxes, etc) will absolutely thrill families. Open-air concerts are staged throughout summer, making it a first-rate picnic destination.
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Fnac
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St-Martin Canal
The shaded towpaths of the tranquil, 4.5km-long St-MartinCanal are a wonderful place for a romantic stroll or a bike ride past nine locks, metal bridges and ordinary Parisian neighbourhoods. The waterbanks here have undergone a real urban renaissance in recent years, and the southern stretch in particular is an ideal spot for café lounging, quay-side summer picnics and late-night drinks. Hip new bistros have moved into the area (most closed Sunday and often Monday) and if you’re in Paris to tempt your tastebuds, you’ll wind up in these eastern suburbs sooner rather than later.
Linking the 10e arrondissement with Parc de la Villette in the 19e via the Bassin de la…
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Rowing boats at Lac Inférieur
Rowing boats can be hired at Lac Inférieur, the largest of the wood’s lakes and ponds.
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Paris Cycles
Bicycles can be hired at two locations in the Bois de Boulogne: on av du Mahatma Gandhi, across from the Porte Sablons entrance to the Jardin d’Acclimatation, and near the Pavillon Royal (av Foch) at the northern end of Lac Inférieur.
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Guerlain Spa
- Paris, France
- Activities › Spa
For total indulgence, make an appointment at Guerlain's decadent spa.
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Fragonard
Parisian perfume maker Fragonard has a changing litany of great things for the home, such as fabulous vases with an Eiffel Tower theme, lovely embroidered napkins with a fish or vegetable theme, great little spoons with a cake or pastry theme. Nothing is very expensive and the offerings change every few months, so you have to pounce when you find something you love. The gift wrapping in gorgeous Fragonard bags is worth it alone!
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Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Création
This fine-arts centre, designed by Frank Gehry, is expected to open sometime in 2013. It’s located just south of the Jardin d’Acclimatation
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Anna Joliet
Has magical music boxes, old and new.
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Forum des Halles
Don’t get too excited. Tragically, the Forum des Halles is no longer a market, rather an unspeakably ugly, four-level, underground shopping centre constructed in 1970s glass-and-chrome style after Paris’ main wholesale food market dating to the early 12th century was moved to the southern suburb of Rungis, near Orly.
The upside is, dramatic change (for the better) is afoot. The dodgy park and dated arbours topping the underground shopping mall have been demolished, and cranes, diggers and an army of builders are busy at work creating La Canopée – a thoroughly contemporary, glass-topped, curvilinear building by architects Patrick Berger and Jacques Anziutti, inspired…
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