Busabout Adventures

A Busabout pass for the Northern Loop will take you to the most captivating cultural cities. Priceless artwork, incredible beer, beautiful castles, stunning scenery will dazzle throughout your travels.  Start from any city on the loop and travel at your own pace - stay as long as you like at each stop .... then when you've finished exploring, jump on the next bus and move on to the next destination. Click on the destinations in the map to find out more...

In central Paris (Intra-Muros – ‘within the walls’), the Rive Droite (Right Bank) is north of the Seine, while the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) is south of the river. For administrative purposes, Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements (districts) that spiral out from the centre. Addresses include the arrondissement number, listed here after the street address using the usual French notation (eg 1er stands for premier – 1st, 19e for dix-neuvième – 19th etc).

Lonely Planet’s Paris city map includes central Paris, the Métropolitain, Montmartre, a walking tour and an index of all streets and sights.

Île de la Cité
The site of the first settlement in Paris around the 3rd century BC and later the Roman town of Lutèce (Lutetia), the Île de la Cité stayed the centre of royal and ecclesiastical power even after the city spread to both banks of the Seine during the Middle Ages.

CATHÉDRALE DE NOTRE DAME DE PARIS
The Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris (Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris; (01 42 34 56 10; place du Parvis Notre Dame, 4e; metro Cité; h8am-6.45pm Mon-Fri, 8am-7.45pm Sat & Sun) is the true heart of Paris, a French Gothic masterpiece and the focus of Catholic Paris for seven centuries.

Built on a site which had occupied by earlier churches – and, a millennium before that, a Gallo-Roman temple – it was begun in 1163 and largely completed by the middle of the 14th century. Striking features include the three main portals, whose statues were once brightly coloured to make them more effective as a Biblia pauperum – a ‘Bible of the poor’ to help the illiterate understand the Old Testament stories. Inside look out for the three spectacular rose windows, the most renowned of which is the 10m-wide one over the western facade above the 7800-pipe organ, and the window on the northern side of the transept, which has remained virtually unchanged since the 13th century.

One of the best views of Notre Dame is from Square Jean XXIII, the lovely little park behind the cathedral, where you can see the mass of ornate flying buttresses that encircle the chancel and support its walls and roof.

Distances from Paris to every part of metropolitan France are measured from place du Parvis Notre Dame, the square in front of Notre Dame.

Right Bank
MUSÉE DU LOUVRE
The vast Palais du Louvre was constructed as a fortress by Philippe-Auguste in the early 13th century and rebuilt in the mid-16th century. In 1793 the Convention turned it into the Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum; (01 40 20 53 17 or (01 40 20 51 51; www.louvre.fr; metro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre; admission to permanent/all collections €7.50/11.50, after 3pm & all day Sun €5/9.50, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s free; h9am-6pm Thu-Sun, 9am-9.45pm Mon & Wed).

The most widely celebrated work of art hanging on its walls is da Vinci’s Mona Lisa but don’t just make a beeline for this and leave before exploring some of the rest of the Louvre’s fabulously rich collection.

The numerous paintings, sculptures and artefacts on display include works of art and artisanship from all over Europe as well as important collections of Assyrian,
Etruscan, Greek, Coptic and Islamic art and antiquities. Traditionally the Louvre’s
raison d’être is to represent Western art from the Middle Ages to about the year 1848 (at which point the Musée d’Orsay takes over).

ARC DE TRIOMPHE & CHAMPS-ELYSÉES
Commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon to commemorate his imperial victories, the Arc de Triomphe (Triumphal Arch; (01 55 37 73 77 or (01 44 95 02 10; www.monum.fr; metro Charles de Gaulle-Étoile; viewing: platform adult/concession €7/4.50, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s free; h9.30am-11pm Apr-Sep, 10am-10.30pm Oct-Mar) remained unfinished when he started losing battles and then entire wars. It was not completed until 1836. Today this national icon stands several kilometres northwest of the Louvre, in the middle of place Charles de Gaulle or place de l’Étoile, the world’s largest traffic roundabout.

A dozen avenues radiate from this roundabout, most famously the av des Champs-Elysées. This broad boulevard, whose name refers to Greek mythology’s ‘Elysian Fields’(or heaven), links the Arc de Triomphe with place de la Concorde to the southeast. Symbolising the style and joie de vivre of Paris since the mid-19th century, the avenue remains a popular tourist destination.

PLACE DE LA CONCORDE
Place de la Concorde (metro Concorde) was laid out between 1755 and 1775. The 3300-year-old pink granite obelisk with the gilded top in the middle of the square once stood in the Temple of Ramses at Thebes (today’s Luxor) and was given to France in 1831 by Mohammed Ali, viceroy and pasha of Egypt.

CENTRE POMPIDOU
Since it was inaugurated in 1977, the Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou (Georges Pompidou National Centre of Art and Culture; %01 44 78 12 33; www.centrepompidou.fr; place Georges Pompidou, 4e; metro Rambuteau) has amazed and delighted visitors, not just for its outstanding collection of modern art, but for its radical architectural statement. It was among the first buildings to have its ‘insides’ turned outside.

HÔTEL DE VILLE
Gutted during the Paris Commune of 1871, Paris’ Hôtel de Ville (city hall; (0820 00 75 75; www.paris.fr; place de l’Hôtel de Ville, 4e; metro Hôtel de Ville) was rebuilt in the neo-Renaissance style (1874–82). The Hôtel de Ville faces the majestic place de l’Hôtel de Ville, used from the Middle Ages to the 19th century to stage many of Paris’ celebrations, rebellions, book burnings and public executions.

MUSÉE PICASSO
The Musée Picasso (Picasso Museum; (01 42 71 25 21; 5 rue de Thorigny, 3e; metro St-Paul or Chemin Vert; adult/concession €6.70/5.20, Sun €5.20, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s free; h9.30am-6pm Wed-Mon Apr-Sep, 9.30am-5.30pm Wed-Mon Oct-Mar), housed in the mid-17th-century Hôtel Salé, is one of Paris’ best loved art museums and includes more than 3500 of the grand maître’s works.

PLACE DE LA BASTILLE
The Bastille, built during the 14th century as a fortified royal residence, is the most famous monument in Paris that no longer exists; the notorious prison was demolished by a Revolutionary mob on 14 July 1789. The place de la Bastille (metro Bastille), where the prison once stood, is now a busy traffic roundabout.

GRAND & PETIT PALAIS
The Grand Palais (Great Palace; (01 44 13 17 17; www.rmn.fr; 3 av du Général Eisenhower, 8e; metro Champs-Élysées Clemenceau; adult/concession €9/7, booking fee €1, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s free; hwithout booking 1-8pm Thu-Mon, 1-10pm Wed, with booking from 10am), which was erected for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, houses the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais beneath its huge, Art Nouveau glass roof.

JARDINS DU TROCADÉRO
The Jardins du Trocadéro (Trocadero Gardens; metro Trocadéro), whose fountains and statue garden are grandly illuminated at night, are accessible across Pont d’Iéna from the Eiffel Tower.

Left Bank
EIFFEL TOWER & CHAMP DE MARS
The Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower; %01 44 11 23 23; www.tour-eiffel.fr; metro Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel or Bir Hakeim; hlifts: 9am-midnight mid-Jun–Aug, 9.30am-11pm Sep–mid-Jun, stairs: 9am-midnight mid-Jun–Aug, 9.30am-6.30pm Sep–mid-Jun) faced massive opposition from Paris’ artistic and literary elite when it was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World Fair), marking the centen­ary of the Revolution. It was almost torn down in 1909 but was spared because it proved an ideal platform for the transmitting antennas needed for the new science of radiotelegraphy.

Southeast of the Eiffel Tower, the grassy Champ de Mars (Field of Mars; metro Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel or École Militaire) is named after the Roman god of war. It was originally a parade ground for the 18th-century École Militaire (Military Academy), the vast, neoclassical building (1772), which counted Napoleon among its graduates.

MUSÉE D’ORSAY
The spectacular Musée d’Orsay (Orsay Museum; %01 40 49 48 84; www.musee-orsay.fr; 1 rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 7e; metro Musée d’Orsay or Solférino; adult/concession €7/5, Sun €5, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s free; h9am-6pm Tue-Sat, to 9.45pm Thu, 9am-6pm Sun late Jun-Sep, 10am-6pm Tue-Sat, to 9.45pm Thu, 9am-6pm Sun Oct-late Jun), housed in a former train station (1900) facing the Seine from quai Anatole France, displays France’s national collection of paintings, sculptures, objets d’art and other works produced between the 1840s and 1914, including the fruits of the impressionist, postimpressionist and Art Nouveau movements with creations by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas, Manet, Gauguin, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Seurat and Matisse, among others.

CATACOMBES
In 1785, the hygienic (not to mention aesthetic) problems posed by Paris’ overflowing cemeteries was solved by exhuming the bones and storing them in the tunnels of three disused quarries. One, created in 1810, is now known as the Catacombes (%01 43 22 47 63; www.paris.fr/musees/musee_carnavalet – French only; 1 place Denfert Rochereau, 14e; metro Denfert Rochereau; adult/senior & student/those aged 14-25 €5/3.30/2.60, under-14s free; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun). After descending 20m (130 steps) from street level, visitors follow 1.6km of corridors stacked with the bones of millions of Parisians.

STE-CHAPELLE
Ste-Chapelle (Holy Chapel; %01 53 40 60 97; www.monum.fr; 4 blvd du Palais, 1er; metro Cité; adult/concession €6.10/4.10, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s Oct-Mar free, joint ticket with Conciergerie €10.40/7.40; h9.30am-6pm Mar-Oct, 9am-5pm Nov-Feb), the most exquisite of Paris’ Gothic monuments, is tucked away within the walls of the Palais de Justice (Law Courts). Built in under three years, Ste-Chapelle was consecrated in 1248. The chapel was conceived by Louis IX to house his collection of sacred relics.

CONCIERGERIE
The Conciergerie (%01 53 40 60 97; www.monum.fr; 2 blvd du Palais, 1er; metro Cité; adult/aged 18-25 €7.50/5.50, free for under-18 & everyone on 1st Sun of the month Oct-Mar only, joint ticket with Ste-Chapelle €10.40/7.40; h9.30am-6pm daily Mar-Oct, 9am-5pm daily Nov-Feb), was the main prison during the Reign of Terror and used to incarcerate alleged enemies before they were brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal in the Palais de Justice next door. Among the 2700 prisoners held in the cachots (dungeons) here before being sent to the guillotine were Queen Marie-Antoinette and, as the Revolution began to implode, the Revolutionary radicals Danton and Robespierre.

MUSÉE NATIONAL DU MOYEN AGE
The Musée National du Moyen Age (National Museum of the Middle Ages; %01 53 73 78 16 or 01 53 73 78 00; www.musee-moyenage.fr – French only; Thermes de Cluny, 6 place Paul Painlevé, 5e; metro Cluny-La Sorbonne or St-Michel; adult/concession €5.50/4, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s free; h9.15am-5.45pm Wed-Mon), sometimes called the Musée de Cluny, is housed in two structures: the frigidarium (cooling room) and other remains of Gallo-Roman baths dating from around AD 200, and the late-15th-century Hôtel de Cluny, considered the finest example of medieval civil architecture in Paris. Displays include statuary, illuminated manuscripts, arms, furnishings and objects made of gold, ivory and enamel.

PANTHÉON
The domed landmark now known as the Panthéon (%01 44 32 18 00; www.monum.fr;
place du Panthéon, 5e; metro Luxembourg; adult/concession €7/4.50, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s Oct-Mar free; h9.30am-6.30pm Apr-Sep, 10am-6.15pm Oct-Mar) was commissioned about 1750 as an abbey church dedicated to Ste-Geneviève, but wasn’t completed until 1789. Buried in the crypt are Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Jean Moulin and Nobel Prize-winner Marie Curie, among others.

JARDIN DU LUXEMBOURG
In fine weather, Parisians flock to the formal terraces and chestnut groves of the
23-hectare Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Garden; metro Luxembourg; h7am-9.30pm Apr-Oct, 8am-sunset Mar-Nov) to read, relax and sunbathe.

MUSÉE RODIN
The Musée Rodin (Rodin Museum; %01 44 18 61 10; www.musee-rodin.fr; 77 rue de Varenne, 7e; metro Varenne; adult/concession €5/3, Sun €3, 1st Sun of month & for under-18s free, garden only €1; h9.30am-5.45pm Apr-Sep, 9.30am-4.45pm Oct-Mar) is both a sublime museum and one of the most relaxing spots in the city, with a lovely garden full of sculptures and shade trees.

HÔTEL DES INVALIDES
The Hôtel des Invalides (metro Varenne or La Tour Maubourg) was built in the 1670s by Louis XIV to provide housing for 4000 invalides (disabled war veterans). On 14 July 1789, a mob forced its way into the building and, after fierce fighting, seized 28,000 rifles before heading on to the prison at Bastille and revolution.

Other Districts
CIMETIÈRE DU PÈRE LACHAISE
Molière, Oscar Wilde, Balzac, Proust, Gertrude Stein, Édith Piaf and, of course, the Doors’ lead singer Jim Morrison, are among the 70,000 who rest in Cimetière du Père Lachaise (Père Lachaise Cemetery; %01 55 25 82 10; metro Philippe Auguste, Gambetta or Père Lachaise; h8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-6pm Sat, 9am-6pm Sun mid-Mar–early Nov, 8am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5.30pm Sat, 9am-5.30pm Sun early Nov–mid-Mar). So, with such celebrity, it’s little wonder this is the world’s most visited graveyard. Having opened in 1804, its ornate tombs today form a verdant, open-air sculpture garden. Jim Morrison (1943–71) is buried in division No 6.

MONTMARTRE & PIGALLE
During the late 19th and early 20th centur­ies the bohemian lifestyle of Montmartre in the 18e attracted many important writers and artists, including Picasso, who lived at the studio called Bateau Lavoir (11bis Émile Goudeau) from 1908–12. Montmartre retains an upbeat ambience that all the tourists in the world couldn’t spoil.

Only a few blocks southwest of the tranquil, residential streets of Montmartre is lively, neon-lit Pigalle (9e and 18e), a red-light district that also boasts plenty of trendy nightspots, including clubs and cabarets.

BASILIQUE DU SACRÉ CŒUR
Perched at the very top of the Butte de Montmartre (Montmartre Hill), the Basilique du Sacré Cœur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart; %01 53 41 89 00; www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com; place du Parvis du Sacré Cœur, 18e; metro Anvers; h6am-11pm) was built from contributions pledged by Parisian Catholics as an act of contrition soon after the humiliating Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Some 234 spiral stairs lead you to the basilica’s dome (admission €5; h9am-7pm Apr-Sep, 9am-6pm Oct-Mar), which affords one of Paris’ most spectacular panoramas.

Paris is great for music (techno remains very popular) and there are some mighty fine DJs based here. Latino and Cuban salsa music is also huge.

Le Batofar (%01 56 29 10 33; www.batofar.net,  French only; opp 11 quai François Mauriac, 13e; metro Quai de la Gare or Bibliothèque; admission free-€12; h9pm-midnight Mon & Tue, 9pm or 10pm-4am, 5am or 6am Wed-Sun) What looks like an unassuming tugboat moored near the imposing Bibliothèque Nationale de France is a rollicking dancing spot that attracts some top international techno and funk DJ talent.

Le Cithéa (%01 40 21 70 95; www.cithea.com, French only; 114 rue Oberkampf, 11e; metro Parmentier or Ménilmontant; h5pm-5.30am Tue-Thu, 10pm-6.30am Fri & Sat) This popular concert venue has bands playing soul, Latin and funk but especially world music and jazz, usually from 10.30pm with DJs from 1am.

Emergency
The numbers listed below are for emergencies only.
SOS Helpline (in English %01 47 23 80 80)
SOS Médecins (24hr house calls %01 47 07 77 77 or 0820 33 24 24)
Urgences Médicales de Paris (Paris Medical Emergencies; 24hr house calls %01 53 94 94 94 or 01 48 28 40 40)

Internet Access
Some metro and RER stations also offer free Internet access.
Access Academy (%01 43 25 23 80; www.accessacademy.com – French only; 60-61 rue St-André des Arts, 6e; metro Odéon; per hr/day/week/month around €3.50/6.80/14.90/35.70; h8am-2am) France’s largest Internet café is in St-Germain and has 400 screens.
XS Arena Luxembourg branch (%01 43 44 55 55; 17 rue Soufflot, 5e; metro Luxembourg; per 1/2/3/4/5hr €3/6/8/10/12; h24hr) Les Halles branch (%01 40 13 02 60; 43 rue Sébastopol, 1er; metro Les Halles)

Left Luggage
All the train stations have left-luggage offices or lockers. Most are closed from about 11.15pm to about 6.30am.

Money
All of Paris’ six major train stations have exchange bureaux open daily until at least 7pm. Big exchange-bureau chains like Chequepoint and ExactChange offer much poorer rates. Exchange offices at both airports are open until 10.30pm.

ÉTOILE & CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES
Bureau de Change (%01 42 25 38 14; 25 av des Champs-Élysées, 8e; metro Franklin D Roosevelt;
h9am-8pm)
Thomas Cook (%01 47 20 25 14; 125 av des Champs-Élysées, 8e; metro Charles de Gaulle-Étoile; h9.15am-8.30pm)

MONTMARTRE & PIGALLE
European Exchange Office (%01 42 52 67 19; 6 rue Yvonne Le Tac, 18e; metro Abbesses; h10am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 10.30am-6pm Sat)
Travelex (%01 42 57 05 10; 82-86 blvd de Clichy, 18e; metro Blanche; h10am-8.30pm Mon-Sat, 9.45am-8.30pm Sun)

Post
Main post office (%01 40 28 76 00; 52 rue du Louvre, 1er; metro Sentier or Les Halles; h24hr) Open 24 hours for basic services such as sending letters, but during normal business hours for other services, including currency exchange.

Tourist Information
Office de Tourisme et de Congrès de Paris (Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau; %0892 683 3000; www.paris-touristoffice.com; 25-27 rue des Pyramides, 1er; metro Pyramides; h9am-8pm Apr-Oct, 9am-8pm Mon-Sat, 11am-7pm Sun Nov-Mar, closed 1 May) About 50m northwest of the Louvre.

Paris has more ‘generic French’, regional and ethnic restaurants than any other place in France. Over the years ethnic food has become as Parisian as that ubiquitous onion soup; the nems and pâtés impérials (spring or egg rolls) and pho (soup noodles with beef) of Vietnam, the couscous and tajines of North Africa, the boudin antillais (West Indian blood pudding) from the Caribbean are all eaten with relish throughout the capital.

Louvre & Les Halles
If you’re on the hunt for Asian food, Japan­ese businesspeople flock to this area for the freshest sushi and soba. There are also some good-value restaurants serving other Asian cuisines around rue Ste-Anne just west of the Jardin du Palais Royal.

Kunitoraya (%01 47 03 33 65; 39 rue Ste-Anne, 1er; metro Pyramides; dishes €8.50-16, lunch menu €12.50; h11.30am-10pm) With seating on two floors, this simple place has a wide and excellent range of Japanese noodle dishes and set lunches and dinners.

L’Arbre à Cannelle (%01 45 08 55 87; 57 passage des Panoramas, 2e; metro Grands Boulevards; dishes €6.50-9.50; hnoon-6.30pm Mon-Sat) This lovely tea room has original 19th-century décor, tartes salées (savoury pies; €6.50 to €7) and excellent salads (€6.25 to €9.30).

Joe Allen (%01 42 36 70 13; 30 rue Pierre Lescot, 1er; metro Étienne Marcel; lunch menu €12.90, dinner menus €18 & €22.50, brunch €11.90-15; hnoon-midnight) A local institution for three decades, Joe Allen is a little bit of New York in Paris. Excellent brunch from noon to 4pm at the weekend.

There are supermarkets along av de l’Opéra and rue de Richelieu, as well as around Forum des Halles, including a large one in the basement of Monoprix (21 av de l’Opéra, 2e; h9am-9.50pm Mon-Fri, 9am-8.50pm Sat).

Marais & Bastille
Small restaurants of every type make the Marais one of Paris’ premier dining neighbourhoods. Towards place de la République there’s a decent selection of ethnic places.

Chez Nénesse (%01 42 78 46 49; 17 rue de Saintonge, 3e; metro Filles du Calvaire; starters €3.50-14.50, mains €12-15, plat du jour €9.50; hlunch & dinner to 10.30pm Mon-Fri) The atmosphere at Chez Nénesse is ‘old Parisian café’. It’s an oasis of simplicity and good taste, using fresh, high-quality ingredients.

Grand Apétit (%01 40 27 04 95; 9 rue de la Cerisaie, 4e; metro Bastille or Sully Morland; meals from €15, menus €10-15; hlunch Mon-Fri, dinner to 9pm Mon-Wed) ‘The Big Appetite’, a simple vegetarian place near Bastille, offers light fare such as miso soup and cereals, and strength-building dishes for big eaters only. There’s an excellent organic and macrobiotic shop attached.

Chez Marianne (%01 42 72 18 86; 2 rue des Hospitalières St-Gervais, 4e; metro St-Paul; dishes €3.50-20, sandwiches €5.50-8; hnoon-midnight) Chez Marianne serves Sephardic-style kosher platters with four/five/six different mezze (falafel, hummus) and purées of eggplant and chickpeas that cost €12/14/16. The adjoining deli sells takeaway falafel sandwiches for €4 and there’s an excellent bakery attached.

La Perla (%01 42 77 59 40; 26 rue François Miron, 4e; metro St-Paul or Hôtel de Ville; starters €6.30-8.50, mains €11-15, lunch platters €6-9; hlunch & dinner to midnight) A favourite with younger Parisians, this is a Californian-style Mexican bar-restaurant serving guacamole (€6.30), nachos (€5.50 to €8.50) and burritos (€7.90 to €8.40). The margaritas are excellent.

Supermarkets include Franprix (135 rue St-Antoine, 4e; h9am-8.30pm Mon-Sat).

Latin Quarter & Jardin Des Plantes
Rue Mouffetard, 5e (metro Place Monge or Censier Daubenton), and its side streets are filled with places to eat. It’s especially popular with students, partly because of the many stands and small shops selling baguettes, panini sandwiches and crepes.

Avoid rue de la Huchette and the labyrinth of narrow streets in the 5e across the Seine from Notre Dame. The restaurants between rue St-Jacques, blvd St-Germain and blvd St-Michel attract mainly foreign tourists, apparently unaware of the nickname ‘Bacteria Alley’. Worse, many of the poor souls who eat here are under the impression that this is the celebrated

Latin Quarter.
Perraudin (%01 46 33 15 75; 157 rue St-Jacques, 5e; metro Luxembourg; starters €6-15, mains €14-23, lunch/dinner menu €18/26; hlunch & dinner to 10.30pm Mon-Fri) Perraudin is a traditional French restaurant that hasn’t altered much since the late 19th century. If you’re wooed by classic bœuf bourguignon (rich beef stew; €14), gigot d’agneau (leg of lamb or mutton; €15) or confit de canard (fatty potted duck; €15), try this reasonably priced place.

Tashi Delek (%01 43 26 55 55; 4 rue des Fossés St-Jacques, 5e; metro Luxembourg; soups €3.50-4, Tibetan bowls €5.35-6.25, lunch/dinner menu €12/18; hlunch & dinner to 11pm Mon-Sat) An intimate place whose name approximates ‘bonjour’ in Tibetan, Tashi Delek offers Himalayan dishes that may not be gourmet but are tasty and inexpensive. There are also four vege­tarian choices (€6.40 to €8.40).

Le Foyer du Vietnam (%01 45 35 32 54; 80 rue Monge, 5e; metro Place Monge; dishes €3.10-6.50, menu €8.40; hlunch & dinner to 10pm Mon-Sat) This little place is a favourite meeting spot among the capital’s Vietnamese community and serves simple one-dish meals in medium and large portions.

Supermarkets in the area include Champion (34 rue Monge, 5e; metro Place Monge; h8.30am-9pm Mon-Sat).

Montparnasse
Montparnasse offers all types of cuisine but especially traditional crêperies.

Mustang Café (%01 43 35 36 12; 84 blvd du Montparnasse, 14e; metro Montparnasse Bienvenüe; starters €6-13.50, salads €6.70-9, mains €7.50-13.30; h8am-5am) A café that almost never sleeps, the Mustang has passable Tex-Mex combination platters and nachos from €7.50 to €13.30, fajitas for €12.50 and burgers for €8.90 to €10.60.

Montmartre & Pigalle
La Maison Rose (%01 42 57 66 75; 2 rue de l’Abreuvoir, 18e; metro Lamarck Caulaincourt; starters €7.80-13, mains €14.50-16.50, menu €14.50; hlunch & dinner to 10.30pm Mar-Oct, lunch Thu-Mon, dinner to 9pm Mon & Thu-Sat Nov-Feb) If you are looking for the quintessential intimate Montmartre bistro, head for the tiny ‘Pink House’ just north of place du Tertre.

Towards place Pigalle there are lots of grocery stores, many of them open until late at night; try the side streets leading off blvd de Clichy (eg rue Lepic). Heading south from blvd de Clichy, rue des Martyrs, 9e is lined with food shops almost all the way to metro Notre-Dame de-Lorette.

It’s virtually impossible to sample the richness of Paris’ entertainment scene without first studying Pariscope (€0.40) or Officiel des Spectacles (€0.35), both of which come out on Wednesday. Pariscope includes a six-page insert in English at the back, courtesy of London’s Time Out magazine.

You can buy tickets for cultural events at many ticket outlets, including FNAC (%0892 68 36 22; www.fnac.com, French only) and Virgin Megastore branches (www.virginmega.fr, French only), for a small commission.

Cinemas
Expect to pay €6 to €8 for a first-run film. Students and those aged under 18 or over 60 usually get discounts of about 25% except on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Live Music
OPERA & CLASSICAL
The Opéra National de Paris (ONP; (0892 89 90 90; www.opera-de-paris.fr – French only) splits its performance schedule between the Palais Garnier (Garnier Palace; place de l’Opéra, 9e; metro Opéra) and the modern Opéra Bastille, which opened in 1989. Both opera houses also stage ballets and classical-music concerts (September to July) performed by the ONP’s affiliated orchestra and ballet companies.

Opéra Bastille (2-6 place de la Bastille, 12e; metro Bastille) Tickets are available from the box office (130 rue de Lyon, 12e; h11am-6.30pm Mon-Sat) some 14 days before the date of the performance, but the only way to ensure a seat is by post (120 rue de Lyon, 75576 Paris CEDEX 12) about two months in advance. Operas cost €6 to €114. Ballets cost €13 to €70; seats with limited or no visibility available at the box office only are €6 to €9. Unsold tickets are offered to people aged under 26 or over 65 and students for €20 15 minutes before the curtain goes up.

JAZZ
Paris is very à la mode for jazz; the city’s better clubs attract top international stars.

Le Caveau de la Huchette ((01 43 26 65 05; 5 rue de la Huchette, 5e; metro St-Michel; adult Sun-Thu €10.50, Fri & Sat €13, student €9; h9pm-2.30am Sun-Thu, 9pm-3.30am Fri, 9pm-4am Sat) Housed in a medi­eval caveau (cellar) that was used as a courtroom and torture chamber during the Revolution, this club is where virtually all the jazz greats have played since the end of WWII.

Louvre & Les Halles
Le Fumoir ((01 42 92 00 24; 6 rue de l’Amiral Coligny, 1er; metro Louvre-Rivoli; h11am-2am) ‘The Smoking Room’ is a huge bar/café just opposite the Louvre with a gentleman’s club/library theme. It’s a friendly, lively place and quite fun. Happy hour is 6pm to 8pm daily.

Marais & Bastille
L’Apparemment Café ((01 48 87 12 22; 18 rue des Coutures St-Gervais, 3e; metro St-Sébastien Froissart; hnoon-2am Mon-Fri, 4pm-2am Sat, 12.30pm-midnight Sun) Not so ‘Apparently’ tucked behind the Musée Picasso, this oasis of peace looks like a private living room.

Latin Quarter & Jardin des Plantes
Piano Vache ((01 46 33 75 03; 8 rue Laplace, 5e; metro Maubert Mutualité; hnoon-2am Mon-Fri, 9pm-2am Sat & Sun) Just down the hill from the Panthéon, ‘The Mean Piano’ plays great music (guest DJs) and attracts a good crowd of very mixed ages. Happy hour is from opening to 9pm Monday to Friday.
Le Vieux Chêne ((01 43 37 71 51; 69 rue Mouffetard, 5e; metro Place Monge; h4pm-2am Sun-Thu, 4pm-5am Fri & Sat) ‘The Old Oak’ is popular with students and has jazz at the weekend. Happy hour is from opening until 9pm daily.

St-Germain, Odéon & Luxembourg
Café de Flore ((01 45 48 55 26; 172 blvd St-Germain, 6e; metro St-Germain des Prés; h7.30am-1.30am) The Flore is an Art Deco café where the red, upholstered benches, mirrors and marble walls haven’t changed since the days when Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus and Picasso bent their elbows here. The terrace is a much sought-after place to sip beer (€7.50 for 400mL), the house Pouilly Fumé (€7.50 a glass or €29 a bottle) or coffee (€4).

Les Deux Magots ((01 45 48 55 25; 170 blvd St-Germain, 6e; metro St-Germain des Prés; h7am-1am) This erstwhile literary haunt is best known as the favoured hang-out of Sartre, Hemingway, Picasso and André Breton. Everyone has to sit on the terrace here at least once and have a coffee (€4), beer (€5.50) or the famous hot chocolate served in porcelain jugs (€6).

Montmartre & Pigalle
La Fourmi ((01 42 64 70 35; 74 rue des Martyrs, 18e; metro Pigalle; h8am-2am Mon-Thu, 10am-4am Fri-Sun) A trendy Pigalle hang-out, the ‘Ant’ buzzes (marches?) all day and night and is a convenient place to meet before heading off to the clubs.