Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [307]
Bus
In season, RATP Balabus ( 3246; www.ratp.fr; €1.40 or 1 metro/bus ticket; departures 12.30-8pm from La Défense, 1.30pm from Gare de Lyon Sun Apr-Sep), designed for tourists, follows a 50-minute route to/from Gare de Lyon (Map) and La Défense (Map), passing many of central Paris’ most famous sights.
Located just opposite the western end of the Louvre, Cityrama (Map; 01 44 55 60 00; www.pariscityrama.com; 2 rue des Pyramides, 1er; adult/4-11yr €18/9; tours 10am, 11.30am & 2.30pm; Tuileries) runs 1½-hour tours of the city, accompanied by taped commentaries in 16 languages, three times a day year-round.
L’Open Tour (Map; 01 42 66 56 56; www.pariscityrama.com; 13 rue Auber, 9e; 1 day adult/4-11yr €26/13, 2 consecutive days €29/13; Havre Caumartin or Opéra), now part of the same group, runs open-deck buses along four circuits (central Paris, 2¼ hours; Montmartre-Grands Boulevards, 1¼ hours; Bastille-Bercy, one hour; and Montparnasse-St-Germain, one hour) daily year-round. You can jump on and off at more than 50 stops. On the ‘Grand Tour’ of central Paris, with some 20 stops on both sides of the river between Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, buses depart every 10 to 15 minutes from 9.30am to 7pm April to October and every 25 to 30 minutes from 9.45am to 6pm November to March. Holders of the Paris Visite card Click here pay €22 for a one-day pass.
Walking
If your French is up to it, the sky’s the limit on specialised and themed walking tours available in Paris. Both Pariscope and Officiel des Spectacles Click here list a number of themed walks (usually €10) each week under the heading ‘Conférences’ or ‘Visites Conférences’. They are almost always informative and entertaining, particularly those run by Paris Passé, Présent ( 01 42 58 95 99; http://parispassepresent.free.fr) and Écoute du Passé ( 01 42 82 11 81, 06 83 89 18 25).
Long-established and highly rated by readers, Paris Walks ( 01 48 09 21 40; www.paris-walks.com; adult/under 15yr/student under 21 from €10/5/8) has tours in English of several different districts, including Montmartre at 10.30am on Sunday and Wednesday (leaving from metro Abbesses, Map) and the Marais at 10.30am on Tuesday and 2.30pm on Sunday (departing from metro St-Paul, Map). There are other tours focusing on people and themes, eg Hemingway, medieval Latin Quarter, fashion, the French Revolution and – yum-yum – chocolate.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Kodak and Fuji colour-print film is available in supermarkets, photo shops and certain Fnac stores, but it is relatively expensive compared with a lot of other countries so it might pay to stock up before you leave home. Developing a 24-exposure film costs around €13 but can be almost twice that if you want your photos in a hurry. Printing 50 digitals (10cm x 13cm) costs between €9.50 and €12 plus €2 for developing.
It’s getting increasingly difficult to find express photo labs in Paris. One place with labs for both traditional and digital work and highly recommended by professionals is Négatif+ (Map; 01 45 23 41 60; www.negatifplus.com, in French; 104-106 rue La Fayette, 10e; 8am-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm & 2-7.30pm Sat; Poissonière).
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PLACES OF WORSHIP
The following places offer services in English. For a more comprehensive list of churches and other places of worship, check the Pages Jaunes (Yellow Pages; www.pagesjaunes.fr). or the website of the tourist office (http://en.parisinfo.com/guide-paris/worship).
Adath Shalom Synagogue (Map; 01 45 67 97 96; www.adathshalom.org, in French; 8 rue George Bernard Shaw, 15e; Dupleix) Conservative Jewish.
American Cathedral in Paris (Map; 01 53 23 84 00; www.americancathedral.org; 23 av George V, 8e; Alma Marceau) Protestant.