Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [311]
You can buy prepaid phonecards in France such as Allomundo (www.allomundo.com, in French) that are up to 60% cheaper for calling abroad than the standard télécarte. They’re usually available in denominations of up to €15 from tabacs, newsagents, phone shops and other sales points, especially in ethnic areas such as rue du Faubourg St-Denis (10e), Chinatown (13e) and Belleville (19e and 20e). In general they’re valid for two months but the ones offering the most minutes for the least euros can expire in just a week.
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TIME
France uses the 24-hour clock in most case, with the hours usually separated from the minutes by a lower-case ‘h’. Thus, 15h30 is 3.30pm, 00h30 is 12.30am and so on.
France is on Central European Time, which is one hour ahead of (ie later than) GMT. During daylight-saving time, which runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October, France is two hours ahead of GMT.
Without taking daylight-saving time into account, when it’s noon in Paris it’s 11pm in Auckland, 11am in London, 6am in New York, 3am in San Francisco and 9pm in Sydney.
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TIPPING
French law requires that restaurant, café and hotel bills include a service charge (usually between 12% and 15%); for more information on tipping at restaurants and cafés, Click here. Taxi drivers expect small tips of between 5% and 10% of the fare though the usual procedure is to round up to the nearest €1 regardless of the fare.
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TOILETS
Public toilets in Paris are signposted toilettes or WC. The tan-coloured, self-cleaning cylindrical toilets you see on Parisian pavements are open 24 hours and are free of charge. Look for the words libre (‘free’; green-coloured) or occupé (‘occupied’; red-coloured).
Café-owners do not appreciate you using their facilities if you are not a paying customer. When desperate, try a fast-food place, major department store or even a big hotel. There are free public toilets in front of Notre Dame cathedral, near the Arc de Triomphe, east down the steps at Sacré Cœur, at the northwestern entrance to the Jardins des Tuileries and in some metro stations. Check out the wonderful Art Nouveau public toilets, built in 1905, below place de la Madeleine, 8e (Map). In older cafés and bars, you may find a toilette à la turque (Turkish-style toilet), which is what the French call a squat toilet.
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TOURIST INFORMATION
The main branch of the Paris Convention & Visitors Bureau (Office de Tourisme et de Congrès de Paris; Map; 0 892 68 30 00; www.parisinfo.com; 25-27 rue des Pyramides, 1er; 9am-7pm Jun-Oct, 10am-7pm Mon-Sat & 11am-7pm Sun Nov-May, closed May Day; Pyramides) is about 500m northwest of the Louvre.
The bureau also maintains a handful of centres elsewhere in Paris, listed following (telephone numbers and websites are the same as for the main office). For details of the area around Paris, contact Espace du Tourisme d’Île de France, Click here.
Anvers (Map; opp 72 blvd Rochechouart, 18e; 10am-6pm, closed Christmas Day, New Year’s Day & May Day; Anvers)
Gare de Lyon (Map; Hall d’Arrivée, 20 blvd Diderot, 12e; 8am-6pm Mon-Sat, closed May Day) In the arrivals hall for mainline trains.
Gare du Nord (Map) 18 rue de Dunkerque, 10e; 8am-6pm, closed Christmas Day, New Year’s Day & May Day; Gare du Nord) Under the glass roof of the Île de France departure and arrival area at the eastern end of the station.
Syndicate d’Initiative de Montmartre (Map; 01 42 62 21 21; 21 place du Tertre, 18e; 10am-7pm; Abbesses) This locally run tourist office and shop is in Montmartre’s most picturesque square and open year-round.
Information offices beyond central Paris include those at La Défense and St-Denis:
Espace Info-Défense