Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [80]
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top picks
FOR CHILDREN
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
Centre Kapla
CineAqua
Exploradôme
Jardin d’Acclimatation
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Palais de la Découverte
Jardin du Luxembourg
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MAISON DE BALZAC Map
01 55 74 41 80; www.balzac.paris.fr, in French; 47 rue Raynouard, 16e; temporary exhibits adult/14-26yr/senior & student €4/2/3, permanent collections free, under 14yr free; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun; Passy or Kennedy Radio France
This pretty, three-storey spa house in Passy, about 800m southwest of the Jardins du Trocadéro, is where the realist novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) lived and worked from 1840 to 1847, editing the entire Comédie Humaine and writing various books. There’s lots of memorabilia, letters, prints and portraits and is probably for die-hard Balzac fans only.
MUSÉE DU STYLO ET DE L’ÉCRITURE Click here
06 07 94 13 21; 3 rue Guy de Maupassant, 16e; adult/senior & student €2/1; 2-6pm Sun; Av Henri Martin or Rue de la Pompe
The Museum of the Pen and of Penmanship has the most important collection of writing utensils in the world – with pens dating back to the mid-18th century – as well as paper and calligraphy. It can be visited on other days if you phone and book in advance.
MUSÉE DE LA CONTREFAÇON Map
01 56 26 14 00; 16 rue de la Faisanderie, 16e; adult/12-16yr €4/3, under 12yr free; 2-5.30pm Tue-Sun; Porte Dauphine
This fascinating museum east of Porte Dauphine is the real thing, dedicated to the not-so-fine art of counterfeiting. Apparently nothing is sacred to the manufacturers of ersatz: banknotes, liqueurs, designer clothing, even Barbie and Ken dolls. What makes this museum, established by the Union des Fabricants (Manufacturers’ Union), so interesting is that it displays the real against the fake and lets you spot the difference. Most of the time it’s as plain as the nose (the real, not the plastic one) on your face.
MUSÉE MARMOTTAN-MONET Click here
01 44 96 50 33; www.marmottan.com; 2 rue Louis Boilly, 16e; adult/8-25yr €9/5.50, under 8yr free; 11am-9pm Tue, to 6pm Wed-Sun; La Muette
This museum, two blocks east of the Bois de Boulogne between Porte de la Muette and Porte de Passy, has the world’s largest collection of works by impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840–1926) – about a hundred – as well as paintings by Gauguin, Sisley, Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Manet and Berthe Morisot. It also contains an important collection of French, English, Italian and Flemish miniatures from the 13th to the 16th centuries.
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ÉTOILE & CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES
Drinking; Eating; Shopping; Sleeping
The 8e arrondissement was born under a lucky star, it would seem. Its avenues radiate from place de l’Étoile – officially place Charles de Gaulle – bathing in the glow of fame. First among them is the av des Champs-Élysées. From the Arc de Triomphe in the northwest to the place de la Concorde in the southeast, this broad boulevard rules supreme. On New Year’s Eve and after major sporting victories there’s always a huge party here. Like a splendid, regal hostess, the avenue receives its guests, makes them mingle and moves them along. And the guests keep coming. Just a short walk away, the av Montaigne haughtily displays its designer wares. And members of the jet set go shopping along av George V and rue du Faubourg St-Honoré. Here, fashion, art and luxury hotels go hand in hand. Only the finest are on display, as in the neighbourhood’s theatres and museums, such as the Grand Palais and Petit Palais.
ARC DE TRIOMPHE Map
01 55 37 73 77; www.monuments-nationaux.fr; viewing platform adult/18-25yr €9/6.50, under 18yr free, 1st Sun of the month Nov-Mar free; 10am-11pm Apr-Sep, to 10.30pm Oct-Mar; Charles de Gaulle-Étoile
The Triumphal Arch is 2km northwest of place de la Concorde in the middle of place Charles de Gaulle (aka place