Paris

From Wikitravel

Paris[1] (http://english.pidf.com) is the cosmopolitan capital of France and - with 2 million people living in the center and some 10 million people in the suburbs (la banlieue) - one of the largest cities in Europe (12 million total). Paris, located in the north of the country on the river Seine, the "City of Light", has the reputation of being perhaps the most beautiful and romantic of all cities, brimming with historical associations and remaining vastly influential in the realms of culture, art, fashion, food and design. Paris is historically one on the "world cities", such as New York, London or Tokyo.

Understand

History

Paris started life as the Celto-Roman settlement of Lutetia on the Île de la Cité. It takes its present name from the name of the dominant Gallo-Celtic tribe in the region, the Parisii. At least that's what the Romans called them, when they showed up in 52 BCE and established their city Lutetia on the left bank of the Seine, in what is now called the "Latin Quarter" in the 5th arrondissement.

The Romans held out here for as long as anywhere else in the Western Empire, but by 508 they were gone, replaced by Clovis of the Franks, who is considered by the French to be their first king. Clovis' descendants, aka the Carolingians, held on for nearly 500 years though Viking raids and other calamities forced a move by most of the population back to the islands which had been the center of the celtic village. The Capetian duke of Paris was voted to succeed the last of the Carolingians as king of France, insuring the city of its premier position in the medieval world. Over the next several centuries Paris expanded onto the right bank into what was called "the Marais". Quite a few buildings from this time can be seen in the 4th arrondissement.

The medieval period also witnessed the founding of the Sorbonne. As the "University of Paris", it became one of the most important centers for learning in Europe, if not the whole world, for several hundred years. Most of the institutions that constitute the University are found in the 5th, and 13th arrondissements.

The Capetian and later the Bourbon kings of France made their mark on Paris with such buildings as the Louvre and the Palais Royal, both in the 1st, but the Paris which most visitors know and love was built long after they were gone in the 19th century when Baron von Hausmann reconstructed adding the long straight avenues, and demolishing many of the medieval houses which had been left until that time.

New wonders arrived during la Belle Époque, as the Parisien golden age of the late 19th century is known. Gustave Eiffel's famouse tower, the first metro lines, most of the parks, and the streetlights which gave the city its epethet "the city of light" all come from this period.

The twentieth century was hard on Paris, but thankfully not as hard as it could have been. Hitler's order to burn the city was thankfully ignored by the german General von Choltitz who was quite possibly convinced by a swedish diplomat that it would be better to surrender and be remembered as the savior of Paris, than to be remembered as its destroyer. Following the war the city recovered slowly at first, and then more quickly in the 1970s and 1980s when Paris began to experience some of the problems faced by big cities everywhere: pollution, housing shortages, and occasionally failed experiments in urban renewal. During this time however Paris enjoyed considerable growth as a multi-cultural city, with new immigrants from all corners of the world, especially francophonie, including most of northern and western Africa as well as Vietnam and Laos. These immigrants brought their foods and music both of which are of prime interest for many travellers.

Immigration and multi-culturalism continues! The 21st century has seen a marked increase in the arrival of people from latin america, especially Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. In the late 1990's it was hard to find good Mexican food in Paris, for instance, today there are dozens of possibilities from lowly taquerias in the outer arrondissements to nice sit-down restaurants on the boulevards. The chili pepper has arrived. Meanwhile Latin music from Salsa to Samba is all the rage (well, alongside Paris lounge electronica).

The 21st century has also seen vast improvements in the general livibility of Paris, with the Mayor's office concentrating on reducing pollution and improving facilities for soft forms of transportation including a huge network of cycle paths, larger pedestrian districts and newer faster metro lines. Visitors who normally arrive car-less are the benificiaries of these policies as much as the Parisiens themselves are.

People

Parisians have the reputation (deserved or otherwise) of being more brusque (or even downright rude) and business-like than other French people. This is in keeping with the fact that it is a very big city, and of course the stresses of city life can drive anybody to be a bit brusque. Be sure to be polite: in particular, do not ask a service of anybody, even of a shopkeeper, without at least saying a polite greeting ("hello" or "bonjour"). In fact it's customary to say "bonjour" to shop owner, or the first shop worker you meet after entering any shop, especially a smaller one.

Parisians undergo pretty much constant requests from beggars, salespeople, and buskers every day. Sometimes these requestors turn out to be downright crooks, so naturally the parisian becomes a bit suspicious of strangers asking for anything, even their time. Try to keep this in mind when you need to ask for directions in the Métro. Aside from being polite to a fault it's probably advisable to dress up a bit when in Paris, perhaps about a step up from what you would normally wear at home. Of course you will need to adapt the same attitude as parisians to some degree, being a bit better dressed will make you a target for the aformentioned crooks, etc.

Yes, the french look just like folks back home (at least for many English speakers) but the local language really is French. For most people English is something they had to study in school, and thus seems a bit of a chore. People helping you out in English are making an extra effort, sometimes a considerable one. Younger people are much more likely to be fluent in English than older people.

Complicating things a bit more is the fact that the French generally learn British English in the "received pronunciation" also known as "The Queen's English". Since hardly anybody really talks that way there can be some considerable problems trying to communicate in English with a French speaker who learned English in school. Always do try to speak slowly and clearly, and maybe affect a bit of a Margaret Thatcher accent, but please don't shout.

Even worse, the French taught in schools in America tends to be written French which bears only a passing resemblance to real spoken French, so unless you have an advanced level and can at least sort of understand French Movies you should assume that it will be difficult for people to understand what you are saying. To play it safe you might want obtain some index cards before you leave home and write the names of your hotel and some other destinations.

When in need of directions what you should do is this: find a younger person, or a person reading some book or magazine in English, who is obviously not in a hurry; say "hello" or "bonjour"; speak slowly and clearly; write down place names if necessary. Smile a lot. Also, carry a map; given the complexity of Paris streets it is difficult to explain how to find any particular address in any language, no matter how well you speak it.

What you should not do is this: stop a random person in the métro (like, say, some middle-aged hurried person who has a train to take) and without a greeting start asking questions in your own normal way of speaking English, perhaps requesting directions to some attraction to the other side of town that requires two changes and some walking on the streets. The person in front of you is likely to depart quickly with a word of apology.

Like city dwellers everywhere, Parisians generally expect people to speak in a measured voice when in a crowded place. They are likely to look down on people who talk very loudly in a train or subway car. While it's unlikely that anybody will say anything such behaviour will mostly get you classified as rude and is likely to reduce the possibility that you'll get help should you need it.

Districts

Central Paris is officially divided into 20 districts called arrondissements, numbered from 1 to 20 in a clockwise spiral from the centre of town. Arrondissements are named according to their number. You might, for example, stay in the "5th", which would be written as 5ème (SANK-ee-emm) in French. The 12th and 16th arrondissements include large suburban parks, the Bois de Vincennes, and the Bois de Boulogne respectively.

The very best cheap pocket map you can get for Paris is called "Paris Pratique par Arrondissement" which you can buy at any news stand. It makes navigating the city easy, so much so that one can imagine that the introduction of such map-books might be part of what made the arrondissement concept so popular in the first place.

Each arrondissement has its own unique character and selection of attractions for the traveller:

• 1st (1^er), (Map). the geographical centre of Paris and a great starting point for travellers. The Louvre Museum, the Jardin des Tuileries, Place Vendôme, Les Halles and Palais Royal are all to be found here.
• 2nd (2^e), (Map). The central business district of the city - the Bourse (the Paris Stock Exchange) and the Bibliothèque Nationale are located here.
• 3rd (3^e), (Map). Archives Nationales, Musée Carnavalet, Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, the northern, quieter part of the Marais
• 4th (4^e), (Map). Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Hôtel de Ville (Paris town hall), Beaubourg, le Marais (gay Paris)
• 5th (5^e), (Map). Jardin des Plantes, Quartier Latin, Universités, La Sorbonne, Le Panthéon
• 6th (6^e), (Map). Jardin du Luxembourg, Saint-Germain des Prés
• 7th (7^e), (Map). Tour Eiffel, Les Invalides, Musée d'Orsay
• 8th (8^e), (Map). Champs-Elysées, the Palais de l'Elysée, la Madeleine
• 9th (9^e), (Map). Opéra Garnier, Grands Magasins
• 10th (10^e), (Map). Canal Saint-Martin, Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est
• 11th (11^e), (Map). the bars and restaurants of Rue Oberkampf, Bastille, Nation, New Jewish Quarter
• 12th (12^e), (Map). Opéra Bastille, Bercy Park and Village, Promenade plantée, Quartier d'Aligre, Gare de Lyon, the Bois de Vincennes
• 13th (13^e), (Map). Quartier Chinois, Place d'Italie, La Butte aux Cailles, Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF)
• 14th (14^e). Montparnasse Cemetery, Denfert-Rochereau, Parc Montsouris
• 15th (15^e). Montparnasse Tower, Gare Montparnasse, Stadiums
• 16th (16^e). Palais de Chaillot, Musée de l'Homme, the Bois de Boulogne
• 17th (17^e). Palais des Congrès, Place de Clichy
• 18th (18^e). Montmartre, Pigalle, Barbès
• 19th (19^e). Museum of Science and Industry, Parc de la Villette, Bassin de la Villette, Parc des Buttes Chaumont
• 20th (20^e). Père Lachaise Cemetery

La Défense. The skyscraper district on the western edge of town. It is not in the cirt of Paris.

Beyond central Paris, the outlying suburbs are called la banlieue. Schematically, those on the west of Paris (Neuilly, Boulogne, Saint Cloud, Levallois) are wealthy residential community. Those to the northeast are poor immigrant communities with high delinquence.