LANGUAGE

French

CURRENCY

Euro

BEST TIME TO VISIT

April to June; October to early November

NEAREST AIRPORT

Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG)

EMERGENCY HELPLINE NUMBER

112

INTERNET ACCESS

Wi-fi (pronounced ‘wee-fee’ in France) is available in most Paris hotels, usually at no extra cost, and in some museums. Many cafes and bars have free wi-fi for customers; you may need to ask for the code. Free wi-fi is available in hundreds of public places, including parks, libraries and municipal buildings; look for a purple ‘Zone Wi-Fi’ sign. To connect, select the ‘PARIS_WI-FI_’ network. Sessions are limited to two hours (renewable). For complete details and a map of hot spots, see www.paris.fr/wifi. Expect to pay around €1 per hour for access in internet cafes such as Milk. Co-working cafes have sprung up across Paris; you typically pay for a set amount of time, with wi-fi, drinks and snacks included.

VISA

Generally no restrictions for EU citizens. Usually not required for most other nationalities for stays of up to 90 days.

There are no entry requirements for nationals of EU countries and a handful of other European countries (including Switzerland). Citizens of Australia, the USA, Canada and New Zealand do not need visas to visit France for up to 90 days.

Everyone else, including citizens of South Africa, needs a Schengen Visa, named after the Schengen Agreement that has abolished passport controls among 26 EU countries and that has also been ratified by the non-EU governments of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. A visa for any of these countries should be valid throughout the Schengen area, but it pays to double-check with the embassy or consulate of each country you intend to visit. Note that the UK and Ireland are not Schengen countries.

Check www.diplomatie.gouv.fr for the latest visa regulations and the closest French embassy to your current residence.

Titre de Séjour

If you are issued a long-stay visa valid for six months or longer, you may need to apply for a titre de séjour (residence permit; also called a carte de séjour) after your arrival in France. If you are only staying for up to 12 months you may not need it, but you will need to register with the French Office of Immigration and Integration (www.ofii.fr). Check the website of the Préfecture de Police (www.prefecturedepolice.interieur.gouv.fr) or call 01 53 71 53 71 first for instructions.

EU passport holders seeking to take up residence in France don’t need to acquire a titre de séjour; a passport or national ID card is sufficient. Check the Préfecture de Police website to see which countries are included.

Foreigners with non-European passports should check the website of the Préfecture de Police or call 01 53 71 53 71.

HOTEL

The most popular Paris neighborhoods to stay in are the fashionable 8th Arrondissement boulevards near the Louvre and Champs-Elysées, the lively Rive Gauche (Left Bank), and bohemian Montmartre. Whichever you choose, the Metro is easy to use and well connected to all the tourist attractions.

LUXURY

Le Bristol Paris

La Reserve Paris Hotel and Spa

Hotel La Tamise

MID-RANGE

Hotel Signature St. Germain des Pres

Hotel Residence Henri 4

BUDGET

Legend Hotel by Elegancia

Hotel Diana

Le Relais Montmartre

COST OF LIVING

In some ways Paris can be a very expensive city to visit, but it doesn’t have to be. If you book a hotel overlooking the Seine and you eat at the restaurants nearby you might think Paris is the most expensive city in the world. However, if you stay a bit outside of the center and focus more on restaurants where Parisians (rather than just tourists) eat, the place can seem like a bargain and the food will be better. Excellent food can be found in neighborhood bistros, especially if you focus on the plat du jour (plate of the day), and while beer and spirits tend to be weirdly expensive, wine can be a great bargain almost everywhere.

You don’t want to skimp with the big attractions, though fortunately they aren’t too expensive anyway, and most museums have free-entry days once per month so if your budget is tight you should investigate that. We discuss whether the Paris Pass is good value or not on another page. The free walking tours given by Sandeman’s New Paris are excellent and well worth the €5 or so tip you’ll want to give the guide at the end. And all the gorgeous architecture and monuments can be appreciated for free from the sidewalk as well.

Paris always seems to be filled with tourists, but officially the high season lasts from May through September. In August many of the locals are on their own holidays and have left town, but hotel prices still usually stay high for visitors, even though many shops and restaurants are closed for the month. October through April is considered the low season, though the winter holiday period is also very popular here so if you are coming then you should book as early as possible. Outside of the peak summer season it’s usually quite easy to get a hotel in Paris upon arrival, though the best deals tend to be found online in advance, as the better, cheaper, and more popular places do get full first.