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MINI GUIDE

Paris for first-timers

COMPILED BY LORNA PARKES, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CATHERINE LE NEVEZ, CHRISTOPHER PITTS AND NICOLA WILLIAMS. PHOTOGRAPHS: ABACAPRESS/BORIS ZULIANI, DAVID EVANS/GETTY IMAGES, MATT MUNRO, PETE SEAWARD, SENG CHYE TEO/GETTY IMAGES

Paris essentials The know-how

FURTHER READING

The City of Light

is covered by

Lonely Planet’s

Paris (US$21.99),

plus the smaller

Pocket Paris (US$13.99)

and the new Best of Paris

guide (US$21.99).

Download Lonely Planet’s

free Guides app, featuring

Paris, from iTunes.

Parisians: An Adventure

History of Paris by Graham

Robb is both a tome and an

unexpected page-turner for

history lovers, or try Muriel

Barbery’s The Elegance of

the Hedgehog (US$11;

Gallic Books), which

unveils the world

behind a Parisian

façade.

O An unforgettable intro to the

city is a river cruise along the

Seine, floating past landmarks

including the Eiffel Tower, Louvre

and Notre Dame. See

bateauxparisiens.com for trips.

O Prebook attractions online

to avoid long ticket queues.

O Don’t cram too much into your

schedule. Allow time to soak up

the atmosphere of Paris’s

neighbourhoods – as much a part

of the experience as visiting

major sights.

O Dress up rather than down for

restaurants, clubs and bars; no

jeans, shorts or trainers. Bring

sturdy shoes – cobbled streets

aren’t kind on high heels.

O Despite what you may have

heard, never use ‘garçon’ (boy)

to summon a waiter,

rather ‘Monsieur’ or

‘Madame’.

O A 15% service charge is

usually included in your

restaurant bill; no tip is

required at bars and cafés.

47 Rue Albert Thomas; US$112).

There’s no forgetting what city

you’re in at Sublim Eiffel, where

Eiffel Tower motifs adorn the

rooms and reception (along with

metro-tunnel-shaped bedheads).

There are glittering tower views

and a hammam (sublimeiffel.com;

94 Boulevard Garibaldi; from

US$130).

Home to Paris’s best swimming

pool in the 1930s, Hotel Molitor

was abandoned in 1989. The Art

Deco complex has since been

restored to fabulous effect. The

pool is heated year-round and

there’s a rooftop bar (mltr.fr; 2 Av

de la Porte Molitor; from US$273).

WHERE TO STAY

Hôtel du Nord – Le Pari Vélo

has a soft spot for bikes, which are

available for guests to borrow and

ride around town. The hotel itself

is quaint and in a great spot near

Place de la République

(hoteldunord-leparivelo.com;

TRANSPORT

Air France flies direct from

Singapore to Paris’s Charles de

Gaulle (from US$815; airfrance.

com). Emirates flies the most

direct from Kuala Lumpur with

one stop in Dubai to the same

airport (from US$603; emirates.

com). Travel from the airports into

the city is on RER commuter

trains, the Roissybus or Orlybus

express bus services, or the

Beauvais shuttle bus. Eurostar

trains connect St Pancras

International with Paris Gare du

Nord in under 2½ hours (from

US$77; eurostar.com). Single

metro tickets cost US$2, or US$15

for a 10-ticket booklet; various

other passes are available (ratp.fr).

The 46-metre-long outdoor pool

at the Art Deco Hotel Molitor

Sights Eating Sleeping

Gallic Books),

unveils the w

behind a Pa

façade.