Paris Vacation Guide & Travel Information

About Paris

A city rich in treasures from it's historic past, Paris boasts many modern attractions as well. Paris is known for its famous buildings and works of art, its chic fashion scene and its modern literary, artistic, and intellectual ideals, and is a must for anyone wishing to experience the best of both contemporary and age old European culture.

The capital of the nation and of the historic Île de France region, Paris is located in northern central France, across the English channel from Britain; 165mi southwest of Brussels. The city center, known as Intra-Muros, (within the walls), is bisected by the River Seine. Paris is divided into twenty zones or arrondissements that fan out in a circular pattern with the Louvre as the center point.

The area north of the river, the Rive Droite (Right Bank), includes the tree-lined Avenue des Champs Élysées, running west to the Arc de Triomphe. East of the avenue is the Musée du Louvre, the Centre Georges Pompidou and a lively district of museums, shops, markets and restaurants. Immediately south of the Pompidou Centre on the Île de la Cité is Notre Dame Cathedral. South of the river, in the area known as the Rive Gauche (Left Bank), can be found the city's trademark, the Eiffel Tower.

We constantly update Paris vacation deals and flights + hotel packages for Europe. There are great last minute Paris vacations or if you just need a hotel, check out our discount hotels in Paris. You can also book popular sightseeing tours in Paris and save your vacation time.

Flights arrive at either Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or at Orly. Most visitors arrive at CDG which is 14 miles north of Paris. Buses run frequently (every 12 minutes) and trains every 15 minutes from the airport to the city. The same schedule of trains and buses operates from Orly airport, which is 8 miles south of Paris. A bus also runs every 20 minutes in both directions between the two airports.

There are six major train stations in Paris, each of which handles traffic to different parts of France and the rest of Europe. The most spectacular route is via the Channel Tunnel (or Chunnel) to London; the Eurostar passenger service takes only three hours. TGV (train à grande vitesse) services also link Paris with Amsterdam and Brussels. France's superb domestic rail network can take you to almost every part of the country.

Hoverspeed runs bus-boat-bus combos from London, but the convenience of the Channel Tunnel has a great advantage over the water route.. There are also ferries and hovercraft between Ireland and France. Euroline buses run from Paris to cities all over Europe.


Metro — Fast and inexpensive, travel on the Metro is one of the best ways to get around Paris. Trains on the 15 lines run from 5.30am to midnight. provides a Paris metro map plus a journey planner tool. Paris Metro Map

RER Train — There are four RER suburban train lines which are best used for longer distance journeys across Paris. Paris RER Map

Bus — Many of the 60 bus routes go through the tourist areas of Paris. Buses operate from Monday to Saturday from 7am to around 8.30pm. Stamp your ticket onboard.

Taxis - Taxis can be hailed in the street, though there are plentiful taxi ranks. Rates are measured in the city centre by kilometre, with higher rates after 7pm and on Sundays. A fee is charged for each piece is baggage.

Paris is full of attractions for all ages. Below is a list of some suggested things to do in Paris. You can also book some of these attractions online and save your vacation time.

Musée du Louvre
First opened during the Revolution in 1793. With over 300,000 artworks, antiquities, sarcophagi and statues including the incredible Venus de Milo, the Louvre is a truly unmissable experience.

Champs-Elysées & Arc de Triomphe
The Voie Triomphale is an excellent place to begin a walking tour of central Paris. Napoleon's tribute to the French army, the Arc de Triomphe offers splendid views at the centre of the world's first traffic roundabout, with the Voie Triomphale and Champs-Elysées descending elegantly to the Louvre and Place de la Concorde respectively.

Eiffel Tower
The most spectacular views of Paris are witnessed from all floors of the Eiffel Tower. It is possible to walk most of the way up and around this fascinating metal structure. A lift completes the journey to the top. The tower was completed by 300 workers in just over two years from January 1887-March 1889. It contains over 12,000 metallic parts and two and a half million rivets! When it was completed, it was the tallest building in the world. The occasion of its creation was the centenary of the French Revolution. Named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel, it stands 320m (1050ft) high.

Notre-Dame Cathedral
Begun in 1163 but not completed until 1361, it fell into ruin after the Revolution but was brought back to life after the success of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel. The addition of the gargoyles, spire and self-sculpture by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc remain areas of contention.

Sacré-Coeur
Montmartre is the zone (village) occupying the highest hill in Paris, and Sacre Coeur is its dominant feature. There has been a prayer circle in place since the church was completed in 1914, so that there has never been a moment during those years when someone wasn't in the church praying, day and night.

Arc de Triomphe
The largest triumphal arch ever built in the tradition of Roman architecture was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 as a tribute to his Grand Army. Construction stopped abruptly with the fall of Napoleon, but resumed eventually. The Arc was completed in 1836. In 1920 the unknown soldier was buried under it, and every evening at 6:30pm the flame is rekindled in memory of the war dead.

Versailles
In 1661, Louis XIV, the Sun King, commissioned the building of a castle for himself on the site of a chateau built for his father in 1631. The project became the palace at Versailles. It took 50 years to design, build and landscape the property. The King and his court of 3000 people moved there in 1682, and it became the political center of France for the next 107 years. In 1789, the French Revolution caused changes to be made.

Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is part of a huge resort that is one-fifth the size of Paris! There are six hotels, an area of wooded campsites, restaurants, shops, golf and tennis, and night entertainment. The theme park offers five main areas: Main Street USA featuring exhibits and rides recalling America of the early 1900's; Frontierland, a reenactment of the frontier days in the US; Adventureland which has a pirate and buried treasure theme; and Fantasyland with rides and exhibits based on Disney film characters; and Discoveryland which focuses on space exploration, rockets, and beyond earth planetary adventures.

Les Catacombes
In 1785, a solution was found to the overcrowded conditions in the city cemeteries. Beneath the city lay extensive remains of galleries that were associated with three ancient Roman stone quarries. The quarries, all in excellent condition, were cleaned and consecrated. They became cemeteries and are open for guided tours. The bones of the deceased are stacked neatly along the galleries on stone shelves. The tunnels, which were used by the Résistance during WWII as a headquarters, are south of the Seine.

Musée d'Orsay
Spectacularly housed in a former railway station built in 1900, the Musée d'Orsay was reopened in its present form in 1986. Inside is a wealth of artistic treasures produced between 1848 and 1914. Most of the paintings and sculptures of the era of the Impressionists and post impressionists are found on the ground floor and the skylight lit upper level. The middle level has some magnificent rooms showcasing the Art Nouveau movement.

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