When I'm in Paris

Paris loves students and those who want to spend a semester or so in the City of Light are in luck. Special rates and reduced prices on almost anything, from city passes, transportation, tickets, to accommodations and students who want to save on their trip to Paris should always choose services meant for students.

These special rates given to students are actually not student discounts but are considered reduced rates and anyone aged below 26 years may avail of these special rates, tourists and locals alike. Students who want to get special rates on their city passes and metro tickets must always present their VISA or school ID in order to avail of these reduced rates. The discounted percentage is not much but students who want to get the same service as everyone else should be pleased with the reduction.

For example, if you want to go around Paris, you might want to purchase a metro ticket but make sure to choose Ticket Jeune. This ticket was made for students and other EU citizens less than 25 years old and may be purchased at 3.40 Euros only.

You can find special student rates everywhere, including in museums and festivals. As long as you introduce yourself as a student and have supporting documents on hand to prove that you are a student, you will always be qualified for a discount. For example, if you want to see Louvre or take a picture beside the Mona Lisa, you may mention that you are a student when paying for admission or better yet, purchase the Paris Pass with a special discount.

Metro tickets and tickets for the Velib bicycle system may also be purchased at 10% less its original price. These special rates apply to tourists and local Parisians and it would be wise to avail of these discounts so you can reduce your expenses while in Paris.

If you come from another EU country like Belgium, Germany, or Italy, you may avail of these discounts even without presenting a school ID or any similar supporting document; however, you must be able to present an ID that proves you are a citizen from another EU country. When purchasing a ticket or a pass, make sure to present any ID that explicitly states your EU registry or a school ID.

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Apparently, every tourist wants to visit Paris at a time when the city is in its grandest: where sales (or soldes) are aplenty, a lot of activities are planned for visiting families and couples, and where the streets of Paris are not too crowded. If you are visiting Paris for the first time, you might arrive at a notion that Paris is in its prettiest during spring but if you’re not fond of crowds and if you don’t want to be in the middle of tourist traps each time you go out, you might want to visit Paris some other time.

So, when is the best time to visit Paris?

The months of April and May in Paris are spring seasons. If you want to see the gardens of Paris (and France) bloom beautifully, it would be a good idea to plan your trip to Paris during springtime. Plan your trip sometime in mid April and mid May if you want to avail of the best spring time deals.

Since April and May are both high seasons, expect to pay more for hotel rentals, car rentals, and plane or train rides to Paris. Prices tend to go up by 15% in Paris during the high season, which includes the months of April to October and Christmas holidays of December.

Are you fond of the sun? You might want to see Paris during the summertime or during the months of June, July, and first two weeks of August.

Paris is beautiful all year round but during the summer months, it tends to be more welcoming. As tourists flock the Paris, locals flock to colder destinations such as in towns and municipalities located north of France. Paris in the summertime might seem like a wonderland for tourists.

The summer months in Paris are still considered high season so expect to pay more for services and travel fares. You should be wary of tourist traps or shops and stores that will sell you French cuisine for twice the original price. If you want to dine and enjoy French cuisine at the right price, you could try reserving for seats in Paris restaurants ahead of time or before the high seasons.

Summertime in Paris is not as humid as many weather reports might say; in fact, the weather can be a bit unpredictable and it might rain from time to time even in the middle of the heat of summer. These unpredictable weather changes could disrupt any outings you might have planned for your family so try to consult the weather forecast before planning any trip.

Not fond of too much sun or too much blooming flora? Visiting Paris in the fall might be a smart option, but it is not for everyone. Those who might want to visit Paris during the months of September until November are those who enjoy the cold weather and the calm atmosphere of the busy metropolis.

You might want to visit Paris during September and November if you can stand the cold and if you want to see Paris at a time when it is not so busy. These months are also consider low seasons and flight and train rates tend to go down by 30%. Also, almost everything is a priced cheaply.

During the winter seasons, tourists who want to spend their holidays and ring in the new year in a foreign country tend to celebrate in Paris. If you want to see the Eiffel Tower light up or witness the fireworks show near Champs-Elysees, reserve for a Paris apartment early. December is consider high season and a lot of things will be sold out and fully booked if you don’t act soon!

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The Latin Quarter oozes with so many amazing attractions and treasures which tourists will surely love. This part of Paris has long been considered as one of the city’s most enchanting and highly visited locations. If you want to see landmarks in Paris that are old, monumental, and significant in French history, the Latin Quarter is the place to be.

If you are fond of visiting museums, the Latin Quarter is where you can find the National Museum of the Middle Ages. The museum houses stunning medieval structures such as the public baths of a Roman empire, the Lady and the Unicorn structure from the 15th century, and the Cluny Abbey Hotel, also from the 15th century. There are also tapestries, carpets, and rugs housed here which come from different countries around Europe.

You can use your Paris Pass to access this museum; however, take note that it is closed during public holidays and on Tuesdays.

The Pantheon is another stunning landmark located in the Latin Quarter. According to historians, this was commissioned by Louis XV when he recovered from a certain illness. The Pantheon was once planned to be a church but today, it is a mausoleum that houses the crypts of some of France’s most popular personalities such as Marie Curie, Blaise Pascal, Voltaire, among others.

The Pantheon is open daily, except on public holidays and during important events, when it is closed to the public.

Right around the bend of Pantheon is another old location: rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Geneviève, one of Paris’ oldest streets.

If you’re fond of visiting churches and chapels, you might want to visit Chapelle de la Sorbonne located inside the Sorbonne complex. The chapel itself was built for use for the College de Sorbonne but today, it is a mausoleum for Richeliu and other Parisian personalities.

These three landmarks are considered very important to the French and if you want to see how these structures really look like in real life, head down to the Latin Quarter by taking Cluny – La Sorbonne metro.

Located east of Argentina is a mystic island known as Patagonia. Legend has it that giants, men and women standing taller than 5‘11, ruled the archipelago and when the Europeans first encountered them in 1520, they were convinced that this side of the world belonged to giants, and not just ordinary mortals.

Patagonia later became the stuff of legends and was later used by different storytellers, historians, and painters as the home of giants and other unusual beings. Several expeditions were made to Patagonia to prove the existence of giants, but even though many scholars proved later on that the Tehuelches were not really giants but just really tall people, the legend of the gigantic Patagonians continued to circulate around the world.

When the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan first landed in Patagonia, he met natives who were taller than Europeans of his time. It is believed that the term “Patagonia” meets “Land of the Big Feet”.

Bu, were the Patagonians really tall? It is believed that the average height of a Patagonian was 5‘11 to 6“ while European men stood at 5‘1“ and up, on average. What Magellan and his men might have encountered upon seeing the natives for the first time was an over-estimate of the true height of the Tehuelches or the Patagonians.

Patagonia in the 16th century is no longer the Patagonia it is today: owned by Argentina and Chile, today’s Patagonia is a tourist destination inhabited by Chileans, Argentineans, as well as native Tehuelches.

If you have always been fascinated by the stories of the giants or of Patagonia, Musée du Quai Branly in Paris will be presenting paintings, photographs, archaeological finds and other interesting artifacts from Patagonia. This is a rare event that will tackle the legendary, archaeological, and mystical features of the island. Old maps, tools, photos, paintings, literary work, and other creations of scholars, explorers, and scientists who visited Patagonia in the past will be part of the exhibit, as well.

The event, known as “Patagonia: Images of World’s End” was opened last 6 March 2012, but it will not end until 13 May 2012. If you are arriving this month or sometime before the 13th of May, you might still have time to see the exhibit. The admission rates for the exhibit may vary between adults and children; however, if you have a Paris Pass, you’re in luck since admission is free.

Patagonia: Images of World’s End
Musée du quai Branly
37, quai Branly Portail Debilly
75007 PARIS
www.quaibranly.fr

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Tutankhamen might just be the world’s most popular Egyptian pharaoh and the discovery of his body was as mysterious as how he lived his life. On May 12, find out what really happened to the young prince whose existence still seems to be shrouded in mystery.

The discovery of King Tutankhamen and his body on November 1922 by the archaeologist, Howard Carter was considered a breakthrough for modern archaeology. At the time, people thought most tombs and crypts in Egypt were already stolen and broken into by grave diggers and independent treasure hunters, but the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s untouched tomb and almost complete burial site gave them hope.

Since King Tut’s tombed seemed to be complete, archaeologists were able to trace and note down how the Ancient Egyptians buried and honored their kings. Historians were able to correct all previous notions about how the Ancient Egyptians offered their final respects to royals and other rich and important personalities at the time. Howard Carter’s discovery not only helped historians and other scholars, he also inspired a new generation of archaeologists to focus on the wonders of Ancient Egypt.

This coming May 12th, you can relive this important time in history by joining the exposition entitled, “Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures” or “Tutankhamun – Son Tombeau Et Ses Tresors” which will take place in Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Participants of the exposition will be invited to see the excavated treasures and items from Tutankhamun’s tomb, tools used during the dig or excavation, and other interesting things and tales found and experienced during the dig by Carter and his team. Your questions about the mysterious deaths that soon followed will also be answered in this exhibition.

The exhibition is open from May 12, 2012 until September 1, 2012 which is four (4) months all in all. If you haven’t planned for your vacation to Paris yet, you still have enough time to plan for this tour. The exposition will be open starting on 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM, but the museum will be closed on Tuesdays.

If you have a Paris Pass, ask the Paris Pass personnel if this museum is included in their list of museums you may easily access using only the Paris Pass. If you intend to join the exposition with or without a Paris Pass, make sure to prepare the following amount for your admission: adults must pay around 15.90 Euros while children aged 5-14 years only need to pay 12.90 Euros. Children aged 5 and below may enter the exposition for free. If you are coming as a family, you may avail of the family discount which is 52 Euros for a group of 2 adults and 2 children.

Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures
(Toutankhamon – Son Tombeau Et Ses Tresors)
Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
1, place de la Porte de Versailles
75015, Paris
www.toutankhamon-expo.com

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Aside from the Louvre or the Orsay Museum, the greatest creations made by French painters and artists can be found in the museum located in Chateau Versailles. Mostly the work of French artists and painters are gathered in this museum for tourists and local French visitors to see. Although a small area in the chateau is utilized for the museum, the entire venue itself is actually a historical piece in itself.

Chateau Versailles stands witness to all the political struggles, changes, and developments that have occurred in France over the years. To support Chateau Versailles reputation as one of the country’s most significant landmarks, its managing committee has decided to feature the works of Louis-François Lejeune in its walls.

Louis-François Lejeune was an artist who lived from 1775-1848, spending majority of his life as a politician, painter and historian. At the time, only a few paintings that depicted major French struggles and battles existed, but Louis-François Lejeune’s creations, all 14 of them, showed a very sincere rendition of all the wars involving France. Louis-François Lejeune’s creations showed the military exploits of French leaders, including Napoleon. It has also often been said that his works may be considered as evidence that France indeed emerged victorious in most of these wars.

Bravery and greatness were often the emotions depicted in most of Lejeune’s paintings. From the Seige of Charleroi to Borodino, Lejeune has that all captured in an oil painting.

To commemorate the talents and contributions of Louis-François Lejeune, Chateau Versailles will be presenting the creations of this famed military, French painter this 2012. Through this exhibition, the organizers hope to enlighten tourists, art enthusiasts, and historians on the complexities of war.

The exhibition opened on February 2012 and will end on the 13th of May. As long as you don’t arrive after the 13th, you could still catch up and see Lejeune’s creations in Versailles.

To read more about Louis-Francois Lejeune, simply head down to www.en.chateauversailles.fr. You may also read about the exhibition, address, ticket rates, and dates, on the website mentioned.

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It has always been the dream of newlyweds to spend their honeymoon in a country that is enchanting and romantic and where else to celebrate such a beautiful event than in Paris, France.

Paris has often been hailed as the city of love and light. At night, the city is illuminated by several stunning lights that line the streets and in the morning, artistic structures created by the most talented of Parisian engineers, architects, and designers stand majestically under the sun. The landmarks and tourist spots that are scattered across the city have attracted tourists by the millions, but Paris is not just a city designed for families or adventurous personalities. Newlyweds who want to spend their first few moments together as a married couple will have so much to experience in Paris, France.

Some of Paris’ most romantic sights include the Seine River, which has been the subject of so many paintings, poems and prose, the Luxembourg gardens, the Louvre, and who could forget the Eiffel Tower, which offers a great view of the Paris skyline. All these and more can only be found, experienced, and enjoyed in Paris, France.

For a more memorable wedding celebration, you could take your partner on a Parisian escapade. Drive through the cobble streets of France, see the Eiffel Tower up close, converse with the local Parisians, and experience living like an aristocrat in Paris.

If you want to experience a luxurious honeymoon in Paris even when on a budget, the best thing you should do is to rent an apartment rental located in the city center where most tourist landmarks are within walking distance. By staying at an apartment in the heart of city, you need not spend on taxis or private car rentals to get around. For a more memorable experience, enjoy Paris on foot with your loved one.

The best place to start your search for Paris luxury apartments would be through Welcome2France.com. Choose from different luxurious apartments with varying rates and live in the best districts of Paris to experience the uniqueness of Parisian lifestyle.

If you don’t know where to start your search, why don’t you browse through this gallery of 1-bedroom apartments instead?

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The month of May has so much to offer to tourists and those who have not yet planned on their May trip should consider visiting Paris on festival dates. Most festivals scheduled for the month of May are geared towards families so even children can participate in the event.

The first event for May, aside from Labor Day (May 1st) is the International Festival of Short Films. Those who have an eye for making intriguing, low-budget, indie films should definitely join the film festival to see the best creations from local and international film makers.

International Festival of Very Short Films
4 May 2012 – 13 May 2012
Porte Saint-Eustache Forum des Halles 2
Rue du Cinéma
75001 PARIS

Shorts, or short films, will be the subject of this festival. Expert film makers, budding film makers, film making students, as well as big time producers will be part of this huge event. Anyone looking forward to becoming the second Spielberg should definitely take part in the film festival to learn the art of film making.

All sorts of movies and movie genres will be screened during the event. Documentaries, drama, comedy, romance, “found footage”, horror — you name it and it will be showing on the silver screen  this 4 May 2012.

If you seek more information on this event, simply log on to www.forumdesimages.net

Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-prés
20 May 2012 – 3 June 2012
75006 PARIS

Saint Germain des Pres is one of Paris’ most stunning neighborhoods and on the 20th of May, it will be center of fun and merrymaking in Paris. The Jazz Festival in the Saint Germain des Pres area is one of the biggest events in Paris. Musicians from all over the world will be in the vicinity to show off their skills in playing Jazz instruments, and basically, showcasing all the nifty tunes they know how to play.

Aside from the lively music performances, the Saint Germain des Pres festival is also where you can find many performances such as dance contests, exhibitions, and even, soldes or sales. This would be the best time to do your shopping and find unusual items in Saint Germain des Pres at cheap prices.

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To tourists, the Paris Pass is a very important item that allows you to get into some of Paris’ most popular museums conveniently without having to line up to pay for admission when looking around Paris’ landmarks, museums, and galleries. Owning a Paris Pass will allow you to enter interesting locations without having to worry about reaching into your pocket to pay for the admission fees each time. If you are traveling with a group or if you intend to spend an entire day for an educational excursion, securing a Paris Pass will make your trip more convenient and smooth-sailing.

Now, for those who don’t have a Paris Pass to use for their trip but still want to visit various museums and landmarks are in luck, this May. On Saturday, May 19th, all tourists and locals are encouraged to visit some of Paris’ best landmarks, museums, and galleries and gain free access for one night.

This annual event, known as Nuit des Musees or Museum Night is an attempt by the French government to invite as many people and locals as they can to see their biggest and grandest museums with hopes of showing them what Paris has to offer. Once tourists see how amazing most Parisian museums are, they will surely come back, again and again.

On normal days, Parisian museums are already closed by 6 PM but on this special day, museums will be open for a few hours longer and might close at around 1 AM. If you were unable to see the Mona Lisa in the morning of May 19, you still have the rest of the afternoon and evening to line up outside the Louvre Museum and enter the building for free to see this iconic painting in person.

Take note that not all museums will be open on 19 May though. Smaller museums and private galleries are not required to follow this holiday; however, some museum and gallery owners might be open until 10 PM.

If you are not fond of museums, you could still spend this special event to do some bargain hunting. As usual, merchants selling second-hand wares will be out on the streets to sell their merchandise for even lower prices. You might want to check out these flea markets if you don’t want to visit a museum.

Although the French government designed the Nuit des Musees as an event for children, adults and teenagers will also be participating in this opportunity to see Paris’ best landmarks for free. Furthermore, if you will be taking your children to see these museums at night, just make sure to take them before 10 PM since it is not advisable for them to stay up late.

For more information on this event, feel free to log in to www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr. As of today, the following museums are already part of the Nuit des Musees program: Petit Palais, the Musée de la Vie Romantique, Musée Zadkine and the Victor Hugo house.

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Back when people wanted to shop for low-priced clothing, fancy furniture, and other household necessities, they would skip the second-hand shops located on the streets of Paris and would march directly to Samaritaine, a grand mall and shopping center that housed everything a local Parisian would need. It seems everything one needed and wanted could be found at La Samaritaine, but various financial and building management struggles took over the store until it closed in 2005.

La Samaritaine was treated like a tourist landmark, along the likes of the Eiffel Tower, Arc d’Triomphe, and the Louvre. The store has been a top destination since its opening in 1869 and has witnessed the growth of Paris as a sleepy capital in the heart of France to the bustling metropolis it is today. Unfortunately, La Samaritaine was unable to cope with the sudden growth of Paris and its owners eventually decided that the building was too old and — too expensive to repair.

You would think that a building this old and iconic should have been preserved by its owners but alas, there was so much to consider and the cost of the renovations alone was great. Samaritaine was later bought by luxury goods giant, LMVH but has been reopened yet. The future of Samaritaine is basically in the hands of the executives of LMVH.

According to recent news, LMVH has several plans for Samaritaine: one, they intend to revive the glory of the store and to turn it into a large shopping center like it was before, but this time, even bigger than Gallerie Lafayette. Next, LMVH has decided to attach SANAA, a Japanese engineering firm, to oversee renovations for Samaritaine. The new look will be more modern and more industrial and although this idea has met a great amount of backlash in Paris, there are no definite plans yet and everything seems to be part of a bigger speculation.

Many have said that Samaritaine’s renovations could take as long as 5 years; but nothing has been set in stone yet. On the other hand, the managers should think of speeding up the  process before the rest of Paris forgets about the structure, altogether.

The grandeur of Samaritaine is definitely unforgettable and to see it rise again will definitely boost Paris’ popularity around the world. In fact, many tourists may be inspired to spend more time in Paris in order to see Samaritaine in person.

For now, Samaritaine stands hauntingly in this side of Paris, patiently waiting for its time to shine again.

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