Paris: FAQ
City of Paris
As you from your visit to my site may have guessed, I am very familiar with the city of Paris, France. There are some questions that people ask regularly about Paris, so I thought I would in a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) compile here on my side. If you have more general questions about Paris that you think would have been interesting to have answered on this page, feel free to submit them to me via feedback.
Summary of issues
* How do you say Paris in French?
* How big is Paris?
* When is the best time to visit Paris?
* What type of climate is Paris have?
* Paris is a safe city?
* Does not all types of terrorists in Paris?
* Are Parisians rude to the Americans?
* Where is the Left Bank?
* Where is the Latin Quarter?
* Can you recommend any good hotels or restaurants?
* Indicates can it burn a place, a CD of my digital photos in Paris?
* How can I live and work in Paris?
* Is it too expensive to live in Paris?
* If the Métro dangerous?
* How can we deal in Paris?
* What is Disneyland ® Paris, eh?
* Where can I get fast food in Paris, just in case?
* Does the City of Paris have a website?
* Speak French?
How do you say Paris in French?
The Paris itself (and other people who speak French) you say the name of the city as / paʁi / (like "pah-ree" when you are not familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet).
How big is Paris?
There are about eleven million people live in the metropolitan Paris area, and a little more than two million live in the city proper (that is the area within the Boulevard périphérique limited, the expressway that encircles the city). This means that Paris is about the same population as Los Angeles. Paris is the largest city on the continent and the second largest city in Europe (London is a bit larger).
Although Paris Los Angeles is similar in terms of population, it is smaller in area, especially if one of the city proper, which look just a few miles wide. Paris was built before the era of automobiles, so everything had to be reached on foot, and therefore, the city itself is compact so today (not everything is within walking distance). The suburbs have, however, in the same way that provides an extensive expanded in Los Angeles.
When is the best time to visit Paris?
The best time to visit is in spring or autumn. Paris has always been an extremely mild climate, and it is never very hot or cold, even though global warming has dramatically changed this in the past fifteen years or so. In any event, the best weather in the city during the long spring and autumn can be enjoyed. Spring lasts from about April to May, the fall season runs from about September to October. The normal weather conditions is the same in both seasons, usually cool and sunny with occasional clouds and occasional brief showers. Before April, the weather is usually a bit chilly, and after October, it tends to be a bit gray and rainy. Winter in Paris is not extremely cold (temperatures rarely fall much below freezing), but it can be tedious. Summer in Paris can be uncomfortably warm. If you are interested because the weather at this moment are, CNN has a nice weather page on the town, which is updated constantly.
Spring is the most popular with tourists. The fall season has many of the same benefits, but without the tourists. Few people visit the city in winter, so when you arrive, you will meet mostly locals. In July and especially August, many Parisians go on summer vacation, and the town very quiet, with mostly other tourists walking in the summer heat.
The advance in particular, that the weather is "normal" in the sense that, as it always has been. However, the global warming Paris weather change so dramatic that you might consult the separate question of Paris climate.
What type of climate is Paris have?
This is a difficult question because there are two answers: first is the traditional climate of Paris, and the other relates to the increasingly different climate of the last decade and a half, with the changes that are probably due to the global warming.
Traditionally, Paris has been a very temperate city, with mild winters and mild summers and long periods of fine weather in spring and autumn. Throughout the year, approximately every other day some measurable rain involved, on average, although in reality this meant several days of rain, followed by several sunny days, followed by several days of rain, etc. The rain was mostly a light, misty rain, not a driving rainstorm. Thunderstorms were rare. Snow was rare, but a total of 15 days per year had measurable snowfall, usually in January and February, but sometimes as early as November or as late as April. The lowest temperatures in January were only slightly below freezing (at night), which were highest around 76 ° Fahrenheit on the hottest days of July and August.
That was the way they are used. It's different now.
The last fifteen years, a rather unsettling change in Paris seen weather, with ever increasing heat and stir constantly decreasing. The changes in Paris have been an order of magnitude larger than the global changes caused by global warming-for some reason the changes in Paris and France have more extreme. The snow is almost unknown now in the dead of winter. Each season has warmer in Paris, with a growing number of longer heat waves, that the temperatures 30 degrees above the normal driving are. Such a heat wave killed 10,000 people (yes, you read that correctly) in August 2003 with temperatures of up to 110 ° F or so at some points. Rain is becoming increasingly rare in Paris, as some concerns about the adequacy of water supply in the long term. Air conditioning, even a waste of time and money in Paris-is now a necessity during an increasingly long period each year.
It is not clear whether Paris weather is getting back to its historical norm. In the meantime, the weather is much hotter and drier than one would have thought possible a few decades ago. What does this mean for you if you are a visitor, is that it's really important to get a hotel with air conditioning if you are from April to November to visit, and you should plan your trip a little earlier in the spring , or a little later in autumn to avoid the worst of the heat. The good news (at least for the visitors) is that it rains a lot less. There are more storms and thunderstorms, though (but they remain relatively rare).
Most of the tourist books are behind the times in their description of the climate. As a general rule, one can assume that it will be warmer and drier than in Paris to demand the tourist pound. There are still cold and rainy occasional snapshots, but heat and drought are always the rule.
Paris is a safe city?
Paris is much safer than American cities of comparable size. Crime low overall and violent crime is very rare. Crime in general is also strong in the last two years or so down, mainly due to the increased activity of the police.
Notwithstanding the above, if you are visiting the city as a tourist, you are more likely than residents of the city, so you should be especially careful. Paris is no more dangerous than any other city in itself but as a tourist, you are more at risk, which is little danger. Obviously a tourist with a lot of money, no familiarity with his surroundings, and his attention from the blinding glamor and romance of a great city like Paris, a much more appealing brand for, say, a pickpocket, as a resident would be diverted to the city . Put succinctly, the risk in as a tourist, not succeed in Paris.
Are not all types of terrorists in Paris?
No, you know, I could also be based the same question from Oklahoma City, on what I see on TV. More people were killed by a bomb in the city, had been killed than all terrorist acts in Paris. Does that mean that Oklahoma City is a hotbed of terrorism? I think not.
If you enjoy building your own paranoia, you can travel much information on precautionary measures can be found here on the web. Good advice, but do not let it spook you.
Parisians are rude to the Americans?
Not in my experience.
Parisians have a pretty tight style and cynical attitude, but this is fairly typical of the residents of any large city. The Paris, the French equivalent of New Yorkers in the U.S. When you find New Yorkers to be rude, you probably feel the same way about the Paris.
Remember that in tourist areas, avoid the locals all day with tourists, and tourists can be really, really stupid. It is sometimes annoying and strained patience can, on both sides. Some people work in these areas can not handle, and are quite rude for a while. Ignore it. What you see in tourist spots is not typical of the city as a whole.
One other thing: Make your own behavior. In my opinion (and I see a lot of tourists, so I know) are, tourists often boorish thousand times more than the natives, no matter who the tourists, and no matter what country they American tourists are some of the worst offenders, sad .
In the specific case of Paris, you will notice that everyone speaks French French ever they get popular with the locals. to how well you can speak it is not nearly as important as the seriousness of your efforts to speak it. Outside the tourist areas, few people speak English, French, and your efforts, we are grateful.
Where is the Left Bank?
The Left Bank is the part of the town on the south side of the river Seine. They are called the Left Bank, just because it is on the left side when in a boat down the river (which flows from east to west through the city). The northern side of the river is called the right bank.
Where is the Quartier Latin?
The Latin Quarter is located at the eastern end of the Left Bank (ie the southern side of the river). It is so called because it is an area filled with students and in the old days, all students learned Latin. It is one of the most beautiful quarters of Paris, especially the area south of the River Seine and Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Can you recommend any good hotels or restaurants?
I'm afraid not. There are thousands of hotels and restaurants in Paris, and I have not tried them all. Who is an expert on hotels and restaurants, claims lies when it makes such companies for a living (the only way he could ever get enough experience to qualify as an expert) judges.
Your best bet is a good guide, such as the Michelin Guide. It is much less romantic, but it is more objective and precise.
I have always been in everything from people, the inhabitants of a city for advice, hotels confused. A resident is asking only about the last person on the hotels in town, because he usually has a place of its own and has never stayed at a hotel in the city. Asking about restaurants is not quite as bizarre, but still have most of the residents only a few favorite restaurants, and I have never tried to 99.999% of the restaurants. For example, the wonders of Paris hotels in Paris (or, to a lesser extent, restaurants) is often a waste of time.
Is there a place to burn a CD with my digital photos in Paris?
Most photo labs in Paris to CDs from digital camera memory cards (for example, to burn compact flash cards), for a fee. The photo service chain Labs is the one I prefer, and they offer a whole range of services for digital photographers.
How can I live and work in Paris?
You must have patience and you need to wade through a high level of bureaucracy. Moving to Paris is like moving to another city in your own country, only about a hundred times more difficult. It can happen, of course, but it is not the kind of things that you undertake on a whim. Even in the best of circumstances it might take to arrange one or two years, and sometimes it can take much longer.
Your best and safest bet is to go to work for a large, multinational companies, and then work your way gradually to transfer internally to Paris. Of course, you must have some kind of skill that the company must be in Paris, janitor and mail-room clerk are rarely sent abroad. Anyway, if you manage this, the company will handle most of the bureaucracy, and you will probably pay well (believe it or not, many employees have to persuade them to accept a job in a city like Paris, and this is in the usually done with money).
If you do not want to go the route above, you should at least be sure that you wait for a job for you in Paris, before leaving your home country. Obviously this is not easy, but if you are very highly skilled or very clever, you can be successful.
Books have been written about working abroad. Go down to your local bookstore or Web-surfing at a place like Amazon.com, and buy a pair. There is no way I can cover anything useful here in a few paragraphs.
Is it expensive to live in Paris?
Unfortunately, yes, it is. There are few disadvantages, residing in Paris, but by far the number one disadvantage (at least in my opinion) is the cost of living. Paris is one of the most expensive cities surpass the world (although several large U.S. cities, and so do London), and, worse, Parisian salaries are not adequately considered the cost of living, alas! In addition, income tax and sales tax ruinous prices, especially for single people (and most people in Paris are single, because almost nobody can afford to raise a family within the city itself).
To give you an idea of the cost of living, the view that an ordinary audio CD costs about $ 19 in a French record store, and a cup of coffee on the famous Champs-Élysées can cost $ 12. The biggest expense is the case: even a parking space (only the marked parking spot on the floor, a garage or anything) can cost $ 26,000, and a decent apartment could sell for $ 275,000!
Adjusted for COL and taxes, salaries in Paris are about a third of what they would be in the United States, for the same work.
I keep hoping that this will change in future, but it has not so far.
Is the Metro dangerous?
No, this is the metro (the Paris subway system) is not dangerous. It is true that you frequent problems in the subway than, say, are come, sit in a cafe, but that is a relative risk in absolute terms, the risk is still quite small.
Remember: Every year about 6,000 people are attacked in the subway in Paris. That sounds like a lot until you realize that more than two billion people take the subway every year. The risk is attacked in any way that is about one in 365 000. In addition, most attacks occur in conditions that most people as risky to start with would be: in abandoned suburban stations late at night, etc.
Pickpockets are the main risk for tourists. Watch your purse and wallet on crowded train platforms and in crowded subway cars.
How do you get around in Paris?
I go when I'm in a hurry I am in this case, take the Metro. I also take the subway if I have to carry something heavy. I do not think so, usually a car in the city, if I wear something too big (a chair or have to ship something like that). Driving in Paris is not difficult, but the traffic is horrible, all the time (except for three clock on Sunday morning in August).
What is Disneyland ® Paris, eh?
Disneyland Paris is like a stripped down version of the Walt Disney World ®. Disneyland Paris has a theme park, Magic Kingdom in the usual style, although it has fewer attractions than their U.S. counterparts (although some of them, it's pretty impressive how the "new and improved" Space Mountain. It also contains a small village near the entrance to the park with shops, restaurants, a cinema (not devoted to Disney movies, unfortunately!), a Wild West Show, an aquatic circus, Planet Hollywood, and so on. In the neighborhood of the resort, several excellent but expensive hotels (but you get what you pay), including the largest hotel in Europe, the Newport Bay Club. Each hotel has a theme, and all the themes are well executed. There is also a golf course in town. Other attractions are planned, but I do not think any of them were not yet built.
The operating hours of the theme park are much more restricted than those of their peers in the U.S., especially during the low season (all other time than in summer, in the first place), guard Sun Many attractions, restaurants, etc., closed within the park outside the high season.
Disneyland Paris is not 100% owned by Disney, and unfortunately, the other owner does not seem compelled to keep the standards of superlatives to feel the true Disney Audiophiles like me are used to it (the local management seems a bit too willing corners on maintenance and operating cut). However, the park is still clearly a Disney park, and it is light years ahead of anything else in Europe. It is also worth a visit if you are visiting Paris with children, or if you just like Disney theme parks.
Where do I get fast food in Paris, just in case?
Fast-food restaurants are thick on the ground in Paris, so you should have no problem.
Because of the importance of this vital question, I now have the answer to the division into a separate essay in Paris Fast Food.
Is the city of Paris have a website?
Yes, at http://www.paris.fr.
Speak French?
Yes. It is the national language of France, and one can not hold, the most decent jobs without them. I like French, so it really does not talk that a charge for me very much, although I am not nearly as fluid as I could as I do.
