• Info about Paris
• Reaching the hotel
• Directions & Map
• Visa

ABOUT PARIS:

Paris had always been a destination for traders, students and those on religious pilgrimages, but its 'tourism' in the proper sense of the term began on a large scale only with the appearance of rail travel, namely from state organisation of France's rail network from 1848. One of Paris' first 'mass' attractions drawing international interest were, from 1855, the above-mentioned Expositions Universelles that would bring Paris many new monuments, namely the Eiffel Tower from 1889. These, in addition to the Capital's 2nd Empire embellishments, did much to make the city itself the attraction it is today.
 
Paris' museums and monuments are by far its highest-esteemed attractions, and tourist interest has been nothing but a benefit to these; tourism has even motivated both city and State to create new ones. The city's most prized museum, the Louvre, sees over 8 million visitors a year, being by far the world's most visited art museum. Paris' cathedrals are another main attraction: its Notre-Dame cathedral and Basilique du Sacré-Cœur receive 12 million and 8 million visitors respectively. The Eiffel Tower, by far Paris' most famous monument, averages over 6 million visitors per year and more than 200 million since its construction. Disneyland Resort Paris is a major tourist attraction not only for visitors to Paris, but to Europe as well, with 12.4 million visitors in 2004.
The Louvre is one of the largest and most famous museums, housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue. Works by Pablo Picasso and Auguste Rodin are found in Musée Picasso and Musée Rodin respectively, while the artistic community of Montparnasse is chronicled at the Musée du Montparnasse. Starkly apparent with its service-pipe exterior, the Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg, houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne. Lastly, art and artefacts from the Middle Ages and Impressionist eras are kept in Musée Cluny and Musée d'Orsay respectively, the former with the prized tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn.
 
Many of Paris' once-popular local establishments have metamorphised into a parody of French culture, in a form catering to the tastes and expectations of tourist capital. Le Lido, The Moulin Rouge cabaret-dancehall, for example, are a staged dinner theatre spectacle, a dance display that was once but one aspect of the cabaret's former atmosphere. All of the establishment's former social or cultural elements, such as its ballrooms and gardens, are gone today. Much of Paris' hotel, restaurant and night entertainment trades have become heavily dependent on tourism, with results not always positive for Parisian culture.

 More Paris Information / Fast Facts and Orientation:

Tipping:
French law requires that restaurant, café and hotel bills include a service charge (usually between 12% and 15%). Taxi drivers expect small tips of between 5% and 10% of the fare though the usual procedure is to round up to the nearest €1 regardless of the fare.

Taxes & refunds:
France’s value-added tax (VAT) is known as TVA (taxe sur la valeur ajoutée) and is 19.6% on most goods except medicine and books, for which it’s 5.5%. Prices that include TVA are often marked TTC (toutes taxes comprises; literally ‘all taxes included’).
If you’re not an EU resident, you can get a TVA refund provided that: you’re aged over 15; you’ll be spending less than six months in France; you purchase goods worth at least €175 at a single shop on the same day (not more than 10 of the same item); the goods fit into your luggage; you are taking the goods out of France within three months after purchase; and the shop offers vente en détaxe (duty-free sales).

Credit cards:
In Paris, Visa/Carte Bleue is the most widely accepted credit card, followed by MasterCard (Eurocard). Amex cards can be useful at more upmarket establishments. In general, all three cards can be used for train travel, restaurant meals and cash advances.

Climate:
Paris has warm summers (July is summer)
Paris has warm and pleasant summers with average high temperatures of 25 °C (77 °F) and low of 15 °C (59 °F).
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REACHING THE HOTEL:
DIRECTIONS & MAP

From the Airport
From Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) a taxi journey should take approximately 40 minutes and the charge should be in the region of €40.00, depending on traffic. Orly airport (ORY) is approximately 40 minutes by taxi and fares should be in the region of €35.00

The Air France shuttle bus "Les Cars" stops immediately outside the hotel and goes direct to Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport. Approximate journey time 45 minutes

By Train
Gare du Nord (Eurostar / Thalys) - 30 minutes
Gare de L'EST - 25 minutes
Gare Saint Lazare - 15 minutes
Gare Montparnasse - 30 minutes
Gare de Lyon - 30 minutes

By Metro
Line 1 La Défense / Chateau de Vincennes - Porte Maillot station
La Défense - 5 minutes
RER - Line C

Car Parking in the Conference Hotel Venue:
1000 square metres of indoor parking space adjacent to the hotel and under cover charge. Doormen and luggage porters are on hand 24 hours a day to assist guests with their luggage when they arrive and depart.

DO YOU NEED A VISA?
Several factors determine whether a visa is waived:
the nationality of the foreign national;
the holding of a residence document in France or another country adhering to the Schengen Agreement;
the length of stay; 
and which part of the territory of the French Republic the foreign national is to visit.As far as visas are concerned, legislation divides the territory of the French Republic into the following three sections, where different regulations apply:
the European territory of France, which is part of the Schengen area; 
the territory of Overseas Departments (Réunion, Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana); 
Overseas territorial communities: French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Mayotte, French Southern and Antarctic Territories.

1. The European territory of France
The European territory of France is part of the Schengen area. The Schengen area includes the territory of the following European Union countries and associated countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

1.1. Short stays (under 90 days in the Schengen area)
A short stay is a stay in the Schengen area under 90 days or multiple stays totalling less than 90 days in a period of six months.
For short stays, European regulations determine the list of countries from which citizens are not required to have a visa to enter the Schengen area.

A visa is waived for:
citizens of the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela; 
holders of passports from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and the Special Administrative Region of Macao of the People’s Republic of China; 
holders of a valid residence document in France; 
holders of a residence document issued by a country which adheres to the Schengen Agreement; 
holders of a travel document issued by a country which adheres to the Schengen Agreement.

1.2. Long stays (over 90 days in France)
Citizens of the following countries are not required to have a long-stay visa: Member States of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, Monaco and Andorra.

2. Overseas Departments (DOM) 
  Réunion 
  French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique (the three French Departments of the Americas)

3. Other territories of the French Republic located overseas
They include:
  French Polynesia 
  New Caledonia 
  Wallis and Futuna 
  Saint Pierre and Miquelon 
  Mayotte 
  French Southern and Antarctic Territories