|
Global Public Policy Symposium
Paris
Location
Paris is the capital and largest city of France. Dubbed "the City of Light" (la Ville Lumière) since the 19th century, Paris has a reputation as a "romantic" city. Situated on the banks of the river Seine in north-central France, Paris hosts a rich array of museums, galleries, and nightlife and is
one of
the most visited cities in the world, with more than 30 million visitors per year.
One of the
most recognizable symbols of Paris is the 324 meter Eiffel Tower on the banks of the Seine.
The original Latin name of Paris was Lutetia Parisiorum, which was later dropped in favor of only Paris. The name derives from the Gallic Parisii tribe, whose name may be from the Celtic Gallic word parios, meaning "cauldron", but this is not certain. 'Paris' may also be a derivative of Celtic-language parisio meaning "the working people" or "the craftsmen."
Three of the most famous Parisian landmarks are the twelfth century cathedral Notre Dame de Paris on the Île de la Cité, the nineteenth century Eiffel Tower, and the Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe. The Eiffel Tower was a "temporary" construction by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Universal Exposition but the tower was never dismantled and is now an enduring symbol of Paris. It is visible from many parts of the city as are the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper and the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on the Montmartre hill.
The Historical axis is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that run in a roughly straight line from the city center westwards: the line of monuments begins with the Louvre and continues through the Tuileries Gardens, the Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe centered in the Place de l'Étoile circus. From the 1960's the line was prolonged even further west to the La Défense business district dominated by a square-shaped triumphal Grande Arche of its own; this area hosts most of Paris' tallest skyscrapers.
The Louvre is one of the largest and most famous museums, housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo statue. Works by Pablo Picasso and Rodin are found in Musée Picasso and Musée Rodin respectively. Starkly apparent with its service-pipe exterior, the Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg, houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne.
TOP 
Places to visit
Place de la Bastille - former eastern stronghold and gate of Paris.
Champs-Élysées - seventeenth century garden-promenade turned avenue connecting the Concorde and Arc de Triomphe.
Place de la Concorde - at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, built as the "Place Louis XV", site of the infamous guillotine. The Egyptian obelisk it holds today can be considered Paris's "oldest monument".
La Défense - one of the largest business districts in the world and a major destination for business tourism.
Les Halles - shopping precinct around an important metro connection station.
Quartier Latin - twelfth century scholastic centre formerly stretching between the Left Bank's Place Maubert and the Sorbonne campus.
Le Marais - trendy Right Bank district with large gay and Jewish populations.
Montmartre - historic area on the Butte, home to the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur and the studios and cafés of many great artists.
Montparnasse - historic Left Bank area famous for artist’s studios, music halls, and café life.
L'Opéra - shopping area with department stores such as Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.
TOP
Restaurants in Paris
Alcazar(62, Rue Mazarine, 75006, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 153.10.19.99)
Cuisine: Contemporary French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: Sir Terence Conran's bright, buzzing, and wonderfully stylish eateries have now conquered Paris, set in a 17th-century tennis court, the space has been transformed with a twelve metre high glass roof, trendy decor and lighting and a changing series of photographic exhibits.
L’Appart (9-11, Rue du Colisée,75008, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 153.75.16.34)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £35-£44/€57-€72
Review: This is a cosy, intimate and comfortable spot just off the Champs-Elysées where you'll find a welcoming but small-scale restaurant with a library room, sofas in front of the fire, and a hideaway cellar.
Blue Elephant (43-45, Rue de la Roquette, 75011, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 147.00.42.00)
Cuisine: Thai
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: Situated near the Opera in the happening Bastille area, the dining room is a haven of peace and tranquility, with a forest of trees, a waterfall, Thai artifacts and orchids everywhere, ingredients are flown in from Thailand for authentic preparation of royal Thai cuisine.
Chez Clément Marbeuf (19, Rue Marbeuf, 75008, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 153.23.90.00)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: This restaurant is not at all like the chic minimalism of other centre-ville restaurants, nor the normal bistro eaterie, it is something quite different, even a little eccentric in a charming, lighthearted way.
TOP
Macéo (15, Rue des Petits Champs, 75001, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 142.97.53.85)
Cuisine: Contemporary Market Inspired
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: If you have an eye for aesthetic beauty, for loveliness of line, for balance of colour, we think Macéo will make you happy; this is truly a lovely restaurant that offers a dining experience that is nothing but pleasurable from start to finish.
Le Petit Zinc (11, Rue St-Benoît, 75006, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 142.61.20.60)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £35-£44/€57-€72
Review: This classic Art Nouveau brasserie is elegant, with ivy arches, swooping iron banisters to the mezzanine, ironwork façade, and beautifully lit glass ceiling fanlights; Le Petit Zinc situated in the heart of St-Germain des Pres is a landmark restaurant which continues to thrive as it has done since the turn of the last century
L’Absinthe (24 place du Marché St.-Honoré, 75001, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 149.26.90.04)
Cuisine: French Bistrot
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: L'Absinthe has been a bistro for decades, conveniently sited near the Louvre and Tuileries, but since the Michel Rostang group have taken it over and extended it, it has become something of an haute bistro.
L’Arbuci (25, Rue de Buci, 75005, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 144.32.16.00)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: Over on the Left Bank, set on a street full of life, and nightlife, L'Arbuci is a modern jazz club and restaurant with a loyal group of devotees.
TOP
Au Pied de Cochon (6, Rue Coquilliere, 75001, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 140.13.17.00)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £35-£44/€57-€72
Review: The ovens at Au Pied de Cochon were fired up in 1946 and they have never been turned off since. This restaurant is a Paris institution, situated very near the Centre Pompidou.
Bal du Moulin Rouge (82, Boulevard de Clichy, 75018, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 153.09.82.82)
Cuisine: Traditional French
Price Guide: €520 (This price includes a 3 course meal, the show, half a bottle of Champagne, entrance into the club & VAT.)
Review: The Moulin Rouge, the 'red mill', is a Belle Epoque theatre with dining room attached, and it is where the fun of that era meets the artistic genius of Toulouse-Lautrec.
Au Pied de Chameau (20, Rue Quincampoix, 75004, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 142.78.35.00)
Cuisine: Morroccan
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: When a country has a colonial past, it is invariably colonised in turn by the cuisine of its former colonies, in this case, the country is Morocco and the cuisine irresistible.
Bistrot d’à Côté Flaubert (10, Rue Gustave Flaubert, 75017, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 147.63.40.77)
Cuisine: Traditional French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: Not far from the Arc de Triomphe on one side and the Parc Monceau on the other, this bistro was super chef Michel Rostang's first venture downmarket and it has handsomely rewarded the diners who frequent it.
TOP
Bistrot d’à Côté Villiers (16, Avenue de Villiers, 75017, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 147.63.25.61)
Cuisine: Traditional French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: Bistrot d'á Côté Villiers deep in the 17th arrondissement is set on a charming corner site just metres away from the space of the Parc Monceau.
Charlot (81, Boulevard de Clichy, 75009, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 148.74.49.64)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £35-£44/€57-€72
Review: Tourists, locals, executives and visitors from the countryside make their way here in droves to sample the superb shellfish and seafood.
Chez Clément Bastille (19, Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75004, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 140.29.17.00)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: Chez Clément Bastille is an excellent place to take cover from all the excitement Paris has to offer, with its warm eccentric welcome, country-style decor and general prettiness, Chez Clément provides the perfect haven.
Chez Clément Montparnasse (106, Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75014, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 144.10.54.00)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: Chez Clément bring their charming eccentricity to the Left Bank with this branch, set on one of the main boulevards, but feeling like a haven of peace and country tranquility.
TOP
Chez Clément Opéra (17, Boulevard des Capucines, 75002, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 153.43.82.00)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: This restaurant is lovely and eccentric, with a mélange of fabrics, mirrors, antiques and souvenirs artfully arranged to create the ambience of a welcoming country hotel. The menu is French with inspirations from elsewhere.
Chez Flottes (2, Rue Cambon, 75001, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 142.60.80.89)
Cuisine: Traditional French
Price Guide: Under £25/€40
Review: Chez Flottes, a relaxed and informal brasserie kitted out in wood bar and panelling, Art Deco paintings, tiled floor, and loads of Art Nouveau stained glass to give the dining rooms an amber glow.
Chez Jenny (39, Boulevard du Temple, 75003, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 144.54.39.00)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: Decorated with lovely marquetry and panelling, light bright windows, scarlet banquettes and antique details, Chez Jenny still offers the best of Alsatian cuisine to a loyal and ravenous clientele served by waitresses in regional costume.
Crazy Horse / (Chez Francis) (7, Place d'Alma, 75008, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 147.10.86.22)
Cuisine: International
Price Guide: Dinner & Show €135
Review: One of those must-see Parisian sights, Le Crazy Horse has been artistically celebrating the female form for decades, and while it has now branched out with shows on other continents, seeing the original in its Parisian home is still the best.
TOP
Dessirier (9, place du Marechal Juin, 75017, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 142.27.82.14)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £35-£44/€57-€72
Review: One of Paris' favourite fish restaurants, this was an oyster-house for more than a century when Michel Rostang took it over to create a sort of fish-brasserie and wet-fish stall, but bursting with chic style.
Fleur de Sel (32, Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75015, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 145.48.52.03)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: Under £24/€40
Review: This bright restaurant on the Boulevard Montparnasse brings the flavour of cuisine terroir to the capital, that is, traditional French cuisine from the regions with full, honest flavours.
Hard Rock Café – Paris (14, Boulevard Montmartre, 75009, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 153.24.60.00)
Cuisine: Global Cuisine
Price Guide: Under £24/€40
Review: Famous throughout the world for its upbeat music, fascinating rock memorabilia, and down-home American food, Hard Rock Cafe is a great place for food and fun.
Mandala Ray (34, Rue Marbeuf, 75008, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 156.88.36.36)
Cuisine: Fusion
Price Guide: £35-£44/€57-€72
Review: The hippest of the hippest, Mandala Ray is a magnet for international stars and celebrities and why not, it's owned by Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and John Malkovich.
TOP
Michel Rostang (20, Rue Rennequin, 75017, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 147.63.40.77)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: Over £45/€57
Review: This multi-starred home restaurant offers the full-scale experience; from wonderful service to beautifully-appointed dining rooms and from high-end ingredients to complex dishes, this restaurant serves haute cuisine at its best.
Paradis Latin Cabaret (28, Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 143.25.28.28)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £76-£136/€112-€200
Review: Paradis Latin considers itself the truest Parisian cabaret, with its beautiful girls, stylish costumes, and fabulous dancing, including the classic can-can, this restaurant has been making visitors happy for more than a century.
Tante Louise (41, Rue Boissy d'Anglas, 75008, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 142.65.06.85)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £35-£44/€57-€72
Review: In the heart of the magnificent boulevard district of Paris, rubbing shoulders with the grand Place de la Concorde and Galeries Lafayettes, Tante Louise has successfully nurtured the tradition of bourgeois cuisine.
Tante Marguerite (5, Rue de Bourgogne, 75007, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 145.51.79.42)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £25-£34/€41-€56
Review: One of the highly-respected Loiseau restaurants, Tante Marguerite is popular with politicos and high-flyers and with others who simply enjoy fine traditional Burgundian cuisine.
La Taverne (24, Boulevard des Italiens, 75009, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 155.33.10.00)
Cuisine: French
Price Guide: £35-£44/€57-€72
Review: Not your normal tavern, but a grand brasserie with soaring ceilings, curving staircases, long inviting bar, chandeliers, and antique clocks everywhere, La Taverne is a great Parisian favourite.
Willi’s Wine Bar (13, Rue-des-Petits-Champs, 75001, Paris, Tel: 00(33) 142.61.05.09)
Cuisine: Market Inspired
Price Guide: Under £24/€40
Review: Willi's Wine Bar is a superb little bistro serving excellent wines and equally riveting food.
TOP
|
 |
|
