How can you spend time in Paris without spending a fortune? Patricia Leahyrecommends some of its free museums, Susan Spanohas tips for saving money in the city and Brian O'Connellrecounts a low-cost evening out
BEFORE I WAS half the age I am now I found a place that touched the artist, wanderer and searcher within me. Although it is one of the most visited places on the planet, Paris still strikes a chord, and every time I arrive it becomes my own once again.
There is no better way to become acquainted with the cultural richness of the city than to walk the streets. Each neighbourhood has its own history, characters and museums - although here choice is the problem, as Paris has 173 of them.
In January the president, Nicolas Sarkozy, introduced free admission to six museums, three in Paris and three outside, until June 30th. And quite a few lesser-known museums are free all year, meaning that, with a little planning, you can spend plenty of time in the city without spending a penny.
6 museums that are free before July, plus 6 that are always free
Most museums in Paris, including the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, are free to under-18s every day, with concessions for older students, the unemployed and under-26s.
3 for free in Paris
Musée National du Moyen Age (Thermes de Cluny).
6 Place Paul Painlevé, sixth arrondissement. 00-33-1-
53737816,
www.musee-moyenage.fr,
metro Cluny La Sorbonne. The National Museum of the Middle Ages and
Roman baths was the residence of the abbots of Cluny from the
1300s. Its most popular exhibits are the six 15th-century Lady and
the Unicorn tapestries and Paris's oldest existing sculpture, the
Boatmen's Pillar, from the reign of Tiberius (AD 14-37).
Musée des Arts et Métiers. 60 Rue Réaumur, third
arrondissement, 00-33-1- 53018200,
www.arts-et-metiers.net, metro Arts et Métiers. The Museum
of Arts and Trades illustrates technical progress in industry and
science from the 18th century. Built in 1794 as a "warehouse for
new and useful inventions", it has more than 3,000 inventions on
show.
Musée National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet. 6 Place d'Iéna, 16th arrondissement, 00-33-1-56525300, www.guimet.fr, metro Iéna. One of the world's finest Asian- art collections, with 3,000 of its 45,000 works on show.
3 for free outside
Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Aéroport du
Bourget, 00-33-1-49927062,
www.mae.org, RER Le Bourget. The
arrival point for Charles Lindbergh after his crossing of the
Atlantic. Two Concordes and about 150 other original aircraft.
Musée National de la Renaissance, Château
d'Écouen, 00-33-1-34383850,
www.musee-renaissance.fr, RER Garges-Sarcelles. Famous chateau
built on the site of a 12th-century castle. Stained glass,
sculpture, paintings, decorative arts and weapons.
Musée des Antiquités Nationales. St-Germain-en- Laye,
00-33-1- 39101300,
www.musee-antiquitesnationales.fr, RER Saint- Germain-en-Laye.
Housed in a castle dating back to the 13th century, the museum
illustrates the life of man from high art to the humblest everyday
objects.
6 free all year round
Petit Palais: Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville
de Paris. Avenue Winston Churchill, eighth arrondissement, 00-33-1-
53434000,
www.petitpalais.paris.fr, metro
Champs-Élysées-Clemenceau. Built for the 1900 World's
Fair, across from the Grand Palais, this magnificent art gallery
provides an overview from ancient times to the 20th century.
Musée Carnavalet: Histoire de Paris. 23 Rue de Sévigné, third arrondissement, 00-33-1- 44595858, www.carnavalet. paris.fr, metro Saint Paul or Chemin Vert. In the Marais District, this museum presents the history of Paris from its earliest origins to the present time. Old Parisian shop signs hang near the entrance. Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. 11 Avenue du Président Wilson, 16th arrondissement, 00-33-1- 53674000, www.mam.paris.fr, metro Iéna or Alma-Marceau. Display of artistic movements of the 20th century in Europe.
Les Maisons de Victor Hugo. 6 Place des Vosges, fourth arrondissement, 00-33-1- 42721016, www.musee-hugo.paris.fr, metro Saint Paul or Chemin Vert. The house where the writer lived until 1848, with decorative arts, literature, paintings and sculpture.
Maison de Balzac, 47 Rue Raynouard, 16th arrondissement, 00-33-1- 55744180, www.balzac.paris.fr, metro La Muette or Passy. Balzac's personal belongings, original editions, manuscripts, paintings and ornaments.
Musée Bourdelle. 18 Rue Antoine Bourdelle, 15th arrondissement, 00-33-1- 49547373, www.bourdelle.paris.fr, metro Montparnasse- Bienvenue. The gardens and studios of Antoine Bourdelle, an assistant to Rodin, houses an exceptional collection of plaster casts, bronzes and marbles. PL
10 ways to make your money go further in the French capital
1 Rent a flatFor stays of a week or more, rent an apartment. You'll usually get more space than in a hotel room, and you can avoid €12 breakfasts by having them in the flat. Start by looking at www.rothray.com, www.rentalfrance.comand www.parisaddress.com. I stayed near the Pompidou Centre for under €130 a night.
2 Find a good-value hotelPlenty of hotels combine high standards with relatively low prices, especially if you book ahead, including: Hotel Langlois, 63 Rue St Lazare, 00-33-1-48747824, www.hotel-langlois.com. On the Right Bank near Gare St Lazare. Doubles from €135.
Hotel les Degrès de Notre Dame, 10 Rue des Grands Degrès, 00-33-1-55428888, www.lesdegreshotel.com. In the Latin Quarter. Doubles from about €110 with breakfast.
Hotel du Dragon, 36 Rue du Dragon, 00-33-1-45485105, www.hoteldudragon.com. In St Germain. Doubles €110.
3 Take the airport trainA taxi from Charles de Gaulle Airport to central Paris can cost €50. The RER B Line train costs about €8 one way. I also recommend the Roissybus coach service, which leaves from Terminals 1, 2 and 3. It costs about €8 and drops you off at L'Opera Garnier. Getting to and from Orly Airport is easier and less expensive (€22-€25), as it's slightly closer to the city.
4 Use pedal powerVelib', a bicycle-rental scheme aimed chiefly at getting cars, congestion and pollution out of the city, lets you pick up a bicycle at one location and return it to another. There are hundreds of Velib' stations (with more than 20,000 bikes). Riders must buy a one-day access card (about €1) or a seven-day pass (about €5) from Velib' parking stations. The first half-hour is free; the second costs €2; the third and subsquent half-hours cost €4. See www.velib.paris.fr.
5 See the sights for lessVisiting at least one museum a day can run into serious money. But 60 museums, including Versailles, are open to people who buy the Paris Museum Pass, sold at tourist-information bureaus, museums, monuments and www.parismuseumpass.com. The price for unlimited entry to participating sites is €30 for two days, €45 for four days and €60 for six days. As Patricia Leahy details (left), entrance is free at numerous museums.
6 Book in for lunchHaving lunch, not dinner, at high-priced restaurants is a good way to save money. You won't do better than at Le Comptoir, a tiny popular bistro on the Left Bank overseen by chef Yves Camdeborde, who on weeknights prepares a set five-course menu with no choices for about €42. Le Comptoir, 9 Carrefour de l'Odéon, 00-33-1-43291205.
7 Use internet cafesIf your hotel doesn't offer free internet access, don't pay to go online there. The rates are better at Milk, a chain of five 24-hour internet cafes in prime tourist neighbourhoods. A five-hour ticket (usable on repeat visits) costs about €10; rates are lower at night. See www.milklub.com.
8 Find a bargainThere are some real deals to be had, especially at high-end department stores such as Le Bon Marché and Franck et Fils. Their summer sales are usually in June or July; the winter ones are in January. Even if you don't want anything, it's fun to window shop and watch Parisians in buying mode. At other times of the year stick with Monoprix for groceries and sundries. You'll find a Monoprix store tucked into almost every quarter. For cut-rate brand-name clothing and accessories there's Espace Alma ( www.espacealma.fr), in the seventh arrondissement.
9 Go to a parkThere's no better place to drink in the soul of the city than in its exquisite parks, decorated with sculpture and flowerbeds and surrounded by palaces and museums. At the Tuileries and the Jardin du Luxembourg you can claim a lawn chair by fountains where kids launch miniature boats and lovers kiss. There are cafes bowered by handsome old trees, jogging paths, and pony rides for the kids. But keep off the grass.
10 See armchair Paris You could save a bundle by
staying home and renting
Ratatouille. Every major site in Paris - the sewer as well
as the Eiffel Tower - turns up in the charming animated film about
a French rat who knows how to cook.
SS
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'It's as if the 1960s never ended'
I FIRST MET Jim Haynes at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, when we shared lunch at the Traverse Theatre, which he founded in the early 1960s. Before we left he told me how to get to his home in Paris and said to be sure to look him up next time I was in the city. "Come for dinner," he said.
I did a bit of digging. Haynes, it turned out, has led an active life - founding Suck, the world's first "sexual freedom" newspaper, with Germaine Greer in the early 1970s, opening the first paperback bookshop in Edinburgh, writing books, befriending John Lennon and lecturing at the University of Paris for more than 30 years. And here he was, asking me to have dinner with him in Paris. "Bring your girlfriend and stay the night if you want," he said.
Haynes has been holding a weekly dinner party in his studio since the 1970s, each time inviting between 50 and 100 guests, mostly strangers. Everyone from Chloë Sevigny to Yoko Ono has graced his table, and the soirees - which begin at 8pm and end by 11pm, a change of neighbours having put paid to later nights - are among the most written-about social events in Paris. All you have to do to get an invitation (Haynes suggests a €25 donation) is go to his website and click on "Come to Sunday Dinner!"
We arrived early and found ourselves setting tables, lighting candles and cutting bread for 60. On hand was Seamus McSweeney, a Cork bon vivant who arrived 30 years ago and hasn't left. "Seamus is senior vice president in charge of distribution. In other words he serves the dinners," says Haynes, who, a master of informality, sits in the centre of his kitchen, making sure his guests meet one another.
I share a starter with David Turner, a retired architect who's writing a book about the three months he has just spent in India. He once met a Japanese girl here who arranged for him to spend three months in a monastery in Kyoto.
One of Paris's leading heart surgeons arrives. "He's good, but he can't do anything for broken hearts," someone remarks as Sam from Suffolk tells me how he plans to design the perfect tie.
Haynes says that more than 100,000 people have dined at his house over the past 30 years. "This event has played a major role in Paris life," he says as he cleans up afterwards. "Many marriages, foreign trips, house-shares, children and business arrangements have come from these get-togethers."
Such has been the geographic spread of his diners that Haynes has been around the world, staying with people who have been to his soirees. It's as if the 1960s never ended.
Just as we're leaving, a friend of a friend arrives. She had her
wallet stolen in Madrid the day before and needs a place to stay
for a few days. "Sure," said Haynes. "Grab a tea towel. There's
just a bit of clearing up to be done after dinner."
BO'C
•See
www.jim-haynes.com
Go there
Aer Lingus (
www.aerlingus.com), Ryanair
(
www.ryanair.com) and Air
France (
www.airfrance.ie) variously
fly to Paris from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast.