Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 7, 1993 TAG: 9404070004
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: F6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WENDY ZOMPARELLI
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
By the time we worked our way back, we had missed the event, wasted a precious Sunday and spent far more in train fares than we could afford.
That was how we learned that not all trains stop at every station. To be a tourist in a foreign land is to become as a little child: Simple activities like buying a tube of toothpaste or ordering dessert turn into exciting adventures. Until you discover you ended up with liniment instead of toothpaste. Until the pamplemousse that sounded so rich, so decadent, turns out to be half a grapefruit.
No printed guide can prevent all such mishaps - and if it could, it would take the fun out of going abroad. Mishaps make both the best lessons and the best memories.
Still, knowing a little about how Paris works can save time and exasperation, leaving you more energy for the real challenges. Like figuring out which line gets to the top of the Eiffel Tower fastest.
Transportation
Since 1900, Parisians have been getting around under the city on an excellent subway system called the Metro. It connects all 20 sections of the city, called arrondissements. It also links with the regional express (RER) to serve the suburbs. Euro Disneyland and Louis XIV's sumptuous palace at Versailles are easy rides from Paris on the RER.
Tourist passes that enable you to ride as much as you like for three or five days are available, but unless you're doing a lot of subway hopping, a pass may not be the best value. Even when we were showing the city's sights to friends and using public transport intensely, we found it more economical and simpler to buy tickets by the carnet, a pack of 10.
You can travel anywhere within the city on the Metro or RER for a single ticket; consult a ticket agent to get the right fare for outlying stations on the RER.
Metro and RER maps are posted at virtually every stop, and you can pick up a free copy at the ticket booth of most larger stations. The trick to navigating the system is to look for the name of the last station in the direction you want to go. Then follow the signs to the platform for the ``direction'' of the terminus you're heading toward. It's pretty easy.
If your trip involves more than one line, try to make transfers at smaller stations. At Chatelet-Les Halles or Montparnasse-Bienvenue, you may walk a kilometer or more through boring, malodorous tunnels to get to your next platform. Better to save your feet for the far more interesting sights above ground.
All Metro cars are of a single class, but there are still first- and second-class distinctions on the RER. Keep your ticket with you until you complete your trip; inspectors often demand to see them. On the RER, you'll need your ticket to open the exit turnstiles.
Displays along the RER platforms illuminate to show the stations served. If the stop you want isn't lighted, wait for another train.
If your stay in Paris lasts longer than a few days, try traveling by bus. Though bus routes are harder to figure out, and not all operate nights or weekends, you'll get to see more of the city. You can buy an inexpensive bus guide, such as Plannet's ``Guide Paris Autobus,'' at almost any bookstore (librairie) or stationery shop (papeterie). It also contains Metro/RER maps and detailed street maps showing every bus stop.
The same ticket is used for the bus and Metro. Long bus rides often require two tickets. Maps posted inside the buses show the entire route, divided into sections. If you travel more than two sections, you need to punch two tickets as you climb aboard. No transfers are given.
Cafes and restaurants
Cafe sitting is one of the great delights of Parisian life. You can sit as long as you like over a single cup of coffee or other beverage, reading the day's paper, working on your novel or simply watching the endlessly fascinating passers-by.
Prices vary tremendously among cafes. One with a particularly good location or reputation may charge 22 francs for a cafe creme - about $4 at current exchange rates. Another cafe a few doors away may charge half as much. Prices generally are posted, and they're lower if you stand at the counter instead of sitting at a table. The least expensive cafe drink is red wine, usually a cotes du rhone at about 11 francs. Soft drinks run around 15.
If you want to impress the waiter with your savoir faire, never ask for cafe au lait; say cafe creme instead. Either way, you'll get coffee with hot, frothy milk. But true cafe au lait is consumed only at home, only at breakfast, and only from bowls, not cups.
Parisian cafes and restaurants include a 15 percent service charge in all bills, so you never have to pay more than is indicated on your tab. If you want to reward a waiter or wine steward for exceptional service, leave a little extra gratuity in cash.
Figuring out the menu at a French restaurant can be difficult; chefs often give esoteric names to their creations, and even Parisians don't always know what something means. A good guidebook can help. I particularly like ``The Food Lover's Guide to Paris'' by Patricia Wells (Workman Publishing, paperback). It gives short reviews of dozens of restaurants, bakeries, pastry shops and specialty food stores. It also includes an extensive glossary of menu terms.
``Menu'' in France refers to a set-price meal, usually including a choice of appetizers (entrees), main courses (plats) and fruit, cheese or dessert. It's generally a better value than ordering items separately. If you want to see the bill of fare, ask for ``la carte, s'il vous plait.''
Parisians think tap water tastes bad, so they generally order bottled water at restaurants. Perrier is considered too fizzy to have with a meal; Badoit, which tastes slightly of bicarbonate of soda, is trendy. But if you want tap water - yes, it's perfectly safe - don't hesitate to ask for ``une carafe d'eau.''
Money
Take plastic. The Visa card, known as Carte Bleue, is most widely used. MasterCard often is accepted; American Express generally isn't. Exchange rates are always a gamble, but we have consistently gotten better rates from the credit card companies than when we change dollars. Travelers checks in francs are handy to have along. First Union keeps them in stock, and some other banks can order them for you. If you're a member of AAA you can get them there for free. Not all restaurants and retail establishments will take them, but they're easily cashed at banks and exchange offices.
You can also buy French currency in Roanoke. We took several hundred francs in small denominations last trip and found it very convenient; we were able to hop right in a taxi at the airport without having to cash or change anything.
Safety
Paris has a relatively low rate of violent crime, but pickpockets are adept and numerous, particularly around popular tourist sites and in the Metro lines serving them - Montmartre, Les Halles, the passenger train stations and the naughty parts of town, like Pigalle and Gaite. Tourists coping with too much luggage are easy prey. No one member of your party should carry everyone's passport. Sometimes pickpockets work in teams, with one spilling something on a victim, and the other appearing as a good Samaritan to help mop him up - in more ways than one.
Motorcycle thieves sometimes snatch bags from people strolling along sidewalk curbs. Paris has many fascinating and famous cemeteries, but they're high crime areas; go with a group.
The Louvre's back door
Thousands of people visit the famous art museum every day, and most of them line up to enter through I.M. Pei's controversial glass pyramid in the center of the courtyard. You can wait for hours to get in that way, particularly on Sundays, when admission fees are reduced. Instead, walk toward the Carrousel along the inside of the wing on the Quai des Tuileries to the Porte Jaujard. This entrance isn't well-marked or well-known - or much used.
Take it with you
Common toiletries and cosmetics are far more expensive in Paris. A friend who had forgotten his deodorant was stunned when he found he'd have to pay $8 for the equivalent of a SpeedStick. Contact lens solutions, obtainable only at pharmacies and optical shops, can run $18 a bottle. Take them along.
If you do forget your shampoo, try Marks & Spencer, the British department store on the Boulevard Haussmann, behind the Opera. They carry a wide selection of toiletries at lower prices than most other stores.
Clothing prices also are much higher in Paris, even for basics like panty hose and socks. Batteries, film and photo processing are also far costlier there. And voltage converters that enable you to plug your American hair dryer into a French outlet are virtually unobtainable in Paris.
The French pay value-added tax on almost everything they buy - and so will you. But if you spend a lot on items to bring home, you can get the VAT refunded. It's fairly complicated, and it involves making a declaration at the airport or train station upon leaving the country, so you need to allow extra time on departure day. The grands magasins such as Printemps and Galleries Lafayette give out printed instructions in English.
Wendy Zomparelli, assistant to the publisher of this newspaper, lived in Paris 1980-81 and for six months last year. It's her favorite place in the world - except Roanoke.
by CNB