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If you have any useful tips for living in Paris or can add to any of the entries below, send them to the Editor to be included here. These tips are a combination of those sent in and those supplied by members of our message board.

TRANSPORT
PLACES
TEA AND COFFEE
FOOD
SCHOOLS
ADULT LEARNING
MISCELLANEOUS

TRANSPORT

The last Métro: The last Metro on each line leaves its first station at 12.45 AM. So you have to calculate, depending on what part of the line you are, whether you can catch it or whether you will need a taxi... (Tip from Nathalie)

Tickets on the Métro: There are three systems. Firstly buy "un billet" at 1.40 € which is a single ticket from station to station and includes the RER station that are within Paris. Secondly, for a very small discount you can buy "un carnet" which is ten billets and costs 10.50€. Lastly you have the option of buying "une carte orange" for either a week, two weeks or a month. You need to get a photosection with your first one and you need to stick a photo in it. Prices of these are on the Metro website.

More about tickets on the Métro: Here's the deal. There is an English version of the Métro website. They provide only selected information.
Paris Visite ticket for three zones for three days about 18€. On the English version of the site they do not mention the Mobilis ticket. On the French side of the site the Mobilis ticket for one day is about 5€ for one day for zones 1&2. Therefore buying a Mobilis for each day is cheaper than the Paris Visite ticket. Unless you are going to go to zone three, which as a tourist is unlikely. The Mobilis does not have a children's version. You should get the Paris Visite for any kids at about 9€ for three zones for three days. Children under 4 travel free.

Paris Visite also includes admission to some tourist places. (Tip from Stephen_Lord. We're checking up to find out which places... Ed)

Tickets on the buses: Are the same as the tickets on the Metro. See the above web address for more info.

Metro Stations to avoid: Avoid changing trains at Châtelet and Montparnasse, in particular, if you can. These stations are huge.

Walking: Buy a map and carry it everywhere. Some areas of Paris, such as the Quartier Latin and other parts of the old city will turn you round in circles. The Nouveauté booklet of maps "Paris facile" is a life-saver (or at least a leg-saver) at 5€ from all bookshops.

Cycling: A shop recomended for buying second hand bikes. (Tip from gorsebush Pixie and Gowator)

Cycling: A place to rent bicycles: 1 passage Mondétour (face au 120 rue Rambuteau), 75001 Paris , Tél : 0810 44 15 34 , Fax : 01 44 76 85 62, E-mail : leshalles@rouelibre.fr , Métro Les Halles : lignes RER (Tip from Gowator)

PLACES

Arrondissements: What's all this I hear about the café being in the 13th and the Louvre being in the 1st? Paris is divided up into arrondissements which are administrative centres within the city. It eventually become habit for the people of Paris to refer to the location of a particular place by it's Arrondissment. There are Twenty of them, and they aren't as hard to remember as you might think. Here is a map and a full explanation of the Arrondissements.

Museums: The first Sunday of every month has free entry to the majority of museums and galleries in Paris. This is a double-edged sword. Of course you don't have to pay, however the crowds will be at their largest. Probably a very good time to check out some of the smaller and less frequented museums.

Pantheon: For those visiting the Pantheon, (one of my favorite places) make sure you get there early and check when the next visit to the roof is. They are not too frequent and often by the time you have wandered around you might not wish to wait another hour till the next one whereas the rest is freely accessible. (Tip from Gowator)

Parks: My favourite park is the little triangular "Square du Vert Galant" right on the western tip of Ile de la Cité, by Pont Neuf. A great little spot on a sunny day. (Tip from DrKev)

Parks: I just discovered a huge park right by my place (14th) called the Parc Monsouris! Apparantly quite famous already, I had never ventured there before, usually going to the main parks: Champ de Mars, Monceau, Luxembourg, Tuileries etc... But Monsouris is real big and you can sit on the grass in some places (more than in Luxembourg) and they even have a little stream with ducks! (Tip from gorsebush pixie)

Parks: If you are fed up with the formal style of Parks in Paris, there are two landscaped parks. one is the suggestion above, Parc Monsouris in the 14th and the other is the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in the 19th. And, of course there are two recreational parks, the Bois de Bologne on the western border of the city and the Bois de Vincennes near Bercy.

Le Louvre: Tip on how to get into the Louvre without long queues at the security barrier. The main entrance by the glass pyramid draws long queues but you can also enter via the shopping centre below it. The simplest way to find it is Palaise Royale Métro (lines 1 or 7) and take the exit by Line 1 into the arcade. This has a nice mall including a food court where you can get fed before you enter, and the queues are much smaller. (Tip from Gowator)

Montmatre: Not the Basilica, which is interesting enough and has great view over the city, but when you do go to the Basilica, you must also go to the little church in square behind. The church of St Pierre de Monmatre is one fo the oldest in Paris. It was originally built in the 5th century on the site of a Roman temple to Mars (according to the Histoire de Paris sign outside the door, or Mercury according to the Knopf Guide). It is a nice old chuch to walk around and has a pillar near the door which is supposedly from the Roman temple. The original was burned down in the 12th century, but this is the real (!) church of Montmartre. It is now the centre of a Banedictine Abbey.

TEA AND COFFEE

Good place for a cup of tea: I recommend, especially for all you English tea drinkers out there, the Musée de la Vie Romantique which is on Rue Chaptal up in the 18th by Pigalle. The permanent collection is free (it all takes place in one of those Hotel Particulier and you can find little things from George Sand etc...). More importantly, it has a gorgeous little garden with a tea room! On a nice summer day you can sit down and have an amazing cup of tea (4.50 euros but worth it, their tea is made especially for them and you can't get it anywhere else!). You almost forget you're in Paris, let alone in the whole Pigalle-Moulin Rouge district! NB there is a school nearby so expect bells at recess times (10.30am 12.30pm 16.30pm...) and brief periods of screaming children (I tend to go when they're all on holiday or in between their recess times). (Tip from gorsebush pixie)

A cup of coffee? I like the rooftop café at Samaritaine. The coffee and food are pretty bad for the prices but the view is great. It's the only place in Paris where you can see all the major landmarks without actually being on any one of them. On a sunny summers day, the view up and down the river is lovely. (Tip from DrKev)

FOOD

Chinese Food: the area around Avenue D'Italie and Avenue de Choisy (Metros Tolbiac, Maison Blanche, Porte de Choisy, Porte D'Ivry) in the 13th arondissement has a fine selection of Chinese and other oriental cuisine.

Tamil Food: The area just south of métro La Chapelle (10éme) is the Tamil quarter of Paris and some good food is to be found there too. 'Chez Ghandi' on rue Cail is recommended for authentic Sri Lankan cuisine (and again, ridiculously inexpensive). (Tip from DrKev)

SCHOOLS
(A list of international schools in Paris, thanks to Gowator)

British School
British O/A level sylabus

American School
Amercan Sylabus

Ecole Active Bilingue Jeanine Manuel (or EABJM)
70 rue du Théâtre 75015 PARIS
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 75 62 98 39 av. de la Bourdonnais 75007 PARIS
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 51 20 84 141 av. de Suffren 75001 PARIS
Tel: +33 (0)1 47 34 27 72

International School of Paris
96 bis rue du Ranelagh 75016 PARIS
Tel: +33 (0)1 42 24 43 40 7 rue Chardin 75016 PARIS
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 27 50 01
Providing eduction to Anlophone community of Paris

Lycee International de Saint Germain en Laye
230 rue du Fer-à-Cheval 78104 SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE
Tel: +33 (0)1 34 51 74 85

Quote:
The Lycée International is one of the most famous and successful state schools in France with a bustling campus of nearly 2500 boys and girls whose ages range from 3 to 19. A unique and stimulating atmosphere is created by the blend of children from twelve different national sections combining to work under the aegis of the French national curriculum. Self-discipline and tolerance, autonomy and individuality are characteristics encouraged by the system and excellent academic results demonstrate its effectiveness.
The British Section itself is a network. There are classes in schools in Le Pecq (Ecole Jehan-Alain, Ecole Félix Eboué and the Collège Pierre et Marie Curie), in the Collège des Hauts Grillets in St Germain and in the Lycée International itself.

Marymount School
72, bd de la Saussaye 92200 NEUILLY SUR SEINE
Tel: +33 (0)1 46 24 10 51

Quote:
Marymount School, Paris is a private, co-educational day school for children from pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8. Classes are in English, based on an American curriculum enriched by the unique cultural opportunities of the School's European location. French instruction is given daily to all students. Our student body of approximately 400 comes from about 35 countries and represents all major religions.

United Nations Nursery School
Association Paris 40 rue de Guerin 75016 PARIS
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 27 20 24
(international bilingual school for children 2-6; summer school in July)

Ecole Internationale Malherbe Vesinet
ecole.MALHERBE@wanadoo.fr
(British program with English teachers)

A note about schools from an ex-student: Ok, having been through the entire educational scheme here in Paris, I must speak up: The International School in the 16th and Marymount are both horrible! The International School is tiny and badly run and, from knowing several students there, it's one of those schools where you go if you don't want to do anything. Marymount, on the other hand, is run by nuns who are slightly weird and eccentric (and not in a good way).
As for the International School on rue du Théâtre in the 15th, that is in fact the school I attended for primary school. There is a similar one in the 16th - EAB Victor Hugo. I highly recommend these at least for young children because it is fantastic if you want your child to learn English or if you've just moved here and you want your child to speak French (if you plan on only spending a few years here and don't particularly want your child to learn French, send them to the American School of Paris). Once you hit secondary school at the EABJM, my parents decided to send me to a French School because at the EAB, they focus a lot more on studies in English for the International Bac so all subjects except for French and Maths are taught in English. (Tip from Goresebush Pixie)

Do you have anything to say about schools in Paris? Any advice for parents debating where to send their children? Check out the Schools and Education section of the Message Board

ADULT LEARNING

French lessons: Are commonly given free by your local Mairie. Check with them for courses available.

Conversation in French: If you can't manage to get regular conversation with your French friends, you can try the French conversation for foreigners at 5 rue de l'Abbaye in the 6th. discussion is everyday from 1400-1900. Run by the Le Circle de l'a.r.c. And the best bit, it's free!

MISCELLANEOUS

Something not to be worried about: The Paris general emergency siren is tested on the first Wednesday of every month at 12 midday. It is then tested again fifteen minutes later. It can be a bit of a shock the first time you hear it.

Something to be worried about: if the above event happens at any other time. Frankly nobody is sure what you do about it. Something along the lines of Corporal Jones from Dad's Army presumably.

Do you know the words of the French National Anthem? Without doubt the best National Anthem in the world! Here are the words.

Books: HOT TIP - cheapest second hand English books I know of in Paris are to be had at Gibert Jeune on Place St. Michel. It's the Langues et Lettres store, right around the corner from (sob, sniff) Le Galway (booo hoo).(Tip from DrKev)

Libraries: So for those who might not know, libraries in Paris are free (to register you just need an ID and a proof of your address such as electricity bill or a free housing certificate) and many of them have a bulging one shelf of foreign language books... It's probably not as rich as the American library but it's free, and let's face it : one is not a proper expat if one is not broke! The Buffon bibliothèque by jardin des plantes is supposed to be specialized so instead of a shelf you might get a whole bookshelf! (Tip from Aurelie)