Geography
Paris, the capital of
France, is a city of over two million people covering 460 square miles
of northern France. It is on the River Seine at the center of the
Ile-de-France, the region that is home to ten million people, around
one-fifth of the French population.
Paris normally enjoys
pleasant summer weather in July, with a possiblity of showers. Days are
warm (18-25° C i.e. 65-77° F) but nights may be cool (15° C i.e. 60° F).
Money
The French currency is the French franc (FF). The Euro (EUR), which is
exactly 6.55957 FF, will be the official currency in France on January
1st, 2002. See today's exchange rates. There are numerous banks and
bureaux de change. The best exchange rates are often available from the
widely available automated teller machines, which accept all major
credit cards, as well as bank cards on all of the major ATM networks.
Travelling
You can get to Paris by train or by air. There are two main airports in Paris, Aéroport
Charles de Gaulle also called Roissy (in the north of Paris) and
Aéroport d'Orly (in the south of Paris). You can find a localization map
here.
To go from the Charles de Gaulle airport to Paris, you take the train
known as "RER B" (direction Paris). To get to Paris from Orly airport
you take the "Orly Bus" which goes directly to the center of Paris,
Place Denfert-Rochereau to be precise.
To travel in Paris, there is a well-connected subway and
buses. A ticket costs 8FF, (a book of 10 tickets costs 55F.) These
tickets are on sale in every subway station where you can also find a map
of the subway network.
Telephone
A French phone number is made up of 10 numbers. The first number is
always 0. When phoning from outside France, you use the code "33" and
omit the 0. "* ** ** ** **" without the To call abroad from France, you
use the international code "00" followed by the country-code and
tel-number.
Tourist Information
There are seven tourist offices in Paris, one at each of the five main
SNCF train stations, one at the Eiffel Tower, an Paris???, tel: 33 (0)1
49 52 53 54. All offices provide maps, information and brochures. They
also offer last-minute hotel reservation services. You can find an online tourist office. See also an other site with
tourist informations on Paris
Interesting sights near the
Conference Site (see the map)
From the conference site, you can walk to the following Paris sights:
Last modified on 16th May 2001 - cav01@lsv.ens-cachan.fr