With the World Cup play-off games looming, YVONNE JUDGEexplains how to get the most from a trip to the French capital
SO IT’S A TOUGH draw. But, really, Athens is classical, Lisbon is lovely and we did not want wintery Moscow. Paris will do nicely,
merci. Marchons!
My experiences of sporting occasions in the French capital are evenly divided: two shockers at Stade de France and two joyous Irish wins watched from a Paris bar stool.
The Wild Geese, since sadly closed, was the venue in 2000, when the hung-over young Dublin barman struggled to open the door and dismiss the effects of the previous night’s champagne. The TV was placed perilously atop a table and chair while batteries were found for the remote control. The boy gave up on the broken cash register and pleaded to the throng: “Remember what yiz had and tell me at the end.”
For last year's 6 Nations match we packed Carr's Restaurant Pub, off Rue de Rivoli, and cheered our boys, prompting piano-thumping versions of Amhrán na bhFiannand La Marseillaise.
So if you’re heading for Paris in a few weeks without tickets for the second leg of the Republic’s World Cup play-off, an Irish bar is the perfect place to watch it. Regardless, here’s how to make a break of it.
Where to stay
Parisian hotels tend to be expensive, have small rooms and not quite be the standard you’d expect from their star rating. The recession is everywhere, however, so look out for deals.
The Westin Paris. 3 Rue de Castiglione, 00-33-1-44771111, thewestinparis.com. For a lovely hotel in a beautiful location, this is reasonable value. Around the corner from the Ritz.
Golden Tulip Opéra de Noailles. 9 Rue de la Michodière 00-33-1-47429290, goldentulip operadenoailles.com. Stylish, comfortable and well located. Deals online.
Villa Beaumarchais. 5 Rue des Arquebusiers, 00-33-1- 40291400, villa-beaumarchais.com. A slightly shabby-chic boutique hotel with some great value at the moment. Friendly staff, and a stone’s throw from Place des Vosges.
Where to eat
Paris can be better value for food than Ireland if you stay away from the Michelin stars. Look out for lunch deals and the words le menu, le formuleor le repas à prix fixeon blackboards – these set meals can be bargains. Autumn is a great time for duck, figs and anything with pears. It is also one of the few times that the French overindulge on drink, with Beaujolais Nouveau.
Brasserie Bofinger. 5 Rue de la Bastille, 00-33-1-42728782, bofingerparis.com. Along with Le Petit Bofinger, its little brother across the street, this a traditional, well-priced, oh-so-Parisian establishment. Seafood is a speciality.
Georges.Centre Georges Pompidou, 19 Rue Beaubourg, 00-33-1-44784799, centre pompidou.fr. In a glass box at the top of the Pompidou Centre, this restaurant is worth it for the view alone – but be warned that it has the most aloof staff imaginable.
Le Madrigal.32 Avenue des Champs Élysées, 00-33-1- 43599025. A gorgeous spot for sitting in or out. There's nothing quite like people-watching here with a chocolat chaud. Art-deco interiors and a DJ at night.
Café de Flore.172 Boulevard St Germain, 00-33-1-45485526, cafe-de-flore.com. Camus and Picasso might have moved on, but you, too, can dream your Parisian dream – shoulder to shoulder with every US tourist and writer in Paris.
Café Beaubourg.100 Rue St Martin, 00-33-1-48876396. Read your book, tap your laptop and have a glass of Sancerre at this cafe-restaurant opposite the Pompidou Centre, but don't stare at the man in the stripy top. It's probably Jean Paul Gaultier.
City of light
Looking down on Paris from Sacré Coeur Basilica, in Montmartre, the white stone of the city really shimmers, not least because over the past decade the facade of every single building has been cleaned by decree of the mayor.
By night the sights shine in white light. Old meets new as you walk through the Louvre and admire the audacity of Ieoh Ming Pei’s glass pyramid or stroll the Marais to bump into the inside-out Pompidou Centre. Grande Arche de la Défense shines in the distance, making a symmetry with the Arc de Triomphe.
The Eiffel Tower takes the curtain call, with its after-dark disco trick, and its current light show, celebrating the landmark’s 120th birthday, nightly from 9pm.
Park and ride
If you value your nerves, never drive in Paris and take the metro only if you have to. Walking and cycling are the way forward. Paris’s bicycle-sharing scheme is a brilliant way to get around. If you are afraid of negotiating junctions such as Place de la Concorde, keep to the side streets.
The city’s arrondissements are arranged like a snail’s shell, curling out from the middle. Notre Dame is officially the centre of the city, but of course you knew that from The Da Vinci Code.
Parks are a must. Jardin des Tuileries, Jardins du Luxembourg and the lesser-known Parc des Buttes Chaumont all have sandy paths, ponds with boats, coffee kiosks and perfectly tilted chairs for a winter sunbathe. Hot crepes keep the November chill at bay.
Shopping
Whether you want to splurge the credit-union funds or just lecher les vitrines– window-shop – the city teems with choice. Near Opéra Garnier the grands magasinsof Galeries Lafayette and Printemps cater to broad and designer tastes alongside high-street favourites.
Rue St Honoré (metro Tuileries) is home to couture houses – you just may spy Mme Sarkozy browsing. Louis Vuitton is the Mecca for Japanese tourists on the Champs Élysées. You will also find man creches in the dazzling showrooms of Citroën, Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot.
For quirkier styles, try the Marais, in the third and fourth arrondissements. This ancient Jewish quartier has reinvented itself as one of the trendier shopping hubs. Rue des Francs Bourgeois and Rue des Rosiers are full of designer boutiques and more accessible labels. And if you are all fashioned out, relax and have a coffee on Place des Vosges.
Away from the shops, if it's art you want there is no shortage. Buy a copy of Pariscopeat any news kiosk to see what exhibitions are on. Paris has plenty for kids, including tales of the French Revolution and trips to the Eiffel Tower. The scientifically minded would love Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, and boy soldiers might enjoy Invalides, a complex of military museums and monuments. A sightseeing trip on the Seine, on a Bateau-Mouche or Vedettes du Pont-Neuf boat, is fun for everyone – or take a hop-on, hop-off Batobus boat around all the big sights. And Disneyland is less than an hour by RER from central Paris.
Stade de France
Stade de France is easy to get to, but allow at least two hours, just in case of complications. Two RER lines go there from Gard du Nord and Châtelet Les Halles. Line D1 stops at Stade de France St Denis, a 20-minute walk from the stadium. Line B stops at La Plaine Stade de France, closer to the stadium. Both are short RER journeys. Metro line 13 stops at St Denis Porte de Paris, but it is a slower way of getting to the venue.
The many bars and food stalls outside the stadium usually have a convivial atmosphere. Take note: the beer on sale inside the stadium is nonalcoholic. Later, enjoy the tradition of the troisième mi-temps, or third half, when rival fans mingle – although the degree of bonhomie depends on the outcome that night. Allez les verts!
Sky-high fares? CONOR POPE explains how else you can get to Paris next month
“Olé, olé, olé, olé . . . You’ll never beat the Irish . . . We’re all part of Trappy’s Army, we’re all off to gay Paree and we’ll really shake . . . Sorry, you want how much for the plane tickets? €400? What a rip-off! You just wait till I tell Joe Duffy.” And so it went.
No sooner had the World Cup play-off draw determined that the Republic of Ireland would play the second leg of an all-or-nothing tie against France in Paris on November 18th than flights with Aer Lingus and Ryanair took off, climbing from about €25 one way to well over €100 in minutes. A Ryanair return from Dublin to Paris, leaving on the morning of the match and returning the following evening, cost at least €291 earlier this week. Aer Lingus flights from Paris on the day after the match were booked out; the cost of a return journey coming back on Friday was a hefty €289.
Fans willing to spend a little time researching the trip can, however, get to the big match for considerably less. A return Ryanair flight to Brussels, leaving on Wednesday morning and returning on Friday evening – Thursday’s homeward-bound flight is too dear, at €159.99 – costs €77.35. The shuttle bus to Brussels is €22, and a return ticket on the 90-minute high-speed train to Paris is €86 – a total of €185.35.
A return flight with Ryanair from Dublin to London Stansted, travelling out on Wednesday and back on Thursday afternoon, is €67.68. A bus ticket into London costs as little as €3 (the train is 10 times that amount), and a two and a half hour Eurostar return to the French capital costs €80.50, giving a total of €154.18.
The least stressful route, however, would see you take an Aer Lingus flight to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Wednesday morning and return the following day. Earlier this week a return cost just €109.29; the four-hour high-speed train journey from Schiphol to Paris costs €110, taking the total cost of the return journey to €219.29, with just one simple-to- navigate transfer each way. So the only thing fans will have to worry about is whether the tie isn’t done and dusted after the home leg, before a ball is kicked at Stade de France.
Yvonne Judge is series producer of The Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1