Useful information

• Basic facts
• Weather
• Museums and Monuments Card
• Information offices
• Emergency numbers

Basic facts

Country name: French Republic 
French flag: Blue, white, red
Population: 60,656,178 (July 2005 est.)
Land area: 547,030 sq km (including only metropolitan France; excludes the overseas administrative divisions)
Capital: Paris
Population: 2,142,800 (February 2005 estimates)
Official language: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Geographical location: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain 

Government: republic
Currency: euro (EUR)
Time zone: GMT+1
Religion: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
Climate: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral Voltage: 220 Volts / 50 Hz
Country calling code: 0033
Holidays: January 1 (New Year’s Day), 1st Sunday after New Year (“Fête des Rois”), February 14 (Valentine’s Day), February 24 (Mardi Gras), Between March 22 and April 25 (Easter), May 1 (Labour Day), May 8 (Victory 1945), May 20 (Ascension), May 30 (Whit Monday), June 21 (“Fête de la Musique”), July 14 (Bastille Day), August 15 (Assumption), November 01 (All Saints Day), November 11 (Armistice 1918), 3rd Thursday in November (Beaujolais Nouveau), December 25 (Christmas Day)
Freeway fees: French motorways are designated with numbers preceded by the letter A (for Autoroute). Most French motorways are toll motorways. The cost of motorway travel for a car without caravan or trailer is about 1 €uro for 10 miles. For example, in January 2006, motorway tolls on the 1060 km trip from Calais to Marseille, via Paris, almost all of it on toll motorways, amounted to 65 €uros, about £40.
Safety: Basically, Paris is a relatively safe place. However, in city crowds, especially on public transportation, pickpockets are very good at their craft. Therefore don't put a wallet with money in your back pocket. Never count your money in public and carry as little as possible.
Anyway, thefts and crimes rather occur in some areas of the suburb where tourists never go than in the city center.

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Weather

Because of its location on the western side of Europe and being close to the sea, Paris benefits from the balmy influences of the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate. The weather can be very changeable, however, especially in winter and spring, when the wind can be sharp and cold. The annual average temperature is 12° C (53° F); the July average is about 19° C (67° F), and the January average is about 3° C (38° F). The temperature drops below freezing about 35 days a year, and snow falls on an average of 15 days.

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Museums and Monuments Card

It offers free and priority access to permanent collections of 70 museums and monuments in Paris and the greater Paris area. Three types of card are available: 1, 3 or 5 consecutive days. The card can be bought in advance and used at any time as the number of visits is unlimited.
You can buy Museum Passes:

• in major Métro stations
• in the Paris Tourist Office (127, Avenue des Champs-Elysées)
• at its reception offices in certain Paris train stations
• at the Eiffel Tower
• or at most of the 70 attractions

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Information offices

Paris Office of Tourism - Office de Tourisme de Paris

127, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris
Métro: Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile
Phone: 01.49.52.53.54
Fax: 01.49.52.53.00
Open daily: 9.00-20.00 except January 1, May 1, December 25.

Paris tourist information office Opéra - Grands Magasins welcome centre

11, Rue Scribe, 75009 Paris
Métro: Auber (line A), Opéra (line 3-7-8) or Chaussée d'Antin (line 7-9)
Open: Mon-Sat. 9.00–18.30, except May 1

Paris tourist information office Gare de Lyon welcome centre

20, Boulevard Diderot, 75012 Paris
Métro Gare de Lyon (line A-D), Gare de Lyon (line 1-14)
Open: Mon-Sat. 8.00-18.00, except May 1

Paris tourist information office Tour Eiffel welcome centre
 
Tour Eiffel, between the East and the North pillars
RER Champ-de-Mars / Tour Eiffel (line C), Métro Bir-Hakeim (line 6)
Open: 7 days a week from May to September, 11.00-18.40, except May 1

Paris tourist information office Gare du Nord welcome centre
 
18, Rue de Dunkerque, 75010 Paris
« Welcome kiosk » beneath the glass roof, in the Ile-de-France zone.
RER Gare du Nord (lines B and D), Métro Gare du Nord (lines 4 et 5)
Open: 7 days a week 12.40-8.10, except December 25 and May 1)

Paris tourist information office Montmartre welcome centre

21 Place du Tertre, 75018 Paris
Métro Abbesses (line 12)
Open: 7 days a week, 10.00-19.00
 
Paris tourist information office Carrousel du Louvre welcome centre

Carrousel du Louvre
Place de la Pyramide Inversée, 99, Rue de Rivoli – Paris 1er
Métro Palais Royal/Musée du Louvre, (lignes 1 et 7)
Open: 7 days a week, 10.00-19.00

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Emergency numbers

SAMU (Emergency Medical Assistance): 15 or 01.45.67.50.50
Police: 17
Fire / accident (fire brigade): 18
24 hour Pharmacy: 01 48 74 65 18 / 01 45 62 02 41
Dentist: 01 43 37 51 00

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