Useful information when visiting Paris

European SOS 112
The number 112 can be dialled to reach emergency services – medical, fire and police – from anywhere in Europe. This Pan-European  emergency number 112 can be called from any telephone (landline, pay phone or mobile cellular phone). Calls are free. Alongside 112, the following emergency numbers are available:

• 15 – medical emergency
• 17 – police
• 18 – fire brigade
• 115 – social emergency
• 119 – abused children
• 116000 – missing children
• 114 – National centre for emergency calls for deaf and people with hearing problems

It is not possible to call 112 from a mobile phone without a SIM card. In addition to French, the calls can be answered in 40 languages thanks to the help of interpreters.

Source: website European Commission

Paris is known as the City of Light, and there’s no better place to appreciate its warm glow than high above it all. Whether perched on a precipice over the Champs-Elysees or living the high life atop a modern skyscraper, you’ll get some perspective when you visit these five sites.

A. Montmartre
B. Arab World Institute
C. Arc de Triomphe
D. Montparnasse Tower
E. Eiffel Tower

When in Paris we recommend to drink a coffee or wine on a traditional Parisian terrace with the characteristic French tables and chairs. Enjoy the city atmosphere and watch the people passing by. The cafés also serve lunch, mostly standard French cuisine or something simple like a Croque Monsieur (a toasted cheese and ham sandwich). Here’s our top 5 list of typical Paris Cafés:

1. Les Deux Magots
   Classical waiters in black and white and a spacious terrace opposite the Saint-Germain-des-Prés church. Les Deux Magots was founded in 1812 at Rue de Buci and transferred to the current place in 1873. The café used to be frequented by artists and writers like Picasso and Hemingway.
   Address: 6 Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris.
2. Cafe de Flore
   One of the oldest Art Deco Cafés in Paris, situated across the street from rival Les Deux Magots. Besides coffee they serve a delicious hot chocolate. The café once was visited daily by intellectuals like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
   Address: 172, Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris.
3. Café La Pointe Saint Eustache
   This traditional Paris café is also recommended for lunch. Outside you will find a good people watching terrace. Café La Pointe Saint Eustache is located near Les Halles and next to the Saint Eustache church.
   Address: 1 rue Montorgueil, Paris.
4. Café Delmas
   Have a coffee, breakfast or a cocktail at happy hour (7 – 9 pm) on the terrace and soak up the street atmosphere. Café Delmas is situated in the heart of the Mouffetard Quarter and near the Panthéon.
   Address: Place de la Contrescarpe, Paris.
5. Le Select
   Besides a classic café, Le Select is also a good brasserie, a traditional Parisian bistro. Take a seat on the terrace outside where once Hemingway, Picasso and Henry Miller had their coffee or wine in the sun.
   Address: 99 Boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris.

Cafe de Flore, Paris.

Café La Pointe Saint Eustache, Paris.

Café Delmas, Paris.

• The Eiffel Tower was originally intended to last 20 years before being torn down. But because of it’s height the tower was ideal for antennas, used for radio transmissions, which was the reason the Eiffel Tower was allowed to stay.
• The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave Eiffel for the World Exhibition in 1889 and the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building in New York was completed in 1930.
• The ancient Egyptian obelisk on Place de la Concorde was offered by Egypt to the French in 1829. The obelisk once marked the entrance to the Luxor Temple.
• The point of the Luxor Obelisk (Place de La Concorde) indicated international time, making it the largest sundial in the world.
• Why is Paris called City of Lights? It has nothing to do with the power used to illuminate the Eiffel Tower or the streetlights of the city. Lights in this case, means intellectuals, referring to the high-concentration of writers, artists and academics that have always been drawn to the city.
• Despite its name, Pont Neuf (New Bridge) is the oldest of the Paris bridges, inaugurated in 1607. The road on the bridge was the first in Paris with pavements separating pedestrians and traffic.