Paris / 巴黎

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has a population of 2,206,488 (as in 2017) and has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts.

Paris is especially known for its museums and architectural landmarks: the Louvre was the most visited art museum in the world in 2017, with 8.1 million visitors. The Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art, and the Pompidou Centre Musée National d'Art Moderne has the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe. The historical district along the Seine in the city centre is classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site. Popular landmarks in the centre of the city include the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris and the Gothic royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, both on the Île de la Cité; the Eiffel Tower, constructed for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889; the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, built for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900; the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées, and the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur on the hill of Montmartre.

Paris received 23 million visitors in 2017 with the largest numbers of foreign visitors coming from the United States, the UK, Germany and China. It was ranked as the third most visited travel destination in the world in 2017, after Bangkok and London.
Greener Living
The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo is focused on greening the city and reducing car traffic and pollution. Ongoing projects include investing €150 million in cycling infrastructure (including an av des Champs-Élysées cycling lane), reducing parking spaces by 55,000 per year, instigating a city-wide maximum speed limit of 30km per hour (except major arteries) by 2020 to minimise noise pollution, and banning diesel cars by 2024 and petrol cars by 2030.

Green initiatives also include a goal of 100 hectares of green roofs, façades and vertical walls, a third of which will be devoted to urban agriculture. Green walkways and gardens will connect two of Paris’ busiest mainline stations – Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est – from 2019. A ‘pedestrian peninsula’ linking place de la Bastille with the Port de l’Arsenal marina is also scheduled to open in 2019.

International Events
Apart from the annual Tour de France, Marathon International de Paris, etc., the capital is also gearing up to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, 2024 Summer Olympics and 2024 Summer Paralympics.

When Is the Best Time to Visit Paris?
While spring and autumn are the ideal period, summer is the main tourist season but many places (restaurants, shops etc.) close during August. Sights are quieter during winter.

Visitors are advisable to plan their trip based on main intention of the visit such as if you want to be there for special events and holiday celebrations like the Paris Marathon, Bastille Day, winter/summer sales, etc.

Annual Sale Periods in Paris

There are 2 sales sprees in Paris, namely in January (Winter Sales) and July (Summer Sales), although the specific start dates change each year so visitors will have to check with a current calendar. Each Paris sale period lasts roughly 6 weeks, and the discounts get progressively better as the sale drags on. In other words, that handbag you were drooling over at the start of the sale period – the one that had a 30% off tag on it – could be more than 60-70% off by the time the sales are drawing to a close!

And if you’re thinking it’s just clothing or knick-knacks that’s on sale, think again – everything is on sale. If you can buy it in Paris, it’ll have a sale sticker on it during these sale periods. Furniture, beauty products, fine china, bed linens, designer duds – even wine goes on sale in January and July. Your biggest dilemma may not be going over-budget, but instead it may be how to get all your goodies back home.

Reader can visit the following page for further information about the 2019 events in Paris.

General Information
Currency: Euro (€)
Language: French.
Visas: There are generally no restrictions for EU citizens. Usually not required for most other nationalities for stays of up to 90 days.
Money: ATMs are widely available. Visa and MasterCard accepted in most hotels, shops and restaurants; fewer accept American Express.
Mobile Phones: Check with your provider before you leave home about roaming costs and/or ensuring your phone is unlocked to use a French SIM card (available cheaply in Paris).
Time: Central European Time (GMT/UTC plus one hour).

巴黎是法国首都和人口最多的城市。于2017年，它的人口为2,206,488，是欧洲主要的金融，商业，时尚，科学和艺术中心之一。

巴黎以其博物馆和建筑地标而闻名：卢浮宫是2017年世界上访问量最高的艺术博物馆，拥有810万游客。奥赛博物馆（Musée d'Orsay）和奥兰治博物馆（Musée de l'Orangerie）以其法国艺术收藏而闻名，蓬皮杜艺术博物馆现代艺术博物馆（Pompidou Centre Musée National d'Art Moderne）拥有欧洲最大的现代和当代艺术收藏品。塞纳河沿岸的历史街区被列为联合国教科文组织遗产。位于市中心的热门地标包括巴黎圣母院大教堂（Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris）和Sainte-Chapelle哥特式皇家小教堂，均位于Île de la Cité;艾菲尔铁塔（Eiffel Tower），为1889年的巴黎世界博览会而建造;大皇宫（Grand Palais）和小宫殿（Petit Palais）则于1900年为巴黎世界博览会而建;香榭丽舍（Champs-Élysées）大街上的凯旋门（Arc de Triomphe）和蒙马特山上的圣心大教堂（Basilica of Sacré-Coeur）

。

绿色生活

巴黎在2017年接待了2300万游客，其中来自美国，英国，德国和中国的外国游客数量最多。在曼谷和伦敦之后，它在2017年被评为全球第三大访问量最大的旅游目的地。

巴黎市长Anne Hidalgo专注于绿化城市，减少汽车交通和污染。正在进行的项目包括投资1.5亿欧元用于自行车基础设施（包括香榭丽舍大街自行车道），每年减少55,000个停车位，到2020年将城市范围内的最高时速限制为每小时30公里（主要动脉除外）最大限度地减少噪音污染，到2030年禁止使用柴油车，到2030年禁止使用汽油车。

绿色倡议还包括100公顷绿色屋顶，立面和垂直墙的目标，其中三分之一将用于城市农业。绿色走道和花园将连接巴黎最繁忙的两个主干线--Gare du Nord和Gare de l'Est - 从2019年起。连接巴士底广场和阿森纳港码头的“行人半岛”也计划开放在2019年。

国际活动

除了一年一度的环法自行车赛，巴黎国际马拉松赛等外，首都还准备举办2023年橄榄球世界杯，2024年夏季奥运会和2024年夏季残奥会。

观光巴黎的最佳时间？

春季和秋季是理想的时期，夏季是主要的旅游季节，但许多地方（餐馆，商店等）在八月份关闭。在冬季四处的景点几乎特别宁静。

游客建议根据访问的主要目的计划旅行，例如，如果您想参加特别活动和节日庆祝活动，如巴黎马拉松，法国国庆日，冬季/夏季促销期等。

巴黎的年度销售期

巴黎每年有两次促销。那是在一月（冬季促销）和七月（夏季促销），虽然具体的开始日期每年都在变化，因此游客需要查看当前日历。每个巴黎的销售期大约持续六周，随着销售的拖延，折扣逐渐变好。换句话说，在销售期开始时,那个有30％折扣标签的手提包 - 在销售即将结束时可能会出现超过60-70％的折扣！

如果你认为这只是出售的服装或小玩意儿，那就再想一想 - 一切都在出售。如果您可以在巴黎购买，它将在这些销售期间有一个销售贴纸。家具，美容产品，精美瓷器，床单，设计师哑铃 - 甚至葡萄酒在1月和7月开始销售。你最大的困境可能不是过度预算，而是可能是如何让你所有的好东西回家。