Rick Steves' France Audio Tours Podcast
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Rick Steves' Audio Tours provide history and art commentary while navigating through sprawling museums and historic sites. Rick's audio tours are humorous, insightful, and a third less dry than the audioguides you rent in Europe.
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Paris Historic Walk
Author: Rick Steves
Mon, May 7, 2012
Notre-Dame and Left Bank.
Paris has been continuously inhabited for over 2,000 years, and this three-mile walk through the center of this cultural capital shows its rich history. We'll start where Paris did, on Ile de la Cité, dominated by the towers of cathedral Notre-Dame. Next, a foray onto the Left Bank, home to scholars, artists, and bohemians. We'll marvel at the colorful stained glass of Ste-Chapelle, and see the prison where Marie Antoinette pondered the guillotine. Allow four hours to lace together 80 generations of history: from Celtic fishing village to Roman city, bustling medieval capital, birthplace of the Revolution, and the bohemian haunt of the 1920s café scene. Best of all, for the entire walk, you're immersed in the fully-modern, globally-connected world of today's Paris. Don't forget to download the handy PDF companion maps.
Sightseeing nitty-gritty: Many sights in this walk charge admission that is covered by the Paris Museum Pass, a great time- and money-saver, as it allows you to skip ticket-buying lines (2 days/€32, 4 days/€48, or 6 days/€64). Notre-Dame Cathedral is free, open daily 7:45–19:00, modest dress encouraged, tel. 01 42 34 56 10, www.cathedraledeparis.com. Metro stops Cité, Hôtel de Ville, or St. Michel. To climb the Notre-Dame Tower costs €8 (covered by Museum Pass, but no bypass line for pass-holders) and is open daily April–Sept 10:00–18:30, also June–Aug Sat–Sun until 23:00, Oct–March 10:00–17:30, last entry 45 min before closing; to avoid crowds in peak season, arrive before 10:00 or after 17:00. The Deportation Memorial is free, open daily April–Sept 10:00–12:00 and 14:00–19:00, Oct–March 10:00–12:00 and 14:00–17:00, tel. 01 49 74 34 00. Shakespeare and Company Bookstore is open daily 12:00–24:00, 37 rue de la Bûcherie, tel. 01 43 26 96 50.
Sainte-Chapelle costs €8, covered by Museum Pass, and is open daily March–Oct 9:30–18:00, Nov–Feb 9:00–17:00, last entry 30 min before closing. It's at 4 boulevard du Palais, Mo: Cité, tel. 01 53 40 60 80, www.monum.fr. Expect a line to pass through security. The Conciergerie costs €7, covered by Museum Pass, and is open daily April–Oct 9:30–18:00, Nov–March 9:00–17:00, last entry 30 min before closing, 4 boulevard du Palais, Mo: Cité, tel. 01 53 40 60 80, www.monum.fr. Find WC's in front of Notre-Dame, at Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, and cafés.
For more specifics, consult my guidebook. This is excerpted from Rick Steves' Paris 2010. Copyright 2009 Avalon Travel. Related information at www.ricksteves.com.
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Map: Paris Historic Walk
Author: Rick Steves
Mon, May 7, 2012
PDF companion map.
This handy PDF map, a companion to Rick Steves' Paris Historic Walk Audio Tour, is excerpted from "Rick Steves' Paris 2010" © 2009 Avalon Travel Publishing, all rights reserved. For best results, travel with Rick's guidebook! Details are subject to change. You'll find a wealth of related information on this destination at www.ricksteves.com.
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Louvre Museum
Author: Rick Steves
Sun, May 6, 2012
Iconic statues and paintings.
Paris, the City of Light, is a beacon of civilization, and the Louvre Museum presents a full inventory of Western culture. To cover the entire museum — the world's largest — in a single visit is impossible, so let's focus on the Louvre s specialties — Greek sculpture, Italian painting, and French painting. We'll see "Venuses" through history, from scrawny Stone Age fertility goddesses to the curvy Venus de Milo; from the wind-blown Winged Victory to placid medieval Madonnas; from Mona Lisa to Lady Liberty, the symbol of modern democracy. We'll see how each generation defines beauty differently, getting to know the people of the past by admiring the things they found beautiful. Along the way, are masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, the French painters, and many of the most iconic images of Western civilization. Don't forget to download the handy PDF companion maps.
Sightseeing nitty-gritty: The Louvre costs €9 (€6 after 18:00 on Wed and Fri, free on first Sun of month) and is covered by the Paris Museum Pass. It's open Wed–Mon 9:00–18:00, closed Tue. Most wings stay open Wed and Fri until 21:45 (except on holidays). The last entry is 45 minutes before closing.
It's located at Métro Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre or Louvre-Rivoli. Tel. 01 40 20 53 17, recorded info tel. 01 40 20 51 51, www.louvre.fr. Bus #69 serves the Marais and rue Cler, and taxis stop on rue de Rivoli.
Lines to enter through the glass pyramid can be very long. Crowds are worst on Sun, Mon, Wed, and mornings. Museum Pass-holders can use the never-crowded group entrance in the pedestrian passageway (labeled Pavilion Richelieu) between the pyramid and rue de Rivoli. (It's under the arches, a few steps north of the pyramid; find the uniformed guard at the security checkpoint entrance, at the down escalator.) Or, enter through the underground shopping mall called the Carrousel du Louvre (at 99 rue de Rivoli or directly from the Palais Royale-Musee du Louvre Metro stop.) Once under the pyramid, buy tickets faster by using the automated machines. Baggage storage and WCs are located under the pyramid (WCs are scarce once you're in the galleries). For food, the Louvre has several cafés, but your best bet is the food court of the underground shopping mall. Photography without a flash is allowed. Consider an evening visit — it's peaceful, and the glass pyramid glows after dark.
For more specifics, consult my guidebook. This is excerpted from Rick Steves' Paris 2010. Copyright 2009 Avalon Travel. Related information at www.ricksteves.com.
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Map: Louvre Museum
Author: Rick Steves
Sun, May 6, 2012
PDF companion map.
This handy PDF map, a companion to Rick Steves' Louvre Museum Audio Tour, is excerpted from "Rick Steves' Paris 2010" © 2009 Avalon Travel Publishing, all rights reserved. For best results, travel with Rick's guidebook! Details are subject to change. You'll find a wealth of related information on this destination at www.ricksteves.com.
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Orsay Museum
Author: Rick Steves
Sat, May 5, 2012
World's best Impressionism.
The Orsay Museum, or Musée d'Orsay, houses French art of the 1800s, starring the Impressionists — the art of sun-dappled fields, bright colors, and crowded Parisian cafés. It's the best general collection anywhere of Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, van Gogh, Cézanne, and Gauguin. If you like Impressionism, visit this museum. If you don't like Impressionism, visit this museum. I personally find it a more enjoyable and rewarding place than the Louvre. Sure, ya gotta see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, but after you get your gottas out of the way, enjoy the Orsay. Don't forget to download the handy PDF companion maps.
Sightseeing nitty-gritty: The Orsay costs €8, €5.50 Fri–Wed after 16:15 and Thu after 18:00, free first Sun of month. It's open Tue–Sun 9:30–18:00, Thu until 21:45 year-round, last entry one hour before closing (45 min before on Thu), closed Mon. Contact the Orsay at tel 01 40 49 48 14 or www.musee-orsay.fr.
Admission is covered by the Paris Museum Pass, which also lets you skip the long ticket-buying line — passholders enter on the right side of the museum (Entrance C). The Impressionist galleries begin closing 45 minutes early. Tuesdays are particularly crowded, because the Louvre is closed.
The museum is at 1 rue de la Légion d'Honneur, at the RER-C stop called Musée d'Orsay. The nearest Métro stop is Solférino, three blocks southeast. From the Louvre, it's a lovely 15-minute walk through the Tuileries Garden. Also handy are bus #69 from the Marais or rue Cler, taxis, and the Batobus boat.
A pricey but très elegant restaurant is on the second floor, with affordable tea and coffee served 15:00–17:30 (daily except Thu). A simple fifth-floor café is sandwiched between the Impressionists. Bag check is free. Photography without a flash is allowed.
For more specifics, consult my guidebook. This is excerpted from Rick Steves' Paris 2010. Copyright 2009 Avalon Travel. Related information at www.ricksteves.com.
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Map: Orsay Museum
Author: Rick Steves
Sat, May 5, 2012
PDF companion map.
This handy PDF map, a companion to Rick Steves' Orsay Museum Audio Tour, is excerpted from "Rick Steves' Paris 2010" © 2009 Avalon Travel Publishing, all rights reserved. For best results, travel with Rick's guidebook! Details are subject to change. You'll find a wealth of related information on this destination at www.ricksteves.com.
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Versailles
Author: Rick Steves
Fri, May 4, 2012
Ornate palaces and gardens.
If you've ever wondered why your American passport has French writing in it, you'll find the answer at the Château de Versailles, Europe's greatest palace. Around 1700, Versailles was the cultural heartbeat of Europe, and French culture was at its zenith. Throughout Europe, every king wanted to be like Louis XIV, and everyone learned French. French taste in clothes, hairstyles, table manners, theater, music, art, and kissing spread across the Continent. That cultural dominance continued, to some extent, right up to the 20th century. On this tour, we'll explore the historic heart of the palace, now decorated with period furniture and the magnificent Hall of Mirrors. Then we'll stroll the immense landscaped gardens, dotted with fountains and sprinkled with smaller palaces, each an architectural gem. Don't forget to download the handy PDF companion maps.
Sightseeing nitty-gritty: I recommend buying either a Paris Museum Pass (2 days/€32, 4 days/€48, or 6 days/€64) or Versailles' "Le Passeport" Pass (€20 Mon–Fri, €25 Sat–Sun; from Nov to March it's €16 Tue–Sun; buy at Versailles' TI or at www.chateauversailles.fr). Both passes let you skip major lines, and cover admission to the three most important parts of the complex — the Chateaux, Gardens, and Domaine de Marie-Antoinette. Versailles' fine website is www.chateauversailles.fr.
The Château, the main palace, costs €13.50 (for an individual ticket), and is open Tue–Sun April–Oct 9:00–18:30 (perhaps later some summer Saturdays), Nov–March 9:00–17:30, closed Mon. The Domaine de Marie-Antoinette, the estate of the queen, gives you access to the far corner of the Gardens and entry into several small palaces. An individual ticket costs €10 April–Oct (€6 after 16:00 and Nov–March), and it's open daily April–Oct 12:00–18:30, Nov–March 12:00–17:30. The Gardens are free (except on weekends April–Sept, when the fountains blast and the price is €8), and are generally open daily 9:00 to sunset (17:30–21:30), but close at 18:00 on Sat in summer to prepare for evening events. Last entry to all of these areas is one hour before closing.
Versailles is very crowded May–Sept 10:00–13:00, with especially big crowds all day Tue and Sun. Try arriving by 9:00, see the Chateau first, and then the Gardens. Or arrive later, tour the Gardens first, then the Château after 13:00 when crowds dissipate. TIs are near the train station (by the Pullman Hôtel, tel. 01 39 24 88 88) and the Château (left side of courtyard, tel. 08 10 81 16 14, often crowded). Photos are allowed indoors without a flash. Beware pickpockets. WCs are scarce: try the WC just before the palace gates, the one inside the Château, or several tucked away throughout the Gardens. For food, there are small cafes at the Chateau, near the Apollo Basin, or restaurants along pleasant rue de Satory between the station and the palace.
Getting There: The town of Versailles is 30 minutes southwest of Paris. For most the best option is to take the RER-C train (4/hr, 30–40 min one-way, €6 round-trip) from any of these Paris RER stops: Gare d'Austerlitz, St. Michel, Musée d'Orsay, Invalides, Pont de l'Alma, and Champ de Mars. Any train whose name starts with a V (e.g., "Vick") goes to Versailles; don't board other trains. The Chateau is a 10-minute walk from the Versailles R.G. train station. All in all, with transportation, lines, and sightseeing, Versailles is an eight hour day-trip from Paris.
For more specifics, consult my guidebook. This is excerpted from Rick Steves' Paris 2010. Copyright 2009 Avalon Travel. Related information at www.ricksteves.com.
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Map: Versailles
Author: Rick Steves
Fri, May 4, 2012
PDF companion map.
This handy PDF map, a companion to Rick Steves' Versailles Audio Tour, is excerpted from "Rick Steves' Paris 2010" © 2009 Avalon Travel Publishing, all rights reserved. For best results, travel with Rick's guidebook! Details are subject to change. You'll find a wealth of related information on this destination at www.ricksteves.com.
Download File - 0.1 MB
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