Before you go, your best source of information is the French Government Tourist Office (www.franceguide.com), which can be reached at the following addresses:
- United States: 825 Third Ave., 29th floor, New York, NY 10022 (tel. 514/288-1904; fax 212/838-7855); 205 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60601 (tel. 514/288-1904); or 9454 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 715, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 (tel. 514/288-1904).
- Canada: 1800 av. McGill College, Suite 490, Montreal, QC H3A 2W9 (tel. 514/288-2026; fax 514/845-4868).
- United Kingdom: 178 Piccadilly, London W1J 9AL (tel. 09068/244-123 [60p per min.]; fax 020/7493-6594).
- Australia: 25 Blight St., Sydney, NSW 2000 (tel. 02/9231-5244; fax 02/9221-8682).
Although AAA has road maps of France, the best are cartes routiéres (road maps) published by Michelin. Both map books and fold-outs are available at almost any large bookstore in Paris, and are sometimes available at news kiosks. These outlets also sell detailed street maps of Paris. The Michelin maps offer alternative routes de degagement, which you can travel to skirt big cities and avoid traffic-clogged highways. We recommend the France Tourist and Motoring Atlas (No 20197).
The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau (tel. 08-92-68-30-00; .35€ (50?) per minute; www.paris-info.com) have offices throughout the city, with the main headquarters at 25-27 rue des Pyramides, 1er (Métro: Pyramides). It's open Monday to Saturday 10am to 7pm (June-Oct from 9am), Sunday and holidays from 11am to 7pm. Less comprehensive branch offices include Clémenceau Welcome Center, at the corner of av. Champs-Elysées and av. Marigny 8e; (Métro: Champs-Elysées), open April 6 to October 20 daily 9am to 7pm. Espace Tourisme Ile-de-France has branches in the Carrousel du Louvre, 99 rue de Rivoli, 1er (Métro: Palais-Royal-Louvre), open daily 10am to 6pm; in the Gare de Lyon, 20 bd. Diderot, 12e (Métro: Gare de Lyon), open Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm; in the Gare du Nord, 18 rue de Dunkerque, 10e (Métro: Gare du Nord), open daily 8am to 6pm; and in Montmartre, 21 place du Tertre, 18e (Métro: Abbesses or Lamarck-Caulaincourt), open daily 10am to 7pm. You can walk in at any branch to make a hotel reservation; the service charge is free. The offices are extremely busy year-round, especially in midsummer, so be prepared to wait in line.
Websites -- The French Government Tourist Office's home on the Internet is at www.franceguide.com or www.francetourism.com. The website of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau, at www.paris-touristoffice.com or www.parisinfo.com, provides information on hotels, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, and events.
