Rick Steves' France
- The 2008 edition of Rick Steves' France is now available.
- See the guidebook updates for Paris and Provence & the French Riviera.
Updates since the 2008 edition:
Paris
There is no longer a night train between Paris and Switzerland.
The Carte Orange Métro/bus pass has been replaced by the rechargeable Passe Navigo card. The new pass also requires a passport-size photo, and can be purchased at major Métro stations.
Here's how it works: You buy a chip-embedded card (€5 one-time cost), then "load" a weekly value onto it; this gives you free run of the bus and Métro system for one week, starting Monday and ending Sunday. At the Métro/bus turnstile, you simply scan your Navigo card to enter, and you're on your way.
The total cost is €21.50 (€5 for the card plus €16.50 for the weekly pass) — slightly cheaper than two 10-ticket carnets (which is enough for most travelers staying a week). Given that the Passe Navigo expires on Sunday night, isn't transferable, and requires a photo, most readers will be better off with buying carnets of 10 tickets as needed (€11.10). If you do want the pass, ask for "Passe Navigo Découverte hebdomadaire" (pahs nah-vee-go day-koo-vairt ehb-doh-mah-dair) and supply a small postage-stamp-size photo of yourself (bring your own, or use the €4 photo booths available in major Métro stations). A month-long version costs about €54 — request a Passe Navigo mensuelle (mahn-soo-ehl, good from the first day of the month to the last, also requires photo). The pass covers only central Paris. You can pay more for passes covering regional destinations (such as Versailles), but for most visitors, this is a bad value. Instead, buy individual tickets for longer-distance destinations.
Normandy
The Hotel Churchill in Bayeux now runs a daily minivan shuttle to Mont St. Michel. The shuttle departs Bayeux at 9:00 and arrives at Mont St. Michel at 10:30; the return shuttle leaves Mont St Michel at 13:30 and arrives at Bayeux at 15:00. Round trip cost is €55/person round trip (€50 for hotel guests who book before arrival).
The Loire
Tours
You can take a train to Tours from Paris' Montparnasse station in a little over an hour (with a change in St.-Pierre-des-Corps). A few trains a day connect Tours with Charles de Gaulle Airport, and take about two hours (also with a change in St. Pierre des Corps).
Amboise
In Amboise, La Grange Chambres has a new website: www.la-grange-amboise.com.
The L'Iris des Marais has new prices: Db-€50-60, big Tb-€65, Qb-€80, Quint/b-€90 (14 quai des Marais, tel. 02 47 30 46 51, www.irisdesmarais.com, vianney.frain@wanadoo.fr).
Provence
Arles
The Roman Arena is closed mid-day (12:00-14:00) every day in the winter (Oct-April).
The Réattu Museum has slightly different hours (daily July-mid-Sept 10:00–19:00, March-June and mid-Sept-Oct 10:00–12:30 & 14:00–17:30, Nov–Feb 13:00–17:00, last entry 30 min before closing for lunch or at end of day).
The Hôtel d’Arlatan has a new email address: hotel-arlatan@wanadoo.fr.
The Bistrot à Vins is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Avignon
The correct email for the Le Clos du Rempart B&B is aida@closdurempart.com.
The Riviera
Nice
As of June 2008, night trains no longer run between Nice and Italy (to/from Venice/Florence/Rome).
Line 1 of Nice's new tramway system runs from Las Planas to Pont Michel (including the airport). Buy tickets on the platforms and validate them on the tram (€1.30/trip, €10/10 trips, €4/day pass, €15/7-day pass, www.tramway-nice.org). The nearest tramway stop alongside the Gare Routière is Cathedrale Vielle Ville. The route, which runs along Jean Médecin, allows passengers from Gare Routière to reach the main train station (via the Gare Thiers stop) and even the nearby Gare Chemin de Fer de Provence for the trains des Pignes to Digne (Libération stop).
Antibes
The Hôtel Relais du Postillon has a new email address: relais@relaisdupostillon.com.
The French Alps
The entire city center of Chamonix is now off-limits to cars.
Burgundy
Beaune
The email address for the Hotel Rousseau is hotelrousseau@orange.fr.
Lyon
The Hotel des Celestins has new prices: Sb-€62-90, Db-€68-90, five large rooms-€100, Tb-€95-125, apartments-€100-135 (4 rue des Archers, tel. 04 72 56 08 098, fax 04 72 56 08 65, www.hotelcelestins.com).