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La Ville Lumière
Paris, the capital and by far the largest city of France, dominates the whole life of that highly centralized country. It is situated in 48° 50' N. lat. and 2° 20' E. long., on the Seine, which flows through it from S.E. to S.W., after receiving its chief affluent, the Marne, just above the city. The height of the Paris basin above sea-level is 100 ft., of the Butte Montmartre 417 ft., of the Buttes-Chaumont 331 ft., of the Mont de Paris (on the S. side of the river) 197 ft. Both in sunshine and in rainy weather the soft air of the Ile de France frequently envelops the city in a characteristic silver-grey haze, a fruitful source of inspiration to the Impressionist painters.
Population in 1931, 2,871,429 which includes about 300,000 foreigners. More than 10% of the foreigners are Americans, especially in the summer.
Accommodations
Those who visit Paris for the sake of its monuments, its galleries, its collections and not for its pleasures, may be able to limit their expenditure to 70 - 100 francs (16 shillings to £1 3s) a day (staying at a second-class hotel), but it is easy to spend 200 francs (£2 5s) a day or more without being guilty of extravagance.
During the winter (December to March) charges are lowered at many hotels. A 10% expenditure covers all the expected tips. Prices are per person per night. Suites (with a separate living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom) cost two or three times more than a single room. Room costs listed are the lowest rates ... rooms that don't have the best views, for example. Expect a "best room" to cost 20% more than the listed price.
Thus a suite at the Ritz, in season, with the best view (possibly a penthouse) might cost 880 francs (£10) per night. In the off-season an ordinary room at the Hotel Edward VII "only" costs 79 francs (18s) per night. Both of these are de luxe hotels, of course.
Keep in mind that Paris is probably the most expensive city in the world.
Another point: almost all the time, French (and British and other European) buildings have the "ground floor" numbered as zero (0); the next floor up is the first floor. So it's rez-de-chaussée (listed as 0 or RdC on elevator controls), then up to le premier étage, further up to le deuxième étage, etc.
De Luxe Hotels
All the amenities; the concierge, receptionist, butlers, maids, valets, bellhops and other staff will do nearly anything to accommodate a guest here -- as long as it's legal (and even that can be pushed a bit). They have limousines on call, buyers to do your shopping, a hotel doctor, a hotel detective, hairdressers, laundries, and top-class cuisine in the restaurants and bars. The concierge can get reservations or tickets for restaurants, the opera, trains, ocean liners, etc. Almost all of the rooms in these hotels have a bathroom attached. Elevators are universal. Each room will have a telephone.
Guests with Credit Rating below 40% will find prices to be high, the etiquette unfamiliar, the dinner menu indecipherable (if your Other Language: French is less than 60%), or experience awkwardness about how to act, tip, dress, etc.; these hotels are definitely for the class of people who always expect servants to be available. Most of them have bars, live music and dancing.
When dining in these hotels, inappropriately-dressed persons will be seated at obscure tables, or near the kitchens, if they are seated at all.
A lot of the guests at these hotels are Americans.
The George V.
We have a web page for the first class hotels.
Second Class Hotels
Not as vast as the de luxe hotels, and a much smaller staff -- don't expect a valet or hairdresser. Not all rooms will have a bathroom with tub (showers are extremely rare); they will usually have a wash basin and toilet (lavatory, w/c or la toilette). Has a restaurant, but probably not a bar; there might be music during dinner, but no dance floor. There will probably be a small cage-type elevator.
The typical rates: single rooms at 16 to 32 francs per night (25 to 50 francs with bath); double rooms are 30 to 60 francs per night (37 to 75 francs with bath). Suites may be available, mostly intended for families. Breakfast 5 to 7 francs, lunch 17 to 23 francs, dinner 20 to 28 francs. Full pension (all meals included) will be 60 to 100 francs for a single room with bath. Prices are given for outskirts areas first, and then for the most popular tourist districts.
People with high Credit Rating can stay at one of these hotels without being considered "living beneath their station," but don't expect to meet many millionaires or dukes (unless they are Russian). Some examples near major railway stations:
Hotel d'Iéna
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26-32 Avenue d'Iéna, near the Arc de Triomphe. Built in the late 19th Century; no longer fashionable or de luxe, and a bit behind the times on features (but does have elevators, baths for every room, etc.). 6 or 7 stories tall, with restaurant, bar, garden, billiards room, many suites.
The two central buildings in this photograph from 1948 are about two-thirds of the Hotel d'Iéna; the third part is to the right.
Hôtel Lavenue
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68-70 Boulevard du Montparnasse, Place de Rennes, across the street from the Gare Montparnasse. 80 rooms. Single rooms 20 francs per night, 28 francs with attached bath; double rooms 30 francs per night, 38 francs with attached bath. Breakfast 5 francs, lunch and dinner à la carte. Modern picture of the building here.
Hôtel de Londres & de New-York
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15 Place du Havre, opposite the Gare St.-Lazare. Has 500 rooms, of which half have attached bathrooms. Single rooms cost 40 to 65 francs per night without bath; 70 francs per night, or more, with attached bath. Breakfast costs 5 francs, luncheon or dinner costs 25 francs. Room and board (all meals) for a single room with bath, 80 to 100 francs. A modern photo of the building.
Hôtel Métropole
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98 Rue de Maubeuge, near the Gare du Nord. 52 beds. Single rooms cost 18 francs per night, 23 francs with attached bath; double rooms cost 45 francs per night, 50 francs with attached bath. A modern photo of the building.
Hôtel Paradis
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9 Rue de Paradis, near the Gare d l'Est. 60 rooms, no restaurant. Single rooms cost 20 francs per night, 25 francs with attached bath; double rooms cost 40 francs per night, 45 francs with attached bath.
Hôtel Terminus
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19 Boulevard Diderot, across from the Gare de Lyon. Has 54 rooms, with 90 beds. Single rooms start at 25 francs per night, with bath 31 francs per night.
the key to room 40
The third floor plan. Rooms 30-34 have a nice view across the boulevard;
rooms 36 and 36 bis form a suite (one bed each room).
Room 40 is a larger room for families (one double and two single beds).
The suite or room 40 costs 40 francs per night.
Cheap Hotels
The guests here are mostly French. Rooms may or may not be entirely clean, and contain only the most basic of fixtures. None of the rooms will have a bath; the toilets will be of the "end of the hallway" variety; there won't be any elevators, and thus "top floor" rooms are not very desirable. There probably isn't a restaurant or any other food service available. We haven't found a lot of sources for these, but rates in Paris are probably between 10 and 15 francs (say 3 shillings) per night.
Lodging Houses
The truly cheap lodging-houses for the poorest folk in Paris cost about 30 to 50 francs a week (they don't offer night-by-night rates). All sorts of European types live in these, but few Britons and almost no Americans. There are no baths, and only a few toilets (no more than one per 20 rooms). Small rooms, bugs, smells, diseases, suspicious neighbors and landlords ...
For gaming convenience, presume a typical Parisian lodging-house costs 44 francs per week (10 shilling, or half a pound sterling).
The inhabitants of these places have Credit Rating very close to zero.
Tourist Pensions
Generally kept by ladies, these are very popular with middle-class English and American visitors, even for a short stay. They are quieter and cheaper than hotels. Meals are at fixed hours, but sometimes reduced terms can be arranged if luncheon is not taken. They have from 20 to 60 beds. There will be a few maids, but at most one porter or doorman will be available.
Full pension (single room plus all meals) runs from 40 to 80 francs per day -- usually 20 francs more if the room has a bath.
For gaming convenience, call the typical Parisian pension 44 francs a day -- 10 shillings, or half a pound sterling.
A few are more expensive, in the center of the city: up to 150 francs per day including a bathroom. Rooms en suite (via connecting doors) are usually available.
Cheaper pensions, with only a few lodgers, are inhabited by retired persons, traveling nuns, and others of limited means.
Studios
In the sense of the workplace for a painter, sculptor or photographer. A studio at 23 Rue des Volontaires cost 5000 francs per month, and included a bedroom, kitchen, bath and tall windows in the main room.
There are, of course, cheaper and less inspiring studios ...
Apartments
In the winter one must expect to pay at least 1200 francs per month for a small furnished flat with two or three rooms and a kitchen., and 400-700 francs for a furnished room (300-500 francs in a private house). In summer rents are a little lower.
Cheaper and plainer rooms can be obtained in the Latin quarter -- probably no more then two-thirds of the above costs.
Even by 1964 only one-fifth of Parisian apartments had bathing facilities. The city government provides nearly twenty bains-douches, free (though you have to provide your own towels, soap, etc.).
Entertainments
Music-Halls
As of 1930.
Casino de Paris
16, rue de Clichy
Concert Mayol
10, rue de l'Échiquier
Empire
41, avenue de Wagram
Folies-Bergère
32, rue Richer
Gaité-Rochechouart
125, boulevard de Rochechouart
Gaity
25, rue Fontaine
Moulin-Rouge
82, boulevard de Clichy
Olympia
28, boulevard des Capuchines
Palace
8, rue due Faubourg-Montmartre
Restaurants
Evening dress is only essential in the restaurants connected to the most fashionable hotels (and at Ciro's).
Highest Class Restaurants
These restaurants charge 50 to 75 francs per head for a modest dinner (not including liquor -- a bottle of premium champagne will cost 50 to 100 francs). Besides those connected to the most fashionable hotels, a few of note:
Ciro's
6 Rue Daunon. Very famous (a lot of wealthy Americans eat here); evening wear required for dinner. Music and dancing, also.
Le Grand-Vatel
275 Rue St-Honore. Russian dishes, oyster.
Restaurant de la Tour-d'Argent
15-17 Quai de la Tournelle. Closed Mondays. Possibly the oldest restaurant in Paris (claims to have been founded 1582 as a travelers' inn), noted for its Canard à la presse (pressed duck, invented at this restaurant; you receive a card with your duck's serial number) and with an enormous wine cellar -- the wine list is a few hundred pages long. Excellent view over the Seine.
Second Class Restaurants
Those with an a la carte menu will cost 30 to 50 francs for dinner, not including wine. Establishments with a prix fixe menu are a bit cheaper (25 to 40 francs for dinner), but are very busy between noon and 1 p.m. There are a couple of "automat" style restaurants, usually with the word "presto" in their name.
Second-class hotels will have second-class restaurants, if any.
Vegetarian Restaurants
Au Grande-Soleil
1 Rue Ste-Cecile.
Foyer Vegetalien
40 Rue Mathis, in the 19th arrondissement. Provides a strict vegan menu (no meat, no dairy, no honey) with four components (altering slightly by the season and changes in anarchist theory). A typical example of the fare:
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a mixed salad composed of raw greens, chopped fruit, root vegetables and cooked potatoes;
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soup;
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cooked vegetables;
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fruit (I think) for dessert.
Bread and oil are also provided, but signs warn diners about the dangers of eating too much bread. It's an "all you can eat" buffet, except for the dessert. No smoking allowed, and no alcohol is served. Inexpensive -- a meal is 3 francs 50 centimes. It's neither popular nor fashionable, and caters mostly to anarchists and others at the Left end of the political spectrum.
Restaurant Vegetarien
4 Square Rapp. Lunch or dinner, 7 francs. Fairly close to the Eiffel Tower; it's on the ground floor of the building which houses the Theosophy Society. Occultist, orientalists, and theosophists are much of the patronage.
Pythagore
4 Rue des Pretres-St-Severin. Lunch 4 francs 75 centimes, dinner 5 francs. Probably a vegan (no dairy) menu.
Foreign Restaurants
There are American (Sam's, Davenport Inn, Chicago Inn, Little Brown Jug), Arab, Belgian, Chinese (Pascal, Shanghai, Franco-Chinois, Chou-Chen), Czech, Dutch, English (for that "full English" breakfast), German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian (Maxim's, and others usually with good music), Spanish, Swiss, and Turkish. There are also several kosher restaurants. These are second-class restaurants in terms of amenities and prices -- some will have music, some will have dance floors. Many of their guests are French, or tourists.
Many more foreign restaurants of a lower class cater mostly to foreign workers, refugees, or subjects of the French colonies. These include American "Southern", Vietnamese and North African cuisine.
Inexpensive Food
Grubby shops selling "take out" food, sausages with a lot of sawdust and gristle in them, disgusting ancient taverns, carts in slum streets ... we haven't got a "guide" for these, but prices must not be more than 2 francs for a "meal" at these places -- maybe less than a franc. In 1933 a franc is worth about a nickel American.
For truly cheap -- and safe -- dining, buy your food at the markets and cook at home.
All Night Restaurants and Dancings
In Montmartre and Montparnasse there are many cafes and restaurants catering to the late-night (and early morning) demi-monde; live music and a dance floor are available. A night here is as expensive as dinner at the first-class restaurants, but food quality is second-class at best. Sandwiches and cold refreshments may be available, and are definitely a better bargain. In Montmartre:
Abbaye de Theleme
1 Place Pigalle. Popular with the rich and tourists, ambassadors and royalty, etc. since well before the Great War; a famous venue, with famous jazz and tango groups; the Prince of Wales sometimes sits in on drums (before 1936); Josephine Baker performs here from time to time. Expect to spend at least 100 francs for a night's food, drink and entertainment.
Apollo
20 Rue de Clichy. A jazz spot.
Bricktop's Big Apple
66-73 rue Pigalle. Owned by Ada Smith.
Casino de Paris
16 Rue de Clichy; a famous nightclub and music-hall, with all sorts of famous illusionists, bands, singers and dancers performing in lavish productions.
Chez Florence
61 Rue Blanche; a jazz club. Very popular with African-American travelers.
Le Grand écart
7 Rue Fromentin; a jazz club.
Le Perroquet
10 Rue de Clichy; an ultra-fashionable cabaret, upstairs from the Casino de Paris music hall.
Florida
20 Rue de Clichy.
3 Rue de Liege.
Le Grand-Ecart
7 Rue Fromentin.
Les nuits bleues
7 Rue Fromentin; a jazz club.
Le Tabarin
34-36 Rue Victor Massé; a jazz club.
Théâtre Pigalle
10 Rue Pigalle.
Bars, Brasseries, Cafes, Cremeries, Patisseries, Tea Rooms, and Wine Shops
These establishments don't serve full dinners; some don't serve food at all.
Bars in fashionable areas serve cocktails. Most of the large hotels, cafes, all-night restaurants, music halls, etc. have bars. A likely range of cocktail prices can be found here.
Some brasseries are restaurants (lunch or dinner 12-18 francs), but the required attraction of a brasserie is beer.
Cafes in Paris are chiefly frequented for coffee or an aperitif before luncheon and dinner and between 9 and 11 p.m.; they close as a rule about 2 a.m. Those located on boulevards will often have live music in the evening. Beers -- French, English, German or Pilsen -- are served, along with tea, coffee, and cold snacks.
Cremeries serve breakfast or simple luncheons; a cup of cafe au lait or chocolate for 1 fr to 2 fr 50 c; cakes 1 fr to 1 fr 50 c; cafe au lait with two eggs, bread and butter 6 fr.
Patisseries sell cakes, pastries, etc. to be eaten on the premises (mostly by women and children) or taken away. Petit-patisseries are stalls for the sale of galettes, brioches, etc..
Tea rooms a l'anglaise are frequented between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. (pot of tea for one person 1 fr. 80 c to 8 fr). About half of the better ones will have live music.
Wine shops (taverne, or cave à vins) are common in the poor neighborhoods, and are frequented by the lower classes.
Embassies, Legations and Consulates
An interesting point: British subjects don't need visas to visit most nations (and not even passports to travel in British colonies); American citizens need visas to travel to France and most European nations (but not Great Britain). I suspect the American limitation is due to reciprocal restrictions -- the U.S. in this period was unwilling to accept a lot of immigrants.
United States
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Embassy, 2 Avenue Gabriel. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays; Saturdays, 9 a.m to 1 p.m.
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Ambassador:
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1929 to April 13, 1933: Walter Evans Edge. A Republican, primarily interested in tariff and trade issues. A non-career (political) appointee, formerly U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He's from a poor background, and his education is described as "limited" (8th grade only), so it's quite possible he doesn't know much French. His wife, Camilla, was born in 1901, and is known as "the youngest ambassadress" (since ambassadors to Paris are often at the peak of their careers, they and their wives are usually in their fifties or sixties).
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from June 1933 to 1936: Jesse I. Strauss. An ally of FDR, and co-owner (with his brother) of Macy's. Resigned due to ill-health and died a few months later. A Harvard man, fluent in French, and the first Jewish ambassador from the United States to France.
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Consulate-General and Passport Office, 1 Rue des Italiens.
Great Britain
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Embassy, 39 Rue du Faubourg-St-Honore (next to the Place Concorde). Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.
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Ambassador.
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1928-1934: Rt. Hon. Lord Tyrrell, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., K.C.V.O., P.C.; the ambassador was educated in Germany, and at Balliol College, Oxford. He's suspicious of the Nazis and the Soviets. He was created Baron Tyrrell in 1929, and retires in 1934 due to ill health.
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from 1934 to 1937, the ambassador is Sir George Clerk, G.C.M.G., C.B., P.C.; his last name is pronounced 'clark'. He wears a monocle.
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Minister. 1929-1935: R. Hon. Sir Ronald Hugh Campbell, G.C.M.G.; he is later the British ambassador to France at the start of the 2nd World War.
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Commercial Counsellor. 1921-1939: Sir J. Robert Cahill, C.M.G.
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Consulate-General, 19 Rue de Lisbonne
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Passport Office, 16 Avenue Hoche
Conveyances
The Metro
The subway system has 221 stations; trains run every 90 seconds to 6 minutes, from 5:30 a.m. to 12:45 a.m.. There are two classes of carriages, first and second class; the first class coaches are in the middle of the train (usually only one first-class coach per train) and have cushioned seats with leather upholstery. First class passengers also have access to more ways into and out of the stations. The only fare is either "first class" (1 franc 15 centimes) or "second class" (70 centimes) -- the ticket is good for any distance in the system, one-way.
Motorbuses and Trams
Trams and trolleys exist only in the suburbs now. A system of commuter trains -- not of much interest to adventurers -- brings workers into the city every day, and out again in the evenings. Bus and tram fares are 80 centimes for one "section", plus an additional 40 centimes for each section traversed.
Taxicabs
A Paris cab circa 1930.
Cabs usually have two regular seats for passengers, plus two "flip-down" seats. Flag drop is 2 francs; mileage is 50 centimes per 400 meters (or two minutes waiting). One trunk or piece of luggage, 1 franc; 2 items of luggage, 2 francs; 3 or more items of luggage, 3 francs. A 10% gratuity is expected.
Fares beyond the old city walls, or after 11 p.m., are a bit higher. On race days cabs will take passengers to Longchamps or Auteuil, but a 6 or 4 franc surcharge is added.
Hired Cars
These can be engaged by a hotel concierge, at some garages, or at the Compagnie General des Voitures à Paris. The daily rate is 150 to 175 francs per day (plus 15 franc gratuity to the driver. For short trips, the fare is 3 francs 50 centimes per kilometer.
River Steamers
These run along the Seine from March 15th to October 31st, usually during daylight hours. There is a night service in the summer from the Hotel de Ville to Suresnes and back; the round-trip fare for this is 7 francs 50 centimes.
Air Travel
Airports are at Le Bourget (11 km north-northeast of Paris) and Villeneuve-Orly (south of the city; opened 1932, though two large airship hangars were located here from 1923); seaplanes operate from Le Pecq (west of the city, on the Seine).
Essentially all scheduled commercial airline flights to or from Paris use the Aeroport du Bourget. There's a restaurant at the airport, and a large monument to the airmen Nungesser, Coli and Lindbergh.
Communications
A simple letter to a metropolitan French destination (i.e., not the colonies) requires a 50 centime stamp. Letters up to 20 grams bound for foreign or colonial destinations cost 1 franc 50 centimes to send. Air mail charges vary by the route, but a simple letter sent to London costs 2 francs 50 centimes.
Letters sent poste restante are held at the General Post Office in the Rue du Louvre for up to 4 weeks; you have to prove your identity and pay a fee of 30 centimes to receive these letters. For convenience, and a longer amount of time to pick up the message, have mail sent to a hotel that knows you.
Parcels and Packages
The post office doesn't handle packages or other things that aren't correspondence, periodicals, or other written material. Various courier and messenger companies handle these; various tobacconists, post offices, and other establishments can accept packages for delivery. The fees for a 1 kilogram or less parcel, delivered within Paris, is 1 franc 30 centimes. For a foreign parcel, charges vary widely depending on the destination, but a couple of examples are known:
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Great Britain: 11 francs 15 centimes up to 1 kg; fees increase up to 29 francs 40 centimes for a maximum weight package of 10 kg.
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United States: 11 francs 65 centimes up to 1 kg; fees increase up to 31 francs 15 centimes for a maximum weight package of 10 kg.
Overseas packages beyond 10 kg would be sent as freight; hotel concierges or railway stations can make the arrangements.
Telegraph
Rates to French destinations, and to Corsica, Monaco, Algeria or Tunisia, are 1 franc plus 25 centimes per word -- minimum charge 2 francs 50 centimes. The rates to foreign nations vary (though the minimum charge is 7 francs 50 centimes) -- some per-word examples:
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Great Britain, Holland: 1 franc 25 centimes
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Germany, Spain, Italy: 1 franc 10 centimes
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eastern United States: 5 francs 60 centimes
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central United States: 7 francs 60 centimes
Wireless rates for messages outside of Europe are often lower than regular telegraph rates (generally about 1 franc per word, with a minimum charge of about 10 francs), but are unreliable, can be affected by weather, and only major cities and ocean liners can be contacted. Urgent wireless messages cost 5 francs per word, with a minimum charge of 100 francs -- the transmitting station will make a much greater effort to reach the receiving station.
Telephone
You will need two 25 centime pieces to make a telephone call from a phone box (le taxiphone). Beginning in 1937, public telephones will switch from accepting "regular" coins, to only accepting special telephone tokens. Phone tariffs are:
International calls are charged according to distance. Night calls (after 8 p.m., before 8 a.m.) are 40% cheaper. You can't make an international call from a phone booth (if nothing else, you can't insert money fast enough) -- a hotel or post office is most convenient for that purpose. The one known example:
Presuming the Continental rates are proportional, and start at 25 francs plus mileage:
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Berlin (546 miles): 57 francs for 3 minutes, plus 32 francs per minute after three.
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Rome (871 miles): 75 francs for 3 minutes, plus 50 francs per minute after three.
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Bucharest (1163 miles): 100 francs for 3 minutes, plus 70 francs per minute after three.
The 1927 rate for trans-Atlantic telephone calls was $75 per 3 minutes (about 2000 francs at the 1933 conversion rate), by high-frequency radio -- you will have to wait a few minutes for the connection to be made, since there are only 12 circuits available between Europe and North America. The frequencies used change between day and night, and by the season; intercontinental telephonic communication is sometimes interrupted by magnetic storms or other freak weather, sometimes for days or even a few weeks. Interruptions are most common in July and August; an 80% availability rate was considered "good" in those months.
Since 1929, one of the trans-Atlantic telephone channels is kept open for emergency use.
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From L'Illustration, 19 April 1930
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THE PARIS-SAIGON TELEPHONE
The Minister of P.T.T. and the Minister of the Colonies inaugurated, at the Indochina Office, the radio-telephone link between France and Saigon. This ceremony marked at the same time, in a form devoid of any pageantry, the scientific connection of two civilizations; in the forefront of the speakers was indeed the young Emperor of Annam, Bao-Dai, who, today, very Parisian, spoke for a moment, without much apparent astonishment, with M. Pasquier, Governor General of Indochina. After him, Madame Pasquier, smiling, gave her news to her husband.
Communication is ensured by the stations of Sainte-Assise and Villecresnes by means of Chireix-Mesny devices similar to those already used to converse with Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. We use waves of 10 m 44, with a power of 10 kilowatts. Conversations are taxed at 555 francs for the first three minutes, each additional minute costs 185 francs.
Due to atmospheric requirements and the eight-hour difference between Paris time and Saigon time, the service is provided every day from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Parisian administration must be informed the day before or, at the latest, the morning of the day when the conversation is to take place.
Instructions have been given to staff to tax only the time actually used for the conversation. We will therefore deduct the minutes during which, because of the defective conditions of the hearing, the conversation could not be continued usefully.
555 francs is worth about £4 11s.
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By the end of 1933 practically all the telephones in the world, except those in China, Japan, New Zealand and Russia, can be reached from any Bell System telephone. Besides the expense, intercontinental telephone calls are difficult to hear.
In the Pulp Adventure campaign, intercontinental telephone calls can be made all around the globe.
Newspapers
There are 2600 newspapers and magazines published in Paris; daily newspapers usually cost 25 centimes. The five major non-political morning newspapers are:
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Le Petit Parisien
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Le Journal
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Le Matin
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Le Petit Journal
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Excelsior (illustrated)
London papers are flown to Paris overnight, and are on sale in the early morning; they cost about 50 centimes. The London Times has an office at 8 Rue Halevy.
The Paris Herald Tribune (21 Rue de Berri) is a useful source of English-language news from America.
Banks
French banks which provide accounts for individuals:
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Banque de France, Rue de La Vrillière, Rue Crois-des-Petits-Champs, and at Place Ventadour
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Crèdit Foncier de France, 19 Rue des Capucines
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Crèdit Lyonnais, 17-21 Boul. des Italiens -- particularly recommended for exchange of foreign currency
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Societé Générale, 29-31 Boul. Haussmann (near the Opera) -- particularly recommended for exchange of foreign currency
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Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris, 14 Rue Bergère
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Crèdit Industriel et Commercial, 66 Rue de la Victoire
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Rothschild frères, 21 Rue Lafitte
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Crèdit Commercial de France, 103-113 Av. des Champs-Elysées
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Banque de l'Indochine, Banque d'Afrique Occidentale, Banque de l’Algérie et de la Tunisie, Banque de Suez, etc. are controlled by the French government
Besides various European banks, there are some British, American and Canadian banks with branches here:
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Barclays Bank, 33 Rue du Quatre-Septembre
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Lloyds & National Provincial, 32 Boul. des Capuchins
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Westminster Bank, 22 Place Vendome
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Bankers' Trust Co., 3 & 5 Place Vendome
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Chase National Bank, 41 Rue Cambon
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Guaranty Trust Company, 4 Place de la Concorde
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Morgan & Co., 14 Place Vendome
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Munroe & Co., 4 Rue Ventadour
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National City Bank of New York, 60 Avenue des Champs-Elysees
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Bank of Montreal, 6 Place Vendome
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Royal Bank of Canada, 3 Rue Scribe
Shops
Dressmakers and Ladies' Tailors
The most fashionable and expensive are to be found near the Opera and the Champs-Elysees:
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Callot Soeurs, 9-11 Av. Matignon
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Gabrielle Chanel, 31 Rue Cambon
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Jeanne Lanvin, 22 Faubourg-St-Honore
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Lucien Lelong, 16 Av. Matignon
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Mme Paquin, 3 Rue de la Paix
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Jean Patou, 7 Rue St-Florentin
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Worth (established in 1850), 7 Rue de la Paix
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Agnes, 7 Rue Auber
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Redfern, 8 Rue Royale
The Grands-Magasins (department stores) are much cheaper (but still very stylish by the standards of most countries):
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Au Bon Marché - 24 Rue de Sevres
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Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville - 36 Rue de la Verrerie
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Printemps Haussmann - 64 Boulevard Haussmann
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Galeries Lafayette - 40 Boulevard Haussmann
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Samaritaine - 27-29 Boulevard des Capuchines
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Aux Trois-Quartiers -- 17-23 Boulevard de la Madeleine
Men's Tailors
Clothing made to measure by a good tailor is somewhat dearer than in England. Many London firms have branches in Paris. The visitor should consult a resident, if possible, before ordering.
Ready-made men's clothing, or to measure:
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A la Belle Jardiniere - 2-6 Rue duy Pont-Neuf
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Coutard - 4-6 Boulevard Montmartre
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A Reaumur - corner of Rue Reaumur and Rue St-Denis
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High-Life Tailor - 12 Rue Auber, and 112 Rue de Richelieu
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West-End (Choque) - 16 Rue Auber
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A la Grand Maison - 15-17 Rue Auber
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The Sport - 17 Boulevard Montmartre
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A la Grand Fabrique - 50 Rue de Turbigo
The department stores also carry men's clothing.
Bazaars
These are partly similar to the department stores, partly for household requisites and cheap goods of every kind.
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Magazin des Nouvelles Galeries - 20 Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle
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Bazar de l'Hotel-de-Ville - 52-64 Rue de Rivoli, opposite the Hotel de Ville
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Magasins Reunis - 136 Rue de Rennes
Calendar of Events
The Paris "Season" is in spring, from the beginning of April to the end of June. The parks and gardens are then at their brightest, and the artistic and theatrical life of the city is at its height. After the season the fashionable world leaves Paris for the seaside or the country to avoid the heat of midsummer and for the most part does not return to the capital until the end of September. Paris is crowded with foreign tourists in August and September, but the city then lacks some of its most characteristic features and many of the theaters, restaurants and shops are closed.
Variable public holidays are Easter Monday, Ascension Day, and Whit Monday.
January
Jour de l'An is a bigger holiday than Christmas in France. Visits and "etrennes", i.e. New Year's gifts.
March
The Concours Hippique is a horse show and military tournament, held for three weeks starting in mid-March, at the Grand Palais.
April
The Premiere de Longchamp is a horse race in early April, at the Longchamp racecourse; the new spring clothing fashions are seen in all their glory.
Le Prix du Président de la République is a steeplechase run in April at the Auteuil racecourse.
May
The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris is run in late May at the Auteuil racecourse.
International lawn tennis championships are held in the second half of May.
June
The Prix du Jockey Club is a horse race run on the first Sunday in June at the Chantilly racecourse.
The Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil, sometimes referred to as the French Champion Hurdle, takes place in June at the Auteuil racecourse.
The Prix de Diane is a horse race run every year in June at (usually) the Chantilly racecourse.
The Grand-Prix de Longchamp, on the last Sunday in June, marks the end of the Parisian social season.
July
July 14th - the Fête Nationale, also called Bastille Day. Fireworks, parades and celebrations.
The Grand Prix de Paris is a horse race run on the evening of Bastille Day at the Longchamp racecourse.
August
August 15th -- Assumption Day
October
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - the first weekend of October is a famous horse race at Hippodrome de Longchamp, in the Bois de Boulogne.
The Salon de l'Automobile, a car show at the Grand Palais.
The Prix Royal-Oak is a horse race run in late October at the Longchamp racecourse.
November
November 1st - All Saints' Day
November 11th - Remembrance Day, also called Armistice Day
The Prix La Haye Jousselin is a steeplechase run in November at the Auteuil racecourse.
Salon de l'Aeronautique is an air show held at the end of November, in the Grand Palais.
December
Christmas Eve and Christmas.
Sources
Baekeker's Paris And Its Environs, pub. 1932 (supplement 1937) in Leipzig by Karl Baedeker.
Cook's Guide To Paris, ed. Roy Elston, pub. 1939 by Thos. Cook & Son, Lt., London
L'Illustration, no. 4546, page 520; pub. 19 April 1930
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