Monday, January 15, 2007

Trails to explore around Paris: Discover wildlife and plants

Trails

This is a theme park concept consisting of different sequences of fun and varied workshops in the trees. You move from one fixed workshop to another, in an area specially laid out for the purpose (booking may be advisable or compulsory, contact each site for information).

Chichoune Accroforest
Complexe sportif de l'Entre Deux Parcs 
Avenue des Hyverneaux      
77150 LESIGNY                       
infos@chichoune.com    
http://www.chichoune.com/     

Parcours Aventure - Davy Crockett's Adventure
Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch         
77174 VILLENEUVE-LE-COMTE 
0 825 150 280 
contact@aventure-aventure.com
http://www.aventure-aventure.com/

Parcours Aventure - Paris Sud Aventure       
Château de Sainte Assise   
Route départementale 50       
77240 SEINE-PORT 
0 825 150 280  
contact@aventure-aventure.com
http://www.aventure-aventure.com/

La Plage de la Forêt
Piscine de la forêt    
Route de la Bonne Dame  
77300 FONTAINEBLEAU
01 64 22 38 14
http://www.lezart-cafe.fr/

Parcours Lémurien de Graville       
Chemin de Graville            
77430 CHAMPAGNE-SUR-SEINE
01 60 39 07 04 
contact@tipiks.com      
http://www.tipiks.com/

Larchant Loisirs
121 bis, route de Nemours                
77760 LARCHANT       
01 60 55 05 51 
courrier@larchantloisirs.com      
http://larchantloisirs.com/           

Adenka          
Château de Bellevue           
Avenue de Coulomb          
77840   CROUY-SUR-OURCQ     
01 64 36 08 98 
adenka@wanadoo.fr
http://www.adenka.fr/

Parcours Aventure - Paris Ouest Aventure
Base de loisirs St Quentin en Yvelines           
Entrée nord      
78180 MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX   
0 825 150 280              
http://www.aventure-aventure.com/

Atout Branches
Route de Boutigny                       
91490   MILLY-LA-FORET        
06 72 46 86 44 
contact@atoutbranches.com      
http://www.atoutbranches.com/

Aventure Floreval          
Haras de Floreval           
91680 BRUYERES-LE-CHATEL  
01 64 90 04 04 
aventure@floreval.fr     
http://aventure.floreval.fr/

Koala Parc      
2, allée Jean Jaurès             
93470 COUBRON         
01 48 94 51 70 
info@koalaparc.com     
http://www.koalaparc.com/

Le Bois d'Auteuil
Centre de loisirs sportifs et de séminaires - ASPTT 
1 rue du Bois d'Auteuil                      
94440 VILLECRESNES 
01 45 69 01 01 
bda@aspttparis.com     
http://www.aspttparis.com/

Aventure Land   
Le Bois d'Artheuil         
BP 90025         
95420   MAGNY-EN-VEXIN         
0 820 099 629  
infos@aventureland.fr  
http://www.aventureland.fr/

Accrobranche® and treetop trails are green leisure activities based on climbing, moving from tree to tree, life in the trees and exploring the forest environment. They are both educational and fun. The workshops are temporary and can be moved.

CAPS - Voies d'aventure    
41, rue Liancourt                       
75014 PARIS                   
caps1@caps-aventure.org
Tél./ Fax 01 45 87 13 63
www.caps-aventure.org              

Profil Evasion - Arbrenarbre  
Communs du Château de Moulignon                    
77310 SAINT-FARGEAU-PONTHIERRY    
01 69 68 04 33 
profilevasion@wanadoo.fr         
www.arbrenarbre.com

Espace Rambouillet
Route de Clairefontaine             
78120 RAMBOUILLET 
01 34 83 05 00 
espace.rambouillet@onf.fr        
www.onf.fr/espaceramb

Other Transportation in Paris

Cycling

Paris has more than 160 km of bicycle lanes that divide the capital by 2 axes: from the Bois de Vincennes to the Bois de Boulogne and from the Porte de Pantin to the Porte de Vanves. In addition to these lanes, the riverside expressways that run along the Seine are closed to traffic on Sundays, leaving room for bikers, rollerbladers and hikers.

Useful addresses

Fédération Française de Cyclotourisme
Phone : 1 44 16 88 88
www.ffct.org

Paris à vélo, c'est sympa !
Phone : 1 48 87 60 01
www.parisvelosympa.com

Maison Roue Libre
Phone : 1 53 46 43 77
www.parisvisite.tm.fr

Mairie de Paris - Infovoirie
Phone: 1 40 28 73 73

Bike Rentals

Paris Buttes Chaumont Park, Mouzaïa Quarter, Villette Park…

 Fontainebleau Forest. Fontainebleau Château, Barbizon…

 Chevreuse Valley, Breteuil Château, Vaux de Cernay Abbey, Dampierre Château, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Sports and Recreation Park…

 The pedestrian zone that follows the Atlantic TGV train line , Sceaux Château and Park, Vallée des Loups, Bird Observatory…

  Versailles: Versailles Château and Park, the large and small Trianon Châteaux, the Coach Museum…

There are also Trails in the Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Montmorency, Rambouillet and Dourdan Forests

Rollerblading

Paris Ile-de-France opens its avenues, wide sidewalks and specially designed skating areas for the athlete at heart and asphalt fans.

For beginners
The riverside expressway: Sundays form 9:00 to 4:00 pm
Left Bank: From the Orsay Museum to the Eiffel Tower
Right Bank : From the Tuileries Gardens to Bercy (Fitness course)
Paths in the Bois de Boulogne Park (92)
Batignolles Square (17th District)
Monceau Park (17th District) : For children
Tino Rossi Square (19th District) : For children

For experienced bladers
Skate-Park at the Lenglen Sports Center (15th District) : Open from Tuesday to Sunday - 2:00 to 7:00 pm.
Esplanade du Palais Royal (1th District): Figure blading and slalom
Change Bridge (4th District): Jumps and figures
Tokyo Palace (16th District): Fitness
Trocadéro (16th District): Mixed
Esplanade des Invalides (7th District): Street-Hockey and Fitness
Esplanade du POPB: Freestyle

Boat trips

 A shuttle service along the Seine river that stops at seven major sites: Eiffel Tower, Musée d'Orsay, Saint-Germain des Prés, Hôtel de Ville, Louvre and Champs-Élysées. Stops every 20 minutes.
It's an original way to travel for those who don't want to go by metro:  www.batobus.com
Cruises on the Seine, the Oise, the Marne and channels, discover the region from a different point of view.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Venice and the Middle East Exhibit

The exhibition explores several centuries and ranges across a wide geographical area, with a particular focus on artistic and cultural exchanges between Venice and the Middle East.The exhibition centres on the most fertile period of exchange, between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Some 250 objects - paintings, textiles, tapestries, glasswork, ceramics, gold - from the Venetian collections and major international museums provide a fascinating introduction to the artistic and cultural exchanges between Venice and the East.

Rates : from 0 EUR to 10 EUR

Address: Institut du Monde Arabe
1, rue des Fossés-Saint-Bernard
75005 PARIS

Public Transportation
By Bus : 24, 63, 67, 86, 87, 89
By subway : Jussieu,Cardinal-Lemoine,Sully
-Morland
Train : RER C, Gare d'Austerlitz


Friday, January 12, 2007

Winter sales in Paris: January 10 to February 17

Winter sales in Paris!

From January 10 to February 17, the capital is abuzz with discounts and season-end reductions

Venice and the Middle East

The exhibition explores several centuries and ranges across a wide geographical area, with a particular focus on artistic and cultural exchanges between Venice and the Middle East.The exhibition centres on the most fertile period of exchange, between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Some 250 objects - paintings, textiles, tapestries, glasswork, ceramics, gold - from the Venetian collections and major international museums provide a fascinating introduction to the artistic and cultural exchanges between Venice and the East.

Rates : from 0 EUR to 10 EUR

Address: Institut du Monde Arabe
1, rue des Fossés-Saint-Bernard
75005 PARIS

Public Transportation
By Bus : 24, 63, 67, 86, 87, 89
By subway : Jussieu,Cardinal-Lemoine,Sully-Morland
Train : RER C, Gare d'Austerlitz

Egyptian treasures at the Grand Palais!


What more magnificent setting could there be for Egyptian archaeological remains? Extraordinary artefacts from underwater archaeological expeditions will be on display in the nave of the Grand Palais: three colossi nearly 6 m high, a large black granite stele with remarkably well-preserved hieroglyphs, ritual and everyday objects (bronze ladles, gold dish, lead votive boats, pottery, coins, jewellery...). Many of these objects illustrate the skills of Egyptian artists and the cultural influence of Greece.

Rates:  from 0 EUR to 12 EUR
Address: Nef du Grand Palais.
             Avenue Winston Churchill
             75008 PARIS
Metros: Lignes 1, 9 et 13 : stations Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau ou Franklin-Roosevelt

Open: from 9 December 2006 to 16 March 2007 of 10:00 in 20:00

Les serres D'Auteui


The Garden are made according to the French style. Avenue of De la Porte Auteuil. The garden is open every day of 10 am to 5 pm, autumn and winter and from 10 am with 6 pm, spring and summer.
Each year, the Greenhouses of Auteuil accommodate exposures devoted to remarkable plants: orchids, azaleas, plants carnivores, etc, as well as topics related to the horticulture or the history of the gardens.
During the summer, many concerts take place there because the greenhouses profit from excellent acoustics. The programs are available to the Town hall or by addressing to Management Parks, Jardins and Parks (3, avenue of Carry-in Auteuil, 75016 Paris. Tel.: 01 40 71 74 00).
A little history The Municipal Florist, renamed garden of the Greenhouses of Auteuil, occupies part of the grounds of the old botanical garden of Louis XV. The design of the greenhouses and the general organization of the gardens are the work of the architect Jean-Camille Formigé (1845-1926). Work began in 1895 and was completed in 1898, extended on more than 9 hectares. The principal entry of the garden of the Greenhouses of Auteuil, flanked each side of two traditional and sober buildings sheltering the services of the Management of the Parks and Gardens of the Town of Paris, gives access to a terrace overhanging an elegant floor to the Frenchwoman. At the bottom spreads itself, majestic, the large greenhouse with central dome, with its two wings decreasing height. This unit, one of most remarkable of the kind in Europe, shelters a palminarium in the center, a tropical greenhouse on the right and a greenhouse of exposure on the left. On both sides of the floor one discovers two blocks of six large greenhouses and two greenhouses houses, supplemented of a group of nine greenhouses, a greenhouse of multiplication and a house. Thanks to this structure, the garden raises annually nearly 100.000 house plants, green or flowered, intended for the decoration of the municipal buildings (Town hall, town halls of district). It also shelters of 1.800 kinds, species and varieties of plants of collection: orchids, begonias, broméliacées, ferns, ficus, azaleas and more…