Museum ''Guimet'', the biggest collection of Asian art in Europe

 

Musée Guimet has one of the largest collections of Asian art outside Asia. Besides impressing you with countless Chinese vases and other masterpieces of porcelain, Musée Guimet will introduce you to art from Mongolia, Myanmar, Afghanistan and other lesser-known cultures.  



The art is put together according to its geographic origins, so you can easily find pieces from your favorite country. On the main floor you will find art from India and Southeast Asia, like Cambodia and Vietnam. On the first floor you will find art from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet and Central Asia. The second floor shows art from China, Korea and Japan. The third floor is entirely dedicated to Chinese art. 

A free audio guide is available in the following languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Less than 10% of the objects have a number for the audio guide, but the information given is valuable. 

 

The museum displays 45.000 objects, but because of the earth tones of the walls, the pottery and the decoration ,the museum is never overwhelming.  

 

Practical information
Address

6 Place d'Iéna, 75116 Paris.
Arrondissement
16^th

Time
Three or four hours.
Price

€ 7.50 (regular price for permanent collection)

€ 8 (regular price for temporary expositions)
€ 9.50 (combined ticket, both permanent collection and temporary expositions)
Free entrance for people younger than 18 years old, European citizens who are younger than 26 years old. Reduced tarif for non-European students.
Visiting hours
10.00 - 18.00 (Wednesday till Monday, closed on Tuesday)
Website
http://www.guimet.fr/fr/
Metro
The nearest metro station is Iéna (red circle below).

Supermarkets in Paris

In France there are two kinds of supermarkets. A supermarché is what comes up in most people's mind when they think of a supermarket. A hypermarché is a gigantic store that combines a supermarket and a department store. Besides food and drinks you can buy e.g. clothes, books, kitchen equipment, suitcases, office supplies and computers at hypermarchés. 

The following supermarché chains can be found at different locations in Paris:

Lidl
Lidl is the cheapest supermarket in Paris. Besides food and drinks, you can buy detergents and toiletries at Lidl. The disadvantage of Lidl is the lack of choice. You can buy three
different kinds of soap. That's it. However, soap costs € 0.80 at Lidl, whereas you would
pay € 1.50 at other stores. Another example is olive oil, which costs € 2.75 at Lidl and
€ 3.85 at some other stores. And a fresh pain au chocolat costs only € 0.35. If you want to
save money, I advice you to try to find what you're looking for at Lidl. If you can't find it there, go somewhere else.

DIA
DIA is a Spanish discount supermarket chain that has 90 stores in Paris. You're more likely to find a DIA in your neighborhood than a Lidl, the other discount supermarket chain. The difference with Lidl is that DIA comes up with great, but temporary (!) discounts, while Lidl has mostly fixed prices. DIA is slightly more expensive than Lidl, but sells a wider range of products. To give you an idea of the prices: 1 kilo of nectarines costs € 1.99, one lemon costs € 0.59 and a bottle of sugar free lemonade costs € 2.09. DIA's cheese is € 0.50 more expensive than Lidl's cheese.  

Carrefour City
Carrefour is a chain with both supermarchés (called ''Carrefour City'') and hypermarchés. Carrefour City can be found everywhere in Paris. In most cases it's a small store with a limited amount of products. Unlike Lidl, this is not reflected in the price. Carrefour City is the most expensive supermarket in Paris. You pay for the convenience of having a quality supermarket nearby, even if you live within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. If you don't want to spend too much money on groceries I advice you to look for another supermarket.

 

 

Monoprix
Monoprix is somewhere in between a supermarché and a hypermarché. It combines food retailing with hardware, clothing, household items and gifts, but the stores are not as massive as the hypermarchés and can therefore be found in every arrondissement. In case you don't want to leave your house you can even buy Monoprix's products online and have it sent to your house. Monoprix is not a discount supermarket. The prices are similar to Carrefour City. People with a limited budget are better off going to Lidl or DIA, unless they need a dish brush or other household products.   

 

Franprix
There are regular sized and small stores of Franprix in Paris. In general, Franprix charges less for products that you could also find at Carrefour City and Monoprix. Lidl and DIA are cheaper though. A white baguette costs € 1.00, 3 big bananas cost € 1.40 and you pay € 2.25 for chorizo (100 gram).   

There are only two hypermarché chains that can be visited by metro. Most hypermarchés  are situated outside Paris, because the hypermarché chains are not allowed to have a store in the city centre due to the size of the store.  

Carrefour
Carrefour is a chain with both supermarchés (called ''Carrefour City'') and hypermarchés (called ''Carrefour Auteuil'', named after the neighborhood). The Carrefour hypermarché that can be visited by metro is situated in the 16th arrondissement. Carrefour is one of the more expensive stores, but the quality of the products is excellent.  

Practical information
Address

3 Avenue du Général Sarrail, 75016 Paris

Arrondissement
16^th

Website

http://www.carrefour.fr/
Metro
The nearest metro station is Michel-Ange Molitor (red circle below).

 

 

 

Auchan
Auchan is cheaper than Carrefour. The food and drinks are more expensive than at Lidl and DIA, but at Auchan you have an endless choice of products. There is even a salad bar. To be more specific about the price differences between Auchan and Carrefour I'll give you an example. The cheapest plastic bin at Carrefour cost me € 7.50. One day later I found a similar plastic bin at Auchan for € 2.50. I regretted buying the plastic bin at Carrefour! Also, Auchan is a lot bigger than the Carrefour hypermarché. 
 

Practical information
Address

26 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 93170 Bagnolet
Arrondissement
20^th
Website
http://www.auchan.fr/
Metro
The nearest metro station is Gallieni (red circle below).

 

 

Museum ''Palais de Tokyo''

Palais de Tokyo is the most original museum of Paris. This modern and contemporary art museum wants to be different and it is indeed. It allows young artists with diverse backgrounds to show their work. Your visit won't be boring, because the museum gives space to visual and performing artists, literary writers, furniture designers and film makers. Children can participate in art workshops or play hide and seek in this massive building of 22,000 squared meters. Besides the temporary exhibitions there is a garden, bookshop and restaurant. Go to the top of the building for an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower, which is within walking distance of the museum.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Practical information
Address

13 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris.
Arrondissement
16^th

Time
Between two and four hours.
Price

€ 10 (regular price)

€ 8 (people between 18 and 26 years old, people older than 65 years old, families, teachers, groups of more than 10 people)
Free entrance for children, unemployed people, people who live on social welfare, disabled people and journalists.
Visiting hours
12.00 - 24.00 (Wednesday till Monday, closed on Tuesday)
Website
http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/en
Metro
The nearest metro station is Iéna (red circle below).