Watching English-language movies at a cinema in Paris

UPDATE!

I love going to the movies and the French film industry is great! However, watching a movie entirely in French is still a challenge for me. I have looked for cinema's in Paris that show English-language movies (version originale). I have found a website with a list of the English-language movies shown by Parisian cinema's. It is listed by arrondissement.

This is the link: List of English-language movies shown this week

After going to the movies myself I noticed that there is a difference in price and quality, depending on the location. I went to MK2 Bibliothèque (take the RER and you'll be there in no time!) and they offer a huge discount for people who are younger than 26 years old. I paid only € 4.90. However, at MK2 Odéon this discount wasn't available. I could only get a student discount, so I ended up paying € 7.90. I was surprised that this chain doesn't always charge the same price. Funny enough, the rooms of the cheaper MK2 Bibliothèque were much larger, the seats were more comfortable and the screen was much bigger. MK2 Bibliothèque it is!

Have fun!

  

Going to Amsterdam for a long weekend

UPDATE ON HOSTELS!

Currently, (international) students in Paris are planning weekend trips to other European cities. The first leaves are falling, but it's not cold yet, so this is a good time to pack your bags and discover Europe. Many choose to visit Amsterdam (the capital of the Netherlands), because it's relatively close to Paris and there are several inexpensive options to travel to Amsterdam. As a Dutch person I would like to help you with planning your trip to Amsterdam, so it will become an unforgettable experience!  

Transportation

There is no need to step on a plane to go to the Netherlands. It's pretty close to France and you can travel to the Netherlands by bus or train for little money.

Bus
When I travel between Amsterdam and Paris I take the bus, because it is the least expensive option. I have tried 3 coach operators and all of them take you to Amsterdam in 7 hours.

Megabus is the cheapest coach operator you'll ever find in Europe. A ticket Paris-Amsterdam (roundway) costs only € 30. There is a toilet with a mirror and a sink to wash your hands on the bus. The seats are comfortable. Megabus makes one stop at Brussels, the Belgian capital. I have taken the night bus several times. It's safe.
uk.megabus.com/routemap

iDBus is my favorite coach operator, because it offers free WIFI on the bus and each row of seats has an electrical socket. There is a toilet with a mirror and a sink to wash your hands on the bus. The seats are more comfortable than the seats of Megabus. However, it's more expensive than Megabus. The lowest price for a ticket Paris-Amsterdam (roundway) is € 78. iDBus makes one stop at Lille (Northern France), but will also go through Belgium.
www.idbus.com/map

Eurolines is the most expensive coach operator, but it also has most travel options. There is a toilet with a mirror and a sink to wash your hands on the bus, but when I took the night bus the door was closed, so the toilet could not be used. The bus stops several times before arriving in Amsterdam. Eurolines charges different prices, depending on the day and time of your departure. Check out the website to find the lowest fare: www.eurolines.fr/en/destinations 

Train
Traveling to Amsterdam by train is more expensive than traveling by bus, but it takes only 3 hours. The cheapest train ticket (roundway) Paris-Amsterdam costs € 70, whereas the cheapest bus ticket (roundway) Paris-Amsterdam costs € 30. Train tickets for €70.00 can only be purchased 3 months in advance. The later you book, the more you will have to pay. I once booked a train ticket (roundway) 1,5 weeks in advance and it cost me € 180. Check out the website for more information and current fares: http://www.nshispeed.nl/en/france  

Accommodation
In general, most hostels and hotels in the Netherlands are clean and safe. The Dutch have a high standard when it comes to hospitality.

However, the country attracts drugs tourists who come to the Netherlands specifically to buy marihuana. For the people who didn't know: some drugs can be legally purchased in the Netherlands, most notably cannabis. Drugs tourists often make a mess or behave badly, so personally I wouldn't like sleeping in a hostel that is full of drugs tourists.

Therefore I advice you to go to one of the Shelter Christian Hostels in Amsterdam, even if you're not a Christian. Smoking, alcohol and drugs are not allowed inside these hostels. They have a courtyard-garden where you are allowed to smoke normal cigarettes, but drugs and alcohol are not tolerated. 

I understand that there are people who prefer to stay at a hostel with more freedom. For them, I recommend Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark. The location is magnificant. This hostel is situated in the middle of the most famous park of Amsterdam.

If you prefer to stay at another ho(s)tel, book a private room. Don't safe money on your safety! I think Amsterdam is a safe city (I never had a problem being in the city centre at night), but even in safe cities you can come across untrustworthy people. However, don't let drugs tourists stop you from visiting Amsterdam. Amsterdam also attracts many tourists who are interesting in art, architecture and culture. Furthermore, the Dutch state invests a lot in the safety of its citizens and tourists and besides police officers there are always volunteers who walk through Amsterdam in groups to make sure everyone is okay. We call these volunteers ''street coaches''. You can recognize them by their jackets with the logo of the municipality of Amsterdam. 

I normally book a hostel through Hostelworld.

Weather

Amsterdam enjoys an oceanic climate that features two major seasons, a mild summer and a cold winter.

 

Summer

During the summer months, from late May till early September, Amsterdam remains enjoyable enough with the average high of low twenties. Although the season gets a moderate level of rainfall, as August receives more than 80mm of precipitation, it is the best season to visit Amsterdam. The average low temperature, especially in the evenings, stands around 12°C. The city gets a great level of sunshine throughout the season, more than 200 hours per month.

Winter

Winter weather in Amsterdam is chilly and somewhat uncomfortable. The average high temperature falls dramatically as winter appears and stands at 9°C in November, 6°C in December while January, the coldest month of the year gets not more than 5°C. The low, on the other hand, fluctuates between -1°C to 3°C. Moreover, a little rainfall and very poor level of sunshine, 60 hours, may not allow you to be fixed with your plan.

 

What to do in Amsterdam?
Click on the link for an English-language list of Amsterdam's best attractions. My personal favorites:

Rent a bike!
Dutch people are keen cyclists. A Dutch person rides his bike to go to school, work, the supermarket etc.. You will see people riding a bike everywhere in Amsterdam. The narrow streets make it difficult to go by car or taxi, so often going by bike is a more efficient way to discover Amsterdam. Check out the following website (available in several languages) for information on renting a bike in Amsterdam: www.iamsterdam.com
The bike rental corporations and tourist offices sell cycling guides and maps of Amsterdam and its surroundings. If you Google ''bike tour Amsterdam'' you will also find guided bike tours.

 

Visit a museum
There are over 50 museums in Amsterdam, so there must be a museum that interests you. Here is a list (in English) of the most popular museums. I advice you to go to the renowned Vincent van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum (here you will find the best works of Rembrandt) and the Anne Frank House. Beer lovers should visit the Heineken Museum, for football fans the Ajax Museum is a must-go and kinky people might find the Erotic or Torture Museum interesting. After all, you're visiting Amsterdam, the capital of one of the most liberal countries in the world. The Netherlands was the first country in the world where gay people could marry and I'm pretty sure there are not many countries with the same drugs policy. (Note: I'm more conservative than most Dutch people. Just because I write about the Dutch culture doesn't mean I like everything about it.) 



Canal cruise
The world famous Canal Belt (a section of the historic city centre) was placed on the UNESCO  World Heritage List in 2011. It's a Dutch tradition to treat visiting royals and other VIP's to a cruise on the canals. Famous visitors like Winston Churchill, the Beatles and Nelson Mandela became acquainted with Amsterdam from the deck of a canal cruise boat. Some canal cruise operators give you a discount if you book a ticket in advance.
List of canal cruise operators.

Tulip fields
Spring is the best time of the year to travel to the Netherlands, because of the magnificant tulip fields that attracts tourists from all over the world. From the end of March until the second week of May the flowers in the fields bloom. It goes without saying that the exact period depends on the weather. Generally speaking, the best time is the second half of April. It takes only an hour (max. 1,5 hours) to travel from Amsterdam to the tulip fields by public transportation, so you could easily make it a day trip. The buses that take you to the tulip fields leave from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Please keep in mind that the buses are only available during the tulip season, so in spring!
Here are some websites with practical information on visiting the tulip fields:
Guide to Seeing the Tulip Fields
Keukenhof, the world's largest flower garden
Private tour to Keukenhof Tulip Gardens and Tulip Fields

Food and Drinks in Amsterdam

A ''coffee shop'' in the Netherlands is a place where you can purchase drugs legally. People who want to have a cup of coffee or tea don't go to a ''coffee shop'', but to a restaurant, tea house, bar etc.!

Supermarket
Go to Albert Heijn, the best supermarket of the Netherlands.You can find Albert Heijn at several places in the city centre of Amsterdam. Many products have an English-language label, so you know what you're buying. Besides regular products like bread, milk, fruit and vegetables, Albert Heijn offers organic and vegan products, fresh sandwiches, salads, muffins, donuts etc. I miss Albert Heijn now that I live in Paris. The Parisian supermarkets don't have the quality or the diversity of Albert Heijn. Albert Heijn can be cheap or expensive, depending on the product you're buying. However, the expensive products are often still cheaper than what you find in Paris or are special, like organic.

Restaurants
To be honest, I almost never went to restaurants in Amsterdam, because as a student I had a limited budget and I could cook at home. But from my limited experience I know the following restaurants are worth trying:

Ron Gastrobar (scroll down once you entered the website)
This restaurant is led by a chef who once had a restaurant that was awarded two stars by Michelin. He voluntarily gave back the Michelin stars to start a new concept: Ron Gastrobar. Here you can eat a dish for only € 15. It was the dream of the chef to serve people high quality, but simple food for a reasonable price. He feels like too many Michelin restaurants try to impress, instead of focusing on what people like to eat.

Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam
Best hamburgers ever and the only place in the Netherlands where you can get a free refill!

La Place (inside V&D)
La Place is a chain of restaurants that you can find inside V&D, a Dutch department store. Here you can buy sandwiches, soup, cakes and warm meals like steak with fries. For € 5 you can get the ''meal of the day'', served with fries or rice. I like their wok, but it's not available at every La Place. Dutch people like to come here for the sandwiches.

Vegetarian/ Vegan
Every restaurant in Amsterdam has at least one vegetarian course on the menu. Many Dutch people are vegetarian, so you will have no problem finding delicious vegetarian meals.

Vegan people should take a look at this website which shows the location of vegan restaurants in Amsterdam. For example, there are four branches of Maoz Falafel in Amsterdam. Maoz was founded by Dutch people, but also has branches in e.g. France (Paris) and Australia. Another vegan restaurant in Amsterdam that is not on the list of the website is Mana Mana.

Dutch specialties
I love the Dutch pancakes and pastries. Go to a pannenkoekenhuis (pancake house) to eat a gigantic pancake with a topping of your choice. The favorite pancakes of the Dutch are either with ham and cheese or with apple, raisins, cinnamon and sugar. But there is an endless list of options. A gigantic pancake at a traditional restaurant costs between € 7 and € 15, depending on the toppings.
The Dutch also like to eat poffertjes, a portion of tiny pancakes covered with butter and sugar.

For some people a surprise, for others a well-known fact: Indonesia used to be part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The colony became independent in 1949. The Indonesians influenced the Dutch cuisine. Dutch people love Indonesian food and you can find Indonesian restaurants everywhere. We specifically like the sweet peanut sauce (satésaus) from Indonesia, in combination with meat and (fried) rice. The Indonesian restaurants are usually not expensive.

For more information on the Dutch cuisine, read the article on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_cuisine

Let me know if you want to visit other parts of the Netherlands. I could give you advice on that as well!

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).

Eiffel Tower at 6:00 AM

Usually, people who are on a holiday break don't want to wake up early in the morning. But you will miss a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you sleep in every day during your trip to Paris. Seeing the Eiffel Tower at 6:00 AM is miraculous. No tourists, no people who are trying to sell small replicas of the Eiffel Tower, no noise. A few cleaners will be sweeping the tiles that surround the Palais de Chaillot. You could see an engaged couple posing for a photographer, so they can send wedding invitations with a romantic photo of them with the Eiffel Tower on the background. Around 6:30 AM some people will be running through the Jardins du Trocadéro, the park between the Eiffel Tower and the plaza. They are in a hurry, because they can't be late for work.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paris is beautiful in the early morning. Unlike New York, this city sleeps every night. The serenity of the city during dawn is something you will never forget. Be the first to buy a baguette or chocolate croissant at an artisan bakery at 7:00 AM and watch the city come alive.  

 

Practical information
Arrondissement
7th

Time

One hour to enjoy the silence until the morning traffic starts.
Price
Free.
Metro
The nearest metro station is Trocadéro (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).

Parc de Belleville

Parc de Belleville was built on a steep hill in 1988. It is the highest park in Paris (108 m.). 

 

Take the long stairs to enter the terrace on top of the hill for a spectacular panoramic view over the city. Have a photo taken of you with the Eiffel Tower on the background. The park has carved paths that lead you to past water sources which were once used to supply water to the city. The longest waterfall of Paris (100 m.) that cascades into lower ponds is also worth seeing. 

The more active visitor will happily notice that the park contains a wooden playground for children, ping-pong tables and an open-air theatre.

Practical information
Arrondissement
20th
Time
An hour for photos, a relaxing walk and a picknick.
Price
The entrance is free.
Metro
The nearest metro stations are Pyrénées and Couronnes (red circle below).