About the Area for SilverDoor Serviced Apartments in Paris - Bastille Marais

Charles de Gaulle Airport is situated 14 miles north-east of Paris where the three terminals are connected via free shuttle buses. The quickest and cheapest way to get from the airport to Paris city centre is via the TGV. This takes 45 minutes and is signposted from the airport terminal. It is just a short walk to the station. Even if you have never used the French rail system before this is certainly the way to go as a Taxi would be very expensive.

The easiest way to get around Paris is on the Metro. There are Metro stations close to every public attraction and they serve the surrounding suburbs too. The best way to use the Metro is to buy a "carnet" - this is a set of 10 tickets which have virtually no expiry date and each ticket is valid for as many changes as you like on the Metro so long as you don’t exit and go above ground. For example you need two tickets for the outgoing and return journeys.

The main business sector of Paris is surrounding "La Grande Arch de La Defence" otherwise known as La Defence. This is the large grey arch visible over the road from the Arc de Triomphe. There is also an extensive shopping area here.

The most reasonable area in which to eat in central Paris is called the Latin Quarter and is close to Notre Dame. This is not as "touristy" as other areas and therefore has more reasonably priced menus. The most economic way to eat in restaurants is to buy a "menu a XX Euros", these will normally be a starter or dessert and main course off a set menu for a discounted price.

Le Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements) is a fashionable Right Bank district.

To the west of the Place de la Bastille extends the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, a street running through the centre of what was once a village of furniture-making artisans. To the north and north-west from there, across the narrow streets remaining largely unchanged from the 17th century, lies Le Marais. The Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine still has many furniture stores.

Today Le Marais is most known for its square and uniformly-built Place des Vosges. The Place de Vosges is a perfect square, surrounded by 36 old and picturesque mansions which were designed by Henry IV in 1607 and completed in 1612. The marble statue in the centre is of King Louis XIII.

Inaugurated as the "Place Royale" in 1612, much of the surrounding land was built with vast and luxurious "hotels" by those seeking closer relations to royalty, and many remain today. This area fell out of royal favour when the King's court left for the Louvre (and later to Versailles) and was largely abandoned by 19th century. It became a mostly Jewish quarter around then, and has remained so ever since. Re-emerging today as a rather expensive bourgeois quarter, Le Marais is considered rather trendy with its many new gay-friendly clothing stores and bars.