PARIS

King of extremes and mysteries

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Wild, idyllic, yet elegant and monumental, with the wild
mountain nature of the Pyrenees and the fresh breeze
of the Côte d’Azur. Revolutionary, but also sophisticated,
with underground clubs and charming cafes. A Mecca
for artists, intellectuals, and emigrants, as in the past,
seeking refuge in the shadow of Notre Dame de Paris
Cathedral walls. With its vibrant capital city, France has
fascinated and inspired creators, artists, inventors, and
tourists for centuries. Paris, the heart of France, like no
other place in the world, seduces with stories, flavours,
and mysteries hidden in its catacombs.

LOT Polish Airlines operates a direct connection from

Warsaw to Paris. The journey takes only two and a half
hours. The currency used in France is the euro.

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An underground empire
It is cooler, even colder. However, before that, you must queue
for the ticket office in a small dark green building, a few steps
from the Denfert-Rochereau metro station. Fortunately, there
are trees along the queue line to provide some shade. At the
start, there is a rather steep staircase down. You descend to
a level about 20 m below the surface. The route leads to a
spacious room with charts, exhibits, and maps, and at the end,
there is a dark corridor. The inscription: Arrête! C’est ici l’empire
de la mort, which means „Stop! Here begins the empire of
death”, is carved on a stone plaque above its entrance. Then
you enter a narrow corridor. At the sides, piles of human bones
are stacked like trees for a fireplace. The visitors grow quieter
with every step. The Paris catacombs are the largest cemetery
in the world. The remains of some 6-7 million inhabitants of
this city are buried deep under the houses, streets and parks.
In fact, the name does not fully convey the meaning of the
word. The catacombs of Paris were not originally the places
where the dead were buried, nor did the first Christians gather
in them. They are the remains of quarries as Paris is located on
limestone deposits. It was quarried as early as the first century
after Christ when the city was founded. It was used to build
Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the city walls. Building material
was extracted from under Paris for 18 centuries, and almost
50 km underground corridors and huge chambers covering
over 770 ha have been left in the ground. The remains of the
dead began to be deposited there only at the turn of the 18th
and 19th centuries. King Louis XVI decided to clean up the
cemeteries in Paris and came up with the idea of depositing
the bones in the old quarries. That is how the remains from
around 200 necropolises, large ones like the Cemetery of
Innocents, where Parisians were buried for almost 17 centuries,
and smaller, church-related ones, ended up there. The fact that
the exhumations took place over almost 30 years proves how
 USEFUL
information
When planning your
visit, find out in advance
the working hours of
the places you intend to
visit. Most major Parisian
art galleries are closed
on Mondays, while the
national museums are
closed on Tuesdays. That
means you can visit the
Louvre on any day except
Tuesday.

massive the action was. Today, you can visit a small part of this
underground empire, about 2 km. The rest of the corridors is
closed but, as it turns out, not for everyone. The underground
city attracts many daredevils eager for excitement. This interest
is not an invention of our times. It is known that Napoleon
and Bismarck, among others, ventured there. At one time,
the aristocracy loved to party there, which appalled Parisians.
After one more party in the cemetery, the Archbishop of Paris
decided to close the underground city. A few floors below the
pavements, Paris is fascinating and unique. Nevertheless,
there is no fooling - it is not for the abandoned quarries that
tourists from all over the world come here. Tourists visiting Paris
have plenty of images in their minds: Notre Dame, the Sacré-
Cœur, the Eiffel Tower, the Impressionist Museum, the street
brasseries, Montmartre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Père-Lachaise
cemetery, and the Louvre.
A city of surprise
The city’s character is evident in its famous monuments and
nuances, such as the entrances to the metro. These curved,

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garish green candelabras are the work of Hector Guimard,
who decorated the city with them on the occasion of the 1900
World Exhibition. Unfortunately, his Art Nouveau pieces did
not immediately appeal to Parisians. Even Art Nouveau itself
was contemptuously referred to as „art from the underground”.
Today, there are 66 entrances in Paris designed by that architect.
The original ones are at the end of line 2, Porte Dauphine, and in
Montmartre, at the Abbesses station. The Parisian spirit can also
be found in the Passages, charming shopping malls dating from
the 19th century, lit up by the sunlight penetrating the glass and
reflecting in the marble floors. In its heyday, there were 150 of
them, but about 17 remain today. They have been declining with
time, as customers were taken away from them by the Lafayette Do you know that…
Gallery and later others. The Passage des Panoramas is the In France, a noble form of sea salt is extracted – it is
oldest one, and it is located opposite the entrance to the „Grévin” the Camargue, which connoisseurs call “caviar”. On
Wax Figure Museum (151 Montmartre Street). It owes its name the sea surface, it forms the so-called salt flowers,
to the panoramic views painted on the walls. In the passages, which are collected by hand with the help of special
you will find something of the spirit of old Paris. They are strainers. It is created by the sun and the sea breeze
places for romantics as today they are full of cafes, boutiques, from the east. It is prized by master chefs for its
antique shops, shops with wooden toys, china for dolls, various delicate flavour and the fact that it does not draw
souvenirs, and collector’s gadgets. water out of the meat.
Taste France!
Bon appetit! France is famous for its exceptional cuisine, which has a very long and beautiful tradition in the
country of Napoleon. Taste is an important part of French people’s lives and a topic of conversation. It is due to
the extraordinary variation in preferred ingredients from region to region.

Soupe à l’oignon
A very popular French soup. It is thick, with
a distinct onion flavour, served with soaked
croutons or baked with cheese.
Boeuf Bourguignon
A dish from Burgundy consisting of tender
pieces of long-cooked beef in a sauce with
vegetables.
Ratatouille
A classic of French cuisine - fried and then
stewed vegetables: peppers, aubergines,
tomatoes, courgettes and onions, with the
addition of wine and herbs of Provence.
Quiche lorraine
Lorraine pie - a salty shortcrust pastry tart
filled with a dry filling of cream, bacon and
onions.
Foie gras
An exquisite appetizer - made from goose
and duck livers, taking the form of mousse
or pâté, and served warm on sandwiches.
Creme brulee
The most popular French dessert - egg
and cream custard, covered with a layer of
caramelised sugar that forms a crust on the
surface.

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By the way, the word gadget is rooted in Paris. Around 1886, in
the workshops of Gadget, Gauthier et Cie, the Statue of Liberty
was being prepared for its journey overseas. The foundry also
made smaller souvenirs for Americans - miniatures of the
Statue. Each had an engraved inscription: Gadget, Gauthier et
Cie. Americans were delighted with them, and after one of the
foundry’s founders, Gadget, they began to call them by their
name - gadgets. The Statue of Liberty can also be admired on
the Seine, and a copy of the original is located on Île aux Cygnes
(Swan Island). It is four times smaller than the original, weighs 4
tonnes and is 11.5 metres high. As for staying in the atmosphere
of 19th century Paris, there is something extra to offer: the
Church of Notre Dame du Travail - Our Lady of Work, at 59
Vercingetorix Street. It was built for workers, so it was designed
to make them feel at home, in a factory. That is made possible
by the main nave, which is made up of 135 tonnes of solid iron,
similarly to engineer Gustave Eiffel’s work.
1 Mont Saint Michel
The monumental Mont-Saint-
Michel Abbey on a rocky tidal island
connected to the mainland by the
1,800 metre - long causeway.
2 Nice
The informal capital of the Côte d’Azur,
beautifully situated between steep hills
and the Mediterranean Sea waters. It is
famous for the pedestrian boulevard
Promenade des Anglais.

1
3 Sacré-Cœur Basilica
A church on the Parisian hill of
Montmartre, from where you can

7 enjoy panoramic views of the entire

city. The Basilica is famous for one
of the heaviest bells in the world
- the Savoyarde, which weighs
18.5 tonnes..

4
8
6
4 2 Carcassonne
5 One of the most
important attractions in
France. A huge fortress -
6 city that impresses with
its high walls, barbicans,
5 Parc national des
Pyrénées
and stone houses.

The National Park of the Pyrenees

enchants with high mountain
landscapes, numerous glacial lakes,
Avignon
and wonderful flora and fauna.
A charming Provencal city, known as the ‘City of Popes’. It is an
important cultural and artistic centre. It is famous for its Papal
Palace - the most extensive Gothic castle in Europe.

7 Château de
Chambord
An impressive castle with
440 château rooms, over
8 Dune du Pyla
The Dune of Pilate is the largest dune in
300 fireplaces, and dozens of Europe. It measures 110 m in height, it
staircases. It is surrounded by is constantly growing and now it is 2.7
an extensive park. km long. It impresses with its beautiful
location among forests and beaches.

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Paris or the countryside?
Finally, what surprises most: there are still vineyards in Paris,
and beehives often stand on, among others, the roofs of office
buildings. The honey from these apiaries is tasty and very
healthy because pesticides cannot be used in the city. It is
unusual that in this noisy metropolis, there are whole districts
where you can feel like in a small town. A green paradise can be
found in the 13th and 14th districts, around the Montsouris park.
In the 19th district, you will find Mouzaïa and Miguel Hidalgo
streets. It is one of the most beautiful corners of Paris. Dozens
of small villas line the cobbled streets. It smells of jasmine, cats
lounging in the corners, and the decorated houses look like a
fairy tale illustration.
Let us return to vineyards; the most famous is the one on
rue des Saules in Montmartre. Almost 1,500 bottles of wine
are produced there annually, which are later sold at a charity
auction. At the foot of the vineyard, there are two houses
painted in pastel colours. The first of these is Maison Rose,
made popular by the famous painter of views of Paris, Maurice
Utrillo. The second legend of the area is the ivy-covered building
that houses the cabaret Au Lapin Agile. Apollinaire, Max Jacob,
Marcel Proust, Renoir, Utrillo, Modigliani and Picasso, among
others, frequented the place.
However, I suggest looking for the Paris of today and its
inhabitants on the Seine. Parisians beach there with their whole
families. They practice yoga, listen to concerts, talk, and play
boules. In the evening, social life also concentrates around the
river. And on Sunday morning, the banks of the Seine are full
of people running towards the gardens of Les Tuileries. The
atmosphere is like New York’s Central Park.
Andrzej Antosik

Read more about the flights

Travelling by plane offered at www.lot.com.

How to get from the airport to the city centre?

There are several ways to get to the city centre from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (about 25 km). The most
popular is the regional train that leaves from terminals 2 and 3. The ticket price is about €10 and the journey
takes about 40 minutes. Another way to get there is by airport buses. The fare is about €12 and the journey
takes about 1 hour. The most convenient option is a taxi.

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