Today sees the launching of a series of articles that are inspired by cases and situations encountered daily. We believe that illustrating these situations in detail, can help everyone to understand what B&B hospitality implies and what distinguishes it from staying in a hotel.

 The situations described deal with the experiences of both guests and owners’ of B&B’s that are members of our circuit.

A typical situation we find ourselves dealing with is when guests having received their booking voucher, call our B&B in Paris booking centre complaining that they cannot find the reserved B&B. Actually, in most cases the client is standing right in front of the B&B but doesn’t see it because there is no sign saying ‘So and so’s B&B’.

There cannot be a sign because hospitality is given by a family who doesn’t run a guesthouse or a hotel. These people have simply decided to make one or more of the bedrooms in their apartment available to guests. Some of our Members are pensioners but many others have nine to five jobs like the rest of us.

Our members are not professionals working in the tourism and accommodation sector. They are people who decide to run a B&B to earn a little extra. This means that we will not find a business sign and what is more, the booking voucher will have the address and street number of a private residence that is not marked in any other way. This misunderstanding basically comes about due to expectations of hotel services. Of course this has nothing to do with a B&B. A B&B by definition is family hospitality that includes breakfast in the home or in an agreed café.

Nuit Blanche (in French) or literally White Night or All Nighter is an annual all-night cultural festival. The festival lasts from sundown until sunrise - from 7pm to 7am - on the first Saturday and Sunday in October.

During the Nuit Blanche, museums, private and public art galleries offer free admission to all, with the downtown core of a city itself (like city's train stations and in some amazing churches too..) being turned into a art gallery, providing space for art installations, performances (music, film, dance, performance art). Parisians can enjoy hundreds of artistic events, especially made to be seen at night. Search a room in a B&B in Paris to partecipate in the Nuit Blanche!

First launched in 2002 under mayor Bertrand Delanoë, Paris Nuit Blanche has become a hotly-anticipated annual celebration of all things art and culture in the city of light. Attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, White Night sees countless Paris galleries, museums, city halls, and even swimming pools open their doors all night to visitors-- with free entry.

My personal experience tells me to dedicate this visit to monuments as: National Assembly, the Old Royal Palace (La Conciergerie), Palais de l’Elysée the official residence of the President, the first town Hall. These are monuments not open to the public during the rest of the year. There is a good news and a bad one, I always start with the bad one: lines are very long so be prepared to eat a sandwich standing outside; you can take pictures inside the buildings.

This year, it has also been confirmed that the metro will be open until 2am for the night, with the line 14 open all night.

The major events planned this year :
Shaad Ali at the Gare de Lyon
Gi Dexin at Saint Sulpice
Pierrick Sorin at Gare de l'Est
Javier Tellez at the Eglise Saint-Eustache
Jeremy Blake at the Eglise Saint-Paul
Tony Oursler at Gare du Nord
Patti Smith at the Eglise Saint-Germain.

Patty Smith will be back in Paris after her recent great exhibition with a musical performance based on texts by Saint Francis of Assisi.

Saint Lazare will also be used during the night, with british duo Semiconductor and electrically-assisted tricycles will be available to get between the stations! The freshly-restored Tour Saint Jacques, a 63m Gothic edifice at Chatelet, will be illuminated by Chinese artist Gu Dexin. And the Tour Montparnasse will be the subject of a son et lumière by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda. Also, a bamboo stage will be erected in front of the Comédie Française at Palais Royal, where a troupe of opera singers from Guangzhou will be accompanied by projections by Hong Kong film-maker Johnnie To.

There are a few more details (in French only unfortunately) on the offcial dossier de presse Nuit Blanche by Paris’ Municipality wirìth maps, events and list of artists.

2binparis.com is a network made by almost 100 B&B in Paris : book a room and enjoy this event!

Do you know the secrets of an ancient citiy like Paris? Are you sure? Discover a small but valuable guide to Paris’ secret places

Choose your favourite place and book the nearest Bed & Breakfast!

The hospitality formula in B&B, that consists of accommodation in a family home, is the most suitable for a new insight into a city like Paris.

Bed & Breakfast Paris is a network made by almost 100 B&B in Paris.

New posts starting in september. Happy Holidays from Authors's Staff!

holidays, 2binparis, summer 2008

If you want to know Paris better, I suggest you take the ground public transportation. Even after many years of living in Paris, the best way to move around the city and sightseeing the town is by bus transportation. For example:

Bus line 69 will take you to Champs Mars (Eiffel tower), Gambetta (Cemetery Père Lachaise) going trough Invalides, Louvre museum, Town Hall, Chatelet and Bastille, Saint Germain, Saint Paul Church and Voltaire.

Bus line 42 will take you to André parc Citroën, Champs Mars (Eiffel Tower), Avenue Montaigne, Champs Elysées, Concorde, Madeleine, Opéra, and Gallerie Lafayette.

Bus line 72 will take you to Town Hall, Louvre museum, Royal palace, Alma Bridge, Trocadero, and Radio France.

Bus Montmartre will take you from Pigalle to 18th district Town hall (where you can really shop till you drop). This bus will also take you to the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur passing through the Moulin Rouge, Rue Lepic, Place des Abbesses, full of restaurants and night clubs.

On the buses you can buy one way tickets but in metro stations you can buy any type of tickets using the automatic distributers. Found out the Paris' bus map .

Be careful: Metro line 6 will not stop at the following metro stops from June 30th to September 5th: Place d’Italie, Nationale, Chevaleret, Quai de la Gare and Bercy. Please, use the Paris' bus map to find other ways to get there. I suggest you to buy one of these daily tickets during your stay in Paris.

All that’s left for me to do so is to say: HAVE A GOOD TRIP!

Bed & Breakfast Paris: the B&B Paris' Network for your weekend and stays in Paris.

An exhibit dedicated to Grace Kelly Princess of Monaco is being held at the Hotel de Ville until 16 August 2008.

What better occasion for a weekend  in Paris in one of our B&B in Paris! The exhibit is a tribute to the woman who marked an era and includes a photographic album by the most famous names in photography – portraying her both as an actress and in official portraits from her later life (Howell Conant, Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn and others) – and extracts from Princess Grace’s correspondence with friends, including some of the most important personalities of the time like Jackie Kennedy, Alfred Hitchcock, Maria Callas and Cary Grant.

There are also some of her personal belongings on show such as part of her wardrobe –including her wedding dress made by Italian designers - and jewellery and accessories that set the fashions of the time, like the famous ‘Kelly bag’ created by Hermés. The cinema, the first part of her life, is widely represented through the montage of excerpts from her main films especially from ‘Rear Window’ by the English director Alfred Hitchcock, who described her as ‘boiling ice’ because of her icy yet emotional expression.

Also exhibited are short film segments that Grace Kelly shot herself, immortalizing some scenes from her daily life. Through the objects and images exhibited, we are witness not only to the fascinating human aspect of a woman who was both actress and princess, but also to the culture, fashion, ideas and contradictions of a whole era. An era that started in the 1940’s and 50’s, when there was a strong desire to live without thinking about the war that had just finished and it was ‘normal’ that a woman, successful actress and Oscar winner, left America and her career for love. Look at some portraits of the princess et look at some of Grace Kelly’s jewellery

Practical information:

 Paris, exhibit, Grace Kelly, weekend, 2binparis, B&B

The RATP (the French transport company) - with the City of Paris and the Paris Office of Tourism - are organising the I Love Summer in Paris operation again this year from 2 July to 31 August 2008.

The operation involves 100 Welcome Ambassadors  (in their official purple T-shirts and blue vests) that have been assigned to guide tourists and provide them with information on the city's numerous cultural events and festivals, museums, landmarks, during the summer. They will also be handing out Paris Tourist Map. The operation involves  25 information points in Metro and RER stations, and the Capital City's most visited landmarks.

It is easy to move in Paris at if you want to know Paris better, I suggest you take the ground public transportation.

All that’s left for me to do so is to say: HAVE A GOOD TRIP!

Bed & Breakfast Paris: the B&B Paris' Network for your weekend and stays in Paris.

Look at this beautiful Paris photos' Blog and if you search in post archive - may 2008 the article "Paris Bed & Breakfast" posted in mai, 6th you'll found a our network' s Bed & Breakfast in Paris!

Thanks Eric ! :)

In Paris, the European Day of Parks - 24th May 2008.

Many initiatives on the program from 24th to 25th May in the Ile de France. As every year, the initiative of the European Federation of Parks repeats itself, to remind the day when in 1909 the first European park was established in Sweden. This date has without a doubt a great symbolic value, and for this reason it is celebrated throughout Europe. In France the celebrations will last more, from 24th to 25th May, and will consist of a rich program including meetings, tours, exhibitions, and environmental activities organized by each Park Authority.

Ile-de-France

Paris

Animations "Biodiversités, nos vies sont liées" au coeur du jardin des plantes
Lieu : Muséum national d'histoire naturelle Jardin des Plantes
Date :  24/05/2008 - 25/05/2008
Réservation : Non 

Les oiseaux en pleine nidification
Lieu : Parc Montsouris (XIVe) Rendez-vous à l'entrée de la station RER B "Cité Universitaire"
Date :  24/05/2008
Réservation : Oui

L'avifaune du cimetière du Père Lachaise et ses quelques surprises
Lieu : Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (XXe) Rendez-vous à l'entrée principale du cimetière, Bld de Ménilmontant, entre les métros Père-Lachaise et Philippe-Auguste.
Date :  25/05/2008
Réservation : Oui

Graines d'échanges
Lieu : SQUARE JULES VERNE 19 RUE DE L'ORILLON
Date :  24/05/2008 - 25/05/2008
Réservation : Non

A la découverte des jardins passagers parisiens
Lieu : Jardins Passagers dans le parc de la Villette à gauche de la Grande Halle 211 avenue Jean Jaurès
Date :  25/05/2008
Réservation : Non

Les insectes jardiniers de paris
Lieu : 211 avenue Jean Jaurès
Date :  24/05/2008
Réservation : Oui

Les petites bêtes de la mare (Bois de Vincennes)
Lieu : Devant l’entrée de l’arboretum de l’Ecole du Breuil – route de la Pyramide. Paris 12ème.
Date :  25/05/2008
Réservation : Oui

Ecouter et reconnaitre le chant des oiseaux
Lieu : Bois de Vincennes - Rendez-vous devant l’entrée principale du parc floral de Paris (face au Château de Vincennes)
Date :  25/05/2008
Réservation : Oui

Festival Fête de la Nature sur l'Ile Saint Germain
Lieu : Parc de Ile Saint Germain, 170, quai de Stalingrad - 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
Date :  24/05/2008
Réservation : Non

Nos vies sont liées
Lieu : Jardin des plantes, Paris muséum histoire naturel
Date :  24/05/2008 - 25/05/2008
Réservation : Non

A la chasse aux papillons
Lieu : Jardin partagé "Charmante petite campagne urbaine" Rue de la Marne
Date :  25/05/2008
Réservation : Non

Visite du jardin des plantes à Paris
Lieu : Jardin des Plantes Place Valhubert
Date :  24/05/2008
Réservation : Non

Les plantes spontanées du Jardin des Plantes
Lieu : Jardin des PLantes Place Valhubert
Date :  24/05/2008 - 25/05/2008
Réservation : Non

Les araignées du Jardin des Plantes
Lieu : Jardin des Plantes Place Valhubert
Date :  25/05/2008
Réservation : Non
 

Bed & Breakfast Paris, the B&B in Paris 'Network

 Paris, Ile de France, European Day of Parks 2008, 2binparis,B&B

The Fête de la Musique or Music Day is a free popular event, open to any participant (amateur or professional muicians) who wants to perform in it. Launched in 1982 by the French Ministry for culture, the Fête de la Musique is held in more than hundred countries in Europe and over the world : Paris, Rome, London, Athens, Posdam, New York, Bruxelles, Barcelona, Geneva, Luxembourg and Australia. It takes place every 21st June, the day of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.

Thanks to the impulse and the dynamism of the French cultural network abroad the Fête has an important international growth. The musicians play in open air areas as streets and parks or in public buildings like museums, train stations, castles and they are asked to perform for free, and all the concerts are free for the public. The Music Day 2007 was a very successful event.

The Festival is a showcase for new musical trends which it sometimes introduces: an explosion of world music. The spirit of «la Fête» allows the expression of all styles of music:  for young and not so young people from all social backgrounds. It gives an opportunity to communicate and share a very special moment through music.  During the Music's feast,  Paris's  very beautiful and full of culture, people and life: it's very difficult to found a room in the centre.  If you wish to visit Paris in the Fete de la Musique' day, we advise you to choose  a B&B in Paris and...to do it before it's too late!!!

The Marais abounds in unique places with small courtyards where ivy and vines grow, home to artistis, but also cafés and restaurants. With its narrow streets and Mansions, the Marais is one of the Parisians quartier that has preserved its charm and authenticity. Most notable among its key monuments are the Carnavalet Museum or the Picasso Museum. Place des Voges, inaugurated in 1612, is Victor's Hugo House, where the author wrote "Ruy Blas". Having survived the rebuilding of Paris carried out in the eighteen hundreds by the prefect Haussman under Napoleon 3rd, the old Marais neighbourhood, between the 3rd and 4th arrondisements, is nowadays a multi-ethnic village with fashionable boutiques, showrooms with pieces by some of the most innovative contemporary designers, museums and literary cafés frequented by intellectuals and artists. The neighbourhood’s charm has been maintained over time with its characteristic wooden-floored bistros and narrow streets with pretty eighteenth century buildings and the yellow glow from the lampposts. Select a B&B in Paris in the 4th arrondissement and enjoy your week end in Paris!

The Saint-Martin Canal joins la Villette to the Seine and nowadays is a popular place for those who enjoy walking, running, cycling or roller skating: visitors can go rowing in one-man boats or as a group.  It is open for navigation 363 days a year.

From the time of its original planning up to modern times, the Canal Saint Martin had a troubled history: Napoleon Bonaparte decided to build it in 1802, and the actual work started in 1805 and finished in 1825 due to the difficulties encountered trying to fit a work of such vast proportions, in an already urbanized location.

The building of the canal coincided with one of the most intense periods in France’s history that culminated in the Second Empire and the great project conceived by Napoleon III to rebuild the city on the criteria of making eventual future revolutionary actions more difficult: large areas of Paris were razed to the ground and small medieval streets gave way to large boulevards that lead to the Arc de Triomphe. The intention was to create large, open spaces for cannon action within the city and to avoid the barricades that they had witnessed in the past (during the French revolution, the revolution of 1830 and the risings in 1848). ...

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With spring in the air, the Saint-Martin Canal - this particular glimpse of Paris - is perfect for a weekend in Paris  to get back into good spirits after the long winter months. Take advantage of the Easter 2008 in Paris special offer to stay in one of Bed & Breakfast Paris’ B&B’s. The Saint-Martin Canal, together with the Saint Denis Canal, makes up a route of waterway communication devised in the eighteenth century to allow boats to cross Paris and reach the Seine. The Saint-Martin Canal joins la Villette to the Seine and nowadays is a popular place for those who enjoy walking, running, cycling or roller skating. The canal flows for 4.5km, 2km of which are underground. This makes for an unusual atmosphere with underground vaults and vegetation of centenary plants intertwined with romantic footbridges. Nowadays, visitors can go rowing in one-man boats or as a group. Inaugurated in 1825, the canal is made up of 9 dams and 2 bridges. It is open for navigation 363 days a year.

The shallow canal was originally used to supply the city with drinking water. Later, when industrial settlements sprung up along its banks (glassworks, mills, warehouses), it started to be used for commercial navigation. In the past, sand and coal were transported along the canal. However, towards the end of the 20th century, the river stopped being used for industrial and commercial navigation and became one of the city’s beauty spots. Newly restored, it actually became a communication route passing through the old, picturesque neighbourhoods of Paris in a type of tour through the 4th, 10th, 11th and 19th arrondissement. The Saint-Martin Canal is still one of the least known beauty spots in Paris.

For St. Valentine's Day, surprise your partner with a very special idea: a gift for the two of you… a romantic weekend in Paris in one of our B&B! Choose a romantic B&B in our new web page "romantic weekend" and add a very romantic restaurant.

There are lots of delicious dining guides but here you will find some original ideas coming up from three Parisian Citizens! On the week end of Lovers’ Day the wonderful setting of Paris with the discreet and charming atmosphere will offer you unforgettable moments…

Theresa suggests you :

Julien – Brasserie

Where : 16, rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis 75010, web site  - Must try: the “tapenade” - Romantic why: original liberty furniture style, visited by artists and actors on XIX century’s beginning - Prices per person: less than € 40,00 - all inclusive.

Vincent suggests you :

Au Petit fer à Cheval

Where : 30 rue Vieille du Temple, Paris IV,  web site - Must try: the "cheese soufflé” - Romantic why: a little cosy place (less than ten tables) original Deco furniture style and a wonderful statue shaped horseshoe made of zinc - Prices per person: max € 25,00 min € 35,00 – all inclusive

Jenny suggests you :

Bateauxparisiens

Where: at the foot of the Eiffel Tower - Port de la Boudonnais – 75007 Paris, web site - Must try: the special Valentine’s Day menu - Romantic why: an elegant, quiet setting - famous romantic music for listening and dancing . Two and a half hours on the Seine with emotion - Prices per person: min € 125,00 - max € 165,00 – including cruise, drink, meal and entertainment.

Maison Blanche

Where: Restaurant Maison Blanche, 15 avenue Montaigne – 75008 Paris, web site - Must try: the special Valentine’s Day menu (excellent warm chocolate fondue on a mint mousse and brioched croutons) - Romantic why: restaurant’s lights create an atmosphere depending on the visitor’s mood and Chefs say: “We play with the ingredients for managing to whet the five senses simultaneously” - Prices per person: at the rate of 200 euros per person, drinks to be added.

La Mosquée – Restaurant, Hammam, Salon de thé and Souk

Where: 39, Rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire - 75005 Paris (near the great Mosquéee de Paris), web site - Must try: chicken couscous -  Romantic why: oriental atmosphere: cushions, comfortable armchairs, benches, and around large copper trays and oriental music; the complex offers you an Hammam  (be careful: for Women and Men different enter times) - Prices per person (restaurant): min € 50,00 max € 75,00 .

Have a good St. Valentine’s Day ! If you wish you can either write a comment about this post or let us know about the restaurant you’ve tried sending a message to j.johnson@2binparis.com

A weekend in Paris 11 / 13 january 2008 to discover the secrets of shopping. For good-price accommodation, use the family hospitality formula and discover an enticing promotion: B&B Paris 17° arrond.

January is sale month when the shops drastically cut prices. If you’ve been putting off your holidays, now is the time to get away because Paris is offering not only its usual great atmosphere, but loads of great bargains too! Real deals are waiting for you as the shops are getting rid of all unsold 2007 stock as quickly as possible!

 Our Members have three suggestions about where to get the best deals(open Sunday): 

GALLERIE LA FAYETTE PRINTEMPS 75008 - METRO OPERA

BON MARCHE' 75006 - METRO SEVRES BABYLON

CHATELET et TOUTE LA RUE DE RIVOLI 75001 - METRO CHATELET

Finish off your day with a performance of the highly successful musical ‘Cabaret’ at the Folies Bergère: Broadway’s world famous show, revised by Sam Mendes.