ARTICLES
What to do if you are gay in Paris
Pick up a copy of LGBT monthly Tetu (en francais) to catch up on all the current events
around town.
Where you should stay: Checkout vacation apartments as an alternative to the cramped
hotel room. The best picks are Paris Luxe Apartments, www.parisluxeapt.com or Book
Your Paris Apartment, www.bookyourapt.com. Both companies have fluent English
speaking staff and specialize in customer service.
For Shopping, you must visit the treasure chest known as Colette. Colette, 213 rue
Saint-Honore, Paris , P: 33-1-5535-3390 www.colette.fr Pricey, yes, so bring your sugar
daddy.
For Gay Paris Nighlife, checkout Queen, the most famous gay club in Paris is a
Champs-Elysees mainstay that features some of the craziest nights out in the city.
Check out the insane Sunday night "Overkitsh" party for proof. 102 Avenue des Champs-
Elysees, Paris P: 33-1-08-9270-7330 www.queen.fr.
Locals avoid this tourist trap, but stop by for the hot go-go boys around shaking their
groove thing to the latest in Euro-House. RAIDD Bar, 23 rue du Temple, Paris | P: 33-1-
4887-8025 www.raiddbar.com
The Mix Club's Sunday tea parties attract the gays likes bee to honey. The space is
constantly pumping with the best DJs. Mix Club, 24 rue de l'Arrivee, Paris
www.mixclub.fr
For the Lesbians, the hippest Parisian ladies enjoy Le Pulp, Le Pulp, 25 bvd
Poissonniere, Paris www.pulp-paris.com
Cell phones in Paris use the GSM technology, though they do not necessarily use all the
same frequencies used in North America. If you would like to buy a pre-paid local SIM
card to put in your phone, then you should make sure your phone is UNLOCKED before
you leave for Paris. If you are planning on using your non-French based GSM phone with
your roaming plan from home, be aware, that they will charge you for any minute of
airtime used - and will charge your through the nose for data roaming, unless you have
an international plan. What does this mean? It means that if your phone is on in Paris,
and you receive a call, but do not answer and let it go to voicemail, YOU ARE STILL
BEING CHARGED FOR THAT TIME until the person hangs up on the voicemail. Another
option is that of the telephone card, so that you can make calls from a public phone.
In order to survive you need to know basic gay Paris etiquette so here are a few tips.
- ALWAYS say "Bonjour Monsieur" and/or "Bonjour Madame" when entering a
Paris store or Paris restaurant, or first speaking to someone (i.e. waiter, cashier
etc.). Even if you just intend to browse around a Paris store on your own for 30
seconds.
- When leaving don't forget to say goodbye, "au revoir Monsieur" and/or "au revoir
madame."
- Expect to be misunderstood, but use what French you can, whenever you can.
Just go with the flow, and do your best to speak as much French as possible.
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