Practical information Restaurants near Orsay Hotels and restaurants in Gif Restaurants à Paris A few restaurants in the 5th arrondissement. Gault et Millau : restaurant search from the famous French restaurant guide. In French only. Time Out Paris : Eati ng and drinking in Paris Good list of wine bars. Restaurant reviews by Patricia Wells, in the International Herald Tribune. Very reliable. Basic needs Telephones and phoning cards Public phones work with smart cards that can be bought in any newstand or tobacconist ("Tabac"). They cost about 50F for 50 units, or about 100F for 120 units. Laundromat La Lavandière, ruelle Cordiers, à Orsay. Near rue de Paris, Orsay's main commercial street. Internet access easyEverything; 31/37 Boulevard de Sebastopol. Metro Chatelet les Halles. http://www.easyeverything.com/france/ Cybercafé near Beaubourg, 38 rue Quincampoix, 01 42 71 49 80.http://www.cyberbeaubourg.com Café Orbital, 13 rue de Médicis (6e), 01 43 25 76 77 , http://www.orbitalcafe.com ClickSide, 14 rue Domat Paris, metro St Michel, 01 56 81 03 00, http://www.clickside.com Free internet access at Port-Royal (at the entrance of the station) and Denfert-Rochereau (on the platform going to Saint-Remy) RER stations. Public transportation tickets and passes RER tickets can be puchased individually or in booklets of 10 tickets (15-20% cheaper.) There are also daily passes (called "Mobilis"), weekly passes (Monday-Sunday, called "carte orange hebdomadaire"), and monthly passes ("carte orange mensuelle".) Visitor's passes that are marketed to tourists, such as Paris-Visite, are rarely a good deal. These passes are valid only in certain zones. Paris is in zone 1, Orsay is in zone 5. Charles de Gaulle Airport is also in zone 5. To travel between Paris and Orsay you will need a pass that is valid for zones 1-5. Be aware that Mobilis (1-day) passes, even one that is valid in zone 5, is NOT valid to go to the Charles de Gaulle airport: a special "ariport" fee applies. (This is only true for the 1-day passes; weekly and monthly passes are fine.) For more information on tickets and passes: Tarifs RATP. Other useful links: The CNRS's "centre de formation" organizes French lessons in Gif for students, postdocs, and visiting faculty: Contact Mme Gales at 01 69 82 39 32. Information and registration form available at their web site Egide: Practical information about preparing a stay in France, mainly for students. The Fondation Alfred Kastler offers services to visiting researchers (Help with administrative formalities, etc.). Science Accueil General information in French for science visitors in Orsay/Saclay/Gif. RER schedules RATP Paris public transportation. Pariscope Films, exhibits, etc. (In French) Time Out Paris Visitor's guide to Paris Hotels, restaurants, tourism, etc. Very reliable.