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Air France Gives Instagram a First Peek Inside Their Largest Lounge Ever

So, do you think the $1 Billion sale of social photo sharing site Instagram to Facebook has had any effect on photos posted this week? We mean aside from any jokey reaction shots after the news of the sale hit the wire. For one, we've personally noticed increased brand activity on Instagram, especially with travel brands who realize it's a channel they can control (and no one wants to read press releases--just show the pictures!)

Air France has fully adopted Instagram, though only recently using it as a kind of supplementary news stream. The latest news? Air France will open their largest lounge ever, at Paris-Chares de Gaulle's new S4 boarding satellite, this summer.

The 3,000 square meter Salon d'Affaires will have 600 seats. Here's a few views, via airfrance on Instagram:

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Paris' CDG Airport to Get an Attitude Adjustment

We love Paris—and so does everyone else—but that love usually doesn't extend to the city’s largest airport. Well, city and airport officials have finally dealt with Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and its reputation for long enough and it sounds like they’re finally going to do something about it.

This summer marks a new beginning for the airport, as Aéroports de Paris—they’re the ones in charge—plan to streamline operations. The hope is that things will become a little more convenient, a little friendlier, and whole lot more enjoyable for those flying to—or connecting through—CDG.

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Air Chanel: Karl Lagerfeld Constructs 'Jet' Set for the Haute Couture Runway

Less than 12 hours ago in Paris, the semiannual Chanel Haute Couture runway show took place, helmed as usual by designer Karl Lagerfeld. As photos of the looks trickle onto the web, we see that we're not the only ones watching Pan Am; Karl's collection turned out look after look inspired by flight, the glamorous 1960s, and the old way of getting dressed for travel.

But wait; there's more. Not only were the fashions jet-appropriate, but the entire show went down inside a set like the fuselage of a commercial airliner. Guests sat 3-4 abreast on either side of a central aisle, and were greeted by a trolley serving juices and champagne. The fauxplane inside Paris' Grand Palais, dubbed Air Chanel, took builders five days to construct.

Says the Telegraph UK of the end result:

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Paris Says Its, Uh, Monument is Bigger Than New York's

Someone's got issues.

That was our second thought when we saw this postcard in prime position at a Paris newsagent. Our first thought was "what the hell, is this a Vegas postcard or something?"

No, it seems that size really does matter to Parisians. Not only do they feel the need to boast about the size of their, uh, tower by plastering it in all its phallic glory over every piece of tourist tat, but also they're fully invested in the "our monument is more monumental than your monument" game, even though—yes—this Statue of Liberty does exist in Paris, though realistically on a far smaller scale. We can thank Photoshop for this fantasy depiction.

Poor old Lady Liberty. What we need now is for Dubai to make a similar postcard pitting Monsieur Eiffel up against the Burj Khalifa. That'll make the Parisian smugness wilt just a little.

[Photo: juliab]

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Wish You Were Here: The Sixth Floor of the Pompidou Centre, Paris

Paris in the spring time may be lovely and all, but it's not all that. That's the opinion we formed spending this weekend experiencing Paris in the winter.

Cold it was—bitterly cold—for this level of Europe at least. On Saturday at least; yesterday, in reaction to Saturday, we wore eight (yes, eight) layers, and predictably, it warmed up enough to make five or six totally manageable.

But the upside of the chill was that there wasn't a cloud in the piercing blue sky, meaning the sun was able to flood the streets. The riverbanks too; check out the delightful walk we took along the Seine at lunchtime.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Spaghetti Bolognese Chips of Paris

Mmmm, chips. Mmmmm, spaghetti bolognese. Mmmm, spaghetti bolognese-flavoured chips. What?

Yes, spaghetti bolognese chips are what we found ourselves eating in Paris recently. Mainly out of morbid curiosity—we assumed they’d be inedible. But in fact…

The taste: Well we’re not going to say they were amazing. They weren’t. But hey, it’s very rare that a chip is inedible. We’ve had tomato-flavored chips before and these were similar, just with a kick of herbs, which actually wasn’t bad. Still, we won’t be rushing to buy them on our next trip. No, we’ll go for the cheeseburger or pepperoni pizza one next time. Mmm, cheeseburger chips.

The price: Cheap. Like 2-3 Euros for a full-size bag, to satisfy the snack appetites of several people.

Where to find them: Corner stores around Paris, likely next to the "fromage" flavor. They really aren't all that rare, but it does take a little open-mindedness to go for these over the more recognizable chip varieties.

[Photo: juliab]

Paris Travel / Transportation / Taxis / Free Stuff / Cars / → All Tags

Tuk-Tuk Taxis Have Arrived in Paris (and They're Free)

There’s plenty of cheap—and electric—cars roaming the streets in and around Paris these days, but now there’s a new type of public transportation arriving in the City of Lights. Tuk-Tuk taxis are most common over in Southeast Asia, but a fleet of free-to-use vehicles are now available to tourists and locals alike.

An optimistic entrepreneur has brought 20 or so of the vehicles into town, and there’s like 150 different places to jump aboard around the city. The operation is newly up and running, and the taxis are scheduled to do their thing each and every day of the week.

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The Louvre's Newest Addition? The Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo’s Game Boy has finally hit the big time, as the latest version of the handheld video game is getting a spot at the Louvre in Paris, but not in the way you'd think. The portable game system has evolved into a 3D version known as the Nintendo 3DS, and the museum is starting to hand out a few of them to visitors. Mario and Luigi aren’t exactly getting displayed next to creations from other Italian masters, but the Nintendo 3DS is being utilized as a sort of guide and map for the bigger than big art museum.

The museum wants to keep up with the technology demands of the 21st century, so beginning in March they’re getting rid of the traditional audio tour thingers in favor of the video game system. Nintendo has teamed up with the museum to start this program—they’re saying it’s the first in the world—and they’ll be like 5,000 of the devices available for use once things start up early next year.

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Autolib. It's Like Paris' Velib Bike Sharing, Just with Cars.

Back in October we heard that bike-sharing was turning into car-sharing thanks to the Velib spin-off—Autolib. Initially the rental cars were part of a test run, but the program has been pretty popular and now it’s time to go all-in.

The plan is to eventually add more than 3,000 emission-free cars to the streets of Paris, but for now new cars will be added each and every week. The system works just like the bikes—with a slight increase in cost—and you can pick your car up in one location and drop it off in another. The cars are all battery powered, but the Bluecar electric vehicles should be able to spin around for at least 150 miles before requiring another fill up of electricity.

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Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes Prove Paris is Still Most Romantic in Fall

Ryan Gosling fans might be devastated he isn't the Sexiest Man Alive, but losing the coveted title doesn't seem to have effected his love life one bit.

Ryan flew to Paris this weekend to spend time with his new girlfriend Eva Mendes, who is in town filming Holly Motors.

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Paris' Velib Bike Sharing Grows Up to Add Autolib Car Sharing

Late last year we heard that Paris was going to improve on its vehicle-sharing program by adding some electric cars. Well, that time is now, as it looks like Autolib—just like the Velib bikes—is ready to hit the streets.

Earlier this month the city rolled out the first couple of cars to launch the new electric car sharing system. The Bolloré BlueCars are part of a two-month trial program, but if all goes well there will be as many as 3,000 of the cars available for a quick jaunt by 2012. The initial rollout is already underway, with about 66 new cars spread across the city and its 33 rental stations.

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Bump Borges with Fellow Lit-Lovers at Paris' Shakespeare and Co.

This week, Jaunted correspondent Heidi Atwal takes us along to Paris, uncovering the hidden bits found in between sessions of copious macaron and butter consumption. And we do mean copious. Make sure to check in daily for dispatches from the City of Light.

The itinerary of any literary-minded traveler visiting Paris will likely include a shop at Shakespeare and Co., the famed independent, English-language bookshop located just a skip away from Notre Dame. If you've seen Richard Linklater's Before Sunset—a film highly recommended for travel aficionados—you'll remember it as the store where Jesse (Ethan Hawke) runs into his long-lost Vienna sweetheart, Celine (Julie Delpy).

Paris' inherently romantic air, coupled with the likelihood of bumping Borges with an attractive member of the literati, makes for quite the brainy pick-up joint.

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