where is the venue?
EDCON will take place at ESCP Paris the 17th and 18th February but you can come before and hang out with Asseth (see below "Meet blockchain minded people"). The campus address is 79 avenue de la république 75011 paris. Close subway stations are St Maur (line 3) and Ménilmontant (line 2), it is also close to the hub République (lines 3, 5, 8, 9 and 11).
For sightseeing in the neighborhood there is the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery with numerous celebrity tombstones ranging from the playwright Molière, to the economist Gustave de Molinari and the singer Jim Morrison.
where to eat
- Kyobashi 117 Rue Saint-Maur, 75011 Great japanese food
- Les Fabricants 61 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Charme French modern Bistrot
- Pizza Rossi 24 Rue Blondel, 75002. Arguably one of the best (+ cheap) pizza in town
- Café de L'Industrie 16 Rue Saint-Sabin, 75011. The Café de L'Industrie offers classic meals (duck, sausage and mash, steak, etc.) with reasonable prices (€8 [$11] for sausage and mash).
- Voy Alimento 23 Rue des Vinaigriers, 75010 Vegetarian place and cheap canteen. For €12 ($17), you can have a full meal.
- L'as Du Fallafel (or King Falafel) 32–34 Rue des Rosiers & 26 Rue des Rosiers, 75004. The two addresses of King Falafel appear in every single tourist guide to Paris, the food is so good that you might have to wait a while.
- WenZhou 24 Rue de Belleville, 75020. Chinese ultra cheap and friendly
Farther away from the venue
- Le Coryllis 85 Rue des Martyrs, 75018. Italian, plate full of delicious food for a good price, try the Montepulciao.
- Bien élevé 47 Rue Richer, 75009. French high quality meat.
Where to shop
Several shops are accepting Bitcoin in the Passage du Grand-Cerf.
Where to drink
Ménilmontant/Belleville
Travel guides usually describe these areas as "cosmopolitan and colorful," which basically means they're filled with Asian grocery stores and sports bars owned by immigrants. For the story, Fox News dubbed the place a “No Go Zone” before giving proper excuses. Everyone's realized they're the best place for cheap drinks and good atmosphere. On the Boulevard de Ménilmontant you'll easily find bars serving pints for €4.
CAFÉ CHERIE 44 Boulevard de la Villette, 75019 Friendly, cheap and cheerfull, with people in their thiriest and lots of students from abroad. The place hosts a “blind test” (music quiz) every Wednesday. Definitely a go to if you are in the neighborhood.
Sentier/Etienne Marcel
SOF'S BAR, 43 Rue Saint-Sauveur, 75002. The first place to accept Bitcoin and the beloved den of the cryptocommunity in Paris
Drugs (don't do)
Paris is no Amsterdam, the purchase of cannabis is punishable by a fine anywhere between €50 and €1,700. However, though the laws are strict, the police don't always enforce them. Often, they simply confiscate the gear. If that doens't stop you be aware that Drugs in Paris have a pretty unexceptional reputation and tend to be cut with all sorts of crap.
Alcohol:
It is ok to drink/buy drinks if you are 18 and over. Most of the places where you can have food also sells something to drink (wine or beer). You might think that being in France is a good opportunity to drink good wine and honestly it is, just don’t expect a random café or bar to sell quality wine see the “bar à vins” section of this guide instead. Anyway your best bet is usually to go for the beer or try the French beer mix: sour orange and beer “picon bière”. Drinking in the street is tolerated but people will probably look down on you. Being drunk in the street is quite tolerated as long as you don’t bother anyone, otherwise the Police can arrest you for “ivresse manifeste sur la voie publique” (obvious drunk behavior on the public street).
MAKING FRIENDS AND HOW RACIST IS EVERYONE HERE?
France as the rest of Europe is witnessing a rise of far right movements but Paris remains a very progressive town as all the big cities. Most of the people in Paris don’t care about races, religion and so on, but well, there are douchebags everywhere and Paris is no exception. Terrorist attacks have been a great trauma for the city and most of the people in their twenties or thirties have a link to a victim so it’s best to avoid the subject. Good conversation topics to break the ice are soccer, pollution, the political performance of François Hollande, and bad memories of taxi rides.
WHERE TO STAY
If you're planning on staying in Paris for more than three days, you'll probably turn to Airbnb rather than looking for a hotel. This is a wise decision, particularly when you consider how overpriced Parisian hotels are and that February is a school holiday so a lot of families are on vacation with their kids. The best neighborhood (cheapest) to head to is probably Charonne, especially if you're with a partner. It's one of the few areas that's both clean and located in Eastern Paris, which is where you want to be to find bars open after 7 PM and streets frequented by locals. If you are looking for flat mates you can certainly find some on our event slack (auto-invite).
If you really must stay in a hotel, les Piaules is both very cheap and close to the venue. For a more expensive and confy experience we suggest Le Citizen Hotel or basicly anything you can fin on booking.com
LGBT PARIS
Although it can depend on which neighborhood you're in, generally Paris is very welcoming for LGBT people, and it's very unlikely that you'll have any trouble for holding hands with your partner when you travel in the center (1-10th arrondissement). The most gay-friendly neighborhood is Le Marais (4th arrondissement), which is in the center of Paris.
There were a lot of people in France who were reluctant to legalize same-sex marriage, those people do not represent a majority in Paris. However, it is generally recommended to avoid any emotional demonstrations in the arrondissements of the north of Paris (17-20th arrondissements).
MEET BLOCKCHAIN MINDED PEOPLE
Asseth (Association Ethereum) is setting up meetups the days before EDCON for you to gather and meet other blockchain developpers. To get in touch with us:
Send an introduction email to contact[at]asseth.fr
Join the slack (auto-invite)
Join the Whatsapp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/J6V9FHbFGKg06McrHGTa0D
Events are announced, prepare yourself for a crazy week :
Monday 13 and Tuesday 14
Two pitch sessions for Ethereum projects, followed by aperitifs with Ledgys, Provenance, STABL, Beyond the Void, Ethereum in Prague, Matchpool, The Passenger project, Digital Party...
https://www.meetup.com/en-US/blockchains/events/236722696/
https://www.meetup.com/en-US/blockchains/events/236722737/
Wednesday 15
Presentation and code session with Thomas Bertani from Oraclize!
https://www.meetup.com/en-US/blockchains/events/236722761/
Thursday 16
Presentations and panel discussion on computing in and outside the blockchain with Gilles Fedak (iExec), Thomas Bertani (Oraclize), Grzegorz Borowik (Golem) and Clement Lesaege (Decentralized Court).
https://www.meetup.com/en-US/blockchains/events/236722771/
Friday 17 and Saturday 18
The EDCON! European Ethereum Developers Conference with Vitalik Buterin, Nick Johnson, Vlad Zamfir, Jeff Coleman, Martin Becze, Joseph Chow from the Ethereum Foundation, Gavin Wood from Parity Technologies and Christoph Jentzsch from Slock.it ... and many others! The full list of speakers and agenda is available on the edcon.io website. Saturday evening and Sunday: Surprises to come
La Maison du Bitcoin 35 Rue du Caire, 75002. The name speaks for itself, located in Central Paris, you can buy ETH or BTC there, it's also the home of the french start-up Ledger.
HOW TO AVOID TOURIST SCAMS
Scammers are everywhere in Paris, especially in the big tourist spots. You'll find most of them at La Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, Notre-Dame, on the Place Saint-Michel, in Châtelet, and near the Eiffel Tower. This is where criminal groups spend their time robbing tourists by trapping them into playing bonneteau—a game of "chance" played with three cards- stay away from them.
In these places, as well as the Pont des Arts and Saint-Germain, you may be assailed by supposedly deaf beggars who will ask you to sign a petition for (nonexistent) research studies on deafness. If they don't pick your pockets when you are signing they'll ask you for a few euros and won't leave you alone till you've given it to them.
At Barbès-Rocherchouart you'll find plenty of people willing to sell you phone cards or cigarettes imported from Africa. They're mostly nice, and their prices are pretty cheap, but their products suck. Also, be wary of pickpockets on the metro—especially at Saint-Denis or on Line 13.
Another well-known con is the "gold ring scam." This can happen anywhere in Paris but tends to follow the same routine. You'll be accosted by guys who'll tell you they found a ring on the floor. It will look gold and have something stupid like "20K carats" stamped on it.
You'll also be accosted—getting accosted happens a lot in Paris—by people trying to sell you roses. They're so persistent it's pointless trying to ignore them, so just say "no" firmly and go back to your conversation.
HOW TO BEHAVE AS A TOURIST
It's well known that Parisians are assholes, and we're not going to dispute that. However, the cryptocommunity is friendly and welcoming. Also the truth is, Parisians actually don't mind tourists that much. Avoid standing still at the end of an escalator and you will be fine.
GETTING AROUND
Use CityMapper for iOS or Android for transportation in the city using public transport. Usual GPS based applications work fine.
From the airports (Charles de Gaulle and Orly):
The easiest way from the airports to the city is Uber or taxi but they are costly (40 to 60 € for the one-way trip to you hotel). Other means of transportation include: RoissyBus or OrlyBus (coaches from the airport to the center of Paris), approx. 11 € Train: RER (and OrlyVal from Orly airport) to the city), approx. 13 € (from Orly) or 10 € (from Charles de Gaulle)
From a Trainstation
Trainstations are all located in Paris. See below, take the subway or a cab.
Inside Paris
Subway tickets cost 1.90€ by 1 and 14.50€ by 10. They can only be used once. Avoid Taxi and Uber during the day, the trafic is a huge mess from 8am to 9pm since recent decision to close some critical streets.
PEOPLE AND PLACES TO AVOID
Indiana Cafés These Tex-Mex restaurants are pretty much everywhere in the city, and it's basically the French equivalent of Hard Rock Café. Zero character and gross food. Rive Gauche This area on the southern bank of the Seine gets called "bohemian," "countercultural," and "creative," which are all euphemisms for "horrendously overpriced."
Metro Line 13 More than 600,000 people ride this line every day. Unless it's a matter of life and death, don't be one of them. It's the most overcrowded line in Paris, everyone hates it.
TIPPING AND HANDY PHRASES
Tipping
When you go to a restaurant, tips are included in the total price. French waiters don't need to kneel before their clients to survive until the end of the month. Of course, if the waiter or the waitress is really friendly or helpfull you can always leave a few euros. No need to give tips at bars. In taxis, just hand €10 if the fare is €9.90—taxis are so expensive anyway that you might reconsider using them.
Handy Phrases
- Hello: Bonjour (when you meet someone who could be your dad or your mom) or Salut (when you meet someone whom you could hang out with)
- Goodbye: Au revoir (old people) or Salut (young people)
- Please: S'il vous plaît
- Thank you: Merci
- You're welcome: De rien (very basic) or Je t'en prie (when trying to impress someone)
- I'm in a hurry, asshole!: Je suis pressé, connard!
- Can I pay in crypto?: Puis-je payer en cryptomonnaie?
