The BNP Paribas Masters, held in Paris from November 8-11, is firmly established as one of the top indoor events in tennis and fine excuse to travel to Paris. This hard surface tennis tournament with a prize of close to $5.5 million is the ninth and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. As the final event of the season, the Palaos Omnisport in Bercy is going to display the cream of the tennis crop as they compete to win the esteemed title and clinch one of the residual qualifying positions in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
During the last few years, the Paris stage of the Masters Series has seen its share of exciting tennis, including some of the most spectacular tennis matches in the last few years. Jo Wilfred Tsonga is back to defend his title but he is definitely not going to have it easy this year. In a gripping 2008 final last year, Tsonga thrilled the home crowd by beating David Nalbandian 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. This year all eyes are on the world No. 1 Roger Federer. Roger is competing in Paris for the seventh time and is still seeking his first title at the famous indoor event. He is hoping to improve on his three previous quarterfinal losses. Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Roddick and 2006 tournament champion Nikolay Davydenko will also contend for the title. Future Hall of Famer Marat Safin will make his last stand in Paris in his career finale.
Anyone with tickets can be certain that this last ATP tournament of the season is going to be exciting with the typical loud French supporters. Close to 116,000 tickets have already been sold and it appears that the tournament is a sellout. Highlights of the tournament besides tennis will be presentation of the Keys of Bercy to Safin and Fabrice Santoro, who has also announced that 2009 will be his final year of full-time pro tennis.
For those coming to this wonderful city, they are going to be pleasantly surprised. The French organizers have gone out of their way to make the tournament a success. Organizers have arranged tours of the city, music, nightly entertainment and of course, samplings of French wine and Cuisine.
Daily tickets are only $35 and there are also series and mini packages available.
However, there is a lot more to Paris than the ATP tournament. For those who have time, Paris has lots to offer for both children and adults. Beside the Louvre and Eiffel tower, there is Musee d’Orsay, Palais de Tokyo, Catacombs, Rodin museum, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triompe just to name a few other places to visit. One of the best ways to see Paris is with a private boat trip on the Seine. No matter what your tastes, Paris has every type of cuisine to satisfy your culinary tastes. For those who want to sample French cuisine at low cost, visit café constant near the Eiffel Tower. For those who want something trendier and nouveau, try the Chai 33 which is a nice restaurant close to the Bercy.
For those into fashion and like to see and wear designer clothes, take a walk along Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Boulevard Haussmann. For those who want more fashion, stroll along the narrow streets in the Marais and around Saint-Germain des Prés where there are many more petite boutiques each with the latest French fashions.
Like any major city, Paris is full of world class hotels. Near the tennis tournament, there is the Pullman Paris, All Seasons, Sofitel, Hotel Ares, Hotel des Grans Homes, Hotel Keppler and Hotel des Academies et Des Arts. Most hotels in Paris cost about $300-$500 a night and above. Surely, if you are going to go all the way to Paris you want to live in style. Bon voyage!