Have you been to the cemetary Pere Lachese? If not, it’s a fabulous place to visit. Do buy one of the guides that will be sold outside.

Go to the flea Market La Puce (or Le Puce…can’t remember which!). Monday is a great day to go because prices are lower. I think they are open Friday – Monday but double check. They have a website which also has their history…very interesting. Across the way from it is an enclosed “mall” of additional vendors which are much higher end. Keep in mind that “flea market” in Paris means something entirely different from in the States. The booths have been in the same families often for generations and are a treasure trove of just about everything.

If you have not yet gone to Mont Martre and Sacre Cour, do that. The view is spectacular. But get a few blocks away from the main tourist area to eat. Also the Mont Martre cemetary is very interesting. Visit the Luxembourge Park in the 6th. They have the history of it posted there and also a small museum. The park itself is beautiful, very formal. For that matter, just wander around the 6th. All day.

Hope this helps! Have fun! I’ll be in Nice the end of July!

Go to the Musee Cluny. It’s a Middle Ages museum and it may not sound like fun, but it really really is amazing. My friends who went with me hated history, and it ended up being one of their favorite places.

Simply buy good shoes and walk the Seine River bridges. Yes walk the parks. Try to meet the parisiens also and to party with them in either little bistrots, or the many places where they like to take walks. As you were saying try to avoid the biggest crowds. Try to find activities (bike rentals, swimming pools, stuff like that). Also do most open markets (French markets of course, flowers markets, etc). If time allows rent a car and escape Paris for a couple of days. Burgundy and Loire ain’t that far and there you’ll get on your knees begging for more wine, more cheese, more everything and everyone! Possibilities are countless. But I really recommend to stay out: take buses, walk, ... Subway is great to get to where you want to go but you’ll miss the main thing that Paris is about: sightseeing!

Enjoy your trip!!

Bonjour,

I am going to Paris for the fifth time next week. I plan to go to the Louvre for at least a half day since there is more there than one can truly see in a lifetime. If you haven’t been to the Musee Rodin yet, do yourself a favour and go. It’s been described as a perfect little gem of a museum, and I completely agree. Rodin’s powerful sculptures in a house where he once lived and worked as well as in the garden. The Gates of Hell alone is worth a visit and there is so much more. Also, if you like impressionists, there is the Musee d’Orsay. If art is starting to pall, try the catacombs and the miles of skulls and bones piled in there. A very different view of Paris.

If you haven’t been to Versailles, it’s great. Even if you have, the restoration proceeds apace so there is always something new to see.
To steal Sam Johnson’s phrase. “if you are tired of Paris, you are tired of life, for there is in Paris, all that life affords.”

Have fun.

i would recommend wandering around pere lachaise cemetery, chillin’ out on the lawn in front of sacre coeur, visiting the catacombs, climbing to the top of notre dame, going to centre pompidou with the modern art fountain… would not recommend: conciergerie. boring!

The catacombs are pretty cool

Montmartre. The view is nice and there’s a lot of great people watching.

OR—go get some fabric and have it made into a dress or a skirt or pants when you get back. One of my friends makes all her own clothes and she said she found some of the most beautiful fabric in Paris.

I would suggest Centre Pompidou, or Parc de la Villette. I haven’t been to the catacombs, but it’s on my list of things to see next time I go to Paris.

I would also suggest Saint-Eustache and climbing to the top of Sacre Coeur (people seem to crowd around or in, very little people seem to go up), but seems like you want to keep away from the common places, so these two may not fit your plans… Walk the Champs Elysees maybe? It’s crowded, but it’s certainly a place you can get lost in the crowd and enjoy the atmosphere, specially in the evening at sunset when locals come out.

enjoy your trip!

It really depends what you’re into. If you’re into Art, the one museum you absolutely have to go to is Centre Pompidou. I really love the Montmatre district because it’s very unique and the view is fabulous. Fat Tire Bike Tour is always fun, especially the one at night. A lot of people likes Les Puces, but i’m not a huge fan as I don’t like Porte de Clignancourt and find everything there cheap/overrated .

I really love the St. Michel area as well, even though some would argue it’s very touristy. There’s some great places to eat, even if they are a little pricy. I lived in the St. Germain area, and there are some great little shops back there…particularly on Rue Princesse where there is an amazing English Bookstore as well as a fabulous pub.

You must take a Bateau Mouche at night. But only on a clear night. And bring a bottle of wine.

If you’re into wine, I’d highly recommend doing the O Chateau wine tasting. It’s in English, and is an absolute blast (I literally took every single person that came to visit me there. It’s amazing. Olivier is fabulous).

Pesonally, I’d recommend going to a typical French market, buying bread, cheese, and wine, and sitting in the Champ de Mars for a picnic. Gorgeous view of the Eiffel Tower, and you WILL make friends.

I’m not a big fan of Paris (last time I went was in winter on my own… Don’t do that, it sucks), but I did visit some stuff that hasn’t been mentioned above that I enjoyed.

1. If you go to MontMartre (which you should) visit the Sacre Coeur and the MontMartre Cemetery. I’m a bit of a Cemetery fan and in my humble opinion MontMartre Cemetery is better than pere lachaise. It’s far less touristy, I believe it was bigger, and it’s very pretty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimeti%C3%A8re_de_Montmartre

2. Go to Notre Dame at night. I’m not sure if this is possible in summer also, but I went there at night in winter and it’s so much more spectacular than during the day while standing in a row of tourists.

3. If you like Notre Dame, you might want to spend a (half) day trip on Chartres. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Chartres. It’s huge, the stained glass windows and the many stone carvings are beautiful. It’s on the same line as versailles, if I remember correctly, so maybe you could combine the two. I have been to Versailles before, but it’s all pretty and frilly looking and you have to enjoy that type of thing. If you like big robust castles, spooky cemeteries or old churches, Versailles won’t be your cup of tea.

Hi there.
I lived in Paris for a very long time and i’m astonished nobody mentioned Montmartre.
If you are looking for the old Paris, where Moulin rouge and Amelie Poulain take place, go there. Don’t be afraid to leave all the tourists behind you to discover all the little streets of this village inside the town.
Other place, where the parisians gather on lazy summer week ends, canal St Martin. You can walk along the canal 3 or 4 kms inside Paris, starting place de la République.
Last thing i’d recommend in the 12th arrondissement, la promenade plantée.
These 3 places i mentioned are less “tourist oriented” than Eiffel tower and Louvre ;-)
Last hint : some parks were built inside Paris in the 19th century, and i like them all a lot :

Parc Montsouris, with the international student city in the south (14th)
Parc des buttes Chaumont, north of Paris
Bois de Vincennes in the east
Bois de boulogne, west.

Hope that helps, and hope you can avoid the crowded areas and discover the real Paris !

Image : the 13th, a place to discover by foot.

Le Baron Rouge
1 rue Théophile Roussel
75012 Paris
Phone : 01 43 43 14 32
Metro : Ledru-Rollin (line 8)
Open Tues-sun 10am-2pm and 5pm-10pm
Closed Sunday after 2pm

see more below …cheers!

http://www.parispubs.com/pub2.php?id=29

http://www.parispubs.com/pub2.php?id=29

You could also take a day trip to Giverny, and see Monet’s house and garden. It is easy to get to by public transport (train and bus) and is a lovely destination out of the city.

Have you ever been to a restaurant that was so fun, and affordable with such great food that you can’t help but share I recommend a restaurant called LA TAVERNE DU SERGENT RECRUTEUR. They offer a one price meal that includes EVERYTHING. Large appetizer plates of sausages, vegetable plate, legumes, cheese, bread, etc. w/wine (yes that’s included as well), with your choice of a main course that is very, very good; your choice of a wonderful traditional dessert is also included – about 7 years ago it was about $40 for all of this in an atmosphere that is quiet and charming. It was recommended to me, and I wasn’t disappointed and those who have taken my recommendations have not been disappointed either.

Now for the legend: It states that during a time when people were recruited into the French Foreign Legion, unscrupulous recruiters would get men drunk in this place, get them to sign up for the service, kidnap them and send the unsuspecting gents to places like North Africa as full fledged members of the French Foreign Legion. That has never happened to me or others who I know that have gone there, so rest assured.

Hope you take this advice – it’s a wonderful place.