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If you want to go to a real local cafe I suggest la Palette in the 6th. 34 Rue de Seine is the address. All the posh locals (gallery owners etc.) go there.
I can't remember the names of particular restaurants, but I definitely recommend the street food. Paris has amazing street food, especially the gyros and crepes.
Get the Lonely Planet guide for Paris if you want to go to local places/ off the beaten path. I haven't used the Paris one, but had good luck with the QUebec and Dublin ones.
One of the best places we went was a street market! So cool. It was so neat to see all the different vendors and the weird stuff they were selling. I also really enjoyed Montmarte, I think wandering around there was my favorite part of Paris.
I totally second (third?) street food! You have to try a steak-frite. I'm obsessed with them ever since I went.
I would recommend splurging for one expensive French meal! We went to a restaurant that came highly recommended to us from someone who frequents Paris. The food was amazing...we both did a 4 course meal with wine pairings. Here is a link to the website: http://www.citrusetoile.com/citrus/
I know you are looking more for the off-the-beaten path type stuff, but I just have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Palace of Versailles. The train journey took us about 45-hour, but it was so worth it!
Also prob the most touristy thing there... but you can't go to Paris without going to the Louvre... it is really unbelievable!
I totally agree with splurging for one good meal. If you really want to go over the top (and I mean really) and you like duck, I suggest La Tour d'Argent. It is a once in a lifetime experience.
:) These are some great ideas. Thanks!
Has anyone been in Paris in early August? I am hoping that it is not going to be too hot because my fiance and I want to walk around and skip subway whenever possible in order to see more of the city.
I thought August was the month that most of Paris is on vacation so many local establishments may be closed!
We went in November (an off time) and it was lovely (fiance proposed under the Eiffel Tower!). I suppose we were rather touristy though, we tried to visit as many places as we could in our weekend. We LOVED the L'Hôtel national des Invalides!
I suggest getting fashionable boots and a scarf if you want to fit in, though in August I'm not sure if that would be the standard style, it definitely was in November. :)
So far they are having a warm summer. (I am half french and FI is french so we talk a lot with family and friends there) August can be anywhere to super hot an humid to thunder showers. Or it can be completely perfect. On the 14th of july (bastille day) they had a sudden down pour on the parade. Just watch the weather for when you go.
d'orsay was really neat to visit.. also im sure this is touristy but they have a light show on the Eiffel tower at midnight.. buy some champagne pop it open and go enjoy! We ended up doing this twice while we were there. Spend a day just walking up and down the Champs. There was a neat beer place that had all kinds of different cocktails mixed with Heineken surprisingly good! The Latin Quarter is nice and I would highly recommend taking a day trip to the Loire Valley and see some of the castles/churches.. Chambord, Versailles, Sully- sur- loire! It was really neat to get out of the city for a day and it is beautiful.
I always recommend a morning run at least once while traveling in new places. It's fun to see normal things in new places. And it's touristy, but we saw the Crazy Horse cabaret while we were there and it was great. And a lot of museums and such are free the first Saturday of the month, crowded but free. It was pretty warm while we were there, one cold and rainy day, but really warm the other days. Just drink lots of wine and eat lots of cheese, definitely recommend finding your nearest fromagerie. And if you're flying American, their line is unbelievably long (like a quarter of a mile when I was there a week ago) at Charles de Gaulle, luckily we were on British Airways and there was hardly any line. So just get there a little earlier than you think if you're flying AA, it was ridiculous. Eat macarons!
Chocolate mouse and croc misure
L'elephant is a neat restaurant chain that has a lot of variety.. not that fancy or romantic so maybe a good lunch spot. Oh and McDonalds sells beer ;-)
This is a touristy area but I really liked the neighborhoods, cafes, art, views and even cemetery around Montmartre
If you're a museum person I'd recommend Rodin Museum and the Musee Jaquemart-Andre. Louvre and Musee D'Orsay are full of treasures, but if you want a more intimate experience I'm a big fan of both of those.
Rue Montorgueil in the 2nd is probably my favourite market street. I spent a lot of time there...
Now I wish I was going to Paris. I hope you have an amazing time!
Moroccan food. OMG i am drooling on my desk just thinking about it. It is not super spicy but it is incredibly flavorful and I soooo reccomend trying some in Paris. It's like going for really good mexican food in So Cal- it doesn't need to be expensive to be good.
Also for a nice picnic, hit up a monoprix (like a small grocery store) and try as many dairy products as you can! French yoghurt is awesome and my favorite cheese is called Brique de Lait (brick of milk) it is like brie only... better.
Driving in France isn't as scary as people thing and if you take the RER (public transport) out to versailles, then you don't have to worry about Paris traffic to explore the local area. The versailles castle is closed on mondays too FYI.
Giverny might be amazing in August and the countryside is pretty. If you want to go on a longish day trip I reccoment the medival city of Le Mans (also home to the car race)
It is a gorgeous drive to get there and the medival walled city in the center is beautiful.
SO jealous of your trip!
thanks so much everyone! these are very helpful.
I am so looking forward to Paris!!!! :)
You MUST eat at Le Petit Prince, sweet, intimate and very good food. Perfect for lovers. Also if you want splurge and have celebrity sightings, have dinner and/or drinks at Hotel Costes. Cafe Angelina has great lunch and dessert too.
Go to cafe latin on rue st andre des arts. cute bistro, great location in the middle of st.michel/quartier latin. also, check out the n'hood Canal St. Martin. It's so pretty and not a lot of tourists make it over there unfortunately.
The cafes are awesome. Definitely try some of the cakes. French baking is to die for. Also, ride the Metro. There are some really pretty stations. Do a wine tasting. Also, go to Montmarte. See the artists and get your picture done. :-) Wish I was coming with!
There is a quaint little square off the Rue de Rivoli just east of the Rue des Mauvais Garcons. There are several restaurants on the square & it's a great place to eat outside & watch the people in the square, as well as the people on the Rue de Rivoli. I stumbled upon it in 1992 & have returned on every trip since. It's amazing to see how much the neighborhood (Le Marais) around the square has been developed. Take the Metro to Hotel de Ville and stroll east along Rue de Rivoli for a few blocks. It'll be on the left (north side).
The best thing we did was rent an apartment rather than stay in a hotel. It totally made us feel like locals! (even though it was in Montmartre, it was in a less touristy part, I think...) We used homeaway.com, picked a place that was affordable and cute and had great reviews, and it was just super awesome. We cooked once or twice, shopping at local bakeries, markets and cute wine shops for supplies.
One touristy thing we did that I highly recommend is the Fat Tire Bike Tour of Versailles. The palace itself is amazing, but the impeccably landscaped grounds are even moreso and we wouldn't have gotten to see much of that part if we were just walking in and around the palace. http://fattirebiketours.com/paris/tours
Finally, go buy Rick Steves' Paris 2010 book. It is really helpful and points out both touristy and non- things to do. I had a death grip on it the entire time and it made the whole trip easier. Well worth the $20.
Ahh Paris is amazing, you'll love it!!
Museums:
Musee D'orsay: I wasn't a big fan but that's because I'm not crazy about that era of art. If you're a fan of impressionism and the like, you shouldn't miss it.
The Louvre: It's HUGE. I walked through 2 of the three wings and then was SO exhausted but had to see the Mona Lisa. Which was totally underwhelming. But the rest of the collection is amazing. Take a full day if you go here.
Centre Georges Pompidou: I'm a modern art fan so this was my favorite of the big art museums
Other Landmarks:
Eiffel Tower: I was underwhelmed by this as well. Wait in line forever, pay a crap ton of money to take an elevator to the top, and look at the landscape. It's beautiful but you can see the scenery from up high in a bunch of other places in the city.
Notre Dame: Well worth it, and especially worth the hike up the stone stairs to see the gargoyles and the view
Sacre Coeur: My favorite cathedral in Paris. Gorgeous, and the view is amazing. Watch Amelie before you go, if you haven't already seen it. Anyway, S-C is located in Montmartre, which is a cute little neighborhood.
Pere Lachaise Cemetary: Just amazing. You could walk around and get lost in there for hours.
The Catacombes: It's a mile long underground tunnel filled with bones. May be too morbid for some but I found it fascinating.
Food:
Le Tambour: This is a quirkly little cafe that's open 24 hours (I think). Go there after dinner and sit there for hours, drinking wine and eating cheese.
Crêperie Saint André des Arts: Yummy creperie in the Latin Quarter. Make sure to drink the hard cider.
Good grief, I've been waiting a while to write this post! I actually read this while I was IN PARIS, but my iPod wasn't letting me write. Anyway, you MUST go to the Left Bank, just east of Notre Dame after 8pm between Wednesday and Saturday. There is dancing! My hand to god, there were HUNDREDS of people there, all laughing, hanging out, drinking wine and dancing. It. Was. Incredible. Bring wine, hang out, watch the boats, dance... oh la la la la.
Also, the light show on the Eiffel Tower is worth it. Go later- it starts at 10pm and is every hour on the hour, but we were just there and it wasn't really darnk until 11pm. And yes, it's WARM in August! We were also there for the torrential downpour on Bastille Day- I'm from Seattle, and we don't get rain like that here!
Have fun! I'm so jealous- I want to go back so badly!
One of my favorite restaurants is Polidor in the 6th. Also the most interesting cocktails in Paris is at Le Crocodile in the 5th (not far from the Pantheon)
If you wan to go to a super trendy champagne bar I suggest the bar in the Pershing Hall Hotel.
To enjoy Paris like the locals, you'll definitely need to hit up some cafes. Spend the extra $$ to sit down at a table to enjoy your espresso or cafe au lait. ...and definitely have lunch at a cafe on a nice street with some good people watching. Sit outside and have a steak frites or a soup a l'onion and a nice glass of wine. Also, you'll need to visit some bakeries to try all of the tasty pasteries. Another fun thing to do is to go to some of the nicer department stores for shopping and people watching. The Gallerie Lafayette is a good one. Other than that, you'll find a lot of excellent touristy advice in any guide book. All of the standard tourist stops are popular for a reason.
...oh, and go to a creperie in the Montparnasse neighborhood if you get a chance.
Honestly, there's no way to do everything in Paris in a week or 2. I spent 6 months there and still have tons of things that I still want to see. It's a beautiful city!
Pastry, just wander into a bakery and pick what looks good, I'm sure you won't be disapointed. As far as August, that'S vacation month for the locals because it is HOT! I'm sure some less touristy parts of the city will be closed and you may feel like there are a lot of tourists but it's only because the locals leave the city for August. I'm going towards the end of the month (just found out yesterday as it was supposed to be a birthday suprise) and really looking forward to it!
I highly recommend the idea of getting a bottle of wine and a baguette and soem cheese and having a picnic. I also really like the stairs between the two museums overlooking the Eifel Tower, the view can't be beat. You can also sit outside and buy a sandwich from a vendor or eat at one of the museum's cafes. The Tower is my favorite part of Paris even though I've seen it several times now, it never disapoints.
I would also suggest wandering around without an agenda one day. Briung a map, your camera and a bottle of water and just stroll. In case you get lost, you can reference the map to get home but otherwise enjoy whatever you find and take the small side streets whenever possible. I guarantee you will find something you like and some romantic sights along the way! Have fun!
Reading this brings back so many fabulous memories...makes me want to be back in France now!
There have been lots of great suggestions and I'd just add two more:
Check out the walking tours offered by Context Travel ( http://contexttravel.com/ ) . They are either private or led with small groups of up to 6 people, entertaining and knowledgable guides, totally discreet, and you will learn so much about the chosen topic -- eg, the history of restaurants and markets or Gothic architecture. It's absolutely worth the cost!
Attend a Sunday mass or sneak in for the organ concert between the 10 am and noon (if i remember right) at St Sulpice in the 6th arr. Beautiful church -- yes the one from the davinci code -- and what some say is the best organ in the world.
I just got back from a week in Paris! Here are some thoughts on what to do (and how to act)!
1. Don't act like a dumb American! Dress nicely or at least chicly, and wear comfy shoes but not sneakers. Take some aerosoles shoe inserts and some bandaids to prevent blisters. When in doubt, wear a striped shirt or a light scarf. I personally find I'm more at ease in another country when I at least kind of fit in. Also if you chew gum or talk loudly on the metro, you will be stared at awkwardly (although the tourists we saw this happen to were oblivious!).
2. Chillax in parks and cafes. This is the number one thing Parisians do. It's kind of amusing how often they just relax, and very different from American life. Also, since I was just there, I can tell you it was not that hot. On most days we needed to take a light cardigan with us, because it was chilly in the morning and afternoons. We were FREEZING the night of Bastille Day. So maybe it won't be that hot for you! (I am from NC though, and the heat index here is 103 today, so my views of what hot is might be skwewed).
3. I used the Frommer's 24 Walks in Paris book. It was a great way to organize our trip, and planned a lot of things out for us. We would do one really Parisian thing (see Montmartre, for example) and then one American thing (go to Starbucks). We had some culture shock for sure, so we tried to intersperse new fun but stressful things with fun, comfortable, and relaxing things. And since the Parisians packed the Starbucks and the McDonald's thing...well, it's kindaaaaaaaa Parisian, right?
4. My fave things: Musee Centre Pompidou (modern art) was awesome. Eating breakfast at a cafe every morning. Taking a boat ride on the Seine. Le Suffren - a restaurant not far from the Eiffel Tower. Montmartre. And Galleries Lafayette (the largest most overhwleming mall ever). L'Orangerie (the Monet museum).
TIPS: Book your Eiffel Tower tickets in advance. You would not believe how long the line was. We got in right away with our tickets that we reserved before the trip. Also for some of the boat rides along the Seine, if you purchase tickets in advance it is cheaper. And get a Museum Pass! Don't demagnetize your metro ticket by putting it near a magnet clasp in your purse, or else you might be yelled at and start crying to the metro lady, like I did! Carry water everywhere, and a baguette to much on during the day.
Finally, the Catacombs were awesome but the line is sooooooooo long. Get there at least thirty minutes before it opens. We went there two days in a row and gave up, and on the third day went 30 minutes before and got in fairly quickly.
PM me if you want more info, it's all fresh in my mind since I just got back! Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!
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We are going to spend our honeymoon in Paris - we're going there for 5 full days and apart from the museum stuff, can you share your experiences? What should we definitely do? Any suggestions/recommendations that would be hard to find in a tourist guide book? Places to see/eat/visit?
Or even any blogs to recommend?
Thanks a lot!