What are some interesting things to do in Paris?

Question

I will be there for a few days in July, but all I have on my to do list is the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. I like museums, but I don't want to spend all my time in them. What are the best things to do, historical and modern? And I need hotel and restaurant suggestions.

Answer 1

I'll let other people list tourist sights. Any good guidebook can tell you what the "must see" places are. So here are some slightly offbeat suggestions.

1) Have dinner with an icon of the Hippie era.

Jim Haynes is one of the founders of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and founder of the London Traverse Theatre Company. He started Suck, the sexual freedom newspaper, in Amsterdam in 1969 and taught Media Studies and Sexual Politics at the University of Paris 8.

He throws a dinner party every Sunday night. The crowd will include college professors, artists, the occasional rock star of famous actor. Give him a phone call or send him an email and you'll be invited. Details are on his website at: http://www.jim-haynes.com/index.htm

2)Go Rollerskating

Every Friday night except when there is rain, the City of Paris and the Paris Rollerskating Association organize a skate thru the streets of Paris from about 10 PM till 1 AM. Details are on this website:

http://www.pari-roller.com/index.php?p=101

3) Become a member of the least exclusive club in the world

The Café Metropole Club meets every Thursday after noon. membership is very exclusive...you have to show up. details can be found here: http://www.metropoleparis.com/aclub.html the people who show up are a coolection of expatriates and tourists. A good place to meet some nice people and get some good advice about current events.

Answer 2

Oh wow, that's a big question. There's TONS to do there. One suggestion is to catch a show, perhaps Lido or Follies Bergere, and there's also Wild Horse Saloon, tho' i've never been to but I hear is a good show. Be sure to get reservations well in advance.

The cemetaries are pretty amazing and some famous people are buried there. The good ones are located in Montparnasse. Also, the catacombs are a cool thing to see once, also located in Montparnasse.

I'd suggest taking a look at Ste. Chappelle and Notre Dame de Paris. Ste. Germaine isn't far from there either.

There are tons of great restaurants, but one memorable one for me is called Le Dome. It's hard to find a bad restaurant, but I suggest staying away from the touristy places if possible. I stayed at a 3 star hotel in Quartier Latein, but I don't remember the name of it, sorry. There's lots of decent hotels so that shouldn't be a big problem. If you can find one near a train station that would be best, and south to middle Paris would be the places to stay IMO.

Lots of people like going to Champes Elysees, which is ok I suppose, but a bit touristy for me. Some of the shows are there, tho'.

Louvre is a great place to go, but give yourself plenty of time to explore because it's a huge place.

Have fun! I'm jealous. :)

Answer 3

i might think of Versailles purely exterior Paris is an exceedingly solid oftentimes used place to discover approximately. completely agree there's a historic previous to do with the Arc De Triomphe, Gallerie Layfette, Louvre Museum, Victor Hugo domicile, Musee De Notre Dame de Paris (Paris Hiistory Museum)

Answer 4

You must go to Montmartre - there's the Sacre Coeur, Tertre place, the Moulin Rouge - so much history, and very exciting if you are into impressionist art. Montmartre was made famous by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Robert Doisneau. Google them for inspiration.

Also if you have seen the movie Amelie you should visit the cafe where she worked - Café des Deux Moulins: Amelie's Cafe, 15 rue Lepic, about 1 block from the Moulin Rouge

Answer 5

Champs Elysees