Where should I go?

Question

In September I intend to spend about a week in Paris, arriving by Eurostar. What are the things that I should do/ see other than the usual big tourist draws?

Answer 1

Well, probably not to Chartier as suggested above. The food is mediocre although it does have the virtues of being in a historic venue and not terribly expensive.

People ask this sort of question all the time and the answer really is that with a week you barely have enough time to see all the "big tourist draws" to begin with. (Assuming you want to actually look at the artworks in the major museums and not just walk past the building).

The reason the "big tourist draws" are such is that they are worth seeing. it may seem rather pedestrian to do what everyone else does but this is a situation in which it makes sense.

Now, if what you mean is what is there to do other than sightseeing then that's another matter.

My favorite bar is Aux Trois Mailletz at 56 rue Galand. Decent food, pleasant people and a piano player with various singers. A good mix of locals and tourists. (pretty bartender too).

Answer 2

One of the responders is right, the main tourist draws are VERY MUCH worth seeing, and are picture-postcard and iconic.

For off-beat things, try exploring around BASTILLE with its quirky shops, cafes and restaurants. Or you could go to PARC ANDRE CITROEN in the SW of the centre, it has geometric designs and a rising tethered balloon - not a park for 'purists' but something different nonetheless.

LA DEFENSE is a glimpse into the 20th century vision of the 21st century - futuristic, space-age and fascinating. Buy a copy of the suggested guidebook, and they also give you a walking tour of the eastern quarters of the city, titled 'THE BYEGONE EASTERN VILLAGES.' They have minor landmarks and intriguing points of interest.

The PROMENADE PLANTEE is a very original attraction. It was once a train viaduct, but has now been turned into a pedestrianised landscape garden stretching for about 2 miles...some fifty feet in the air.

Walking torus around MONTMARTRE are always romantic and sepia-tinted. Try this at night when the monuments are all floodlit.

Paris is excellent for walking tours. Buy a Pop-Up map from Amazon or Stamfords bookshop, and plan some interesting promenades of your own. You could walk all the way to and from the youthful, multicultural suburb of SAINT DENIS, or along the towpath of the CANAL SAINT MARTIN. You could even walk across the city centre in a day.

One of the best things about walking tours in Paris, is that you get all sorts of very diverse areas, totally juxtaposed to one another. For instance, one minute you could be passing through a colourful ethnic enclave, then hit the red-light district, and finish up in an almost spiritual, turn-of-the-century quarter drinking coffee at an old world cafe.

All you need is a good guidebook and a healthy dose of your own imagination. Enjoy your trip, you can do plenty of interesting things in 7 days there.

Answer 3

i was just in paris, came back today actually, i saw LOADS in only 2 days but bearing in mind i didn't really stop to eat and only actually sat down to go on the metro!

some of the coolest things i saw were stuff which weren't the really touristy bits. i took the metro to la defense and saw the grande arche, i loved the architecture here it was incredible; you can take a lift to the top of the arch and see some pretty weird art and stuff, the view from the top is pretty awesome. take metro line 1 (yellow line) to la defense to get here.

i also stumbled across chatelet les halles today. there is a church here called st eustache which is really lovely, and nowhere near as touristy as notre dame or sacre coeur, the decor inside is gorgeous and there is a lovely garden outside, there's a grocers nearby on a side street and it's reallly lovely to just sit in the garden eating strawberries!!! the shopping centre here is beautiful - and massive!

enjoy xx

Answer 4

For food, visit Le Chartier, for authentic but cheap (relative) meals. For drink, go to the Auld Alliance or The Highlander bars. And although there is not much to do in La Defense, there are some cool shops and great views back towards the city.

Answer 5

I went to Pere Lachaise... the paris cemetary with lost of famous people there eg Jim morrison, Oscar Wilde, Chopin. You can buy maps out the front for a coupel fo euros, but its free to enter the cemetary itself.. I liked it because it was different. They are very elaborate and quite amazing sttures, monuments etc for some people there.
The link below jsut gives you some infor about it and some other people buried there

Answer 6

you can visit the catacombes,
you can go to a park called 'buttes chaumont',
you can have a brunch in 'pain quotidien' on rue Montorgueil,
and mint tea in 'L'institut du monde arabe'

Answer 7

A few ideas:

http://parissud.wordpress.com

Answer 8

buy a pogo stick and shout exhibit every 2 seconds...