Sidny

I'm interested in visiting the FLV in January, or at least seeing the building from the outside--I think it's absolutely beautiful in the pics I've seen online. Has anyone been? Is the ongoing Gehry exhibit interesting?

I've never been out to the 18th on previous visits...any particular recommendations for restaurants or shopping in the immediate area? Probably not interested in spending a lot of time in the park in mid-January. Thanks!

Sidny

Oops, meant haven't been to the 16th (I've definitely been in the 18th).

FrenchMystiqueTours

I've been past the outside of the building but haven't been inside yet. It's in the Bois de Boulogne so there are no adjacent shopping/commercial/restaurant opportunities, unless you walk 10-15 minutes away. There are instructions for getting there on the website:

http://www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/...pratiques.html

jelopez33

Very interested in this topic, as we plan to visit Paris next may.

Gretchen

Our son and his family were in Paris the end of October when I sent them the notice of this. They had Michael Osman for 2 days and when asking him, he said it was still empty.

kerouac

The Frank Gehry exhibit at the <I>Fondation Louis Vuitton</I> is basically only about the construction of that one building. If you want to see the big Frank Gehry exhibit about his entire career, it is as the <I>Centre Pompidou</I>.

Traviata

I visited in November.....inside as well. It is a "must see", whether you are a Gehry fan or not.....it is truly awesome.

tully

I was there last week. Took the cute electric bus from ave Friedland & CDG-Etoile, cost 1 euro. By the time I got there though it was almost 4pm and the line to get in was very long, so I just walked around taking pics before heading back by metro. Lovely, interesting building.

sandralist

tullly,

which day were you there when the line after 4pm was long?

tully

Not positive but I just checked the date I uploaded a couple pics of it to FB and that was the 25th. So must've been the 25th or 24th. Also, just to note, there was no line or waiting to take the electric bus to the FLV but coming back there was a huge crowd waiting and it can only hold maybe 12 people or so.

LoriNY1

DH and i went in October. we took the bus from Ave. Friedland which took about 15 minutes. it is the best way to get there as it is in the middle of the park and not really accessible by metro (many thanks to our salesperson in Galleries Lafayette for letting us know this!). We did not have along wait to get in. The building is really impressive, however most of the salons inside were still empty. there were some interesting exhibits - the yellow wall of yellow lights and mirrors, the waterfall, the views from the upper balconies. would i go again, no, but i'm glad i saw it.

Sidny

Thanks for the info everyone. Might try the bus from CDG-Etoile and use metro as a backup either direction if the wait is too long. To FMT's point that it's in the park, assuming I'm walking in from one of the metro stops outside the park, any particular recommendations for food, drink or interesting area to wander on the north/eastern edges of the park? Or is there anything towards the west I should plan on walking over to? I've never been outside the Peripherique before (other than the trip in from CDG), this will be so exciting! ;-)

FrenchMystiqueTours

The closest métro stop is Les Sablons, which is in Neuilly-sur-Seine. As far as things of interest nearby really the only thing to do is take a nice walk in the Bois de Boulogne itself. There are some lovely trails/paths in the forest and several small artificial ponds/lakes. You can learn more about the Bois here:

http://www.paris.fr/pratique/paris-a...boulogne/p6567

I'm the wrong person to ask for restaurant/foodie recommendations but I'm sure you'll find places near the métro stop since it is on a major avenue. Since you'll be in Neuilly I bet if you did a little restaurant research you'd find something nice that would also be unique because nobody visits Neuilly. Just check some resto review websites and look at a map of restaurants near Les Sablons. Since they don't get tourists there they have to cater to locals so I'm sure you'd find something nice, like this place:

http://www.sebillon.com/en/

jelopez33

Definitely goint next may, think the building merits.
And thanks French Mystique Tours, Sebillon looks great! A must isit I think.

FrenchMystiqueTours

You're welcome jelopez. If you'll be there in May that would really be a great time to explore the Bois. If you've got kids the Jardin d'Acclimitaion is right next door. Very near to it is a place where you can rent bikes. You can also row boats on one of the lakes. If you download the map of the Bois in the link I gave there is tourist map of the Bois showing paved biking/walking trails, bike rentals, boats, facilities, snack stands, bathrooms, boats, etc. There are even a couple of restaurants. One is on an island:

http://chalet-des-iles.com/en

It would also be a great time to visit the Parc de Bagatelle (I think Paris's most beautiful park) and perhaps the rose garden will be in bloom:

http://en.parisinfo.com/musee-monume...c-de-Bagatelle

To get a map of the Bois check this link and click "consultez le plan" and you'll open a pdf doc.

http://www.paris.fr/pratique/paris-a...152_port_14916

FrenchMystiqueTours

I just wanted to add that I found Sébillon after spending about 5 minutes on http://www.linternaute.com/restauran...lly-sur-seine/ so I bet there are other nice restaurants in that area, like this one:

http://www.lebelcanto.com/en/

Neuilly is a wealthy community so good restaurants shouldn't be hard to find. You can use the same website to make reservations and sometimes get discounts.

jelopez33

Once again thanks French Mystique Tours!

FrenchMystiqueTours

You're welcome again jelopez33.

Christina

I've been out that way, the most interesting thing that was in the area was the local arts/folklore museum IMO (the Musee des Arts et Traditions Populaires). I really love those kind of things, though, and that one was pretty good. It was right next to the Jardin d'Acclimation.

I believe it was closed about 5 years ago and some of its collection moved to Marseille for some reason.
http://laduz.com/blog/a-propos-du-mu...-de-marseille/

Sidny

Just thought I'd update after visiting...

We ended up taking the metro out, using the Les Sablons stop on the 1 line (it was very easy, I would think the 1 euro bus might be a bit more of a hassle, but guess it depends where you're coming from and your transportation preferences), then 10 minute walk to the building. Beautiful from the outside, though not the best day for pictures which was my primary interest. It was a cold, gray, rainy early February day and seeing the long, slowly moving line, we decided not to wait since we hadn't done homework to know what we were going to be able to see inside for the 14 euro entry fee. It is a stunning building, IMO, and I saw enough to know I would like to visit again on my next trip with hopefully better weather, or maybe for a concert. A visit to the adjoining Jardin d'Acclimatation is included in the FLV ticket price and would obviously be more enjoyable in nicer weather. As a side note, this was the one place in Paris I noticed (in my very short 2.5 day visit), additional security related to the terrorist activities. The Jardin had signs up indicating additional security measures (searching bags), due to recent events.

After we left we ended up wandering into the 16th and found a cafe on Place Victor Hugo with a nice heated outdoor area to warm up with a couple of glasses of wine.