JeanneB

On another thread, I got to talking about my early morning walks. I love seeing the cafe men washing down the sidewalks, the aroma of freshly baked breads and pastries, even the green trucks cleaning up and leaving the streets sparkling in their wake.

Past trips, I've always walked around Saint Germain and the Isles. I don't walk along the Seine until it's light out...too dark. As long as it's dark I like to stick to areas with cafes/boulangeries/patisseries, etc....where there's early morning activity.

On our upcoming trip we will be staying in the 7th (Ave Bosquet at Rue Grenelle). The 7th has always seemed rather "sleepy" to me anyway, let alone at 6:30! So I'm trying to get some idea of routes for a 3-4 mile walk. I imagine Rue Saint-Dominique, Rue Cler will be active before dawn. But that's not far enough...what about other nearby areas? Is the Champ de Mars too dark, lonely? How about the huge Invalides complex and the Grand Palais? I can't remember how well lit those are.

I'm considering a loop: up Ave Bosquet, across Pont de l'Alma, up Pres Wilson Ave to the Trocadero. Then over Pont d l'Iena to the Tower. I think it would be getting light by the time I got to Champ de Mars. I could finish my walk there and head back over to Ave Bosquet. Does that route sound "safe" that early in the morning? That stretch along Pres Wilson Ave might be too dark and lonely? I've always thought of that as a very safe area...what about that early?

I guess I could just do a loop around Rue Saint-Dominique, Rue Cler, Rue Grenelle until it lightens up. But the long loop sounds so appealing! Will appreciate any help from those who know the 7th better than I do!

zeppole

You don't say what time of year you are traveling -- unless you mean to adjust your starting out time for the sunrise.

Do you know how to use Google street view? It won't tell you how active streets are at dawn, but you will see the ones that have shops and cafes and which ones don't, which are thick with bushes or run right alongside a park or allee of trees -- the kind of thing you might want to avoid.

Something else to bear in mind is that a great deal of the 7th is given over to important government buildings, which are heavily guarded. I have to admit I find the 7th dull at anytime of day, but the presence of so much security would reassure me as a walker. Government workers often arrive at the desks quite early too, so there may be more activity around there than you would find in an ordinary business district.

I clicked on your post because on my very first visit to Paris, I arrived after midnight and was so thrilled to be there, I couldn't sleep. I stayed out with a friend until 3am, and then waited for the first sliver of light to go out again by myself. The route I took was pretty foolish and I was accosted more than once by men, although not dangerously so. I do think Paris is an enjoyably safe city, and still walk around quite late at night there. But it is a city, so you are right to be asking these questions -- but I'd be skeptical of people who say they do it all the time or the usual "What? Paris? I've never felt unsafe there!"

See if Google Street view helps you out any.

kerouac

Frankly, for a good walk, I would jump on the metro and go to a working class area to see Paris begin to wake up. For example Belleville or Convention.

JeanneB

We'll be there the 1st week of November. Sunrise about 7:30, it should start getting light by 7:15.

I thought about taking the Metro somewhere. But, besides my desire to get to know this new neighborhood, there's the return trip. I don't want to ride the Metro at peak rush hour in my sweat(y) clothes. [There are certain <i>advantages</i> to walking in the dark!]

I did take a Google walk along Pres Wilson Ave. I suspect it will be quite dark. Anyone know how good--or bad-- the lighting is there?

kerouac

It will just be boring and empty. Believe me, the bourgeois center does not begin to move at all before 8am. Even if you to to a place like Les Halles, almost no cafés are open (the Père Tranquille starts putting out its chairs at 8:30) -- the only people you will see are the drunks and clubbers from the night before, and you don't want to get too close to them -- not because they are dangerous but because they might puke on you. Trust me on this detail.

JeanneB

You make it sound so lovely.

Perhaps I'll delay the walk a little, not head out till closer to 7. And maybe I won't walk so far. I get plenty of miles in just doing touristy things during the day.

toupary6

For another of your walks, you might want to go past les Invalides, then take bd des Invalides and head toward Montparnasse. I think you'll see plenty of activity even at 7:00 a.m.

I lived for 4-1/2 years in the 6th, a block from the dividing line with the 7th. I don't find the 7th boring at all. Yes, it's quiet, but there are all sorts of things to look at, and plenty of cafés and boulangeries.

Enjoy!

AnthonyGA

The Seventh is asleep early in the morning, like many parts of Paris, and that includes the rue Saint Dominique and the magical, miraculous Rue Cler.&reg;

There's an open market off the place de Breteuil on Thursdays and Saturdays, and that's open early.

People who are not working do not get up early in Paris, as a general rule, and the city as a whole doesn't seem to get moving until 10 AM or so. Of course, those who work are up earlier, but they simply commute to their offices and they don't liven up the streets much. You do see a lot of traffic, though.

JeanneB

Thank you Anthony. Our first morning is a Saturday. I'll take my string bag over to the market and pick up things for the apartment. Parfait!

Also, I just "walked around" on Google and I had forgotten about those wide sandy walking paths along the river bank. They are wide enough that I think I would feel safe.

AnthonyGA

That will work perfectly. The open market starts up at 7 AM on Saturdays. It's on the wide median on the avenue de Saxe, which leads from the place de Breteuil to the avenue de Ségur (near UNESCO). It's about a fifteen-minute walk from the rue Cler.&reg; Obviously the food from this open market is considerably fresher than the stuff you'll find on the rue Cler,&reg; and in any case, most places on that small street will not be open at 7 AM.

The bad guys tend to be asleep early in the morning, just like everyone else, so safety isn't really a problem. Even the scammers and street vendors are absent at that time of day.

JeanneB

Sounds fun. And practical. I like having a "destination" when I'm walking.