gertie3751

I have been to Paris umpteen times and hit all the high spots, but all a long time ago. Actually lived there in 68 (which was not a good year for sightseeing). In September I will have 3 days to myself and I'm looking for off-the-beaten-track suggestions. I like walks, parks and street art. http://undergroundparis.org looks fun.
It looks like Giverny (which I have never been to) is mobbed with tour groups, crowds and long lines. Even in September? Don't think I can face that so where else? Canal St Martin? Belleville? Any thoughts?

Dukey1

I'm in Paris now. Yes, the usual "high spots" as you call them are crowded but perhaps less so in the Fall. Whatever suits you but I, for one, did not come all this way to look at some of the grafitti. I will say this, however, that it is probably better than looking at some of the dreary poured concrete apartment blocks in some of the suburbs.

Christina

There are tons of neighborhoods in Paris, hard to recommend one. I don't know about "street art" as I haven't seen much of that in Paris (I presume you aren't talking graffiti but authorized murals).

September is still a fairly heavy tourist time in Paris as the weather hasn't changed much from summer yet. And you have tons of people there for various trade shows, although they probably aren't going to Giverny.

If you want to walk around Canal St Martin, tha's one idea, as is Belleville, there won't be a lot of tourists in the latter, for sure. For Belleville, you can also go to the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, there is a an air museum at the peak of it with a good lookout over Paris. I'd suggest Menilmontant myself, and then you can walk back to Paris going west and go through the Oberkampf area, which is interesting, to Republique. There is a neat church out that way, also (Notre Dame de la Croix). You could actually combine that with Canal St Martin around Republique and then go north. That would be a very full day. Or, you could combine Menilmontant with Pere Lachaise and the Gambetta area. see
http://en.parisinfo.com/discovering-...3%A9nilmontant

If you used to live in Paris, I presume you know French fairly well. There are tons of French language "visites conférences" listed in Pariscope and l'Officiel des Spectacles which are about 2 hour walking tours with licensed local indepdent guides and some of them go to more unusual areas than the typical top tourist ones (although they do have some for St Germain, Latin Qtr, the usuals). I know I have done several of those that were very interesting, one to the Batignolles area, another to the bottom of the 14th and 13th arr (eg, Buttes aux Cailles and some private garden streets down there), etc. These are only around 10 euro and the numbers in the group are fairly small. I've also done them to the cemeteries, these is this one guy who is a legend in Paris for his cemetery tours. The beauty of these is that you don't have to pre-register, you just show up when the weather and day suit you.

I have a Pariscope on my desk from September a few years ago and there are such guided walks for Menilmontant, Montagne Ste Genevieve, Belleville, the "quartier des Gravilliers a la Butte des Trois Moulins" which I've never heard of, the Sentier area, artists area in Montparnasse, as well as many of the more typical areas (Jewish quarter, Palais Royal, the cemeteries, etc.).

Christina

here's what I'm talking about for this week, none of these guides used to be online (I'm surprised they are as they are so cheap to buy, but guess it's mainly paid for by ads):

http://www.offi.fr/visites-conferences

gertie3751

Thank you Christina. Brilliant. That is exactly what I wanted. Have copied the links and will hope to do some of the walks. My French is a bit rusty but should be OK for that kind of thing. Much appreciated.

MaineGG

If you haven't already done so, check out kerouac's trip reports for many, many interesting ideas for neighborhoods and sites to explore.

http://www.fodors.com/community/prof...ripreports.cfm

There's are good ones on the Canal St.-Martin, interesting Metro stations, La Défense, the Mouzaia neighborhood, and many more.

gertie3751

Thank you MaineGG. Had not seen these but will now check them out.

Christina

My French isn't fluent but I can understand enough to enjoy those type of walking tours and you meet a lot of interesting people on them (French speaking of course, some from Canada or other countries, as well as French tourists from other parts of France). One I did was a insider tour of Hotel Dieu, which I was very interested in as I have a master's degree in public health. YOu can buy Pariscope and l'Officiel des Spectacles at any news kiosque, they are both less than one euro. They come out on Wednesday for the following week. They have everything going on in the city, anyway, with all opening hours, museums, cinema, special exhibits, etc. I usually buy both as once in a while one is better at something than the other. l'Officiel used to have TV listings also in the back, but I think they dropped that recently. I wouldn't be without one on me when I'm in Paris.

Southam

Several years ago I visited Giverny in mid-September, and mid-week. It was fairly quiet, many of the roses and some of the water lilies were still blooming, and I could relax into the sentiments Monet strove to paint. It depends on the tour-bus schedule too, I suppose. In Paris, however, you may notice gardeners ripping out flower borders in full bloom. Apparently the civil-service schedule overrules Mother Nature.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Since Belleville and Ménilmontant were mentioned I'll concur that those are great off the beaten path places to visit. I've posted about those neighborhoods before and outlined street by street walking tours you can do on your own. Since I keep them in a word doc I'll post below the walks you can do:

Here's a walk for the lower 20th arrondissement. Start with a visit to the art deco Eglise Saint-Jean Bosco on rue Alexandre Dumas. Head down rue Planchat and go left onto rue des Vignoles and note the old timey cobbled lanes off it (on your right). Across from them note the cool looking modern loft style buildings and then realize this is a recent social housing project designed by a famous architect. Some good restaurants here such as Café de l'Amitié, 20ème Art, La Petite Fabrique, Paris Polska, O-Di-Vin-Resto, A la Vierge de la Réunion. Les Mondes Bohèmes has a beautiful terrace and ambiance but the food is just average. Go there for the terrace. I really like the couple that owns this place though. They'll explain the background of the resto and the neighborhood if you ask. Next door check out the little lane with the anarchist headquarters and the flamenco dance studio.

Head to Place de la Réunion and continue down rue Vitruve to rue Saint-Blaise. Along the way see the salamander on the wall at the corner of rue Courat (look at the oddball "artists" home across the street) then at 50 rue Vitruve lived the French singer Barbara. On rue Saint-Blaise itself is the old village of Charonne with 18th century buildings and a village feeling. Lots of cafés and restos here, such as Café Noir. See the old church (if renovation is complete yet) and the art nouveau boulangerie across from it. Go down rue de Bagnolet and there's a great bistro/wine bar (Le Papillon) at the corner of rue des Balkans. Across is the Jardin Debrousse, the remains of the châteaux grounds of the Duchess of Orléans. One building remains, the Pavillon de l'Ermitage. You can go in and see the rococo murals on the walls.

http://www.pavillondelermitage.com/P...e/accueil.html

Walk over the to Place Edith Piaf and see the ugly statue in homage to her. The bar here (Bar Edith Piaf) looks like it hasn't had a decor update since the 1950's and the walls are covered in old black and white photos (no idea if she ever sang here). The regulars seem to be just as old as she would be, and just as rough around the edges. Go around the corner to see La Campagne à Paris (rue Jules-Siegfried, rue Irénée-Blanc, rue Paul-Strauss) and the beautiful homes and small gardens. Hard to believe these were built for workers as part of a social housing project.

photos: https://www.google.com/search?q=la+c...w=1272&bih=629

Great old timey café nearby at Place Octave Chanute. Judging by the photos on the walls there must have been a lot of old time French celebrities that came here.

Here's a second walk you can do starting from the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which you should visit.

Adjacent to Buttes-Chaumont I highly recommend visiting the residential neighborhood known as La Mouzaïa. You can read about it and see photos here:

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...t-paris?page=1

Leaving that neighborhood take rue de la Villette to rue de Belleville. Some interesting little side streets as you approach rue de Belleville. Take a left on rue de Belleville and there is a great boulangerie and some other food stores. You'll notice them. Go down rue de Belleville towards Paris and take a left on rue Piat and shortly you'll arrive at the Maison de l'Air with a great view of the Paris skyline at the top of the Parc de Bellville. Explore the park if you'd like. Great little bar/café with a nice terrace and views across the street that you'll notice (I've forgotten the name).

From here head down rue des Envierges and take a right on rue des Cascades (charming old timey streets) to rue de Ménilmontant. At rue de Ménilmontant take a left going uphill and on your left is a slice of residential 19th century Paris in the Cité de l'Ermitage so take a peek in here. If you want you can go around the corner and see another such place in the Cité Leroy. Next, go down rue du Retrait and take a right on rue Laurence Savart, another quaint old timey street. Then take a right on rue Boyer and you'll pass by La Bellevilloise. Stop here for a drink or just take a peek inside:

http://www.labellevilloise.com/notre-histoire/

http://www.labellevilloise.com/le-ca...-aux-oliviers/

This brings you back to rue de Ménilmontant and you can head down the hill to Paris. As you go downhill you'll notice the church on your right and there is a nice plaza in front of the church with some cafés and such to get a drink or bite to eat.

To learn more about the 20th arrondissement you can go to its official website:

http://www.mairie20.paris.fr/mairie2....jsp?page_id=7

As you approach métro Ménilmontant you can take a left on rue Victor Latalle and there are some hip bistros and cafés on this street and the beginning portion of rue des Panoyaux. La Boulangerie is a nice place to eat and a couple good bars/cafés that I go to sometimes are La Cale Sèche (nice terrace out back), Le Saint-Sauveur and Lou Pascalou (nice front terrace). From here you might enjoy a walk down rue Oberkampf back to central Paris and then take it from there.

gertie3751

I really appreciate your help everyone. Christina and FrenchMystiqueTours, I have printed your stuff out to carry with me. Looks like I need a lot more time and certainly another visit.

europeantraveler55

I was in Paris in September 2013. That is good time for travel.
http://www.europetouristsights.com/