Atypical things to do in Paris
 

I have been to Paris a couple of times now and I am looking for some unusal "tourist" attractions. I have been to all the major and many of the minor museums, the canal ride etc.
Ideas? Merci.

Les Egouts (the sewers)?

...and still on my list of things I eventually plan to do, one of these days...

http://www.pasteur.fr/pasteur/musees...sentation.html

Best wishes,

Rex

I've done many of the major and minor attractions also but I have many things left to see and do! On my list of things to do next trip is to walk around the Passages and to visit the Cluny Museum to see the Lady and Unicorn tapestries. I'm also printing out the walks that Degas has posted and will try a couple of them. I hope to have enough time to take the train to Chantilly and see the castle. Have a fun trip!

Go to the moulogn rougue(??????), serious eye candy their. Paris is a very sexy city if you look. I would also recommend the ferris wheel,within sight of the louve. I saw it my first time their and vowed I would ride it if I ever returned, I was not dissapointed.

Hi

Have you checked out the catacombs? :S-

Regards
Gard
My Paris trip report: http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm

The ferris wheel (previously mentioned), is the best place to hear Country Western music in Paris. I was on the ferris wheel with a German family, and I seemed to be the only person who thought that it was unusual to be looking down the Champs se Elysee with "The Devil went down to Georgia" playing in the background.

Find an Arab quarter (there is one near the Passages) and enjoy Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan meals. In Pariscope listings magazine look for Arab music and song.

See the current exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe, web site
http://www.imarabe.org/index-ang.html

In the same magazine look for evenings of the songs of Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, and Trenet.

If you are Christian, go to Mass at 10.30 on a Sunday in St George’s Anglican church near the Etoile, and sign in for Sunday lunch in the company of English speaking long-term Parisians. Their site is http://www.stgeorgesparis.com/. (Actually, they welcome non Christians too)

Ben Haines, London
[email protected]

The "promenade plantée" that goes from Bastille to the edge of the city will give you a very different view of Paris.

The daily outdoor movies at the Parc de la Villette are starting soon; sometimes they draw a crowd of more than 10,000 picnickers, and the giant inflatable screen is a wonder to behold.

I guess I should have said "nightly" instead of daily.

Friday night roller blade parade - www.pari-roller.com

If you can get it, the so-called "Closed Metro Tour" The A.D.E.M.A.S. often organizes some trips (mostly during the night) in an old Sprague Subway from the 1930's:

A.D.E.M.A.S. (Association D'Exploitation du MAtériel Sprague)
17, rue des Abondances
92100 BOULOGNE BILLANCOURT
FRANCE

Phone: 01.48.25.13.32 (from France) or +33.1.48.25.13.32 (from abroad)

Consider a trip along the Canal St. Martin. Also the Cluny Museum (now the Museum de Moyen Age) and the Carnvalet Museum. Do a self-guided walk around the Marais district.

Scrolling through the posts, I'd say to definitely check out the Promenade Plantee, le Parc de la Vilette and the canal St. Martin (to walk along, not ride) - and I totally agree that the ferris wheel in the Tuileries is really fun. Also:

La Mosquee de Paris in the 5th, near le Jardin des Plantes - beautiful mosque, garden, cafe, oasis of calm.

Le Musee Monet-Marmottan in the 16th - small house filled with gorgeous Monet canvases.

If you are there on a Sunday (and like this sort of animal-related thing), start right by la St. Chapelle and look at the bird market (marche aux oiseaux), then walk along the right bank Quai de la Megisserie in the 5th-4th-1st and see pet shop row - tons of pet stores and florists...You could have a great lunch along the way at Le Trumilou, Quai de l'Hotel de Ville!

More animals (sort of)...there's Desrolles, a rather odd but interesting shop in the 7th, Rue du Bac - a former taxidermist's shop, it's filled with stuffed creatures, great posters and all sorts of cool things. Near L'Epi Dupin for lunch!

If you are in Paris in July (or January), check out the department stores, especially Au Bon Marche, as they have great sales (soldes) at these times of year. Au Bon Marche also happens to be right across the street from L'Epi Dupin and not far from Desrolles. If you do go there, get stuff for a picnic, as their prepared foods are astonishing.

Finally, my all-time favorite thing to do in Paris: get up early and walk the city - anywhere is fine, but the left bank quai from the Quartier Latin to the Pont Alexandre III makes a nice loop - seeing the sun slowly light up the various monuments and buildings along the way is breathtaking. If you are up and out by 6:30, especially on a weekend, you'll have the city to yourself - I always do this the first day in town and it just reminds me how lucky I am to be back in such a magical place. Then, of course, I go back to bed until a more reasonable hour.

Bon voyage! (sorry to blather on...)

-mimi

what sort of movies are shown at the Parc de la Villette? Is it readily accessible from the metro?

Cinema program : http://www.villette.com/manif/manif....=US&id=985
Unfortunately, even in the English version of the site, they left the film titles in French, no matter what the origin of the film -- so you might need to do a web search to find a title that means something to you (e.g. "L'impossible Monsieur Bébé" = "Bringing Up Baby"). In any case, all films are in original version with French subtitles.

The metro station is Porte de Pantin.

Just topped an older thread where this was much discussed...

Dr D.

This is a good thread, thanks to the contributors so far !

Yes, in the thread Dr. Do Good topped, I mentioned the hot air balloon ride from the Parc Andre Citroen. Lots of fun to do, great way to get a bird's eye view of Paris, and unlike the Eiffel Tower, no waiting in line.
http://www.aeroparis.com/

Chateau du Vincennes. Nowhere near as impressive as Chantilly, but much easier to get to as it's only a metro ride. The chateau is right in front of the metro station (of the same name). On the other side of the chateau is a large park. Chantilly is also a nice "half-day" trip (and much closer than the Loire Valley).

Cite University has some nice buildings and there is a park there also, plus it's a nice quite neighborhood that tourists virtually never step foot into. Cite University is not actually a university, but is housing for many of the students who attend various universities throughout Paris.

A walk in the 16th to see the art nouveau buildings, the highest concentration of that style building in Paris is in the 16th, though the single best example (in my opinion) is 29 Ave Rapp in the 7th.

There are two nice arches just north of the Marais - port st Denis and port st Martin (both on rue st Denis). Not as large as the Arc du Triomphe but pretty impressive anyway. And not too far from there are the two oldest houses in Paris (or the two that claim that title anyway), one is at 3-5 rue Volta and the other at 51 rue de Montmorency. And also in the area is the Musee of Arts & Metiers, an intersting museum in a beautiful old abbey. All of these are within 15 minutes walk of each other.

Thread topped by Dr D:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...36&start=0

Have you been to L'Orangerie? It's open again, you know. My friend was just there and said it is breathtaking.

If you are a Princess Di fan, go to "the overpass." The area over is has lots of handwritten tributes - bring a Sharpie if you want to write anything.

Harry Potter fan? See Nicholas Flamel's house.

Have you been out to St. Denis? It's fabulous.

bookmarking

Does anyone know the English title for:

'La Forêt interdite' de Nicholas Ray / 1958
'La Compagnie des loups' de Neil Jordan / 1984

I'd love to take my kids to an outdoor movie at the Parc do la Villette!

La forêt interdite = Wind across the Everglades, 1958, Burl Ives, Christopher Plummer.
La compagnie des loups = The Company of Wolves, 1984, Angela Lansbury, David Warner.

Have you been to the Nissim Commondo Museum? The Jacquemart-Andre? Both of these can be seen on the same morning or afternoon. Also, the Musee Gustave Moreau is close by these. A visit to these museums can be combined with a vist to Parc Monceau. Last visit, I was really impressed with the Musee Maillol - went to see the "Magritte on Paper" exhibit and came away a big Maillol fan (very close to Musee Rodin). Of course, the Musee Quai Branly just opened if you're into "primative" art and Musee Tokyo (Arte Moderne) just re-opened earlier this year. The Orangerie reopening is the big news to me - can't wait until my next trip to see it.
If you like chamber music, there are adverts on the fence at La Madelaine. The top of Tour Montparnasses is touristy but the views are great. Chateau Vincennes (last stop on metro line 10)has jazz concerts on Saturdays during July and then classical from Aug 5 to Sep 24. If you enjoy modern architecture, spend a couple of hours walking around La Defence. As someone mentioned, the 16th arr has beautiful Arte Noveau (sp) but so does the 7th. The 16th has the Foundation Corbusier and several of his buildings nearby.
Have a great trip!

Thanks for all the great suggestions.
Has anyone been to the new museum, the Branly?

Waiting time to get into Quai Branly is still apparently in excess of one hour.

Yes but does a museum pass get you into the Quai Branly? Minus the lines?

Do they still do the weekly 'skate' around Paris ?

bookmarking

"evenings of the songs of Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel"

Has anyone attended these events? Where are they held?

Check out the "Evening in Paris" thread near the top of the Europe posts, and you'll see that Swiss_Tourist got a haircut during his/her 3 days in Paris! Talk about atypical!

Eat at Dans Le Noir. You eat in complete darkness and served by blind servers. It's a trip!
http://www.danslenoir.fr/

Explore the neighborhood of La Butte au Cailles. It's where I am going to look at staying next time.

I also second the Musee Marmottan recommendation.

Friday roller skating: check out Pari-roller.com for the route on Friday nights, starting at Montparnasse at 10 pm, and ending there at 1 a.m.

So how long will I expect to wait in line to take the elevator up to the top of the Eiffel Tower from the ground on Tuesday, July 18th?

I love exploring the large parks/woods in Paris. Try wandering through:

- Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
- Bois de Boulogne, esp. Jardin d' Acclimatation if you have children, and the beautiful Parc de Bagatelle.
-Bois de Vincennes - Le Parc Floral and the Zoo (for kids)
- Parc de la Villette

My husband's favorite activity is to find and run a 5/!0K race. You see a whole different view of the city running through the closed streets of Paris.

Having just returned from Paris, I can say we waited inline about 40 minutes to buy our ticket and enter the first elevator up the Eiffel Tower on oa Thursady early evening. THEN, it'a another 20 minutes for the elevator from the second to the top, another 20 for the lelevator ride back down. Altogether, we were about 1 hour 40 minutes, with no excessive lingering (i.e., we didn't write postacards and mail them, or buy items in the shop). A long time, but a must do!

As for atypical things, we loved the Catacombs, and sort of liked the Sewer Tour (it did have great English explanations).
Bonne Chance!

I recommend this all the time, but I haven't had any feedback; I'd love to know if anyone else goes here. I am referring to the OLD not new, Biblitheque National, where they always have the greatest photography exhibits. I've seen three shoes there that were all spectacular. It seem to be the place to see great photography in Paris.

And another favorite of mine is the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal. I could translate that to French, but I am out of brain power. This is where St Catherine Labouree had her vision of the Blessed Mother. Tons of worshippers all the time; an amazing statue of the vision, and medals for sale, since giving away miraculous medals was part of the message given to the Saint.

I am assuming that cemetaries and flea markets are not atypical for Paris, so I won't elaborate there.

I like to go all the way to the top of the Institute du Monde Arabe for one of the best views of Paris - great view of Notre Dame!

Don't know what you consider atypical so this may be "typical", but I'd do it again just because it's such a beautiful place, and on a week day, almost empty! Pere Lachaise Cemetery. It's on the metro, or bus 69. The vistas are lush, the monuments monumental, the 'citizens' legendary (Abelard and Heloise, Oscar Wilde, Morrison, Chopin). Take a picnic, or go out to Cafe Charbon (109 Oberkampf). It's a small cemetery, but so big that you can spend the whole day (5 hours) there. Kids can be allowed to discover on their own as long as they agree to never leave the well-fenced area, meet at entrance etc.

Also saw a tour group riding those motorized scooter things that you stand on. (Don't know the name; someone else will enlighten you.) They all looked like they were having fun, despite the helmets they all wore; Segway Tours, I think?

Also Fat tire Bike Tours looked interesting as an alternative to walking.

Another favourite is to take a picnic on Champs de Mars any nice summer evening. watch the exercise groups, the daddies and mommies and grand parent and babies and dogs. If the kids are interested, bring or buy a Frisbee, I don't remember being bothered by mosquitoes, so they must spray.

Bob Voyage