My husband and I have been to Paris a few times. We are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in Paris in July. We would like to experience some different attractions beyond the typical Eiffel Tower, Sacre coeur, Notre Dame, catacombes, major museums and the like. Does anyone have any ideas? Maybe some small museums and attractions?

We have enjoyed quite a few of the municipal museums in Paris. There's a description of each on this page with links to download English-language guides for some. Be aware, though, that the links to the actual museum sites don't always work.

http://www.paris.fr/english/museums/...-museums/p8229

You might check the sites mentioned in guidebooks that offer fairly comprehensive coverage of cities, such as the Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, and Michelin Green Guide. You can read the descriptions and decide on options that suit YOUR interests. You have a TON of options. Enjoy!

Passages Couverts (see article http://www.artsyvoyager.com/2012/05/...-passages.html)

Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation

Arenes de Lutece

Parc Monceau

Canal St. Martin

Vanves Market

Parc Buttes Chaumont

Cooking class perhaps?

For me, L'Orangerie, Musee Marmottan and St Denis are all wonderful and not on the usual tourist path. I also love Petit Palais and admission is free.

There was a recent thread here that was on "not your typical attractions" perhaps someone remembers the correct title, it had a lot of replies.

Thanks to attractive posts by Kerouac we have been enticed to visit the Promenade Plantee (a landscaped walk very much like the Highline in New York) and the Canal St. Martin. You can take a boat ride up the canal from the Arsenal.

Perhaps Kerouac will repost his pictoral entries for both of these again.

I have been tempted, but not yet visited St. Denis, just outside of Paris, where most of the Kings and Queens of France are buried.

A ride in the tethered balloon in the parc André Citroën.

Agree strongly with the suggestion of finding posts by kerouac that discuss various places in Paris. The Coulée Verte (Promenade Plantée) is a great place for a summer stroll.

The cemeteries of Paris are amazing. You can find the tombs of many of France's most famous citizens, as well as ex-pats like Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison (among many others), in a setting that is peaceful and in no way creey. But my favorite Parisian cemetery is the pet cemetery in Asnières (http://www.asnieres-sur-seine.fr/Tou...e-des-animaux/ -- in French only), easily accessed by subway. It overlooks the Seine, is filled with monuments to the beloved companions of Parisians -- often with incisive comments on their tombs such as "deceived by many men, but never by Fifi." Absolutely worth a visit.

We went to Swan Lake at the Bastille Opera in March and it was a nice overall experience. DW loved it. I didn't hate it.

What do you like to do in other cities? This should be about what you enjoy and seek out. Museums are fine, there are tons of them mentioned on Paris info websites and in guidebooks that's a good ide if you want to go. YOu might visit some parks if you haven't. But suggesting some things won't work if you aren't interested in the topic (ie, the Pantheon probably only if you are very interested in French history and some of the personnages in there). Plenty of nice churches, but if you aren't interested in that architecture, doesn't matter (eg, Madeleine is nice on the inside, many others). YOu could to to museums that aren't art-related, if you were interested (eg, Postal, Arts et Metier, History of Judaism,etc.), that might be a good idea.


I wouldn't go to the opera or ballet if you aren't interested in them, if you were, you'd probalby already be planning it. Besides, performing art season closes by 7/14.

It was mentioned above, but if you are at all interested in architecture, I highly recommend a visit to St. Denis.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the Musee Jacquemart-Andre.

It isn't small, but if interested in French history, the Musee Carnavalet is great. I don't think of it being on the usual tourist trail.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-new-ideas.cfm