What are your favorite picnic spots and your favorite picnic makings in Paris?

Rue de Buci has great food shopping if youyre looking to picnic, even in your hotel room, but pack your own paper plates and utensils and corkscrew.

Behind the Eiffel Tower is Champ-de-Mars, a park where you can picnic if you like. For provisions, one place to shop for food is on rue Cler, a ten-minute walk to the east of the Champ-de-Mars, with an entire block of excellent food shops.

Monoprix (discount stores, like very small Kmarts) also have very nice grocery departments. You can pick up bread, butter, cheeses, produce, wine, jellies, cookies,and other items for a picnic or to take home as souvenirs

Just one wonderful bread bakery, best for baguettes and croissants: Maison Kayser, 8 rue Monge in the 5th, 01 44 07 01 42

There are also wonderful breads, and canneles, little wax-covered cakes, at Poujauran, 20 rue Jean-Nicot, 7th, 01 47 05 80 88. They also have savory tarts.

Ditto for the breads at Le Moulin de la Vierge, 105 rue Vercingetorix, 14th, 01 45 43 09 84

La Grand Epicerie, the grocery store part of the Bon Marche department store (across from the Lutetia Hotel) has excellent pastries and croissants.

Gerard Mulot is a pasisserie (pastry shop) and boulangerie (bread bakery) at 76 rue de Seine in the 6th, 01 43 26 85 77. Pastries look and taste gorgeous, all-star crowd.

Carton, on Rue de Buci, also has very good breads and croissants.

In the Jewish quarter of the Marais section, Sacha Finkelsztajn offers traditional strudels, cheesecakes, and nut cakes.

Au Levain du Marais, said to have the best pain au chocolat (chocolate-filled croissant) in Paris. 32 rue de Turenne, in the 4th. Metro: St Paul

I second Champ de Mars as a great picnic place - our favorite. We buy our food at the various shops along rue Cler. The last time we were there in picnic weather, we had a picnic almost everyday. Bon appetit!

The makings can be bought just about anywhere; I found if I wanted some cooked vegetables that a Chinese take out was the place to stop. We did either lunch/dinner in the Champ de Mars on a bench watching the sun set over the Eiffel Tower, on the small island where the miniature Statue of Liberty stands, and on the steps of Sacre Couer.

Hi Barb,

It's outside Paris, but a picnic in the Versaille Gardens is very regal.

Menu:

Tomato tart
Grilled vegetables
Confit de canard
Brie
Petit fours
Bread
1 bottle red, one bottle white

bon apetite

Palette, where if the island with the small Statue of Liberty? and where can you stand to see it?

Recipe for a great Montmartre picnic...?
The little secret garden with the waterfall behind the Sacry Coeur... Full of lavender, alcoves with stone benches and children playing.
Get half a roasted free-range chicken (poulet fermier) from the Rotisserie on rue des Abbesses, and a portion of roast potatoes, along with a chewy-crunchy baguette from the Boulangerie St Preux on Rue Lepic, a delicious tarte aux fruits from les Petits Mitrons, and a bottle of great wine from the Cave des Abbesses. *heaven*

Oh dear, the accent on Sacre Coeur has mysteriously turned into a y...

Hi Hanl,

The Fodors server can't do accented letters. I found that St Germaine de Pre's turned into de Prys.

Makes us all look like we can't spell when in fact we're all linguistic whizz-kids able to type all sorts of fancy accents ;o)

Great picnic ideas . . . any more?

The Rue De Buci is a good starting place (though not as wonderful as it used to be alas) to get bread, fruit, cheese, pate, wine. Chocolate Eclairs from the nearby patisserie Gerard Mulot. If you're in a mood for more substantial food, the roast chicken and potatoes available at the Rue de Buci is fabulous. Then go to either the Luxembourg and have your picnic at the Medici fountain, eat on the benches on the Pont Des Arts (pedestrian bridge) or take it to the little park at the tip of the Ile De la Cite and follow it with a leisurely ride on the vedettes.

Three cheers for 'Paujauran' and 'Gerard Mulot' for fantastic patisserie and bread. What a sight to behold. My mouth waters at the mere thought !