HELP! Where is the Paris I was imagining???...3 days left on trip!
 

My husband and I arrived in Paris at 11am today via train. After checking into our studio apartment near the Louvre, we spent a couple of hours walking around before meeting a small, 6 person walking tour across from Moulin Rouge. We were shocked with the sheer volume and crowds .I know some areas of cities can be more congested than others...but we walked for quite some time/distance and the crowds were basically the same everywhere we went. Paris is a huge city,of course, but I was expecting it to feel more "Parisian." It seemed to be a combination of Time Square, Picadilly Circus, and the leaning tower of Pisa...a huge cluster, basically.

We found the Montmarte area to be closer to our vision of Paris, but it was still packed. I am not sure if this is because it is a Saturday or because it is the Nuit Blanche, perhaps?

I am aware the going to Moulin Rouge area, and staying near the Louvre and going on a walking tour is all very "touristy" and that I am putting myself in these crowded situations, But I have spent 5 days doing the touristy things in Rome and found the city to be walkable and fun.....even though it was busy.

We are planning on seeing the Louvre and a few of the other "must see" major sights (Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame) while we are here, and we expect the crowds to be the same. But my question is...

Can anyone suggest some quieter activities/areas that we can do/see while we are here??

I need to go back home feeling like I have experienced a few hidden and precious moments with this famed city. It would be a pity to leave and not experience a small taste of what Paris truely has to offer. Thanks is advance!

We rented an apartment at Parmentier metro stop in the 11th and loved the area. Felt like mostly locals were there and there are lots of cafes and restaurants. We didnt find it touristy at all and definitely not as crowded. I would highly recommend a visit to the Richard Lenoir market on Sundays and then spending some time in the cafes in the area...

Another favourite pastime is getting some treats and sitting in Lux. Gardens for a few hours reading or people watching.

Try going to the Orangerie Museum. I was there for the first time in May and it was not too crowded. Monet's water lilly paintings were gorgeous and the Renoirs were also. Because of the smaller size of the museum, it is not overwhelming. Hope you can enjoy the rest of your trip!

Well, it's the height of the trade show period in Paris and you're staying near the Louvre and visiting the top tourist sights, so this is no surprise.

Go to the Musée Jacquemart-André for brunch tomorrow morning, then head for the Parc Monceau and explore the area to the west and north.

Hop on a bus or métro and go to one of the outlying arrondissements, even the 11th, but also the 16th, 14th, 18th. Go to the Musée Marmottan. If you want to avoid the crowds, go where the crowds aren't likely to be, but if you want to see the main tourist sites of Paris, you'll likely have to deal with crowds (though in all my years of visiting Paris I can't say I have ever thought to compare any of it to Times Square).

Maybe you should take a day trip to Auvers-sur-Oise or the Ile des Impressionistes (lunch at the Maison Fournaise) or Giverny or some nearby place that will be relatively tranquil.

If the weather's as nice as it is in London, my guess is the parks are likely to be pretty crowded, but you could try the Buttes Chaumont.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parc_des_Buttes_Chaumont

Another of my favourites is to walk along the Promenade Plantée, a garden made out of an old elevated railway line, above Ave. Daumesnil, running east from Bastille.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promenade_plant%C3%A9e

For indoors, the Cognacq-Jay Museum, rue Elzévir in the Marais, the Petit Palais (both free).
http://en.parisinfo.com/museum-monum...ee-cognacq-jay
http://en.parisinfo.com/museum-monum...lle-de-paris?1

But there's a reason why Paris can be crowded: a lot of people are looking for their dream vision, and a lot of people are trying to sell them a packaged version of it.

Walk around the 17th - feels more like "local Paris." Anything near the Louve or the Eiffel Tower will be mobbed with tourists during the day.

Also, go out early in the morning and walk around. At 6am, the Eiffel Tower is not lit up but is pretty in silhouette against the dawn sky - and there's almost nobody around.

>>For indoors, the Cognacq-Jay Museum, rue Elzévir in the Marais<,

But not on a Sunday when the Marais will be shoulder-to-shoulder people!!

Stu Dudley

I agree with seeing the Jacquemart-Andre. Also, when we visited the Cluny Museum, it was not at all crowded.

The Musée des Arts-et-Métiers had a nice Sunday brunch when we were there, and it was not crowded at all. But one has to like 18th & 19th century technology. The Carnavalet has never been crowded when we were there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...ith/4357634380

Head to the 14th, Montparnasse. We have stayed in this area twice and really like it because it feels much more like a neighborhood than a tourist area.

I know exactly what you mean, knwolf. We were in Paris from Sept. 15 - 19th. I am just getting to the Paris portion of my trip report, and my story will sound just like yours.

Hopefully, the advice given above will get you away from the crowds and let you enjoy Paris the way it is meant to be enjoyed.

Get up and out at sunrise. Enjoy what you can while the sun is coming up. It will make it easier to deal with the crowds.

Go to the left bank and explore some of the other neighborhoods. visit the Cluny Museum - I have never sen that crowded - and it's exquisite.

Naturally if you go to biggest tourist sights you will be mobs of tourists.

Gruezi!

Of course Paris is crowded, it is Fashion Week. Plus, you are staying near the Louve. The Place Vendome and the Ritz Hotel are nearby. This is where much of the fashion congnoscenti congregate. I am sure the Tuilleries are a mob scene.

Why don't you go over to the Viaduct des Arts or the Arab Institute or the Jardin des Plantes?


Thin Pippy

If you were thinking of visiting Pere-Lachaise, Sunday would be a good day to go. It is never crowded, although there are visitors roaming about. Then use the weekdays for sights in the city center when they should be less crowded.

There's also the Parc de la Villette.

I've been in Paris many times at very peak tourist seasons (eg July) and didn't really encounter what you say except right around the tourist attractions, so I'm a little surprised by what you say. If you are just referring to the immediate proximity of the Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur, Louvre, Champs-Elysees, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, then sure that is what you will find. But even in the central arrondisements, if you walk some blocks away from those, you aren't going to find masses of tourists like Times Square, so I just don't even understand how this could happen.

All you have to do is go into the outer arrondisements or walk away from the main arteries and tourist attractions, if that is what you really want to do, just walk around regular neighborhoods. If you go to any of the minor museums, even they won't have crowds, only the few big ones do. Now that might not be what people want to do with their time, though, going to minor museums.

I think you just have to take some responsibility for your own interest. Asking other people to direct you to hidden treasures isn't the way it works. YOu should go to areas because you have some knowledge and interest in them.

I'm not surprised by this report.

In addition to business and trade fairs, a HUGE number of today's travelers are affluent empty-nesters and seniors. They are the ones with the means to travel. They wait until the summer is over - that is, after Sept 23 -- because they want to be clear of heat and school kids on tour. A great many tour groups are timed to capture this demographic.

knwolf -- my sympathies. In the Louvre, head for the ceramics collection. I'm not kidding. It is fabulous. Palissy ware. Renaissance plates. You'll feel like you are on a desert island. I also loved the covered passages in the 2d arr., especially the Passage Sainte-Anne on rue Sainte-Anne. Maybe you could there and browse and chill.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5136674...n/photostream/

PS: The Passage Sainte-Anne is really close to the Louvre, in rue Sainte-Anne.

I have been here since Wednesday and found yesterday afternoon to be crazy crowded. The morning was normal. In fact, I went to the Orsay and Orangerie and neither were crowded, but by the time I finished lunch it seemed that everyone in Paris was out and about! And not just in tourist areas. I headed up to Canal St Martin and almost could not fight my way though Place de la Republic to get there. Coming back was the most insanely packed Metro ride of my life. I am betting that today the crowds will mostly be in the Marais and the museums (since it is the first Sunday of the month and the museums are free), so if you will plan to go somewhere else today you will probably find things more relaxed. By Monday things should be back to normal (though as others pointed out this is a very busy time of the year for Paris).

Viaduct des Arts. It's a pleasant walk. My parasol maker is there. www.parasolerie-heurtault.com. Gorgeous parasols and umbrellas. There are a lot of boutiques along that walk and also cafes. And of course above the street level is the garden area to stroll through.

Also, the Canal St. Martin. When I go to the Canal St. Martin, I walk from the rue Lafayette area, (metro: Louis Blanc) in the 10th, to get there which has been a peaceful walk. Happy Travels!

Correction:http://www.parasolerieheurtault.com. If you go there, but not on a Monday except by appointment, Michel will explain how he makes his custom umbrellas/parasols. It's quite interesting. Happy Travels!

Montmartre was the absolute center of the Nuit Blanche operations, so it was more than twice as crowded as usual -- I was there, too. :-)

Thank you all for your kind replies. I am happy to report that today was much less crowded and we have had a very pleasant morning and afternoon. It must have been a one-day oddity. As I said prior, I am used to busy areas but yesterday was simply insane. Thanks to fbc34 and kerouac for confirming what I experienced as atypical. I have responsibility for my own interests, and know what I am hoping to experience while here...I want to see the quiet cafes and experience good food, wine, and culture. It justed seemed to be almost out-of-reach yesterday. Today things have turned around and I am excited for my last few days in Paris!

Another reason to go the Musée Jacquemart-André is that there is a fantastic show of Fra Angelica paintings there..first large exhibit ever in Paris.

I just returned from three weeks in Paris and found that going to the museums in the early evenings was very easy. No lines at the Orangerie, Orsay,Pompideu (a great show of Edward Munch just opened there), or Branley and even the Louvre was pleasant after 5:00.
Found galleries there which were absolutely empty.

There's also very interesting photography exhibit outside the Branley on the Seine worth checking out.

zeppole: Please tell me more about the Louvre ceramics collection. That's a new one on me!

Guenmai, I have never known anyone to have a parasol maker. I looked at his website and the flowered parapluie pour femme calls to me. Any idea of prices? I had a gorgeous umbrella I bought in London which lasted for year (hard to do in windy Boston) and one of Michel's would be a great souvenir of our upcoming trip in March.

knwolf, I'm glad you finally found the Paris you were hoping to discover.

We just got back from 9 days in Paris, staying over two weekends. We enjoyed the unusually warm weather along with a gazillion other people ;;)

We use Notre Dame as our crowd barometer and on the two Saturdays it was shoulder to shoulder crowds on the Place du Parvis Notre Dame but during the week it was much less crowded. I'm glad you were staying in Paris for more than a couple of days so you could see parts of the city without the large crowds.

The parks we visited on weekends were also packed. Luxembourg on Saturday, Oct 1st and Buttes-Chaumont on Sunday, Oct 2nd had more people visible than grass but most were enjoying the parks, crowds and all. There was a brocante sponsored by the International Lions Club along rue Botzaris at Buttes-Chaumont which was an additional attraction that Sunday.

I liked to think that Paris was happy to have me back in my favorite city and blessed me with my idea of perfect weather our 9 days!! Deborah

How did you like the Montmartre? Who did you walk with?
I hope you're having a nice time - for all of us. PARIS!!!!

JeanneB,

The scope of the Louvre's ceramic collection is really beyond me to describe in a post (or in a book). My own interest starts with Palissy ware, and continues on into its outstanding collection of Italian Renaissance ceramics (Corridor de Faenza) -- but the Louvre also has beautiful and significant ceramics from the Minoan period, Greek classics, Ottomon Empire. Persian -- many housed in absolutely exquisite rooms, utterly devoid of tourists.

Google searches will turn up all kinds of information, and the Louvre website itself is a good resource

http://www.worldvisitguide.com/salle...000036662.html

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...vre_OA1357.jpg

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/pre...14&bmLocale=en

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...vre_MRR138.jpg

If you are a certain kind of person, you can't get enough of the Louvre's hidden corners, especially on rainy days or really hot days.

If the weather is good suggest you walk around the Jardin du Luxenbourg and/or the Jardin des Plantes. You could also take a walk along the Seine. To avoid crowds and queues try visiting monuments early in the day. Wander round the Marais quarter and the Place des Vosges. Visit Tour Montpanasse, very modern but higher than the Eiffel Tower. And, if you get tired of Paris, do a day trip to Chartres where the most beautiful cathedral in France is located.

I have been to Paris twice but have never gone into the Louvre with the exception of the Decorative Arts area and the Carousel below it. Nor have I gone to the Eiffel Tower altho I've seen it from a distance. I prefer to avoid the crowds whenever possible.

I am proud to admit that did manage to go to all the major chocolatiers in the 5th & 6th Arron. on my last trip.

AMG_Cape_Cod
"Guenmai, I have never known anyone to have a parasol maker. I looked at his website and the flowered parapluie pour femme calls to me. Any idea of prices? I had a gorgeous umbrella I bought in London which lasted for year (hard to do in windy Boston) and one of Michel's would be a great souvenir of our upcoming trip in March."

Umbrellas/parasols start at 300 Euros off the rack. However, I picked the fabric (silk) and picked all the parts to my parasol. I was quite technical and picky as I knew exactly what I wanted. It had to be custom made which took 2 months or so and then it was Federal Expressed to me.

For something really special figure on 400 euros as a starting price. They go well into the 1,000-plus mark depending on what one wants. There are gorgeous antique, silver handles from as far back as the 1800s and then there are more modern handles. It's a incredibly creative process to create one and Michel is the master of that. Beyond amazing. Happy Travels!