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!