Paris At Night
 

Hello,
Looking for a few "fresh ideas" for night time in Paris. No, we don't plan every moment, but I like to hear other people's ideas that may be things we haven't done or thought of yet! We have done a "Paris by Night" tour, and have decided we aren't interested in the cabaret shows, and although we enjoy food (who doesn't?) we really aren't "foodies". Here is what I have so far, I look forward to your suggestions!

1) cruise down the Seine (we skip the dinner cruises and jump on the Batobus to watch the sunset) 2) Louvre & d'Orsay on their respective late night openings 3) Walk, walk, walk then walk some more 4) find a neat little place for coffee 5) concert at St. Chapelle . . . . .

How about going to listen to some jazz? Or going to the opera? I would suggest looking in Time Out when you arrive to see what's going on.

This website lists what's "on" each month.

http://www.paris.org/Calendar/

Get a copy of the Routard Paris - lots of dining gems in off-the-tourist-track neighborhoods with wonderful seeing, doing, exploring all around.

Shakespeare & Co - open until midnight!!

Hang out on the parvis in front of Notre Dame (and it's beautiful all lit up at night).

Will you walk, walk, walk along the quais? And the tips of the islands? Very romantic & cozy at night. :)

Hello Dahlings.
I'm traveling with my friend and comapnion to Spain and then to Paris, however he would have to get back to work sooner than I'm and I'll be by myself for a 5days.:-( Well I decided it's better than not at all. This will be my first trip to Paris..I'll be pretty busy during the day but how about evenings...Anything for an attractive middle age woman with open mind(no I'm NOT looking for pick up a guys, so NO to bars and disco)-concerts,walking, cafe, funky performance and etc where I would feel comfortable?

A boat trip is perfect. Haven't done the dinner cruise, but haven't heard anything good about them, either. We have taken the opportunity to go to Sacre Cour at night. Perhaps less crowded (some of the tours are gone). Nice view. And fewer painters pestering you (maybe that is a negative). Downside: lots of kids on the steps drinking (but they didn't bother us), food on the square is probably overpriced and underwhelming, and the nearest Metro stop below closes early (so you have to walk to the Pigalle stop, I think). One thing we didn't do, but meant to, was simply rent a cab and drive down the Champs, etc. Unlike the Uk, though, we found the cabs in Paris to be about as unappealing as those in the US.

I loved the bicycle tour of downtown Paris at night with Mike?s Bike Tours. http://www.mikesbiketoursparis.com/

The very best part was riding on the inner courts of the Louvre Museum while a man was playing classical flute.

The guide brings along wine and the tour ends with a boat ride and a chance to get to know the people you have been riding with.

Keith

I can't think of any kind of concert where you wouldn't be comfortable (okay maybe some young rock star at a large arena or club). Concerts are pretty easy to go to and there are so many good ones in Paris from very small venues (churches, etc) to the major concert halls and venues (like Opera Garnier, Theatre des Chatelet, Theatre des Champs Elysees, Salle Gaveau, etc.).

You can just look in Pariscope or an entertainment guide fo all the listings and go where appeals. Also, you can spend hours looking at all the events and concerts at www.paris-touristoffice.com by date.

The best night experience that we had was sitting outside of a cafe on the corner of blvd St Michael (St Germain) and watched all the action that went on. Seems like a place that local kids hang around or just waiting for their friends...Any way, the most surprising part was the roller-blade run. At around 12 midnight, all of sudden there were thousands and thousands of Parisians on roller-blades zooming pass, it was fanastic! The police were escorting the crowd of roller-bladers, in cars, bikes and some were even in roller-blades!
Apparently, it happens every Friday, different location thorough Paris.
Strolling down the Champs Elysee was fun also, the crowd was incredible! But the worst part is trying to get a taxi back to our hotel (Latin Quarter)...at 2:30 AM everyone was trying to get a taxi, it was crazy. So be prepared to be stuck for hours..we waited more than 1 1/2 hour for a taxi, you see many many taxis zooming pass you but they were all full. I think we must've walked around to 5 different taxi lines, trying to find the shortest one to get into...Don't miss the Champs Elysee though. Or if you're lucky (if your hotel is on the night bus route), then catching the bus back would be much better.

Mike's Bikes also does a nighttime tour on Segways - really a blast!! If you do take a boat cruise, try to sit up front away from the engines. they totally drown out the commentary. Grab a bottle of wine, some snacks and hang out at the trocadero to watch the eiffel tower sparkle at night -

My last 2 trips to Paris ended with sitting on the Pont Neuf, watching the lights of the city, and reflecting on the trip.

Some other things I enjoyed doing at night are the Eiffel Tower, sitting in a cafe with a glass of wine watching people pass by, and the Seine boat cruise (without dinner).