Paris - for one night, and one night only
May 13th, 2010, 04:15 AM
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Paris - for one night, and one night only
There are 5 of us girlfriends visiting Paris for 2 days/1 night. We live 4.5 hours away, so we can always go back with our families. But, this is a girls only trip. We range from 27-32 in age.
We will only be there one night so I am trying to plan the perfect evening. 4 of the girls haven't been to Paris yet, so I am very excited to show them this beautiful city!
BUT, all of my visits have been with my husband and 3 small children, so our nights included dinner on the go and an early night back at the hotel.
Any tips on the perfect evening for us?
We are staying at the Hotel Aiglon in the Montparnasse district. One of my friends is pregnant so though we would like to go out for dinner/drinks/and dancing, we will not be staying out till the wee hours of the morning.
Question:
Would anyone recommend dinner and drinks at the Le Ciel restaurant on top of the Montparnasse Tower? Dinner and drinks while watching the lights of the city sounds pretty awesome to me, but I have come across mixed reviews on the food and decor.
Any fun nightclubs in that area that is more appropriate for our age??
Any tips will be greatly appreciated!!
We will only be there one night so I am trying to plan the perfect evening. 4 of the girls haven't been to Paris yet, so I am very excited to show them this beautiful city!
BUT, all of my visits have been with my husband and 3 small children, so our nights included dinner on the go and an early night back at the hotel.
Any tips on the perfect evening for us?
We are staying at the Hotel Aiglon in the Montparnasse district. One of my friends is pregnant so though we would like to go out for dinner/drinks/and dancing, we will not be staying out till the wee hours of the morning.
Question:
Would anyone recommend dinner and drinks at the Le Ciel restaurant on top of the Montparnasse Tower? Dinner and drinks while watching the lights of the city sounds pretty awesome to me, but I have come across mixed reviews on the food and decor.
Any fun nightclubs in that area that is more appropriate for our age??
Any tips will be greatly appreciated!!
May 13th, 2010, 05:45 AM
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If you want a view, restaurant Georges on top of the Centre Pompidou is nice too. It's a modern restaurant, nice atmosphere, good food. If you need a taxi at night with 5 of you, make sure you order one ahead. It can be difficult to find two taxis at night in Paris.
May 13th, 2010, 06:11 AM
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As your hotel the Aiglon is near the metro Raspail I would start off by saving your energy and take the metro (or a bus) to the Tour Montparnasse for a zippy ride up to the top for the view and then maybe a drink at Le Ciel.
With the awesome view of the entire city over with I would go to the taxi rank and zoom over to Avalon's suggestion for dinner on Quai Branly (having reserved a table).
After dinner walk up to the Eiffel Tower where you climb aboard a boat for an evening cruise which will give the girls wonderful floodlit sights of Notre Dame etc. along the way.
Back at Port de la Bourdennais either cross over the bridge and take a walk up to the Trocadero for a magic view of the Eiffel Tower sparkling or if the pregnant lady is tiring, just stay in the area. There are taxis right at the tower so easy to wend your way home after a lovely evening.
You could do this all in reverse as well, starting at the Trocadero, then dinner, then the cruise.....But use taxis to get you different parts of the city to save energy!
With the awesome view of the entire city over with I would go to the taxi rank and zoom over to Avalon's suggestion for dinner on Quai Branly (having reserved a table).
After dinner walk up to the Eiffel Tower where you climb aboard a boat for an evening cruise which will give the girls wonderful floodlit sights of Notre Dame etc. along the way.
Back at Port de la Bourdennais either cross over the bridge and take a walk up to the Trocadero for a magic view of the Eiffel Tower sparkling or if the pregnant lady is tiring, just stay in the area. There are taxis right at the tower so easy to wend your way home after a lovely evening.
You could do this all in reverse as well, starting at the Trocadero, then dinner, then the cruise.....But use taxis to get you different parts of the city to save energy!
May 13th, 2010, 06:18 AM
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Le Ciel is expensive, but it sure is a terrific view, so sounds like a nice experience. I have no idea what the food is like. I stay in that neighborhood a lot and there are lots of cafes/bars/clubs. Some of them skew younger than you, though. There is a club at the base of the tower (Mix Club) which is fairly popular but it's the big thing with screens, lightshows, DJs, and probably selection at the door, not sure if that is really what you are into, and it may be a little young for you, anyway. and I believe the club L'Enfer is now something else and is a gay club (also around the tower).
There is a jazz club around there (Petit Journal Montparnasse), and a Cuban place (Cubana cafe) that has some live music, also, on a street going north near Vavin metro (rue Vavin) but not always dancing. If you like salsa and Latin music, I'd suggest Pachanga which is over near Gaite metro. There is a "disco" in the basement of La Coupole, also, which is perhaps more what you had in mind and is just around the corner more or less. They have different kinds of music on different nights, so you might check out what is there if you want to go.
There is a jazz club around there (Petit Journal Montparnasse), and a Cuban place (Cubana cafe) that has some live music, also, on a street going north near Vavin metro (rue Vavin) but not always dancing. If you like salsa and Latin music, I'd suggest Pachanga which is over near Gaite metro. There is a "disco" in the basement of La Coupole, also, which is perhaps more what you had in mind and is just around the corner more or less. They have different kinds of music on different nights, so you might check out what is there if you want to go.
May 13th, 2010, 12:19 PM
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Hi BB,
http://www.lesombres-restaurant.com/ is not cheap. I think that it is more expensive than Le Ciel.
Have you considered lunch at http://www.taillevent.com/English/ac...Taillevent.htm for a mere 80E pp?
http://www.lesombres-restaurant.com/ is not cheap. I think that it is more expensive than Le Ciel.
Have you considered lunch at http://www.taillevent.com/English/ac...Taillevent.htm for a mere 80E pp?
May 14th, 2010, 04:10 AM
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BB - reading Christina's reply and suggestion of Pachanga over near Gaite metro I remembered reading a strange story that happened to a gentleman around there. The extract is from 'Virtual Tourist' http://tinyurl.com/2cwnebz - Just for fun here it is:
I sometimes have a tendency to get myself into weird situations.
One night on my first trip to Paris, well past midnight after "more than a few" drinks I was wandering alone from a Montparnasse cafe back to my hotel, when I accidentally took a wrong turn.
I ended up on this very bizarre street in the Montparnasse theater district: Rue de la Gaite.
It is populated with theaters, bistros, and a few strange little clubs/cabarets that are adult-oriented.
Suddenly out of the dark & from nowhere a thin, well-dressed Parisian man appeared and stepped in stride with me, speaking softly in french. Then without a word he gently pulled me by the arm into one of the clubs. In one of those spooky moments of surrender, without resistance or protest I let him guide me inside to a table.
- I'm not even sure the club he pulled me into was on Gaite
... it could have been one of the quieter "swing" joints on nearby Edgar Quinet
Looking around I noticed that other than myself, the place was virtually empty. A glass of red wine appeared on my table a few seconds later.
Women of all nationalities, 1-at-a-time, (some actually somewhat attractive) emerged from behind a curtain on a stage, sat down at my table & asked me if I wanted to sleep with them. (price was not mentioned)
Welcome to a misogynist hell of "Pimps Up... Hoes Down" - dans le modèle de Paris.
Saying "No" did not offend any of them, they would just smile, get up & leave, only to be immediately replaced by someone else.
This strange little comedy continued for 10 minutes:
- Girl # 7: "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi monsieur?" ...
or some equivalent ... hey ... I was hammered and a little preoccupied - I don't remember ...
- me.. "Non, merci madame."
- Girl # 7 "Merci monsieur...Au revoir"
next girl (#8)... rinse&repeat....
Eventually I finished my wine (there was no bill brought to the table... odd for a hustle-joint like this), got my bearings for the door, rose, stepped out of the club to the dark and empty Rue de la Gaite, and casually strolled back to my hotel.
The whole experience was both strange and funny, almost like a dream or a scene out of a late-nite "b" movie.
I sometimes have a tendency to get myself into weird situations.
One night on my first trip to Paris, well past midnight after "more than a few" drinks I was wandering alone from a Montparnasse cafe back to my hotel, when I accidentally took a wrong turn.
I ended up on this very bizarre street in the Montparnasse theater district: Rue de la Gaite.
It is populated with theaters, bistros, and a few strange little clubs/cabarets that are adult-oriented.
Suddenly out of the dark & from nowhere a thin, well-dressed Parisian man appeared and stepped in stride with me, speaking softly in french. Then without a word he gently pulled me by the arm into one of the clubs. In one of those spooky moments of surrender, without resistance or protest I let him guide me inside to a table.
- I'm not even sure the club he pulled me into was on Gaite
... it could have been one of the quieter "swing" joints on nearby Edgar Quinet
Looking around I noticed that other than myself, the place was virtually empty. A glass of red wine appeared on my table a few seconds later.
Women of all nationalities, 1-at-a-time, (some actually somewhat attractive) emerged from behind a curtain on a stage, sat down at my table & asked me if I wanted to sleep with them. (price was not mentioned)
Welcome to a misogynist hell of "Pimps Up... Hoes Down" - dans le modèle de Paris.
Saying "No" did not offend any of them, they would just smile, get up & leave, only to be immediately replaced by someone else.
This strange little comedy continued for 10 minutes:
- Girl # 7: "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi monsieur?" ...
or some equivalent ... hey ... I was hammered and a little preoccupied - I don't remember ...
- me.. "Non, merci madame."
- Girl # 7 "Merci monsieur...Au revoir"
next girl (#8)... rinse&repeat....
Eventually I finished my wine (there was no bill brought to the table... odd for a hustle-joint like this), got my bearings for the door, rose, stepped out of the club to the dark and empty Rue de la Gaite, and casually strolled back to my hotel.
The whole experience was both strange and funny, almost like a dream or a scene out of a late-nite "b" movie.
May 14th, 2010, 06:50 AM
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Well, it is strange or fiction, who knows, but I didn't mention the fact that there are some sex clubs in the area as I didn't think they'd be dumb enough to go in them. Either they are obvious, or they are so discreet (not visible from the street with no names) that you wouldn't go in them for no reason unless you know they are there and are seeking them out. There is one on bd Quinet not far from the tower, and one on rue Vavin near bd Montparnasse, for example.
May 16th, 2010, 12:29 AM
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Le Ciel is well worth the price for a coffee and dessert as you linger . The maitr'd is always very nice moving groups to tables closer to the window when they become available..at least he has been with us on our few visits at night.
