Amsel-you are so right about new restaurants in the 11th. A very up and coming place. Hungry for Paris is my new favorite book source for eating. Check out the author's site with on-going reviews of new places as he reviews them. Nice to have a quality critic giving on-going reviews since restaurant guide books can tend to grow kind of stale quickly. The author, Alexander Lobrano, was the food writer for many years in Paris for Gourmet Magazine:

http://hungryforparis.squarespace.com/

Also, for the OP, having a drink at Georges at the top of the Pompidou is fun although I prefer the food across the street at L'Hangar

L'Hangar: http://tinyurl.com/4du9xpr

Georges: http://tinyurl.com/2d7jwol

I went to Paris a dozen times before I "discovered" the Musee Jacquemart-Andre which is now one of my favorite museums in all the world.

There are so many concert options in local churches. The music varies in quality, but the settings are charming and the audiences usually generous-hearted.

Have you been to a performance in one of the grand venues such as the Opera Garnier?

Have you taken any walking tours?

Simply walking, walking, walking with cafe breaks -- day and night. Some of the the night-time illuminations are spectacular.

Not sure when you are going but sitting in parks, weather permitting,is a treat.

Bon voyage.

jpie, you're right, Lebrano is a treat. What I particularly like is that he describes not only the cuisine but also the ambiance. You get a sense of what the place is going to feel like before you walk in the door. (He also wrote parts of the Time Out Paris food guide, which is where we stumbled across the recommendation for Au Vieux Chêne a few years ago.)

My of my long term to do's, since I like food, is to do a "champions tour". Every year, for example, the maker of the best baguette is chosen. I'd like to try out him and the othertop 5. Macarons, chocolate shops,etc..

You can now rent bikes at the Palace of Versailles. My cousin and I did that this past November and rode around the garden grounds. Having been there 3 times previously I was finally able to get to the waaaay back corner by going through her Petite Trianon where I had never been before (you have to pay to get in there and no bikes are allowed in that area). There is a whole village of cottages back there I didn't even know about. Riding a bike over the cobble stones past a pasture of sheep in the rain turned out to be my favorite thing that whole trip!

There are also a lot of smaller museums that are free with the Paris Museum Pass (the one through the official Paris tourism site) that are a little more off the beaten path from the main touristy ones.

There is a perfume museum. The musuem takes about 10 mins to walk through but then you can go downstairs and mix and match oils to make your own custom perfume. You can also buy name brand smells without the name at a pretty good price.

There are a ton of small botique shops on the Ile St-Louis (island across from Notre Dame) that are fun to explore.

If you are looking for a more home cooked authentic meal at a very decent price, Chartier is a good place to check out. Be prepared though it's crazy busy (expect to wait in line), the menu is only in French and the waiters do not want to wait around long for you to order but the food was excellent and once we had our food they had no problem letting us sit and relax to finish off our bottle of wine long after we were done eating.

Rue Cler right near the Ecole Militaire Metro stop is supposed to be a market during the day (only ever made it there at night) and at night is lined with restaurants and cafes perfect for sitting and people watching. Despite the 7th's sleepy night time atmosphere that seemed pretty packed even for a cold night in November.

If you find any good spots please come back and post them. I am now also tired of the typical tourist spots (...I can successfully navigate all areas of the Louvre without needing a map) and am looking for more off the beaten path things to check out for my next trip.

We just spent 6 weeks in Paris - also our 6th visit there. Mostly we cooked (rented an apartment) and ate out! Here's a link to a list of restaurants we enjoyed

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nt-roundup.cfm

We also found the Canal area interesting - hadn't been there before. And second L'Orangerie visit - also a first time for us.

Nissim de Camondo museum
Cernuschi Museum - collection of asian art
Guided tour of Hotel de Ville
visit of Petit Palais (art museum)
Sevres (collections of ceramic and porcelain)
Guimet Museum (the largest museum of Oriental art in Europe)
Panteon
Barbizon

I want to be the third person to recommend St Denis. I actually enjoyed the cathedral more than Notre Dame. If you like French history, this is a super place to see (Merovingian tombs), and the overall ambiance is one of illumination rather than brute strength (as in Notre Dame).

For those who have seen all the major sites, this is a gem that should not be missed.

SS

Thank you all for your fabulous ideas! It sounds like 4 days on my own is not enough to check out all these suggestions. I now have a tough task of narrowing down my list ;)

Jpie - thank you for introducing me to the "hungry for paris" blog. it's a fantastic read!

Re: St. Denis - am I confusing it with another area of Paris that i thought was really dangerous and should be avoided?

Re: The sewer tour - is it a guided tour? The thought of a woman walking by myself in an unguided tour under ground is a bit unnerving :)

Many thanks for everyone's contributions. What would I do without this forum! I'll be sure to report back with any new finds/haunts that I come across.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-response.cfm

cut and paste the above link for the fashion show at galleries lafayette - it is a FUN experience

Rodin Museum

or

take a day trip to Blois

Bookmarking

Tweedy I love that part of Versaille too. It's so unexpected to see that little working village.

Piccolina, St-Denis is indeed a fascinating church, generally described as the birthplace of Gothic architecture in France. You need not worry about your safety in that area.

wow, i hope paris is still best the 6th time around.

The basilica in St-Denis is about a block or two from the Metro in (what seemed to us) to be a very safe area -- very open. I would be surprised if it were unsafe in the middle of the day. We were there in 2009, however, so possibly things have changed.

SS

bookmarking

Have you ever been to the Belleville Les Portes Ouvertes - over 100 local artists open their studios to the public. We've been there twice, and it is quite a fun day...if you like that sort of thing.

This year it is May 27-30: http://www.ateliers-artistes-belleville.org/

SS

Picco: We did the sewer last year. There was a tourguide, but we didn't stay with him. I'm thinking it was primarily French, but maybe it depends on the group. You can't go very far or get lost. There are some interesting exhibits and displays. However, IMHO it is over-rated. It is on the Paris Museum Pass, so if you have it, go for it. Otherwise, not top on my list.

Bitter makes some good points about the sewers. We did it our second trip to Paris, and it was fairly interesting (plus we had the museum card). Not something that would be on my A list...but if you're looking for something different and your maxed out on the usual sights, you might at least consider it.

I thought the historical displays were more interesting than the actual sewers themselves.

SS