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Paris - for the 6th time - need new ideas!

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Old Mar 17th, 2011, 02:46 PM
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Piccolina -- I lived outside Paris in Provins [a 13th-century ex-market town] in the mid-'90s -- you can easily get there by taking one of the commuter trains from the Gare de l'Est. (It used to be, anyway, that you had to be careful about return trips, though, as the last train to leave Provins got into Paris around 8:15 pm!) Provins is a lovely little town that holds a "fête médiévale" every May or June which is a lot of fun. There are plenty of sights to see and pretty good restaurants, and the Roseraie [rose garden; the Tudor rose -- as in the Wars of the Roses -- is said to have come from Provins] is gorgeous -- although now you have to PAY to go in, which really stinks.
http://provins.net/index.php/english-version.html
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Old Mar 17th, 2011, 03:08 PM
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The Musee Marmottan Monet: somebody mentioned it, but it is the BEST Monet museum in Paris. >>

lol - that would be me.

i agree that it's very good, but we had the luck to see it during the special monet exhibition season. i don't know how much is on display there now, but they had a lot then.

i should think that it is still very worthwhile going.
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Old Mar 18th, 2011, 07:37 AM
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I second the Musée Carnavalet. It is totally Paris history and it is most excellent. Yes, some of the best things in life ARE free!

Bonne chance et bonne continuation!
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Old Mar 18th, 2011, 08:00 AM
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I love how this thread just lives on with new ideas popping up everyday! I think I will need a 7th, 8th and 9th trip to do all these things. Merci beaucoup!

JeffaimeParis - do you mean the art nouveau tea room is INSIDE Musee Carnavalet? Also, do you mean there's a cafe across from St. Sulpice?

I love anything to do with tea/cafe culture - will need to visit the tea room in laduree and of course, my perennial favorite, Mariage Freres. Went to Mariage Freres' tea house in Tokyo and loved it! If there are more suggestions on tea/cafe related activities, please send them my way!!

PS: already did the standard tourist stuff before - Les deux magots, cafe de flore, etc - i want a cafe WITHOUT tourist (well except for moi).
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Old Mar 18th, 2011, 08:12 AM
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The Marmottan has a large Monet collection, even without the special exhibit.

If you want a cafe without tourists, perhaps combine visit to Marmottan with one in that area. There are mostly locals. I had dinner at a nice fish place, Rotonde de la Muette, near Muette metro. Also in the 16th are some buildings designed by Guimard, who did the famous Art Deco Metro entrances. Rue Mozart, in that area, also has an award winning chocolate maker
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Old Mar 18th, 2011, 08:15 AM
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Since you mentioned tea, consider "A Priori The", located in the Vivienne Galerie (since you may do the passages). Good food, tea list.
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Old Mar 18th, 2011, 10:40 AM
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when we had finished at the Marmottan, we walked back towards the metro station, and found a whole street of cafes, tea-shops, bakeries, patisseries, etc. etc, all full of happy locals.

there was also a rather nice looking bistro on the other side of the road.

sadly we were too early for the bistro [and still full from our lunch] but our tea was nice.
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Old Mar 18th, 2011, 01:22 PM
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Overcast today at Moret sur Loing but still a pleasant easy outing from Paris and the walk from the station (Moret Veneux les Sablons - 16,80 euros return from Gare de Lyon) will no doubt look a lot better in a month or so. Clemenceau's house closed at the moment.
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Old Mar 20th, 2011, 02:17 PM
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My girlfriend and her daughter went to Josephine Bonaparte's house which is at the end of a metro line...not sure which one. But she loved it. I'm putting it on my list when I go to Paris in mid-Apri. After re-discovering Paris 5 years ago, I've been 8 times and I love discovering new things to do. I did find the fashion show at the Galeries Lafayette boring...they did Ralph Lauren spring show when I did it 2 years ago. We're also thinking of going to the Matisse museum outside of Paris for a day trip. If you do go to Giverny...I loved it...make sure you have time to also go to the American Museum down the road. My girlfirends liked that even better! Have a break in the courtyard of the Petit Palais..beautiful and don't forget the gardens of the Palais Royale...just lovely on spring day. The Hotel de Ville always has some photography exhibit that is free, so check it out too. The best time to go to the Louvre is in the evening...a totally different experience than going during the day. Have you been to Musee Decoratifs? Fabulous!
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Old Mar 25th, 2011, 06:25 PM
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I don't think anyone has mentioned this but we enjoyed taking the Metro to La Defense and visiting La Grande Arche de La Defense. We strolled through the square past the modern architecture and took the elevator to the top. The elevator trip to the top was a thrill ride.
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Old Mar 25th, 2011, 07:40 PM
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I actually did the day trip to giverney and on the way back I wished I had jumped out as I saw wonderful towns on canals but my class mate was not keen so get on a train and look around
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Old Mar 28th, 2011, 09:00 AM
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Bookmarking...but has anyone done the Paris Charms & Secrets bike tour? Looks really interesting-- has anyone gone in the evening? Thinking of suprising hubby for a little birthday treat....
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Old Mar 28th, 2011, 05:01 PM
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jonesie - i'm going to sign up for the charms & secrets bike tour but i won't be doing it until early may. If you're surprising your hubby after that, I will report back on how it is.
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Old Mar 28th, 2011, 06:12 PM
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If the "Josephine Bonaparte's house" that djsteach mentions is the Chateau de Malmaison in Rueil-Malmaison, I think it definitely merits a visit.

http://www.musees-nationaux-napoleon...24833_u1l2.htm

There are other places to visit in Rueil-Malmaison as well, such as the church where Josephine is buried.

Rueil-Malmaison is not on the metro, though; it is on the RER (line A1), and it is not at the end of that line.
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Old Mar 29th, 2011, 12:06 PM
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What a wonderful thread!
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Old Feb 28th, 2012, 12:32 PM
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Piccolina - thanks for the heads up - I had missed this in my research! I trust you had a great trip.
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Old Feb 28th, 2012, 12:44 PM
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A nice day trip would also be Auvers-sur-Oise, where Van Gogh painted and died. Small village, nice scenery, and they have setup outdoor stops along walk where they have put up colour copies of paintings of the location you are looking at, so you can compare the two. Also building where he lived (lunch), as well as his and Theo's grave. There is a large museum with rotating exhibits that we did not visit. We went in winter, so less activities.
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Old Feb 28th, 2012, 12:47 PM
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Science Museum

http://www.cite-sciences.fr/en/cite-des-sciences
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Old Feb 28th, 2012, 01:04 PM
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As Homer would say...mmm, chocolattttt

http://www.salonduchocolat.fr/accueil.aspx
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Old Dec 4th, 2014, 01:05 PM
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Bookmarking... Seems like it has a few things *not* on the top 100 post.
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