Paris in Feb.
 

My husband and I are going to be in Paris for a week in early Feb. We are staying in the 15th arrondissement - not the best area but it is a timeshare and we will be close to the metro. My brother and sister-in-law are joining us for a weekend from their home in Weisbaden, Germany. Looking for some recommendations on the following:
1. how to meet up - good meeting place
2. nice dinner out Sat nite for 4 but one that won't bankrupt us.
Also, any suggestions for daytrips. We'd like to go to a winery but all of the guidebooks we see only talk about Versailles or Disney. Would also welcome suggestions for touring the city based on that time of year. Will outdoor flea markets be open? Where are some of the best food markets?
thanks, leah

Meet in the middle of Pont Neuf, like in the Bourne Identity.

I stayed in the 15th once and liked it and know a few places, but it would be better if you were really more specific on several points. The 15th arr. is quite large, so if you want to meet up or dine near your timeshare, you'll have to say what metro stop it is near. No point in recommending a cafe/bar near Convention if you are up near place Charles Michel or even Dupleix. Also, it could be closer to go to dinner in the 7th or even St Germain than crossing and going to a different part of the 15th, depending on your location.

As for daytrips, maybe a better guidebook would be a good idea, if the only ones in yours are those two. Frommers usually have good day trip recommendations. If you want to splurge, you can buy Earl Steinbicker's Day Trips in France which is excellent and will give you all kinds of ideas and directions.

I don't think a winery tour in February is maybe the best idea -- I don't know of any wineries good for a day trip from Paris anyway. Beaune would be the best for that (perhaps, I'm not winery expert, I just like to drink it), and even that trip takes at least 3+ hours one way by train, I think.

Christina - looks like we will be between Convention and Porte de Versailles metro stops.

Christina must have a different definition of "splurge" than I - The Steinbicker book is about $17.

A daytrip by train to Reims is about 90 minutes and you could visit the champagne cellars and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame where most of the French kings were crowned.

You can meet in the Montparnasse station...there is an important place at the foot of the Montparnasse Tower..and then when you are there, you can go in Rue de lA Gaité, where you will find a lot of restaurants and cafes..If you like Indian food, I can advice you on the restaurant Hymalaya, rue de la Gaité!! Have a good trip !

Depending on how certain your brother and sister-in-law's time of arrival is, you might want to meet them at your time share. It would be easier to give you advice if you could tell us how and when they will arrive in Paris.
For a nice dinner out on Saturday night, I highly recommend La Fontaine de Mars in the 7th (129, rue St. Dominique). It is a delightful restaurant with pleasant service and good food and will not break the bank. Everytime we have eaten there, all of the people in the restaurant seem to be having a wonderful time! After dinner, you can watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle with thousands of lights as it does every hour on the hour for about 10 minutes after dusk. Make reservations at Fontaine de Mars(01-47-05-46-44).
I agree that wineries in Feb. near Paris will be a bit difficult. Reims is a better idea. A trip to Chartres to see the cathedral is an easy one- hour train ride from Gare Montparnasse.
Do a search on this web site for outdoor food markets. We like the market at rue Buci.

I might have have a different definition of splurge, because I think a lot of folks might consider spending $17 on a special interest book for 1-2 daytrips to be a splurge--especially when you are only there a week and might not do more than one. I'm not cheap with books, but I probably wouldn't even do that myself, unless I planned on taking several. Nowadays, you can find most any info you need online for the most common day trips from Paris (which have been discussed a lot in some other threads, try a search -- Rouen, Chartres, Chantilly, Fontainebleau, Reims, etc. In February, I'd probably lean towards Rouen or Reims or Chartres.

As for a good meetup place, I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are they coming by car or train? If by train, I'd just meet them at their arrival train station--trains are almost always on time. If they have a place to stay and you just want a nice place to meet near your timeshare, I do like the cafe/bistro Dupont at the corner of rue de la Convention and Vaugirard (Convention metro is right at that corner, also). The specific address is 198 rue de la Convention.

For dinner out, you can go most anywhere, of course, but I think Left Bank might be most convenient. Those restaurant suggestions in the 7th are certainly good. A couple good restaurants I know in the 15th would be closer and you can consider them, if you want (you might just find a good restaurant near your place, also).

Je The Me is a cute restaurant with traditional food (around 30 euro prix fixe) at 4, rue d'Alleray not too far from Convention metro. YOu can see the restaurant and get an idea at www.je-taime.com

One of my favorite typical French bistros is Bistro Champetre near place Charles Michels in the 15th arr (near that same metro stop). You can get complete prix fixe dinner, including wine and dessert, for only 31 euro there. They do have a few tables in the front with a glass window where you can see the Eiffel Tower twinkling (I had one of those tables once and loved it), but you may not be able to get one (it's really the folks on one side of the table who get the best view). It's a great, warm, pleasant restaurant anyway with a nice ambience.

Leah, if you're staying in the 15th, I would highly recommend a meal at Restaurant Charles-Victor. It's near the border of the 14th & 15th, very close to the Alesia metro stop. It's extraordinarily good and quite fairly priced. We always make it a dining stop when we're there, even though we stay in an apartment we own on the opposite side of the city.

Leah, although it is a short Metro ride away, I highly recommend this special restaurant -- it is very beautiful, romantic, and in an enjoyable area near Blvd St-Germain/Odeon area.

The prices are very reasonable, and the service is wonderful. They speak some English, and are very helpful and accommodating.

The restaurant is sunken down below street level. In warmer weather, the outside terrace, below street level, is a special garden spot, with waterfalls and lush plant. Inside is very beautiful with lit candles and golden/creamy colors.

L'Attrape-C?ur
9, rue Christine (6e)
(near blvd St-Germain)

Metro: Odéon or St-Michel


This is one of my favorite "special/romantic" restaurants in Paris. It's not in any guidebooks, either. Definitely phone and get a reservation.

Bon appetit!

Rick in Maryland

The name of the restuarant got garbled... it is L'Attrape Coeur

(= heart-catcher, heart-stopper, probably becaus it is such a beautiful little place.)

As far as street markets go, Rue de Buci is very nice, as is Rue de Bac, but kind of touristy (all the tourist guides send people there).

If you'd like to see more of a real market street, with more of a seafood theme, try the market on rue Poncelet, just off Av. des Ternes (Metro: Ternes) located off Avenue des Ternes, near intersection of Blvd de Wagram (about 4 blocks behind Arc-de-Triomphe_
There are definitely no tourists there! But the market people are very nice and will let you take pictures of all the wonderful stuff they are selling. It's like you've wandered into a small village somewhere in France. Hard to imagine you are in Paris. Wander back to the Place de Ternes afterward for some refreshment in one of the many cafes.

Rick in Maryland

Flea markets will be open, including the huge, permanent one at Porte de Clignancourt (Saturday, Sunday and Monday, although many stands are closed on Monday) and the temporary one at Porte de Vanves (weekends only).