Paris neighborhoods
 

Can anyone suggest interesting neighborhoods too visit in Paris that
are somewhat beyond the center of the city?

It's hard to narrow down, songhees, because I think there are interesting things to be found in a number of off-the beaten-track places.

Try Montparnasse, walking around south of boulevard Montparnasse. There are some interesting houses in the side streets just off Métro Pernety.

Or go to the Parc de Butte Chaumont, then walk around from there. There are some interesting houses, and the church of Saint-Serge, an old Russian church -- in the woods, in Paris!

The 13th is interesting, around the rue Butte-aux-Cailles.

Take a walk along the Promenade Plantée in the 12th. Underneath the Promenade is the Viaduc des Arts, a former railway viaduct, now artists' studios and shops.

That should get you started.

I forgot to mention that many of the interesting houses around Pernety are artists' studios.

Most of the largest parks of the city are in the outer arrondissements and make a good place to either begin or end your exploration (perhaps with a picnic) -- Parc de la Villette and the Buttes Chaumont in the 19th, Parc André Citroën and Parc Georges Brassens in the 15th, Parc Montsouris in the 14th, Parc de Belleville in the 20th, etc...

songhees, here you are:
http://www.parisinconnu.com/index.htm
Do not miss the section on les passages couverts.

btw, I like the 9eme, Faubourg Montmartre (not Montmartre, whis is the 18th), Rue Cadet and Rue du Faubourg Montmartre neighbourhood.

From Cadet to St Eustache

Leave Metro Cadet - it still has its Guimard decor - follow Rue Cadet - see the shops and the stalls - to Rue du Faubourg Montmartre.
A la Mere de famille is a quite unique sweet shop, offering a wide range of chocolat and sweets in lovely old fashioned boxes.
Following Rue du Faubourg Montmartre in direction les Grands Boulevards you will see (if you look for it) the entrance to Passage Verdeau.

Enter it and follow Passage Verdeau. Passage Verdeau was said to be straitforward, other passages offered more luxury. These Passages were the predecessors of the famous department stores as Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps, also to be found in the ninth. Passage Verdeau offers collector´s items and a bookstore.

At its end, you have to cross Rue de la Grange Bateliere to enter Passage Jouffroy.
Rue de la Grange Bateliere is named after a creek, running nowadays under the road in direction Opera Garnier - feeding the lake under it. Here: http://www.insecula.com/salle/MS02157.html
Passage Jouffroy has a range of quite unique stores, offering beautiful things, collectors items and more. You will also find there Hotel Chopin (lovely lobby, seen from outside) and Musse Grevin, the famous wax museum.
Cross the Boulevard, to enter Passage des Panoramas, the oldest one, meetingplace of the fashionable world some 150 years ago... Stamp collectors will find rare objects there.

From Passage des Panoramas enter Rue Montmartre in direction Les Halles. You cross Rue Reaumur, you cross Rue Etienne Marcel, at at the end of Rue Montmartre (or its beginning) you stand besides St. Eustache. At your right is Forum des Halles.

Sorry songhees, I don't mean to hijack your post, but I've been trying to get some advice on the Ourcq neighborhood from kerouac...maybe he'll check this post and then see mine. So if you're out there kerouac, please let me hear from you. The post title is Ourcq metro area: paging Kerouac. Thanks, EJ ((#))

Ha! Haven't seen that post yet. Can you imagine that I lived on rue de l'Ourcq for more than 10 years? But I was at the metro Crimée end instead of the metro Ourcq end.