Paris Picnics
 

We are going to Paris in just under three weeks... Would like to have your suggestions for the best places to picnic there and some assurance that it's legal to drink wine in parks etc while picnicing.

Merci

hi there.. you must have missed "Picnics in Paris"..
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35018808

It isn't legal to drink in public but no one will bother you if you are discreet about it. There are only a few grassy places to spread out, otherwise it isn't allowed but instead you could use a park bench...

Luxembourg Gardens with a chicken salad sandwich on dense whole wheat bread, bought premade from a bakery. It's kind of a hassle to tote around a bottle of wine, corkscrew, glasses imo. We just eat at the 'picnic', then stop into sidewalk cafes for the wine later on.

You can buy small bottles of wine (37.5 ml) that have a screw top. Wine in bottles with screw tops aren't looked down on here as much as they are in the U.S. It won't be great wine but for a glass each during a picnic it's fine.

Alcohol is authorized in all Paris parks except the Jardin des Halles, where the ban is clearly posted on signs. This does not stop anybody, especially the homeless drunks at whom the ban is aimed, but it gives the police an excuse to pick them up if they get rowdy.

I would take the Metro Pont de Sevres or a local train from Gare St-Lazare up to Parc de St-Cloud, 16th. Get away from it all and have a magnificent view over all of Paris.