Paris: Still to Do List?
 

Give me a lazy sunday morning and my mind always seems to wander back to Paris.

I expect many of you have a few things (both large and small) you always wanted to do or see in Paris and never quite got around to it for one reason or another.

My coffee is almost ready so here's just a few of mine:

take a fat bike tour

visit basilica saint denis

take a peak at the courtyard of the ecole nationale superieure des beaux-arts

visit the chapel of our lady of the miraculous medal - 140 rue du bac

good morning degas

Basilica St Denis is still on my list too.

Also on my list (there are more, but the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet):
Viaduct des Arts
Lunch or dinner at Bofinger
the flea market at Cligancourt

maybe this December I'll knock one off

I have always wanted to get rid of the Eiffel tower - horrid eyesore - but haven't gotten around to it.

I would also like to get rid of the London Eye for the same reason.

oh yes, please elaborate on the ecole nationale superieure etc

Hi Elaine

A link for the fine arts school is found below. I saw a great picture once of the building and outer courtyard and always thought it was worth a quick look, perhaps while doing an area walk. Being allowed inside might also be a plus. I have a thing for poking around old buildings!

http://www.culture.gouv.fr/ENSBA/History.html

Fine Arts School location and hours:

http://www.ensba.fr/informations/inf...onsEnglish.htm

rollerblading down the champs ellysee....i think they do it organised late on the weekend?

My 22 y.o. daughter just returned from Paris and rollerblading on Friday night was one of her favorite things she did while there. Wall to wall people!

Explore the Parc de Buttes Chaumont...
View from Inst. de Monde Arabe...
See the Marché de Saxe-Breteuil...
Bike rentals in the Bois de Vincennes...

cruise up Canal St Martin
Les Egouts (sewers)
Catacombes
climb tower of Notre Dame
climb Arch de Triomphe...but not on same day as above :)
deserts from Pierre Herme
macaroon from Ladure
Butte Chaumonts
check out BHV
bike tour
Pere Lachaise cemetary
go from cafe to cafe looking for the perfect cafe creme and croqu monsieur
lunch at Cafe Marly

My Paris "Dance Card" still has quite a few attractions yet to be crossed off.

I have a problem, however, my favorite dance partners keep cutting in and excluding the others. I seem drawn back to the Musee d'Orsay while other places stay in line.

Last visit, Fontainebleau also lured me back for a second visit. That took most of the day because we went strolling around the woods. Interesting place.

If I go back again, I am sure the d'Orsay will kidnap me again, as will the Rodin sculptures.

I want to go back to the works he did in marble. There is a bust of Clemanceau in the case that is perfect.
Rodin made the old warrior look like a Mongolian war lord. Clemanceau hated the thing, but Rodin defended it by saying his works captured the inner man. Well, having had a major professor while in grad school who wrote a minute by minute history of the treaty of Versailles, I feel like Clemanceau was in the classroom too. I also think Rodin was right. He did capture the inner man. A sculpture with a top knot like and a moustache like Ghengis Kahn or similar figure just about catches the full story.

Okay, now you guys are starting to wake up - looks like my own list will grow after seeing these ideas.

Here's another one:

Maison Europeenne de la Photographie.

A magnificent mansion built in 1706 in the heart of the Marais area, the Hôtel Henault de Cantobre was transformed into a vast exhibition space dedicated to contemporary photography. It contains 12,000 works that reflect photography's historical evolution from the 1960's to the present day.

Admission: adults 5E; free admission Wednesday from 5pm-8pm.

Paris St Germain soccer game
French Open match
Bastille Day celebrations at Champ de Mars
Beaujolais nouveau celebrations
see an opera
see something at Garnier
xmas shopping on Grands Boulevards

Travelnut, can you provide more info on Marché de Saxe-Breteuil?

Hi, degas --

For info on the Saxe market and others, try parismarkets.net. Good info and lots of wonderful pix.

We plan to check it out when we're there at the end of the year, as it is not far from our rental on Motte-Picquet.

Bob Brown and I are on the same wavelength. I did manage to get a few more under the belt this summer like Giverny and the Musee Marmottan, which go hand in hand, don't they? Weird thing about the Marmottan, no cameras allowed! Very unusual for Paris.

I went on my own this time to the Musee d'Orsay on Bastille Day, and being alone is great because you can stand and stare at a painting forever without having the person your with glare at you to move on. I was really appalled, though, over the museum's complete lack of respect for Caillebotte. His self portrait was about to fall out of its frame. Shame on them. If it wasn't for him, half the paintings in that part of the gallery wouldn't be there today.

Surfergirl, my favorite by him is Rooftops under Snow.

Degas, I read about the Saxe-Breteuil market on other threads...ie:

Author: Travelnut
Date: 09/01/2004, 05:18 pm
Message: Someone mentioned on another post that this was the best of the markets:
<b>http://www.parismarkets.net/Saxe-Breteuil.html</b>
- open from 7am to 2:30 pm every Thursday and Saturday morning
- metro to Ecole Militaire or La Motte Piquet; the Ecole Militaire is the beautiful building at the opposite end of the Champ de Mars from the Eiffel Tower. Walk directly behind the Ecole Militiare and you will see the tree-lined Ave. de Saxe in front of you. Walk a block further to find the stalls lining the street.
I'd like to see it myself one day.

Author: jody
Date: 08/23/2004, 04:13 pm
Message: My favorite is the Saxe-Breteuil market on Place de Breteuil, near the Eiffel Tower. it is only on Thursdays and Saturdays, Saturdays being better. Unlike some of the other &quot;markets&quot;, where the vendors are really just outside stands in front of permanent shops, this is a true market, where the purveyors come in from all over. The seafood vendors from Normandy are worth the trip alone..and the cheese sellers who will only have the cheeses of their particular region. Beautiful produce and charcuterie too

Thanks Travelnut.

Sometimes I think it would be better to move to Paris and &quot;just get it all out of our system&quot;, but then all our wonderful dreams would be gone!

Degas, Do you really think so? I think you could spend a life time in Paris (and Rome, and London, and Florence, and ......) and never run out of things on your list. And if you did, you could just start all over again.