I like the idea of spending a lot of unstructured time just discovering places on our own...but I'd like to be pointed in the right direction.

Are there streets/subway stops which are more conducive to fruitful wandering than others?

You absolutely can't go wrong riding Métro Ligne 4 to Vavin, or 4 or 6 to Denfert-Rochereau, or 13 to Gaîté.

Very Parisian without being touristy, as Montparnasse is more like a little village than a city neighborhood.

I haven't done this yet, but I've always wanted to walk the Viaduc des Arts.
From my understanding, it's an old elevated section of railway that's been turned into a garden walkway. Underneath, in the archways, are numerous artist's shops. It's in the 12th. From my map it looks to be closest to the Bastille metro station or Gare de Lyon. It runs along Avenue Daumesnil.

In late May we strolled along the Viaduc des Artes - well at least along the top it it. Very lovely stroll; lots of flowers, very peaceful, took us to a park with lots of locals and children playing. Another day we went to the park with the botanical garden and zoo I think - we enjoyed that outing too. A suggestion I have not been able to follow up on yet is the Canal St. Martin - I think you can stroll or take a boat trip on parts of it. That's onmy list for next time.

We loved wandering through the area around Parc Monceau. Beautiful neighborhood. I would combine it with a visit to the Musee Jacquemart-Andre. The museum also has a delightful dining room for lunch or Sunday brunch.

If it's raining:

http://www.shortcitybreak.co.uk/passages/

Having heard for years the canal boat trip was a fascinating part of "undiscovered" Paris, I took it the last time I was there and found it quite long and not very interesting.

I second Parc Monceau. It's also a lovely walk from the metro stop to the Marmottan museum, which is a must if you are a Monet fan.

What we often did was have a destination in mind (like the Marmottan) but got off the metro at a decent distance from our destination and wander our way there. We saw a lot of Paris we wouldn't otherwise have seen if we had ridden the metro or bus to the stop closest to our destination.

I agree on the Canal St Martin thing.

I'd suggest going to Passy and walking around there, ave Mozart, etc. There are a lot of good Art Nouveau buildings over there, including where Guimard lived. The Passy cemetery is also mildly interesting, and then that lovely park before you rent the Musee Marmottan. As well as the wine museum and Balzac's house.

Or, go to Pere Lachaise if you haven't been there, then walk all the way back, going north to Milkontant are, and then west on rue Oberkampf until you hit bd Voltaire or around Filles du Calvaire.

Go to the bottom of the 13th/14th around Cite Universitaire, Parc Montsouris and then stroll over to the small "flower" strets near place de Rungis in the 13th at the bottom, then over around place l'Abbe Henocque and north by Sainte Anne's church through Butte aux Cailles, endling at place d'Italie.

Nothing you couldn't figure out for yourself and at the risk of being obvious... both sides of the Seine River, Luxembourg Gardens, the Tuileries, around Notre Dame, in front of the Eiffel Tower.

bookmarking

For me, I can just wander anywhere in Paris. I just go where ever the mood strikes. I have been twice now and still have soooo much yet to see.

Tom

The passages, 19th c. covered shopping streets found mostly in the 2nd, 9th and 10th arrondissements.

Here's a link to get started: http://www.france-for-visitors.com/p...nd-bourse.html

Tom, I agree. The whole city is made for wandering!

We had fun taking the Metro out to a monument that was across the city from our hotel at the start of the day, then slowly walking our way back... took most of the day. It was fantastic! (We did have a tourist street map with us with points of interest called out.)

melissa19,

Exactly my point. In my two trips I have used the Metro twice. As an avid photographer, I walk everywhere. You never know when a photo op will present itself.

If you are interested you can see my Paris photos at

pbase.com/trsw/paris2007
pbase.com/trsw/paris2006

Tom

TRSW - may I <i>please</i> use some of your photos in my screensaver, so I can see them everyday? So beautiful !

Travelnut,

Thank you for asking. Yes you may use them. If you want high quality prints of any of them please email me at tomsneed6025 at yahoo dot com and I will send you the larger files. The ones at pbase are small files and aren't really good for printing.

May I ask which ones you are going to use?

Tom

Re: Parc Monceau.
There is a wonderful oriental museum there. The Cernushi.
I'm a huge Colette fan and read about her friend/lover Ren&eacute;e Vivan who had this buddha in her place.
I was so surprised to see that R.V. donated it to the Cernushi.

Travelnut,

I forgot to add, thank you so much for the compliment. I am glad you liked the photos.

Tom

Robesperre, I will try Vavin and Denfert today. Since I will be here for 2-3 months R&amp;R, I need all the suggestions I can find- Thanks. If you have any more , please list them. I am also a big wandering fan, and have adopted the Velib's here as my No. 1 preferred mode of transport. You can stop when you like, and after 6-8 hours, your not as tired as walking.