swood

Hi there
Would appreciate your thoughts on the most romantic spot to plan a picnic in Paris.
Cheers!

mabern2

Hello swood, I think that it all depends on how your experience is with certain areas that make it the most romantic. As in my opinion, my husband and I took our first trip ever to Paris and on our first day there we wondered around trying to get adjusted to the time and came across this little alley way which led into this beautiful courtyard. We followed it through to a park. This park seemed to be full of locals having their lunch, kids playing and just enjoying life. We just sat there enjoying the moment. It was actually the next day that we returned to have our picnic to continue to take in the atmosphere. This was my most memorable and romantic spot, it wound up being Place De Vosages. But as I said I think everyone’s “most romantic” is all in the experience of the moment, it will be interesting to see everyone’s postings….good question!

ira

Hi swood,

When?

stardust

If you like parks, try Jardin de Luxembourg, full of students, or Les Tuileries between the Champs Elysees and the Louvre. It's great for people watching as well.
Place des Vosges is one of my favourite spots as well.
If you want a more quiet place, you might want to go to the garden of the Musée Rodin. They have a cafeteria as well, but I don't think they'd mind you setting up a picknick on one of the park benches. The entrance is 1€, but the garden is lovely, and you get to see 'the Thinker' by Rodin as well.

elaine

I haven't explored a lot of places for this, and it might not be especially romantic, but yu can picnic at the Champs de Mars, and you can buy provisions at the nearby rue Cler.

Beatchick

I think a particularly romantic spot would be the Fontaine de Medici
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/caf83/
in the Jardin du Luxembourg or the Fontaine des Innocentes
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/fa6e7/
at rue Berger & and rue Pierre Lescot near Les Halles. I believe the first is from the Baroque or late Renaissance period and the latter is considered to be the last remaining Renaissance-era fountain in Paris.

Jean

I like the tiny park at the end of Ile de la Cite overlooking the Seine, the Left Bank and the boat landings. A very Parisian view. Benches under the chestnut trees.

BTilke

First of all, what's your definition of picnic? If you want the old-fashioned, blanket on the grass, spread out kind of picnic, then the Luxembourg Gardens, Tuileries, etc. aren't viable options. BUT if you mean sharing some light food and wine on a park bench or chairs, then another vote for those spots and also the gardens of the Rodin Museum. There's more room for privacy in many of the lesser visited parts of the parks. I like the Place des Vosges, too, but on really sunny days, it can get VERY crowded.
To have the old style picnic, try the Parc Andre-Citroen.

Re the Luxembourg Gardens--sitting on a couple of chairs under the trees is a plus if a sudden shower passes over (not a thunderstorm, of course). My husband and I sheltered under the big trees in the Lux Gardens during a sudden downpour and kept almost completely dry.

MichelleY

I second the park at end of the Ile de la Cite.

swood

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.
Ira we will be in Paris in early October so it may be a bit cool (for us Aussies!).
Perhaps my question should have been more around, where wouldn't you have a picnic in Paris if you were looking for a romantic spot? You know, no kids running around screaming, just a quite spot to share some pate & wine. We'll have a mini-picnic set with us so it'll either be on the grass or on a bench depending on the right spot. We have four days in Paris so perhaps I'll plan the picnic for later in our stay after we've walked the city and checked out the suggestions you've all presented.
Cheers again!

fashionette2001

dear swood,

just so you know, a lot of parisian parks do not allow you to walk on the grass (this is true of les jardins du luxembourg, but there are numerous lovely old metal chairs as picnicking substitutes to choose from, randomly placed along the gravel pathways).

when i've visited paris, it's been in december -- quite often rainy and grey -- but i have revelled in simply sitting in one of those old chairs and watching the children as they poke little sailboats with poles along the octangular pool near the Palais. the grove of statues of the queens of france is also nearby and it's fun to observe the antics of the pigeons as they try to land on the queens' heads!

and beatchick is right--the Fontaine de Medici is quite beautiful and would be a lovely place for a romantic picnic. there are also chairs placed along the allee there.

one of my favorite things last time was taking a seine river cruise on one of the Vedettes du Pont Neuf. much smaller than the bateaux-mouches, les Vedettes are moored along the Square du Vert Galant, the very park that was previously mentioned on l' Île de la Cité.

http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/va/index.htm

you are allowed to bring along food and drink on their cruises, but i'm not sure whether you would really get the full effect of the beauty of the city if you were distracted by eating. on the other hand, the cruise would be more appropriate for a nice bottle of Champagne--"drinking stars" and drinking in the sights of paris with a loved one... what a memorable conjunction of events!

swood

fashionette2001 thanks for your post. Out of interest, are the grass areas of the parks signed as "no walking"? What you wrote about your experiences in the jardins du luxembourg is very evocative of Paris and the delight in watching the world go by. No matter whether I can do the romantic picnic here, it sounds like a great place just to feel Paris.

We had already thought we'd do a Seine cruise but hadn't heard about Vedettes du Pont Neuf - thanks again.

traveInut

You should see little signs along the walkway that read "Pelouse interdite"...another clue is that no one else is on the grass.

TC

I agree with the Seine River cruise. On my first trip to Paris (30th anniversary surprise) we stopped spontaneously and bought a great little loaf of bread, some amazing cheese, and a bottle of wine to take along on our cruise. (The wine shop gave us little cups and my husband had a wine opener on his pocket knife, but you could plan ahead with some wine glasses in a backpack) It was rather a grey day with spits of rain, (few other tourists on the boat in November) but we were cozy inside with our impromptou picnic, beautiful scenery and even a little background music.

suze

I loved Luxembourg Gardens and can't imagine it would be terribly crowded in October. It's a large park so you can find your own quiet spot.

Sometimes there are signs, but mostly you know *not* to sit on the grass because no one else is doing it.

I also liked the chairs near a large fountain in the Tuilleries.

msackton

There is a great little park in Montmarte near Sacre Coure. I forget the name, but it was a great spot for a lovely dinner picnic. Closes at sundown though. Another suggestion is the Seine walkways along the Ile de la Cite. When I was in paris in July, many people just sat on the sidewalks by the banks of the Seine. For a more traditional picnic place by the Seine, I'd third the recommendation for the little park at the end of the Ile de la Cite.

starrsville

Well, the absolutely most romantic spot for a picnic would be a picnic in bed. Spread out a towel as a picnic cloth, light a travel candle and spread out your goodies from the shops you passed during the day. Flowers from a sidewalk market would be an extra special touch.

Beatchick

msackton, do you mean the Parc Jehan Rictus near Métro Abbesses? I saw it & took a photo of it my last trip to Paris. It is a beautiful, calm, non-touristy setting. You can see the photo here:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/f9063/

Beatchick

Here's Jody's photo of the Medici fountain from her February trip. With lovers in the foreground on a bench the photos makes a great argument that this would be a romantic spot for a pique-nique!
http://tinyurl.com/858u5

vslparis

The wonderful thing about Paris is that there are so many wonderful little parks just tucked away. There is a small park on Rue du Bac just a few blocks past Bon Marche ( just after you cross Ru de Babbylone on rue du Bac) on the way towards Blvd St Germain. You can buy your picnic provisions at the food section in Bon Marche and then take it to the park.