I am taking myself (alone) to Paris next week to celebrate my 40th birthday. I have semi-planned my days but am looking for recommendations on great places to eat/people watch where I will not be made to feel awkward to be a 'party of one'. Specifically, I am planning to attend the opera (Palais Garnier) on my actual birthday and would like to find a restaurant/bar nearby to have a late dinner after. Thanks in advance...

You might try Gallopin on rue Notre Dames des Victoires. We had dinner there with some Fodor's friends a few months ago , another friend spent NYE there alone, and another group of friends had a GTG/We all agreed the decor islovely , the food very good and the price reasonable.

jjohnson33 - Sorry I can't help with restaurant reco's (we generally eat crepes and poulet roti, or wander into whatever looks good), but I'm having the same birthday there in a few weeks. Have a wonderful time!

If you have lunch in the restaurant at the Orsay Museum, you will not feel ackward at all. You will see plenty of people dining alone.

I saw lots of lone diners at Angelina on Rue Rivoli.

Galleries Lafayette near the opera house is a great place to dine alone. The Food Halls are on the second floor in the Men's Store. You can sit at one of the many counters and have a nice meal. I don't think you can dine that late, though.

Thin

Many people coming out of the Palais Garnier dine at Le Grand Café on Boulevard des Capucines, just one block away, open 24/7. If the prices are too high, you might consider Hippopotamus Opéra, right across the street from Le Grand Café. It is a steakhouse that serves until 5 a.m.