My family and I return to Paris this Spring and this time we're renting an apartment. We hope to get a feel for living as locals and my teen daughter would like to meet peers her age. Her french teacher suggested the art museums. Can anyone suggest some spots the teens frequent? Thank you!

Could try the skate around town every Friday night i think that involves hundreds of young folks - a Paris tradition but would need skates! don't see many French teens in museums - my French son won't go near one voluntarily. a tough question - teen hangouts!

keep topping your post maybe someone in Paris will read and respond, otherwise posts get buried quickly.

She could get her tongue pierced, a henna tatto, grab a skate board and hang out Les Halles, preferably near the Fontaine des Innocents end.



Actually tons of kids do hang out in the area.

lol, what replies; dunno, if they talk french they have an adventage, seems not the best place to search for 'locals'... you can try

* centre pompidou -> library -> go to the area of your country and start talking to people that look your age

* club rex is a famous discotheque is she is in that kind of music and age and intrests

* otherwise like mentioned tour eiffel is a youth place2b (weekends) sb posted exact day/hours earlier , think friday evening 18-21o clock

* you can also start talking to any-body on the street ofcoz

No kidding, I 'googled' "where do Paris teens hang out?" and got these results:

1. Virtual Tourist post: "go to the opposite side of the Seine, to the Trocadéro for a lovely glimpse of the lady girdled in iron. This is where the teens hang out, there are no hawkers and the view is gorgeous."

2. Frommers: "Virgin Megastore on the Champs-Elysées, a big teen hangout, pays a fine to stay open on Sunday."

3. BonjourParis: "There appear to be a lot of teens who congregate around Place Monge in the 5eme...And all of the Irish Bars near the Marche St. Germain."

4. BonjourParis again: "To hang out I would say I would add also the northern end of the blvd St. Michel, and the rue Huchette ( the very narrow street 1 block South of the Seine. Always a lot of young people hang out there). Also the east side of the blvd St. Michel, between the Luxembourg garden and the Place St. Michel."

4. Webscapades: &quot;Les Halles (also called today the Forum des Halles) was named by Emile Zola &quot; Belly of Paris&quot; in honor of hundreds of food vendors. It is today the favorite spot of Parisian teenagers, thanks to its huge underground shopping mall.&quot; (daytime only, otherwise not safe, in <b>my</b> opinion).

I could also add that a lot of people, including young folks, sit on the steps below Sacre Coeur to watch whatever &quot;entertainment&quot; is going on.

http://www.rendezvousfrance.com/sports.html

<u>In-Line Skating</u>:
Paris has become the European capital of in-line skating. A good place to start is with the Web site www.pari-roller.com. They are the organizers of the giant Friday Night Fever through Paris. Meeting point: 10pm, place d'Italie. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people skate through the city for three hours. The Paris police protect this wild ride. Its itinerary is posted on the pari-roller Web site.

Rollerblading events:
Wednesday: 8:30pm. Starts in front of the Vieux Campeur store, 38, rue Saint Jacques. 5th. Fifteen to 20 kms through Paris. You need to register. Tel: 01 53 10 48 30. Max 100 persons.
Metro: Saint Michel

Thursday: 3pm, meeting point in front of the Vertical Line store. 60 bis, ave Raymond Poincarr&eacute;. 16th.Metro Victor Hugo or Trocadero. 8pm, departs from the Ilios store. 4, all&eacute;e Vivaldi. 12th.

Friday: 10pm, in front of Vertical Line. 60bis, ave Raymond Poincarr&eacute;. 16th . For advanced bladers. 20-25 kms. Metro Victor Hugo or Trocadero

<b>Saturday: 2pm. Starts in front of the Gare Montparnasse.
9:30 pm. Starts from the Trocad&eacute;ro, one Sat. each month for a ride based on a theme.
Info: 0145 88 23 75. Metro Monparnasse

Sunday: Last Sunday of each month, &quot;randonn&eacute;e picnic&quot; -skate and picnic- Organized by the RATP
(the transit authority). To know the meeting point: Tel: 01 42 72 08 08.</b>

There are two main rollerblading associations:
-Paris Roller. Tel: 01 43 36 89 81

-Rollers et Coquillages. Tel: 01 42 72 08 08

<b>To rent in-line skates:</b> Check out any store of the Decathlon chain.
Try the store 23, blvd de la Madeleine. 1st. Tel: 01 55 35 97 55. Metro Madeleine

Also:
&lt;&gt;Vertical Line. The temple of rollerblading. 60bis, ave Raymond Poincarr&eacute;. 16th. Tel: 01 47 27 21 21 -Nomades. 37, blvd Bourdon. 4th. Tel: 01 44 54 07 44 Metro Victor Hugo or Trocadero

&lt;&gt;Ilios. 4, all&eacute;e Vivaldi. 12th. Tel: 01 44 74 75 76.

topping

I think it makes a big big difference if she is 13 vs. 19, and we don't know. I don't buy the art museum thing, teens seem to hang out the same way in Paris as in many other cities -- malls, etc.

Les Halles shopping center would be a spot. There are some cafes that sort of cater more to teens, but I mean older teens. There are also some shopping and other areas that cater more to older teens (around Etienne Marcel, Bastille, etc). The water park down in the 15th is a good spot for teens (they have teen dances there some), but that might not be as good in Spring, I don't know (Aquaboulevard).

As for the skating, I don't know that this is a big activity just for teens in general, it's for those really into inline skating (and it's not for amateurs) which seems to be mostly guys from my limited viewing of this event.

I don't know that a sole teen American girl is going to meet people that much, in terms of really hanging out or conversing with them as they won't know her and am not sure French teens hanging out are going to welcome a tourist stranger into their group that much.

Does Paris have a Time Out or similar weekly entertainment free magazine? You might be able to spot clubs that appeal to her age group.

It might be worth contacting school exchange programs or the like. As already mentioned it seems difficult at best or unlikely to simply strike up a conversation with strangers and then hang out with them.

Skating or music venues seem a possible exception (I wouldn't hold my breath about art museums -LOL!!).

Seems language will be a barrier. Doubt that your daughter speaks fluent teen-age French - not disparingly your daughter but i know after studying French for four years at one of the 'top' universities in the US I wasn't nearly fluent enough to carry on conversations when i first went to France. It's only after living there for some time and having to speak it i could become limitedly fluent in French. And nearly NO French teenagers speak any meaningful English, even though they study it in school many years - they may be able to read but can't speak - I have a French son raised in France and non of his friends can speak any English - so even if she met teens, there would be no communication. Sorry to dash noble hopes but this is an impossible mission - unless you have contacts which may come thru a forum like this. Not randomly!

And, personally i wouldn't let any high school age daughter or mine go to one of the rendez-vous 'teen hangouts' in above posts - simply because there are a lot of suspect sleazy characters in these environs - especially young Arab men who try to pick up girls. I don't want to be racist but this happens unfortunately in France. A friend organizers study abroad tours in Europe - this year he said he was avoiding southern France because his girls were so bothered on the train by Arab guys. I've seen it in Paris many times, women being hassled like this - i'm not saying these are bad guys but their intentions are suspect. If your daughter was an adult i wouldn't even mention it but as a naive American teen, i wouldn't let here out of my sight except in some very secure setting.

I thought the suggestion &quot;teens hang out at the museums&quot; given by the French teacher was suspicious! I feel validated now.

I do appreciate your responses and cautions very much -- both will be considered with our daughter's safety as priority. Being our 4th time to Paris, we find our fondest memories are of the people we experience even if we never know their names. Although my daughter's desire is to meet others her age I do see it could be a challenge.

Thank you for your interest and concern!

The closest thing to Time Out in Paris is Pariscope. But it's not as tightly focused on 22 year olds of all ages as TO: the differences between the two magazines match the differences between Londoners and Parisians quite well.

My recollection of living with Parisian families as a teenager (c 15/16)was that there was a lot less hanging out going on than even in provincial England, and that it wasn't that easy to meet French kids without being adopted by a French kid already. But that was a couple of centuries ago. However, I know of no European teenager who goes to malls, museums or libraries to socialise. They do seem to interact a good bit at the Virgin Megastore though.

Anita might get advice rather closer to the horse's mouth by asking a similar question on the Western Europe board at Thorn Tree. You do need to be a great deal more specific about her age, and you might spend a few moments reading other threads to see how to get a helpful answer. They're a subversive mob over there, heavily influenced by Anglo-Australian humour and irony, and can flame ill-phrased questions in less time than an Italian will jump a red light. But if you put your question properly, and deal with the hecklers tactfully, they can be phenomenally helpful.

&quot;Seems language will be a barrier. Doubt that your daughter speaks fluent teen-age French &quot;

Here's an option, listening to hip french music with Live Shows.
I would highly recommend :

http://www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/le...ndex_flash.php

It's fun, a lot of teens call when DJ's are on-air and you can catch &quot;French slang&quot; as is.

Don't worry she'll do great.