hi all,
i'll be in Paris with my daughter next month. we are both vegetarian. i've been doing research online, looking for restaurants / bistros that might offer vegetarian fare. i'm not finding many vegetarian restaurant options. and i am getting mixed information about classic french restaurants. .. some people suggest that a conventional restaurant will not alter a dish to meet (or should i say "meat". . hahahha!) vegetarian needs. i also understand that there are many middle eastern/greek places that would inherently offer vegetarian options. but my daughter is very fussy, and does not like food with spice or ethnic flair. . .. it's a challenge. any suggestions or insight would be appreciated!

Hi Linda

Try www.happycow.net. It has listings of vegetarian restaurants by city, including Paris.

Are you vegan or vegetarian? If the latter, look for restaurants with omelets, crepes, salads, etc. In Paris, restaurants are required to post their menus on the outside of the restaurant so you can look at the menu for ideas. I believe the Michelin Red Guide to Paris also lists vegetarian options.

http://www.flunch.fr/

The FLUNCH cafeteria chain offers all you can eat veggies, fruits, bread - for a great low price. A favorite with French though often lampooned by hoddy-totty Americans to me the veggies are cooked nicely and the quality of food is excellent.

Frankly, "normal" vegetarians have never reported having difficulty finding appropriate meals anywhere in Paris.

"normal" vegetarians here!!! we eat dairy, eggs, etc.. just no meat or fish. sounds like there will be great options. i will look into some of these suggestions. i don't see lunch/breakfast being a problem at all. but i'd like to go out to a nicer dinner a couple nights. i think that might be the challenge. thanks all!

Marco Polo in the 6th has some lovely pasta dishes.

Here are two threads for vegetarian restaurants.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-paris.cfm?13

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-paris.cfm?16

McDonalds have good salads, yoghurt ice cream and fruit dishes, etc. Ditto for Qucik, the Beglian counterfoil to MacDonalds.

There aren't too many true vegetarians restaurants in Paris, true, and I would say it is somewhat less common that you will find a true vegetarian dish as a main dish if you go to French restaurants (meaning lots of beans, rice, tofu, whatever for protein), compared to US. YOu obviously can find vegetarian meals in Indian restaurants, and I think Algerien also (there are vegetarian cous-cous). And Italian, of course.

So no, "classic" French cuisine isn't vegetarian, so why would you expect that? Except for breakfast or lunch stuff like omelettes, of course.

Why don't you say what classic French cuisine you expect that would be vegetarian? Because I'm not at all clear what you are expecting to find. If your daughter is so fussy that you won't eat Indian, etc., or spices, I don't think it's your problem IMO to find tasteless bland food for her. What would that be, anyway? I never thought of Greek food as particular spicy anyway, I don't understand that characterization.

I've been eating at Guenmai restaurant in the 6th for over 20 years. It's linked in one of the posts above, along with my comments. I've eaten at many different vegetarian/macrobiotic restaurants in Paris since around the early 1980s, but Guenmai is the one that I eat at almost daily when in Paris.

Check out the list of restaurants on www.happycow.com. There's also a list on Girl's Guide to Paris.

http://girlsguidetoparis.com/archive...ants-in-paris/

Happy Travels!

When you go to the website of the Moulin Rouge and see that they not only have a vegetarian menu but also a vegan menu (to see meat on stage), it become pretty obvious that the French are making somewhat more of an effort to cater to the disabled than they used to. (Sorry -- couldn't resist! ;-) )

We have eaten at LE potager du Marais twice. It is a vegan restaurant. It attempts to serve classic French dishes using meat substitutes.
It is located at 24 rue rambuteau.it is about a block from the Pompidou.
If you like the concept of faux meat dishes it offers you the chance to have dishes associated with French cooking.
Otherwise, there are plenty of alternatives available as mentioned above.
If all else fails just indulge in the best breads and pastries found anywhere in the world!

http://www.anada-5-saveurs.com/

The above restaurant is also quite popular. I've walked by it several times, but haven't eaten there as each time I've passed it, I've already eaten. It's over in the 5th.

Happy Travels!

<< You can free grazing all year round any parc in Paris >>

Not true as most parks do not allow walking on the grass!

thanks everyone, so much! yes, we do plan to partake in some of the city's fresh produce markets . . and make our own picnic meals this way. but, like i said, we do want a couple nice meals at restaurants. i will definitely investigate some of these suggestions. thanks for all the feedback!