What to do in Paris?
 

Sorry for the vague, vague question, but I'm going with 3 friends thurs 31 may-6 june and we have all been to Paris before.
We are girls our 20's and since we've been to see the classics we would like the modern, non-typical-touristy side of paris. Good areas for bars, new galleries, quirky events and other recommendations would be great! Thanks

Hi T,

See Paris Superthread
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34519236

100 Great Things to Do in Paris
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...mp;tid=1277898

Degas’s Paris Walks
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34712768

Jacquemart-Andre’ Museum http://tinyurl.com/p9pol

((I))

Bercy is "new/modern"... Musee Quai Branley is new, modern exterior... don't know about galleries or bars.

Peruse the Parisinfo.com website or "spectacles" on FNAC.com for events....

What to do in Paris? dear oh dear!!!

I agree with Rd.
Only with less patience.

Get a book and read it!!

1. Find a newsstand.
2. Purchase a <u>Pariscope</u>.
3. Read it.

Very nice of ira. My response would have been flip to say the least.

ira has given you loads to digest. I reckon you three are ready for kong.fr

Should read www.kong.fr

God what a bunch of vultures!!

thanks those who actually suggested something (ira/travel nut) and no thanks to sneering responses lacking any insight!.
I was asking for an insiders view, as I did say we had all been to see the typical stuff before. i meant we want ideas for random adventure type stuff.
Do i have to repeat myself?

robespierre- i think i'll see if paris scope is online, although i dont think i like your tone haha

Rd- I tried to keep the question as general as possible to get the most amount of feedback baby

oh well.....

N.b. Guide books and mags are always full of ads laced with reviewed, hidden ads.

There is always this thread on atypical things to do in Paris...

http://tinyurl.com/3coq83

Sorry Travel buzz I repeat what to do in Paris? oh dear oh dear. I have spent a whole week there and never came close to scratching the surface...err baby!

well Rd isn't that why im asking people on the forummmmm........ (im pre-emptively scratching the surface, baby)

I think you definitely need to at least consider Tod's suggestion rather than wading through that so-called &quot;superthread&quot;

BTW..vultures have this absolutely uncanny knack for detecting roadkill.

by the way kwren: EXCELLENT thank you

Dukey- i had a brief look at tods suggestion, although grateful that it was a suggestion and not another wry comment, ehm its bizarre.
and 'roadkill' would be a smart one if it wasnt so ironic.

Hi travel buzzing,

I don't think any of us are critical of you for trying to plan ahead, but (speaking at least for my reaction) for your lack of desire to do any work yourself. You dismiss any guidebooks and apparently haven't looked at any online sources; you could have found the threads ira posted with a quick text search here.

I occasionally teach college-level English courses, and I find this tendency in a lot of young folks today -- the tendency to want the results without the work. It depresses me.

s

Oops! careful swandav2000 she bites.

Ah, Rd, better folks than she have tried. I'm still kickin'

s

young folks. and im not doing any work for myself. your generalisation about &quot;youth&quot; depresses me. Imagine if I had left out the part about us being &quot;girls in our 20's&quot;.
If everyone did their own research work, this forum would not need to exist. I'm doing a good share of online research thanks, but i thought i might get some personal recommendations for the above.

TimeOut Paris has an online magazine that might have current events listed, also Paris Voice.

I suppose 'quirky events' might involve timing your trip for Gay Pride Day or the Technoparade..?

Travel buzzing we have been a bit mischievous with you I hope you find what you are looking for and you're right this forum exists to assist fellow travellers! 20 somethings in Paris? wow!

I tend to pare my informational responses to the minimum facts required. No offense is intended.

www.pariscope.fr

Hi again,

No, I would have guessed your generation anyway. Your use of language shows that you are either a non-native English speaker or a young person who is more used to texting than using actual words and complete sentences.

For good or ill, we still tend to evaluate other people based on appearances -- and we can only &quot;see&quot; you through your language use here. My impression of you was not a generalization but rather observation on top of personal experience.

As you know, you'll get more useful responses if you give us more information -- tell us what you've already researched and found, tell us what you enjoyed on your last trip, tell us what interests you. Then we can respond with specific suggestions and information. But, because you didn't do that work for us, yes, we did conclude that you're expecting us to do all the work.

s

swandav 2000-
1. wrong. I'm a native english speaker, I'm from Ireland, love, and I bet I have a stronger english base/educational/professional background (in english, writing) if you want to compare.

2. I don't think &quot;occasionally&quot; teaching college-level english courses qualifies you as an english pro. that you give english courses implies that you teach english as a foreign language no? (if im wrong I stand corrected).
That's a pretty easy role to swing by with your minimum celta or tefl certificate. So they say.

3. &quot;young person used to texting&quot;- we are being a little judgemental here swan, and if i may say &quot;completely ageist&quot; and &quot;obnoxious&quot; without hesitating.

4. Now there's judging people based on appearances and there was me, asking perfectly simple questions. Did I write &quot;Soz 4 the vague Q, me n pals goin 2 paris...&quot; Nah.

5. Asking &quot;Good areas for bars, new galleries, quirky events and other recommendations&quot;- now that isn't specific enough?
I was hoping someone would respond &quot;oh I went to this great outdoor film its sponsored by blah, go google it&quot; This kind of stuff is hard to find.

I do the work for myself and i also help people out with good sound information where I can. So far you've been on this thread to criticise and lay judgement, of which you blatently know nothing about.

Pro-active Nb. I do not need petty corrections to my use of capitals etc.

Hi again tb,

No, not EFL. I've taught at a 4-year college in the US and now teach at a 2-year college. Only occasionally because I'm retired and don't need to work full time. No, I'm not a grammar-slammer (though I do love 'em!); I don't consider myself a professional. But I do have some appreciation for correct usage.

I think you missed the &quot;or&quot; in my second sentence. I felt pretty sure you were a native English speaker -- so probably a text-er.

How about significant corrections for your spelling, usage, &amp; capitalization errors?

s

I am also going to Paris soon. I posted a question not too long ago and I was shocked that some responses were flip in nature. I guess when you are very well traveled, excited first time travelers become a bothersome bore. I wonder why they respond at all. Why not just skip the post and go on to something that is of interest? I was very thankful for the helpful kind posts I received. I hope you have a WONDERFUL TIME.

Blimey, What a horrible thread! And I really don't get the references to 'laziness' - don't most people use this forum specifically because they want personal recommendations, rather than the standard guide-book/internet fare?

OP - If you haven't already been, you'd probably like the Pompidou Centre - great modern art and good views of the city, plus a decent restaurant on the top. Shopping-wise check out stores like Collette and Anick Goutal. I'm not up on the best bars and clubs, but I've noticed a proliferation of Egyptain tearooms/North African restuarants that might be worth a visit for something out of the ordinary.

travelbuzz...

It's really too bad you got all this negativity and attitude because of this question...I really feel for you.

Your question is a good example of why my sister posted here just once and will never do it again. (This was after I told her how wonderful and helpful people were to me here...:( )
She got a bunch of really snippy, snide answers too.

Anyway, how about the tethered hot air balloon ride at Parc Andre Citroen? I haven't done it but it's on my to do list for May.

Also, have you been to the catacombs? Creepy yes, but really fascinating.

Lucy - but it really isn't like that most of the time on here - hence my 'blimey' exclamation. Usually, people are only too happy to help, and love giving tips/hints/relating their own travel experiences. Maybe people are just having a bad day?

rm67...oh i agree. But it's just really weird sometimes how one question can be answered so helpfully while another similar one brings out hostility. It's like it's a full moon or something.

Les egouts. Somewhat touristificated, but very, very interesting.

http://www.sewerhistory.org/grfx/wh_...aris_tour1.htm

The snippy answers come from the fact that this information is so easy to find here by spending about 5 minutes searching. Plus the title will set some people off (not me). I found the sought information here and elsewhere with just a little bit of work. The question itself is fine, but it does suggest that no time was spent looking before posting. That may not be the case, but that is the impression.

Dan - There are literally dozens of questions which get asked over and over on here - see 'Oyster Cards' and 'Trenitalia' just for starters. I don't ever recall posters being met with such hostility on those threads though.

As for the OP being lazy, or somehow inviting snappy comments - I don't see any evidence of that - I just see a few people who posted unpleasantly (and probably in haste) trying to drum up some sort of excuse for their behaviour.

I have been posting and surfing here for three years. Shorter than some and longer than others. Some of those who ask the same questions show at least some effort was made to find the information first. Also, with the examples you cited, there is often conflicting information that breeds confusion and explains the multiple questions. There is nothing wrong with asking the same question as others have asked, but you will set some off when all you do is ask the question without demonstrating that some time was taken in looking for the information before hand.

I am not saying, and never have said, she is lazy. The question suggests that, but I do not know that to be the case and would not say as much. Some have, and some have not while still taking issue with the question. Also, I do not really care about the grammer/typo thing becuase I assume people are posting between work projects or while reading email and thus pay little attention to the details. No biggie.

I think your question is well crafted with very specific info so sorry you are getting sh*t from other posters.

I think the problem is most of us are older than you and are still doing the touristy stuff although as folks keep returning to the city they do more obscure but STILL touristy stuff (not Notre Dame or the Louvre perhaps but lesser known churches and museums).

I think I get that you are hoping to find other kinds of stuff as you DID ask specifically for bars, new galleries, quirky events rather than site seeing kinda stuff.

I'm middle aged but young at heart and will be traveling with &quot;girls&quot; in their 20s and 30s this summer and would enjoy similar stuff. I'll pass on what I glean.

Do you rollerblade? Thousands do it late on Friday nites (I think they go at 10pm for about three hours) through the streets of Paris with the help of the gendarmes.

Have you hung out in the Oberkampf area? I haven't been to Paris since 2004 so I'm sure it ain't as hot as it once was...

I found a website that seemed more geared to young locals as to what to do in Paris but I don't speak French so I had trouble following the reviews of various bars and nightclubs.

Not really new but a good start might be to go on a Fat Tire Bike Tour on Day One. The guides are young Americans that are living in Paris and you might get ideas from them. Or just go to the Fat Tire Office which has PCs you can use and the office staff might point you in the right direction.

Where have I mentioned grammar? Are you referring to my comment about people posting in haste? That refers to the snottiness of some of the comments - not anyone's spelling! Please stop making assumptions! Several of you have assumed the OP is too lazy to look up old threads. You've no idea whether she looked for information beforehand and couldn't find what she was looking for, or whether she really didn't bother. Now you're assuming I'm having a go about sentence construction! Quite bizzare!

The OP's question is not the bog-standard 'What should I do in Paris'. She says that she's been before and already done the classical sites - she's looking for something a bit more avant-garde and unusual. I don't see anything wrong in a new thread on that subject.

It's as though people come on here trawling for posts with the specific intention of being as rude and unhelpful as possible.

http://www.mosquee-de-paris.org/

What about a day at the spa at the mosque de paris. I have heard good things about it and the mint tea and lunch on site. It doesn't seem to be particularly expensive but check it out before going because women use the spa some days and men on other days.

Here are a couple of things I've made note of for my own trip this summer. You might want to google them to see where that leads you.
Music Hall Restaurant 63 Ave Franklin D. Roosevelt Metro FDR 8th arr.
The restaurant Music Hall of Paris, situated by the Champs Elys&eacute;es is open daily 11 am- 4am. Ahhh the beautiful people.
Bastille area for bars The rue de Lappe is famous for the high concentration of bars and restaurants, but just walk around la rue de la roquette, you'll find almost whatever you want.

Chill, RM. The grammer stuff was directed to the posts between the college prof and the OP about being a 20 something and text messaging from earlier in the thread.

I think everyone understands the question asked and the intent of the orignal poster. My response was directed to those trashing the flip responses and why they are not unreasonable.

Oberkampf is still fun. At least it was last year when me (28 at the time) and my wife (32 at the time) went.

Look into what sports events may be going on. Being with a group of watching football can be fun and different depending on where you are from and if such a thing would be interesting for the group.

The French Open will be going on while you are there.

The trendy bar and galleries have been discussed elsewhere by people who know it better than me. Do asearch for &quot;Paris bars&quot; and you should find information. Same with the galleries.