Paris tips

[Danno]

Just the tip(s).

No recent thread so decided to start a new one.

I'm going to Paris in October. Arrive on a Tuesday morning, and have no itinerary until a wedding in the suburbs that starts Friday night. I've been before but not in 30 years, my GF went 2 years ago and saw the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre and Arc d'Triomphe.

Suggestions? Should we take a side trip or can we keep ourselves happy sightseeing and eating until the wedding?

[mcski]

My fave hands down is the catacombs. The labyrinth of millions of bones is mind boggling.

There is plenty of other stuff in Paris to keep you busy for three days. I don’t think I’d do any side trips

[BmillsSkier]

If the recent London thread is your guide, then the answer is to hop on the EuroStar to London.

There's so much good eating and sightseeing to be done in the city that our usual plan is just to pick a neighborhood and walk around it all day making only a plan to eat at a certain place or see a certain attraction nearby. The rest is all wandering around by foot. Start with rue Montorgueil going end to end and work your way out. Have fun, post pics.

[plugboots]

I’ve been wanting to do a cool expert led tour of the renovation of Notre Dane. Haven’t researched it, but it’s gotta exist.

[alias_rice]

Paris is probably my favorite city for just aimlessly wandering around. All of the normal touristy stuff is cool, but just walking the city was the best part for me. My wife and I would just take a random metro stop and then go and explore for a few hours. Great cafe's, good wine, cool old bookstores, etc.

[riser4]

Yes, but everything is so French.

[BmillsSkier]

That’s the best part of Paris, it’s unapologetically French.

Wake up and have a leisurely coffee at a cafe on the street. Walk around browsing shops and people watching. Eat a 2 hour lunch with at least one bottle of wine. Have sex after lunch. Smoke cigarettes (maybe) and drink more wine. Wander around more surrounded by beauty talking about anything. Eat dinner at 10pm with more wine. Sleep late.

The French have life dialed.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

April is the time to go as parisians are somewhat tolerant of tourists as opposed to summer when they're completely over it.

[Danno]

April is the time to go as parisians are somewhat tolerant of tourists as opposed to summer when they're completely over it.

What a great tip! Except

I'm going to Paris in October.

[Meadow Skipper]

Paris is probably my favorite city for just aimlessly wandering around. All of the normal touristy stuff is cool, but just walking the city was the best part for me. My wife and I would just take a random metro stop and then go and explore for a few hours. Great cafe's, good wine, cool old bookstores, etc.

That’s the best part of Paris, it’s unapologetically French.

Wake up and have a leisurely coffee at a cafe on the street. Walk around browsing shops and people watching. Eat a 2 hour lunch with at least one bottle of wine. Have sex after lunch. Smoke cigarettes (maybe) and drink more wine. Wander around more surrounded by beauty talking about anything. Eat dinner at 10pm with more wine. Sleep late.

The French have life dialed.

^These. Some of the tourist stops can be cool. The Louvre blew me away. Wander the Left Bank/Latin Quarter (Shakespeare and Co.), parks, Place de Concorde, etc. Read up a little on the history.

Oysters in a sidewalk café. So many wonderful places to eat and drink just scattered around. I can’t remember if you’re a whiskey/whisky fan, but I seriously loved The Golden Promise. Have a Vieux Carré - so good.

I even enjoyed the Père Lachaise cemetery.

Edit: by October Paris seem to have recovered from the tourist onslaught and seemed more relaxed.

[subtle plague]

Yes, but everything is so French.

But they have Disneyland.

[Buster Highmen]

Ile St. Louis and Ile de La Cite'

https://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/

[old goat]

St Chapelle church, try to see later in the day on a sunny day with the sun coming through the stained glass. It's less visited than a lot of the other tourist stuff because it's small and it's surrounded by the Ministry of Justice for some reason so you don't see it walking around.

[Stuntmonkey]

That’s the best part of Paris, it’s unapologetically French.

Wake up and have a leisurely coffee at a cafe on the street. Walk around browsing shops and people watching. Eat a 2 hour lunch with at least one bottle of wine. Have sex after lunch. Smoke cigarettes (maybe) and drink more wine. Wander around more surrounded by beauty talking about anything. Eat dinner at 10pm with more wine. Sleep late.

The French have life dialed.

This. I've been half a dozen times for leisure and another dozen times for work. All of these trips have involved the above. The work trips are fantastic because they don't start until like 10am and then at least once a week they take "lunch" at 330 and don't return because everyones half cut.

The touristy shit is pretty boring after the first church and the first museum full of old paintings you don't recognise. The real Paris is in the cafes, the food, the wine, the casual conversation and the people watching.

I've got dozens of restaurants to recommend, but not sure what arrondissement youre staying in?

[Danno]

I've got dozens of restaurants to recommend, but not sure what arrondissement youre staying in?

don't know that yet, I suppose that's one of the tips I am looking for!

We will have the GF's mom traveling with us so will probably be looking for a 2br airbnb somewhere.

[TahoeJ]

One of my favorite things to do in Paris is to just get on the metro and get off at random stops and see what you find.

October is a great time of year to visit.

[Stuntmonkey]

don't know that yet, I suppose that's one of the tips I am looking for!

We will have the GF's mom traveling with us so will probably be looking for a 2br airbnb somewhere.

First six are a safe bet. Close to everything and the metro, which is fantastic. I'm partial to the 5th and 7th for personal and 16th for work (it's fancy, but I ain't paying).

If the mom has mobility issues, you'll want a hotel. Most airbnbs require a street entrance thats barely visible and has at least 3-4 flights of the tightest, weirdest set of stairs you've used before. Hotel rooms are however, fucking small. The main chains (Hilton etc) are generally much better in sizing.

[Stuntmonkey]

Just coming back to say god I love Paris. I never understood the haters, because it's god damn amazing.

[mud]

How much cheese can you eat in a day?
https://parisbymouth.com/food-wine-tours/

[Stuntmonkey]

Oh if you like wine theres some really good 1-2 hour dinner and tasting education sessions which will make everything you drink at home taste like swill.

[garyfromterrace]

Been a few times. My top 3 would be (and in no real order):

1) This jazz club. Pricey, but the location and the history of this bar is 10/10. The band we saw there was first rate.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...de_France.html

2) An all afternoon lunch/dinner at a typical decent french restaurant. We were somewhere in the 7th Arrondissement. I would suggest the place was moderately fancy (certainly not super high end, but anything but a dive). I was with my son, who was 8 years old at the time. We sat next to a regal Parisian woman probably in her 60's. She was so gracious, and helped us order our meal. She smoked cigarettes and we drank champagne, and then wine. She taught us the proper way to eat escargot and we chatted and ate and drank for at least 3 hours. The waiters were amazing and friendly. The experience was not at all what I was expecting and possibly this is why it is one of my favorite memories of Paris.

3) Buying a couple of days groceries at a boulangerie (croissant and baguette), fromagerie (cheese shop), boucherie (butcher) and seafood shop. Trying to speak my high school french, and me and the shop keepers laughing our asses off at my feeble, inept attempts. They did not speak english, but this experience was 30 years ago and things may have changed. What hopefully hasn't changed was the quality of my food purchases. These folks all took immense pride in their food offerings, and the experience of buying your food at shops specializing in each of the various items was amazing.

[Danno]

How much cheese can you eat in a day?
https://parisbymouth.com/food-wine-tours/

I can eat all the cheese.

[BmillsSkier]

I can’t remember if you’re a whiskey/whisky fan, but I seriously loved The Golden Promise. Have a Vieux Carré - so good.

That place is great. Danno, another great cocktail spot down an alley in the Montorgueil (see my previous rec of just wandering up and down this pedestrian boulevard) is Experimental Cocktail Club. Chill, candlelight, excellent drinks.

https://www.experimentalcocktailclub.com/paris

Ile St. Louis and Ile de La Cite'

https://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/

We had a wonderful lunch at Restaurant Paul, sitting at a table outside looking the little park Square de la Place Dauphine (which is actually a triangle, go figure) on Ile de la Cite. Small, classic French menu but well done. Peacefully quiet even though you're in the middle of a massive city. Watched a man with a border collie herd pigeons while he sat on bench and smoked. Beautiful sunny October afternoon. You're going at the right time of year Danno in my opinion.

[BiggC]

Avoid sit down restaurants if you’re looking for a quick meal. Lunch and dinner are 2+ hour experiences. If you want a quick bite, get a kebab.


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[ts01]

Only thing I'd add to the "just wander around" advice is "wander around on a bike" if you can swing it with the GF and her mom. Or without them.

There are lots of bike share / rental opportunities (e.g., Lime and Velib ). The city has made a strong commitment to bike infrastructure (see e.g. https://sf.streetsblog.org/2023/05/0...-is-incroyable). Feels much safer than most big cities I've biked in. And it's a great way to cover ground, people watch, get off the beaten path. I found myself on a bike following Canal St Martin (near Place de Republic) a couple years back - would never have found it on foot.