Post by quickstepstar on Apr 24, 2014 8:35:46 GMT -5
DH and I will most likely be heading to Paris in November. We will be there for about 5 or 6 days. I have been to Paris before, but a very long time ago when I was a teenager. I do speak French (I minored in it in college), but haven't used it much lately.
I need a few suggestions: - Great places to eat. Not terribly expensive, just want to experience some great cooking. One thing I want is to find a great fondue restaurant. - Any shows we must see? I am thinking of going to Moulin Rouge. Anything else we should experience? (When we go again we will likely have kids with us, so more adult shows would be good ) - Off the beaten path cool things to see. We will go to Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Versailes, but I am looking for other interesting things. I have seen all those things before, so I'd like to see some interesting things that are less touristy. - Places to stay: I am thinking of staying in Montparnasse or Quartier Latin, but open to other areas.
Post by wanderlustfoodie on Apr 24, 2014 9:32:54 GMT -5
For non-terribly expensive restaurants: Restaurants La Regalade St Honore – one set menu a day, delicious Josephine Chez Dumonet (best steak tartare ever) L'As du Falafel for falafel Le Chateaubriand Frenchie Le Comptour Spring Itineraires
Pastry shops Pierre Herme – far and away my favorite bakery in Paris. The 1000 layers and the vanilla tart are still in my dreams. Gerard Mulot is another great bakery. I loved Eric Kayser, too Besnier Pere et Fils (my favorite croissant) – this is near the Musee de l’armee and Napoleon tomb
Off-the-beaten-path: I really like the Rodin Museum, and the gardens there are gorgeous. With that many days in Paris, I'd also suggest a day trip to Reims or Epernay to visit the Champagne houses. Or you could visit Luxembourg for a day.
Post by dutchgirl678 on Apr 24, 2014 10:56:27 GMT -5
For fondue I can recommend Le Refuge de Fondue in Montmartre. It is a quaint place where you may have to climb over the table to get a seat on the other side and they serve wine in baby bottles but the food was great and the atmosphere was really nice too. The food also wasn't terribly expensive.
We also had lots of crepes with creme de marron (chestnut paste), so delicious! There was a place near Notre Dame that was really good but I don't remember the name. We climbed the Notre Dame to see the view and the gargoyles up there, I really loved that! There is also a museum under the square in front of Notre Dame with ruins from a long time ago.
Places to eat: Cafe Constant (FABULOUS) La Terrasse du 7eme (near the Eiffel Tower/Rue Cler ish) Café du Marché (Rue Cler) Breizh Café Crêperie
We really enjoyed Rick Steve's walks through various neighbourhoods. Just exploring was fun. We did the bigger sights/museums as well and went to Versailles (worth the effort!).
We stayed in Montparnasse at Hotel de la Paix (or something like that). It was small, but super close to a metro stop, was clean and had a reasonable breakfast.
I also stayed at this hotel. I loved that little place and would definitely recommend it.
Restaurants:
Creperie Beaubourg (near the Pompidou)
Berthillon (fabulous ice cream near Notre Dame)
Make a picnic with items from the shops on Rue Cler and eat it at the Eiffel Tower
I loved the L'Orangerie museum. I could spend hours looking at Monet's Waterlilies!
Post by parisinthespring on Apr 25, 2014 16:27:28 GMT -5
I just left Chez Dumonet about 30 minutes ago and would highly reccommend a visit. Amazing! Such a great neighborhood atmosphere as well.
We didn't get off the beaten path much, as I wanted to see the sites and it took a lot of time, but we also spent a lot of time wondering random streets and sitting in cafés we stumbled upon.
Just got back from a few days in Paris. An interesting experience is to visit the Catacombs. Get there early (when they open) to be guaranteed entrance.
As for food, we really liked Maison de la Truffe but it was not cheap (and it specializes in truffles so you have to be really into that.) We stayed in the 8th at the Hyatt which was awesome - big rooms, great service and reasonably priced.