Visiting Paris

[echo]

Hi Ladies,
   I know we have a few people who live/lived in Paris on here.I am planning a trip for the end of April.Aside from the traditional sites,are  there any special/out of the way things we should put on our list to see or do?Thanks for any tips.

[Deleted]

You MUST see the Père Lachaise cemetery!! If you stop at any of the nearby florists they'll give you a map of it.

[echo]

Thanks guess we'll talk later ;-)

[loira]

I've never lived in Paris, but I have been a bunch of times. @jewelseternal is right, the Père Lachaise is lovely. If you can stomach a fairly long climb up an impossibly narrow staircase, I personally think the view from the top of the Notre Dame is much nicer than the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Also, I'm sure the Louvre is on your list, but the queue to get in at the glass pyramid entrance is always ridiculous. There is another entrance off to the side that tourists never seem to notice. I guess these are more tips than recommendations for things to see...

[echo]

Thanks loira those are good points.

[stever]

The cafeteria at the top of Galleries Lafayettes is fantastic. Great views, a good, cheapish meal, and awesome people watching as it's lousy with people on their lunch breaks. Love it!

I also second Pere Lachaise.

[anna7602]

Jan 20, 2014 16:25:19 GMT -5 loira said:

I've never lived in Paris, but I have been a bunch of times. @jewelseternal is right, the Père Lachaise is lovely. If you can stomach a fairly long climb up an impossibly narrow staircase, I personally think the view from the top of the Notre Dame is much nicer than the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Also, I'm sure the Louvre is on your list, but the queue to get in at the glass pyramid entrance is always ridiculous. There is another entrance off to the side that tourists never seem to notice. I guess these are more tips than recommendations for things to see...

You can also buy tickets in advance for the Louvre (and other museums, plus the Eiffel Tower) at FNAC, the big bookstore chain. Having tickets in advance will allow you to cut the lines. There's a FNAC on Rue de Rennes in the 6th, one in the Les Halles shopping center and another one on the Champs Elysees, plus other locations.

There are ten billion things I love about Paris, so it's hard to make just one or two recommendations. What kinds of things do you typically like to do/see? One of my very favorite things to do is to wander the open air markets. There are some great ones at Place Monge (5th arr., I forget the days it's there), on Blvd. Raspail (6th arr. on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays) and on Ave. de Saxe/Place Breteuil (7th arr., with views of the Eiffel Tower, but I forget the days here as well).  I also quite like the indoor gourmet market at Le Bon Marche and their prepared food counter is great if you fancy picking something up and having a little picnic outdoors.

The indoor market of Le Marche des Enfants Rouges (3rd arr.) is a great place to hit for lunch if you're already in the Marais, either shopping there or checking out the Jewish museum or the City Museum (which has a formal name that escapes me right now) or the Hunting Museum (a surprisingly interesting and delightful little museum). I love the West Indian food place at Le Marche des Enfants Rouges as well as the North African food place there. And the soca vendor is yummy and featured in David Leibovitz's book The Sweet Life in Paris.

I'm happy to make more recommendations if you give me parameters.

[echo]

We are going to do the typical things,I am sure,the Tower/Louvre ect.I guess more that that I am looking for suggestions on out of the way/non typical tourist things.I am going with two people who aren't really that interested in monuments and shopping and more interested in wandering around,so suggestions like markets and the like are welcome!

[Deleted]

Echo, there's a great guide, perfect for wandering around that I used last time we went to Paris. It's called 24 great walk in Paris by Frommer's. You should pick it up! I just noticed that a new edition came out in 2011, which is probably more enhanced compared to the one I have, which is from 2008.

[echo]

Anna,are there any kind of week long public transport passes available?Online I am getting a bunch of private transport offers but I am not finding any info on the public transport options.......

[anna7602]

Hmmm, I don't think so, but it could be different for tourists. All I remember were the month-long subway passes and these were a PITA because you had to buy them on the first day of the month (in NY, the month just starts from whatever day you buy the pass). Check a visitors' info site to see if there is sme kind of tourist pass.

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2014 3:34:07 GMT -5 echo said:

Anna,are there any kind of week long public transport passes available?Online I am getting a bunch of private transport offers but I am not finding any info on the public transport options.......

The Passe Navigo can be purchased on a weekly basis. You spend about 5€ for the card and then can charge it for the week for whichever zones you plan on using. However, it can be pricey, so if you aren't going to use the transport system a lot, it might be better to buy individual tickets.

[mrsukyankee]

I prefer the Musee D'Orsay to the Louvre...easier to deal with and lovely art.

[Deleted]

I think that the catacombs are an interesting stop if you are into that sort of offbeat morbid type stuff. It is a common tourist site, but not one of the most popular ones. There is a place to walk near Bastille that is a converted railroad that is elevated. It is a nice little walk and something a bit different to see: railroad walk

I also recommend walking about Versailles, not just the chateau, but the gardens and even the town is cute. I still haven't done the tour of the chateau but I've been to the gardens several times.

Also, if you get the weekly passe navigo for the public transport systems, I believe that the weekends don't have zones, so you can go further outside of paris without paying extra.

[doctoranda]

booking.parisinfo.com/z6200e2x26827m466g3606_uk-book-of-10-t-tickets.aspx

Maybe that would work for you? I am going to Paris in a few weeks and am looking for how to get around etc. as well. I have my sites picked out, just need restaurant recommendations if any one has some;-)

Did not mean to hijack the thread though.

[potatopie]

bookmarking this thread for a future/someday trip to Paris.