April in Paris

[tjluke68]

I'm venturing to Paris during the 2nd week of April with my wife. Her friend and husband are going for her 30th birthday and they invited us along. We'll be visiting the standard tourist places like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Versaille, Moulin Rouge/Le Crazy Horse, etc.

Can anyone recommend other interesting places or day trips, such as jazz clubs, areas of interest, good record stores (the wife will be with me and she hates record shopping since meeting me, but I told her I like to check out some stores whenever we travel, so that'll hold her for 15-20 mins while I shop), etc that you wouldn't find in your off-the-shelf tour guides?

Merci,

TL

[brownie]

Couple of previous threads:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...c=20314&hl=

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...c=18519&hl=

If you need updates, just fire off...

[Ed S]

My girlfriend and I went to Paris last April and had a blast. We stayed on the left bank - right in brownie's hood! - a very nice area, by the way.

The Paris Jazz Corner (record store) was right around the corner and is a must visit place. Right across the street is the Arènes de Lutèce - an old Roman amphitheatre which is worth a walk through and a nice place for some people to hang out while certain other people are record shopping!

I enjoyed visiting the Pantheon and Montmartre - each with their own excellent views of Paris. The crypt under the Pantheon is way cool and Montmarte is touristy....but so what?

The outdoor market and neighborhood around Rue Moufetard - near the Paris Jazz Corner was a great place to walk through and get a bite to eat. We went there a couple of time for fresh fruit and casual dining.

The Luxembourg Garden was our favorite stop. We spent several hours there just hanging out, relaxing and talking. There are really nice pathways and plenty of chairs to sit down and soak up the sun and beauty of the flowers or watch a game of petanque.

I found the Louvre overwhelming. Too much and too huge to really do anything other than stroll through in amazement. Don't forget the Orsay and the Pompidou centre for art as well. I'm really into modern and impressionists, so those were more up my alley.

We went to a jazz club called Caveau de la Huchette and really had a great time. A saxophone quartet was playing. They swung like crazy and the patron were dancing up a storm. Something I was not prepared for based on my exposure to jazz clubs in the USA.

The churches - magnificent! Notre Dame, St Sulpice, St Chapelle, Sacre Couer, St Germain des Pres - all worth a vist - even for a non believer like me. The Left Bank and Boulevard St Michel area was also very nice for places to eat and drink. We stopped in some little bistro and had the best French Onion soup ever and hung out in some bar run by a bunch of Candaian expatriate hockey players. Now those are things that make memories!

Walking around Ile de la Cite and Il St Louis was very nice. There's some great views of the Seine a real nice flower market and tons of souvenier shops

Walking along the Seine is very nice. The booksellers, the bridges, the riverside walkway.... you can really lose yourself in the atmosphere.

Do use the Metro - it's fast, convenient. We also did something called Bateaux-bus. It's an all day pass to ride up and down the Seine in a Bateaux mouche with the ability to get on and off at multiple stop points along the route. It's a less expensive alternative to one of those tour boats. Not to denigrate those types of tours - they are fun and informative

The walk through the Touleries Garden from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre is wonderful

For me, Paris is as much about absorbing the beauty and romance of the city as it is seeing the great sites. We did a lot more random walking, stopping at small shops, grabbing a pastry and a lot less destination oriented sight seeing for the sake of sight seeing. A lot of hanging out in some of the local cafes and bars moreso than destination type restaurants. Maybe it's the time in my life but I have to say that my stroll through and relaxing in the Luxembourg gardens was one of the best days of my life. We spent a lot of time walking around the Left Bank, stopping for a drink or snack and enjoying the ambience.

Paris has so much to offer. I found absolutel no resentment toward tourists or Americans. The people were as friendly as I presented myself. I joked with my girlfriend that I should write a travel guide called "Surviving in Paris on a 100 Word Vocabulary", but I have to say that a well placed S'il vous plait, merci and bonjour are both respectful and well received.

Happy to provide more info either here or through PM.

[sidewinder]

Great little writeup - its been too long (25 years ) since I was last in Paris (driving into town Mitterand's - or was it Giscard's - limo drove past me, no less). Must make plans too to get over there on the Euro-star !

It would be nice to check out Paris Jazz Corner in person too, instead of just the website. The trouble is, I would probably come out of there totally broke..

Edited February 1, 2007 by sidewinder

[tjluke68]

Thanks for all the replies so far - keep 'em coming.

We'll be staying at Les Jardins du Marais in the Marais section. I have a DK tourist guide, so we'll be sure to check out their recommended sites as well as some from this post and the previous ones that brownie pasted.

Thanks again...

TL

[J Larsen]

Thanks for all the replies so far - keep 'em coming.

We'll be staying at Les Jardins du Marais in the Marais section. I have a DK tourist guide, so we'll be sure to check out their recommended sites as well as some from this post and the previous ones that brownie pasted.

Thanks again...

TL

I stayed there last year. It was a beautiful part of town. In my experience (Brownie will likely disagree, because he's probably spoiled ), it's really hard to get bad food in Paris - my $30 meals were great, and my $300 meal was great. That being said, since you're going to be in the right part of town anyway, I think it's worth having dinner at Chez Paul. (It happens to be the restaurant under the woman's apartment in the movie Red.) It isn't considered one of Paris' elite restaurants, and I can clearly see why a place like Alain Ducasse for instance is considered "better", but regardless of all that I think my favorite meal in Paris was at Chez Paul.

PS: For me, Paris = food first and foremost.

Edited February 2, 2007 by J Larsen

[brownie]

We'll be staying at Les Jardins du Marais in the Marais section. I have a DK tourist guide, so we'll be sure to check out their recommended sites as well as some from this post and the previous ones that brownie pasted.

Les Jardins du Marais is on Rue Amelot just outside the Marais district. Pretty good location. If you're too tired in the evening and want to have a good meal in the neighborhood, you should not be disappointed with dinner at the 'Repaire de Cartouche' at 99 rue Amelot.

J Larsen, 'Chez Paul' was the canteen for Yves Montand and Simone Signoret when they had their apartment right next to the restaurant. When they were in Paris, they could be seen having meals there almost every day.

Edited February 2, 2007 by brownie

[J Larsen]

I did not know that. In fact, someone only told me it was the restaurant under the apt in Red after the fact. I ended up there purely by chance. I wish there was a place like that in NYC - there are some excellent formal French restaurants here (Chanterelle, Jean Georges, Daniel, etc), but I haven't found a truly great French bistro.

[skeith]

I like the Sarah Vaughan version with Clifford Brown the best!

[brownie]

Drummer Aldo Romanos is a guide to the Paris club scene in this short subject from the all-news France 24 channel:

Paris and jazz