Paris - Favorite things to do

niavie

if its a nice day theres a park near the louvre that always has loads of stuff going on...

Obscure

Going over to paris in a few days time.... would anyone recommend anything in particular to see/do?

Colonel Sanders

shop around re. eating drinking out. Stay off cafes on the champs eleyssee (spelling!!) as they are a complete rip off.

Oh, and be prepared to pay anything up 8 or 9 quid for a pint!

Obscure

Anyone been to the catacombs? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris

lady_j

Obscure wrote:

Anyone been to the catacombs? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris

Yeah I was there a few years ago, worth seeing cause its just plain weird! Im not sure if I could say it was enjoyable experience though!

squishywishy

Wow catacombs look interesting to say the least, where abouts do you go for the guided tour??
im not really into the illegal one....looks scary enough as it is!!!

Owen

Do a Seine River Cruise (You'll get to see the replica Statue of Liberty), go to the Eiffel Tower's top floor, go to the Jardin du Luxemborg, to the Louvre, the top of l'Arc de Triomphe, Parvis des Libertes et des Drots de l'Homme (It's facing the Eiffel Tower and provides some serious photo ops), and get yourself up to Monmatre behind the Sacre Coeur Cathedral. Up there you'll find a large square, with restaurants, the Salvador Dali Museum, and lots of Artists painting portraits on the cobbled plaza.

squishywishy

Thanx Ned,
Looking forward to my trip to Paris but as im not an art buff...or even that interested in art ive been finding it hard to find things to do!!!

botvot

There is a lovely little cafe opposite the Tuillerie (sp?) Gardens main gates, called Cafe Angelina's. You HAVE to try their hot chocolate...thick as you won't believe it!

Well, that won't keep you busy the whole day...how long will you be there for? Just walking around is also great. Buy some cheese, wine and chocs from a supermarket and enjoy it in a park, watching the French live their lives. Works out cheaper than eateries, beer is soooo expensive in a cafe.

squishywishy

We'll be ten days in France but only 4 ish in Paris, one of those days will be Disney so 3 days really.

Im starting to feel that other cities eg London or NYC have a wider range of things to do, Paris is turning out to be very Arty/looking at buildings oreintated

jt_dublin

If you are looking for some great nightlife, there is a fantastic salsa club called Barrio Latino just a few minutes walk from Bastille. I've been there twice and it is just brilliant. On sunday afternoons they have lessons starting about 1.30 and afterwards you can spend the rest of the day dancing or just watching the action on the dancefloor. It's the best fun that I've had in years and it's hot hot hot!!!

The building is amazing too. The staircase and galleries were designed by Eiffel himself. There are some reviews and a photo of the interior here http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/France/Ile_de_France/Paris-99080/Nightlife-Paris-Barrio_Latino-BR-1.html

ps. it's for all age groups too.

H2G2

My personal favourites:
Sights: Arc de Triomphe; Notre-Dame; La Conciergerie; Grande Arche (go up to the roof walk, for good sights); Eiffel Tower (best seen by night IMHO); Sacre Coeur (I think it’s the best sight in Paris).
If you are into museums then Musée du Louvre is a must. Personally I love Cité Des Sciences et de L'industrie – but you have to be into that sort of thing.
If you want to spend a day outside the city, Chateaux de Versailles is worth a visit.
For something different, try one of the cemeteries: Cimetière de Montmartre or the famous Cimetiére du Pére Lachaise.:eek:
I love Paris markets
At night Montmartre and Pigalle are always interesting…
Basically walk around, everything is wonderful in Paris

squishywishy

Thanks H2G2

Have loads of ideas now!!

is there many shopping ops in Paris??

High Fashion parts ive seen but they dont fit my student budget!!!

mikedragon32

There's loads of shopping in Paris! If you don't have a huge wedge for shopping, I'd suggest the area around Les Halles. There's a shopping center and it's surrounded by loads of shopping streets too. Plus the Popidou center is just around the corner and in summer there are usually quite a few street performers around there.

In fairness, OP, even if you're not an art buff, I guarantee you there's bound to be something to fire your imagination in one of the Galleries. Don't waste your time with the Louvre. It's all the classics and the so-called beaux-arts. The Pompidou is avant-garde and modern and is always worth a few hours of anyone's time. Musee d'Orsay, across the river from the Louvre is late 19th and 20th century and is interesting too.

Take a metro out to La Defence. The view from the top of the Grand Arch is brilliant. You can see all the way back up to the Arc the Triumph and onwards to the Louvre. It's a concrete jungle, but interesting nevertheless.

Another idea for shopping on a budget is to head to La Valée which is the train station before Disneyland Paris. Is like Cheshire Oaks, a designer outlet place. I've not been myself, but I've heard good things.

My big tip for Paris is walk around. Get lost and enjoy it. You'll see nothing if you take the Metro everywhere, and by walking you will stumble down allyways and see things no guidebook will tell you about.

shrapnel222

ned78 wrote:

Do a Seine River Cruise (You'll get to see the replica Statue of Liberty)

it's the original, not a copy!!! the staute of liberty was a gift from france in the 19th century:D

Owen

Sorry Shrapnel, you're wrong buddy. The original is the one in the States, which took many years to design, the parts of which were on display throughout France and America before it was assembled. It was finally shown in 1886. The other copy on the Seine was revealed to the Public in 1889.

shrapnel222

ned78 wrote:

Sorry Shrapnel, you're wrong buddy. The original is the one in the States, which took many years to design, the parts of which were on display throughout France and America before it was assembled. It was finally shown in 1886. The other copy on the Seine was revealed to the Public in 1889.

looks like we're both right:

Installed provisionally in 1885 Place of United States, it was transported on the island to Swans where it was inaugurated officially 15 November 1889 in the presence its author

watna

When I visited Paris we went to the Pere-Lachaise cemetary. It was kind of cool (and not as morbid as it sounds). Jim Morrison, Oscar wilde, Frederic Chopin, Maria Callas, Edith Piaf among others are buried here. You can buy a map next to the entrance from this American dude and see where all the well-known graves are. It also has three cool war memorials.

run_Forrest_run

watna wrote:

When I visited Paris we went to the Pere-Lachaise cemetary. It was kind of cool (and not as morbid as it sounds). Jim Morrison, Oscar wilde, Frederic Chopin, Maria Callas, Edith Piaf among others are buried here. You can buy a map next to the entrance from this American dude and see where all the well-known graves are. It also has three cool war memorials.

i agree, Pere-Lachaise is a must. I found it to be very relaxing and just nice to wander around (you can't say that about many grace yards eh!).
I was there on a beautiful sunny day and the tree-lined avenues were nice and cool.

Oh BTW I thought the map from that American dude was awful but I saw the funny side of it and just wondered around anyway. He was a funny guy and when he copped my accent he started telling me facts about James Joyce etc.

Owen

Pere Lachaise is a definite must. I went to see Chopin's grave, herself being Polish wanted to see him too. We caught Jim Morisson's grave too, but the real suprise for me was the grave next to Chopin's, a guy called Michel Petrucciani - 'Jazz Pianist'. I did a google on him when I got home, turns out the guy was 3 foot tall, with glass - or brittle - bones, and despite all the odds, turned out in his 30 years to be one of the finest Jazz pianists in the world. There's plenty clips of him on Youtube.

run_Forrest_run

ned78 wrote:

Pere Lachaise is a definite must. I went to see Chopin's grave, herself being Polish wanted to see him too. We caught Jim Morisson's grave too, but the real suprise for me was the grave next to Chopin's, a guy called Michel Petrucciani - 'Jazz Pianist'. I did a google on him when I got home, turns out the guy was 3 foot tall, with glass - or brittle - bones, and despite all the odds, turned out in his 30 years to be one of the finest Jazz pianists in the world. There's plenty clips of him on Youtube.

Thanks for posting that Ned, wow this guy was very good, must admit I never heard of him until now but just checked him out on youtube and yeah, very good. Sounds like when I was in some jazz bar in Chicago a few years ago..real easy drinkin music

Owen

I know, we could do with a few Jazz bars here too. In Poland, there are bars called 'Pod's, which are under the street, and they serve great beer, great food, and have some serious Jazz. Jazz themed restaurants with live Musicians are also popular there.

run_Forrest_run

ned78 wrote:

I know, we could do with a few Jazz bars here too. In Poland, there are bars called 'Pod's, which are under the street, and they serve great beer, great food, and have some serious Jazz. Jazz themed restaurants with live Musicians are also popular there.

Sounds lovely and laid back...all we have here are loud jam packed tacky places..they think jazz music here is played in hotel lobbies!

squishywishy

My Boyfriend has been to Paris a couple of times but never did all the Arty stuff, Ive only been once before many years ago when in school and did a few galleries but i wanted to see another side to Paris this time

Boardies are coming up trumps yet again

mental07

No no no, don't go shopping in Les Halles - the place is a hole

mikedragon32

Indeed it is mental07, but there are loads of good shopping streets in the immediate vacinity, plus in Les Halles there's a brilliant branch of FNAC as well as a few speciality stores.

Unshelved

Go shopping in the Marais District - it starts around where the Pompidou Centre is and ends up near the Bastille. Lots of interesting little shops and bars and restaurants. There's a great museum of Medieval Art there plus a Museum about the History of Paris.

Les Halles is awful - think the ILAC Centre multiplied by 50 and underground.

mental07

Unshelved wrote:

Les Halles is awful - think the ILAC Centre multiplied by 50 and underground.

I couldn't have put it better myself I do agree with Mikedragon's point about the Fnac though, it's the only reason I'd ever go there