April 30, 2004

2:46 PM

Off the beaten chemin: I'm going to Paris. I've been before & done the museum/Notre Dame thing. All types of recommendations accepted. I'm staying in Oberkampf, but am not averse to the traverse.
posted by dame to (11 comments total)

Paris Segway Tour! I did it. Expensive but fun.
posted by Succa at 2:51 PM on April 30, 2004

Be sure to watch Irréversible for a glimpse into the local culture.
posted by the fire you left me at 2:55 PM on April 30, 2004

A little more: I'm not so into overtly touristy stuff and speak passable French.
posted by dame at 2:59 PM on April 30, 2004

Canal Saint Martin, above Place Republique (there's a fun Tati in the Place too)--beautiful strolling and little stores and stuff.

Foundation(sp?) Cartier--always interesting shows, and in a great building

in the 12th...Avenue Daumesnil(sp?)--artisans, studios, furniture places, and a viaduct that you can walk on top of.
posted by amberglow at 3:54 PM on April 30, 2004

My favorite place in Paris (as well as one of my favorites in the world) is by far the dreamy, peaceful, gorgeous, Jardin du Luxembourg. At the right time in the afternoon, it can be a proustian experience and perhaps not unlike paradise. But you know what? If you draw an imaginary quadrilateral approximately like this

I-------------------------------------------------------)
IArc de Triomphe--------------Place des Vosges )
I---------------------------------------------------------)
I-----------------------------------------------------------)
I------------------------------------------------------------)
IChamp de Mars-----------------Jardin du Luxembourg)
I---------------------------------------------------------------)

just about everything inside is worth seeing, from the Musée Cluny (Unicorn tapestry) to Saint-Sulpice's Church (where you'll find a great Delacroix fresco depicting the Gabriel wrestling the Angel) to the Institute du Monde Arabe.

If you read Umberto Eco's "Foulcault's Pendulum", you may want to check out the Panthéon.

It's also worth going deliberately off the beaten track in the Louvre and look, for instance for Botticelli's mysterious frescoes from the Lemmi Villa,
Ingres' megafamous "Baigneuse Valpincon", a couple of Vermeers etc. I also love to walk through the Sculpture's rooms and spaces. Do it at night if you can, it's eerie and beautiful.

Bon voyage.
posted by 111 at 5:30 PM on April 30, 2004

Eat at L'épi Dupin, one of the greatest bistrots in Paris (6ième arrondissement, rue Dupin).
posted by NekulturnY at 5:09 AM on May 1, 2004

Second the suggestion for L'Institute du Monde Arabe.

One of my favorite things I've done in Paris was to go to the food halls in the La Samaritaine department store, assemble a picnic, and take it down to the Square du Vert-Galant, which is the tiny park on one tip of the Ile de la Cite. (Go down the stairs behind the equestrian statue of Louis XIV (?) halfway across the Pont Neuf.) Spread it out on a bench, and eat your picnic as the bateaux-mouches glide by.

La Samaritaine also has a great "view point" with a panorama of the city. I believe it's on top of Bldg. #4.

Sainte-Chappelle in the Conciergerie on Ile de la Cite is the most amazing Gothic church I've ever seen. I literally gasped when I walked up the stairs into the upper chapel (reserved for royalty back in the day, built by Louis XII (?) to house the Crown of Thorns). Windows and light like you cannot believe.

If you can find a #29 bus with the open back platform, ride across the city on it.

I've heard good things about Paris Walks, but haven't personally tried them.

Rick Steves' France links are worth checking out. I've stayed near the Rue Cler (his favorite street) and it's delightful and charming.

And I had a truly memorable meal at Ambassade d'Auvergne.
posted by Vidiot at 9:46 AM on May 1, 2004

Vidiot : The guy on the horse is Henri IV, the "Good King". He saw to the development of the Pont Neuf (adjacent the statue and the first bridge in Paris built without buildings upon it), the Place Duaphine -- which the horse faces -- and the Place des Voges. He also is responsible for the phrase a "chicken in every pot". (I've forgotten the French text for the phrase... un poulet à chaque...dans chaque...)

Onto the quest --

Oberkampf is an interesting and dynamic neighborhood in Paris. My key in enjoying Paris (I'm usually there, not here) is to avoid the overtly touristic areas although when I do the tourist thing (museums are for locals too) I do them off-hours and look for those off the beaten path.

Aside from doing a lot of walking about the best thing one can do is learn the bus system. You will want to avoid it during rush hours for its lack of speed and space but it is a great way to see the city.

My favorites off the radar then...

Museum: the Guimet.
Neighborhood off the radar: the Batignolles.
Park off the radar: Montsouris (with a nod to Buttes Chaumont)
New park: Bercy
Half-day trip: Villa Savoye or any walk in the countryside (check out the book & map store of Vieux Campeur or the IGN store)
Day trip: Maybe Chartres... but not just a visit to the cathedral. Maison Picassiette is essential.
Restaurant: current favorite close to my neighborhood is La Petite Sirene
Cinema: Studio 28
New building (relatively): Foundation Cartier (maybe that is not off the radar). Also some housing gems in the neighborhood near there, as one goes back to center.
Older building: pop your head in the old National Library (site Richelieu first Tuesday of the month at 2:30).
Fascinating architecture: the four remaining "customs houses" by CN Ledoux.

You might poke around my webs ite as well. I don't have much up in my archives but you should at least read my pickpocket warning. :-)
posted by Dick Paris at 10:47 AM on May 1, 2004

If you are staying near Oberkampf, walk east fifteen minutes from Place de Republique to Belleville and eat chinese food. Of course it's better - it chinese cooking in France, fer chrissake. Best noodle soup and dim sum I ever ate. And African food in Clichy.

Weekend: Puces (flea market) at Cliqueancourt, north paris.

Sunday shopping: Rue Barbes north of Gare de Nord. You'll think you are in Algiers or Morocco. A neat neighborhood at any time. Lots of kosher ("cacher") ALgerian eateries as well.
posted by zaelic at 12:09 PM on May 1, 2004

The guy on the horse is Henri IV, the "Good King".

D'oh! I knew that, just not when I was posting the avove.

And oooh, good recommendation for the Ledoux tollhouses. I haven't been to any of them, but they were covered in my History of Architecture class back in college, and they did look fascinating indeed.
posted by Vidiot at 10:39 AM on May 2, 2004

Spend a couple of hours strolling through the Ile St. Louis, if you never have. It's right next to Notre Dame - yet most tourists miss it. Many charming shops and bistros. Brassai took a lot of his photos here - it is literally picturesque! Don't miss Berthillon's, the mecca of Parisian ice cream.

Not really too far off the beaten path - but I agree with the Jardin du Luxembourg. Beautiful time of year.

The "Chinatown" sections of Paris can be an interesting and unexpected adventure. Go to the Buddha Bar for sure if you're down there.

Time out has a free PDF version of their guide for download. They usually manage to have a few out-of-the-way things listed.

Montparnasse in general is spectacular. The Cimetière there isn't as famous as Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, but it's a very interesting small one to walk around if you're a graveyard fan (Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir are buried together there.) In front of the Cimetière is a little marketplace, and each day of the week brings different kinds of wares. Monday may be the arts and crafts market, Tuesday, produce and flowers, etc.

I also like to sometimes go out to one of the less picturesque but more "real" working neighbourhoods. Somewhere like the Puces de Montreuil. They have a fabulous flea market - one of the few open on Mondays. You can spend a day up there messing about, then pick up a roast chicken and some pastries for dinner for less than $5.

There is also that elevated walk that goes for a couple of miles. I've never got to try it, but it sounds cool.

Have fun! The thing about Paris is you just discover something around every corner. You'll probably come back with your own whole list of "unknown places."
posted by sixdifferentways at 7:36 PM on May 2, 2004