Paris | a list
First, I always tell people is to consider taking a bike tour around the city to get an overview - Fat Tire Tours is awesome, I have taken the Paris day tour and the Versailles tour…and the Paris by Night tour is on my to-do list. You get to see all the major sights and cover a lot of ground that you can’t do on foot - definitely fun to do if you find yourself solo for a few hours.
Other things, in no particular order:
Musee D’Orsay - I bought tickets for the Thursday night entry, 6:30-9:30 pm and it wasn’t completely crowded.
Louvre - it’s going to be packed so just know that will be the case whenever you go. They have a Thursday evening entry as well. Definitely buy tickets online in advance because the lines are so insane it isn’t worth wasting your time waiting, you could be eating and drinking and seeing other things.
Palais de Tokyo - super interesting contemporary exhibitions in a great space. We love to go at night and hit the bar afterward, the bartenders are really fun and met interesting people. Very local French crowd, fantastic view. And maybe the cheapest cocktail in Paris!
Seine River cruise: Vendettes de Pont Neuf or Vendettes de Paris - sounds cheesy but it’s fun, we go at sunset (check time of the sunset). We often walk the Seine bank from the Port Nerf to the Tour Eiffel just to watch the people after work on a warm evening, there are so many bars and also picnic spots, food trucks. A great way to spend an evening.
Eiffel Tower - Gotta do it. It will be crowded. Get your tickets online in advance. I think daytime is better, but definitely walk the Seine nearby at night to see the lights. It’s just spectacular.
Pompidou Center - excellent museum in a fun, lively neighborhood, especially at night. Neighborhood is touristy, for sure but still fun. Restaurant/bar on top has spectacular view of the city.
Day trips outside Paris - in case you want to leave for a day:
Chantilly (pron. "Shaunh-tee-yee") is about 30 minutes outside Paris from Gare du Nord. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! We had a perfect day there https://www.google.com/destination/map/topsights?q=chantilly+france&site=search&output=search&dest_mid=/m/043prb&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjqrOHa-4vdAhWpFzQIHUlICCAQ69EBCCooADAA#trifp=skpm%3D/m/054g4x
Lunch at https://aubergedujeudepaumechantilly.fr/en/ on the patio - it was fantastic. Definitely a splurge but heck why not, it’s Michelin-starred.
We also took another day trip with Bruce who runs https://www.frenchmystiquetours for a bike tour outside Paris. French Mystique and Bruce are the only gig in town (that I have found) if you want to get out of Paris proper for fresh air and to see some authentic French life.
You do not have to be a strong cyclist to do his tours, although some are more challenging than others. We chose to do the Marne River ride from Bruce's hometown just to take an easy spin through the country. Bruce emphasized this wasn't the "country," rather the suburbs of Paris, but to us it was perfect. The ride along the Marne River path was spectacular (ready to retire there!). Overall, an easy ride with a variety of scenery and a stop at a really cute cafe.
Bruce has lots of history to share and it is apparent he has been leading these tours for awhile. For our tour, he met us at the RER station with bikes that fit us well, and at the end we got to meet his cats and tortoises (turtles?) and he gave us a tour of the Street of Deliciousness as he walked us back to the RER station. Sadly, it was mid-August and pretty much all of the delicious was closed for vacation.
I especially appreciated that his tours are private - a flat fee for just your group (up to four or five, I believe). This allows you to ride at your pace and have flexibility he will offer you along the way. It might seem more expensive that the (hectic) group tours inside Paris, but after doing several of those over the years, I am ready to get outside the city and see how locals live and spend their recreation time.
Patisseries & Ice cream
Blé Sucré 7 rue Antoine Vollon 75012 Paris METRO: Ledru-Rollin, 12ème https://www.yelp.com/biz/bl%C3%A9-sucr%C3%A9-paris-2 It t is said to be the best chocolate croissant in Paris.
Pierre Hermé 72 Rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris, France 6th Arr. METRO: Saint-Germain-des-pres or Mabillion https://thecultureur.com/the-best-rose-raspberry-croissant-in-paris/
Each location carries slightly different products, the rue Bonaparte has the Ispahan and chocolate pistachio croissants, plus macarons, chocolates and pate des fruits (delicious fruit jellies). We think the macarons here are SO much better than Laduree - don’t waste your Euros there.
PRO TIP: I always take macarons home as gifts for friends (although the pâte are a spectacular and delicious gift too - especially for yourself!) so this time I bought a roll of plastic wrap at the Monoprix and wrapped the boxes tightly and packed in my checked bag. As soon as I got home, put them straight into the fridge (as the salesperson instructed) and they lasted nearly a week with minimal deterioration of quality. I also brought a plastic container and wrapped the Ispahan (raspberry/rose/lychee) croissants and ate them over the course of my flight home. Made the 12 hour trip a lot better!
Battle of the French ice creams, we often eat them back to back and decide which we like better: Bertillion - glacier at 29-31 Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île, 75004 Paris, France classic! And my favorite. This is the OG location but many shops along the rue Saint-Louis sell their glace. Amorino - gelato is a chain all over Paris and other cities, famous for scooping the gelato into petals to make you a beautiful flower. They are literally everywhere so just search on Google maps.
Other food: So many markets and bakeries that you can grab a baguette, some cheese, wine etc and picnic along the Seine or a park. For supermarkets, Bio c’ Bon are great organic (bio) shops with produce, cheese, meats, etc. Carrefour, FranPrix and Monoprix are the chain groceries.
I love the outdoor market at Rue Montorgueil, and there are many websites dedicated to the weekday outdoor markets in Paris - there is one every day except Monday.
https://bonjourparis.com/food-and-drink/top-10-outdoor-markets-in-paris/
https://www.tripsavvy.com/paris-food-markets-by-arrondissement-1618835
Had lunch here after walking the Champs-Élysées: Framboise 7 Rue de Ponthieu, 75008 Paris, France, 8th Arr. METRO: Franklin D. Roosevelt, http://creperieframboise.fr/ They have a really great lunch prix fixe and the crepes are huge and fresh. Let's be real, the Champs-Élysées is a zoo, and you deserve a treat after braving it, so for a post-stroll lunch, slip off to Framboise on a quiet side street, and feel like a native Parisian. Decor is oddly swanky and probably not what I would chose to walk into if I passed by, but don't be put off - so glad we took refuge there amid young Parisians having work lunches or after shopping. One large table appeared to be a team from a nearby tech start-up, which made me think we had stumbled on to some place that was fairly authentic.
Breizh Café, has two locations one at 1 Rue de l’Odéon, 75006 Paris, France on the left bank and another deeper in the Marais on the right bank 109 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris, France. Mostly crepes and ciders, great for a quick, sit down lunch.
Two famous falafel places are near each other:
L’as du Fallafel - 32-34 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris, France
King of Falafel Palace - 26 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris, France
They are take-away windows, but two parks are nearby, the hidden and beautiful Rosiers-Joseph Migneret Garden that you can enter down a hidden hallway a few doors down from the King of Falafel Palace, or walk a little further to the spectacular Place des Vosges.
And nearby:
> Great shopping along Rue des Rosiers - the heart of the Marais, 4th Arrondissment
> Also in the 7th on the left bank, Rue Jacob, St Germain, etc.
For dinner reservations, use the French version of OpenTable: https://www.lafourchette.com/meilleures-promotions+paris
We had good luck walking past places a few days before we wanted to have dinner and asking in person for a reservation.
Derrére 69 Rue des Gravilliers, 75003 Paris, super hip restaurant set up like a house where you eat in different rooms. Great cocktails, food, atmosphere and chic young people. Andy Wahloo is a bar on the same street, also cool.
Frenchie 5 Rue du Nil, 75002 is a classic, everyone loves it. Must have a rez or go when they open and cross your fingers they will seat you.
***Le Relais d’Entrecôte for steak frites**** Probably not THE BEST in the city, but a true Parisian experience. There are two locations in central Paris, one near the Champs and another on the left bank in the Saint-Germain-de-pres. I think it is more chill, so I’d recommend that location. Here is how it works - get there, then relax and wait your turn. The line can get long so just be prepared to wait. Your patience will be rewarded, since inside is one of the most perfect Parisian experiences. Just sit, and the efficient waitstaff will recommend a wine and begin to bring food—salad, bread and some pretty darn good steak frites. And then it keeps coming, the steak frites…
Save room for dessert - they have a long list. My favorite is always profiteroles, but we often order a few others, like crème brûlée and a Napoleon, just to be sure (-:
Le Christine - 1 Rue Christine, 75006 Paris http://www.restaurantlechristine.com/
Semilla - 54 Rue de Seine, 75006 Paris, https://www.semillaparis.com/
Rue de Buci - lively restaurants with outdoor seating, probably could wait to be seated or walk by earlier in the day and make a rez with the hostess for the evening or next day.
Nearby, have ridiculous**** profiteroles and Hot Chocolate at La Jacobine*** 59-61 Rue Saint-André des Arts, 75006 Paris, left bank.
Good websites for Paris:
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/paris/articles/a-quick-guide-to-paris-in-72-hours/
