airport hotel in paris, non-touristy sites to visit

CDG Hotel- we have stayed at the Hilton there, typical US business hotel.
Paris- How many other times have you been to Paris? What did you see on your other visits? What do you consider “typical tourist sites” that you want to avoid?

Thanks, Suki. I was a flight attendant many years ago and was in Paris then. But it's been a long time! I am not so interested in climbing the Tour Eiffel or wandering around to all the museums and churches, especially because we only have three days. I love gardens, going where the local people go, walking around vital and very French areas. The Marais? The Left Bank? Rue Cler? A friend suggested the Palais Garnier.

Given your three day visit and the fact that arrondissements 1-6 in the most heavily touristed city in Europe are almost totally devoted to tourist tracks, your chances of getting "off a beaten path" are minimal unless you choose to go to an outer arrondissement. The areas you mention "The Marais? The Left Bank? Rue Cler?" are part of tourist central. You will notice many changes since your last visit. Enjoy the differences.

Suki,

I am a complete Paris novice. I have some reservations but haven't really charted our journey sights. Thanks for the info about 1-6 being tourist central. If we go outside of 1-6 , then what might you recommend?

i notice that my chef friend has recommended several small lunch spots in the 7, 10, 11 eme.

I like to stay at the Novotel at Terminal 1 the night before an early flight. It is just steps away from the CDGval shuttle train connecting the terminals. It has a good breakfast buffet, and the dinner fare is not terrible. Or, you can take the RER, also steps away, into Paris for a nicer meal.

Maybe with the help of a guidebook, following the recs you've been given for restaurants in outer areas, you could pick some areas of interest. The 11th because of this new attraction is drawing many tourists but remains still a bit off the beaten path but for how long?
https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en

Although the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th is heavily touristed, the streets around are still off the beaten path but for how long?

The 9th with its lovely Musee de la vie Romantique which has reopened still has many untraveled areas but for how long?
http://www.vie-romantique.paris.fr/fr

The Marmottan Museum in the 16th is full of Impressionists, especially Monet, and next to the beautiful Jardin de Ranelagh. The Parc Monceau (8th) is very attractive and less touristed than some others. Likewise the Parc des Buttes Chaumont (19th). The Promenade Plantee is a walking path converted from a rail line, running from Bastille to the south and east in the 12th, bypassing the streets but accessible from many points. A boat ride up or down the Canal St-Martin can be fun and interesting. Paris is filled with small museums that might interest some people more than most.

We stayed at the CDG Ibis and liked it fine, a lower cost alternative than most.

Hopefully you'll have a car in Burgundy, where you go may depend on where the wedding is. We stayed in Beaune and visited Dijon, Alyse, Fontenay, Semur-en-Auxois, Vezelay, and Autun on various days. I'd have said they were all on the "beaten path" but one person's beaten path is another's scenic byway, right?

My two favorite sights that aren't so famous:

The Museum of Counterfeits, near the Bois de Boulogne. This has not only fake purses, but also more sinister things, like fake medicines and car parts that have caused fatalities. As a bonus, it's at the Porte Dauphine metro stop, one of the few fully intact metro canopies left. The address is 16 Rue de la Faisanderie in the 16th arrondissement.

Their website is only in French, and I see that they are now open Monday to Saturday, but for individuals only in the afternoons (14:00 to 17:30). Admission €6. https://musee-contrefacon.com/infos-pratiques/

The Gobelins Manufacture is having an exhibit on 100 years of tapestries. I had previously not been that enthralled by tapestries, but some of the ones in this exhibit are amazing. Many are done by famous painters in all kinds of styles - impressionist, op art, etc. As technology advanced, they were able to simulate various styles of painting in the tapestries, to the point where from a distance it's impossible to believe you're looking at a carpet. They can really capture the look of a watercolor wash, or paint put on with a palette knife - amazing!

It's at 42 avenue des Gobelins in the 13th arrondissement (metro Les Gobelins). Open 11-8, closed Mondays. Admission €8. Be aware that they have no bag check, and you can't wear a backpack on your back, but must wear it in the front. Website only in French: http://www.mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr/fr

For the websites, you can use Google Translate if needed.

I’ve lived in Paris (6 yrs), visit often, and my favorite areas in Paris are the two islands, the Marais, the 5th (Latin Quarter) and the 6th (St Germain des Près). Plenty of areas in these areas where there are few, if any, tourists.
I love to walk and spend a lot of time walking, exploring, sitting outside at cafés and sitting in parks.
I don’t do tourist sites and manage to avoid tourists for the most part.
My all-time favorite park is the Luxembourg Gardens (in the 5th/6th).
Beautiful park, many areas empty even in summer, and a place where you see lots of Parisians relaxing and enjoying.
The LG has restrooms and 2 cafés.

Yes to all the places mentioned. We also do a Seine cruise on almost every trip to Paris -- Vedettes de Pont Neuf -- so we can view the beautiful sights along the beautiful river.
At CDG we like the Ibis right in the airport -- clean, efficient, relatively inexpensive, and easy to walk to the CDGVAL to the terminals.

Hi,

If your goal in Paris is to avoid the typical tourist inundated sights and places, I suggest going to the 13th, , the 11th and the 20th, Arrond.

Have you considered the Promenade Plantée which is above the hustle and bustle, full of locals and just a few tourists, lovely gardens and trees and fountains and water features. Or go downstairs and under the arches are only artisans and their beautiful creations - again very few tourists proportionally.

I think you will see all sorts of changes since you were last here.

I've been to Paris 4 times and for my last time, I wanted to do things 'off the beaten path' so to speak. It also helped that it was in January for my birthday so any tourist sights weren't all that busy anyway. A couple of the places we visited were the Montmartre Musee (I am a huge fan of Renoir) & Musee Jacquemart-Andre (a beautiful home turned into a museum). Loved them both. I also vote for Luxembourg Gardens, just to relax and have a nice picnic if the weather is good or Parc Monceau. Enjoy your trip.

My favorite off the beaten path sight in Paris is Arenes de Lutece. It's the arena from Roman times, now a ruin in the center of a small but nice park. At lunch time, the floor normally has old men playing Boules and kids playing soccer. In the seats, you will see lots of local workers eating their sandwiches with a few friends. It's not far from the Pantheon, I'd consider it walking distance from Notre Dame. Stop at any boulangerie or market to pick up a premade sandwich and a drink; then sit and have a relaxed lunch watching how the locals in Paris have a relaxed lunch.

I just spent a month in the 12th and, since we have been to Paris quite a few times before, we concentrated on the less visited more obscure sights. Consider visiting the Aligre street market in the 12th...it's a beautiful market with a small brocante as an added bonus. The Arts e Metiers scientific museum is really interesting if you are interested in such things...very cool sciency stuff from hundreds of years old to the present...they have Foucault's actual pendulum rather than the reproduction that swings in the Pantheon. If you want a trip outside the city check out Provins, about a 70 minute train ride outside of the city. It was built in the 1100s and 1200s and hasn't been touched since. Amazing! Another place that was a pleasant surprise was the Petite Palais...it's the city of Paris' municipal art collection and it is really quite good. Highly recommend. Have you been out to the Clingancourt flea/antique market? It's a massive, winding complex of buildings with everything from junk for sale to stuff pulled out of chateaux...makes for a very interesting day since you don't know what you'll find there.