First timer in Paris looking for off the beaten track ideas

I enjoyed the Canal St. Martin in the 10th Arrondissement. Also check out the Pere Lachaise cemetery which is close by. Neither of these are way off the beaten path - but the crowds won't be suffocating.

This has some nice ideas:

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/travel/29gardens.html

Thanks both are on my radar...anyone know much about Belleville and Menilmontant areas?
And hidden gems anywhere in the city are welcome, maybe things only the Parisians know about 🤔

Thanks for the garden ideas!

We got totally lost trying to walk from Pere Lachaise to Parc de Bellville - but it was a great walk. At one point we turned a corner and were rewarded with a "full frontal" view of the Eiffel Tower!

How about mushroom stuffed ravioli at L’Heure Gourmande in the 6th arrondissement. Been a few years so google route as its down a passage. Found it by wandering.

If you like flea markets then Les Puces de Saint-Ouen
Will keep you busy for a day. It’s HUGE. Also a spot for pick pockets so beware. It’s open Sat, Sun and Monday.

Although never tried it and I’m not 100% positive it still occurs but there was Pari Roller. Friday night roller skating around the city. Google for up to date info.

In the 10th arrondisment interesting graffiti street art along Canal St Martin. Neighborhood has evolved since I first visited in the 70’s.

Enjoy your trip

Biking through the streets of Paris will take you to both the popular places as well as places you may not know including the Canal St. Martin. The ride is very enjoyable and you'll get some snippets of information along the way. You'll probably see some things that you'll want to re-visit.

http://www.bikeabouttours.com/

I just put this book on my birthday list. You might want to check out its reviews.

Paris in Stride: An Insider's Walking Guide by Jessie Kanelos Weiner

I love to visit open air markets in various parts of Paris. The Belleville area has a Middle Eastern feel. I have to look up the name of the markets, but they are crowded and exciting. Not ose who do not like crowds.

Closer to the Seine, the President Wilson and Grenelle markets are wonderful. The Bir Hakim bridge is near the Grenelle Market, it has great views of the Eiffel Tower but not everyone visits there. Often photographers use the bridge for wedding photos.

The Jardin des Plantes is lovely too.

Thanks so much for everyone’s replies. I hope to make use of at least a few of these on this trip!
Thanks

Get a book with self guided walking tours. Head out to Basilica St. Denis, the most undervisited amazing sight in Paris. (just over the border); it is on the 13 metro. Stroll the Promenade Plantee from Bastille to Vincennes.

This is a fairly new place and a fun and different way to experience art. We loved the Klimt show.
http://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en/node/829

And this site lists the weekly route for the Sunday rollerblading treks, which generally leave from bastille.
http://www.rollers-coquillages.org/

The Arab World Institute (Institut du Monde Arabe) for the architecture if nothing else.

Le Pavillon de l’Arsenal, free to enter, all about city planning in Paris.

The Science Park at La Villette. Go by Canal St Martin boat or by metro.

These are not “hidden gems”, just places infrequently mentioned. After a gazilion years of tourists flocking to Paris, you will have trouble finding true hidden gems.

The sewer museum, actually down the hole yet not very smelly, is an intriguing example of early technology. The floods last winter may have done some scrubbing.

Pet cemetery, last resting place of Rin Tin Tin (yes, he was an immigrant to Hollywood.)

Canal Saint-Martin cruise, although about a third of it is in a tunnel. The parks and museums of La Villette, at one end, are worth some time too.

https://bonjourparis.com/history/cimetiere-des-chiens-the-worlds-oldest-pet-cemetery/
https://www.timeout.com/paris/en/things-to-do/canal-saint-martin-ourcq-villette-area-guide

http://www.canauxrama.com/en/cruise/cruises-canal-saint-martin.html

https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71499/Musee-des-egouts-de-Paris

All great ideas listed above.
Promenade Plantee is great. Closer in but still of interest is rue Montorgueil = one of my favorite streets in Paris !
Good Luck

Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace of Le Bourget airport. Take the RER B to Le Bourget Railway station and bus.

The Nissim de Camondo Museum is less visited and next to a lovely park, Parc Monceau. The Marmottan Museum in the 16th, if you are a Monet fan, with a nice walk through a small park from the nearest metro station. Once a friend and I rented bikes and spent a good part of a day riding through the Bois de Boulogne.

Thanks so much for the many ideas, more than I have time for which means I will just have to come back.
Thanks again everyone!

Arenes de Lutece isn't a long walk from Notre Dame. It's a small arena surviving from Roman times built into a small park now. You will see primarily Parisians having their lunches in the park now with kids playing on the arena floor.

Since you mentioned the area, you’ve got to watch “The Triplettes of Belleville”.

Two museums that are not on the Museum Pass, but also not on the typical tourist trail:

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.

You can also go up to the Alma bridge and see the make-shift shrines to Lady Di who died near there within sight of the Eiffel.

Near the Bastille area is the covered walkway "Coulée verte René-Dumont" which is an elevated area where a train track use to be. I think its the model for the Highline in NYC. Its a pretty good area, and we ended it about half way and went to Gare Lyon to get back into the city.

I walked from Marais to Canal St Martin, looking for the scenes from that Anne Hathway movie, but the area was a bit rough. We gave up and went to Place de Republique which was a decent city square. In general, I was not that impressed with the Marais area and not sure why its being pushed so hard everywhere as a cool place.

The Notre Dame cathedral is obviously a huge landmark, but there is a fun environment on the river side of it, on the banks and bridges of the two islands. I have seen various live music acts at night, and a lot of people with little picnics or evening drinking picnics along the Seine in that area.

In a similar way, the Sacre Couer chapel in Montmatre is always a fun area with crowds and live music day and night.

I have been to the Louvre several times, and its always tiring, too big, crowded with tourists and not a great experience. The Orsay is a much finer museum experience.

There is a new museum with laser version of Klimpt paintings (I think fee is about 14eu). Also there is a Luis Vuitton center somewhere. I have not been to either one (yet).