Month in Paris

Well one way to see some sites and enjoy some english speakers ( sorry they may be Canadian or Australian or Brits though. . can you manage that?) is perhaps taking a bike or walking tour.

Fat Tire Bike Tours are fun and EASY.

Pariswalks does many different walking tours many on different themes..

I have been to Paris for literally hundreds of days.. there is still alot I haven't seen.. do you have any particular interests?

You may have been to these museums but if not they are all EXCELLANT choices to me..

Invalids Army Museum

Shoah Memorial

Museum Jacquemart-Andre

Also there are tons of daytrips worth doing.. Rouen was interesting, was about an hour away from Paris and cheap if booked well in advance.
Chantilly , Reims, Chartes, . there is alot to see or do just outside Paris and now you have the luxury of time to do them in!

Glad to see you moved your question from Trip Reports to the France section. Here's my response from yesterday...

We've spent a month or more in Paris many times, last time in an apt on Ile St. Louis which you will LOVE. There is SO much to do I can't list everything and I don't know what you like to do, so I'll just tell you what I enjoyed most from our last stay...

Staying on Ile St. Louis is like being in a little village so each morning I'd go out with my shopping basket, that I bought there and now have as a souvenir, and make the rounds to several shops for groceries. I loved the little grocery store (the only one) on the main street (rue Saint Louis en l'Ile). I had fun looking at everything on the shelves with everything written in French. They have a wonderful selection of yogurts and cheeses and lots of other things for being such a small store. Then I'd go to the produce store (almost on the corner of the main street and rue des Deux Ponts) and buy fresh squeezed OJ. They have a machine that squeezes it right in front of you which is fun to watch and it's the best OJ we've ever had. Then I'd keep walking down rue des Deux Ponts, almost to the bridge (Pont Marie) and stop in at the bakery on the left side of the street. It's the best one on the island. I'd get a baguette, croissants and pain au chocolat. Then I'd go back to the apt and make us breakfast. Each of the shopkeepers came to recognize me after just a few days and they were all so nice. Be sure to say Bonjour Madame/Monsieur when you first see them, and of course Merci and Au Revoir when you leave. On our last day I told the woman at the bakery that it was, sadly, our last day and she loaded up a large bag full of croissants and pain au chocolat and gave them to me (free) with a very warm goodbye.

What's great about having a month is you can do everything at a slow, leisurely pace which I really enjoyed... I love to walk, so many days were spent walking all over. The great thing about staying on ISL, is that you're already in the heart and very center of Paris and you have so many different routes to choose from. You can walk and walk with no particular destination in mind and take the Metro or a bus back if you want.

My favorite place in Paris is the Luxembourg Gardens so I'd often walk there, walk all around the gardens and spend hours sitting in a comfy chair people watching or reading. They have two cafes and often we'd (sometimes I was on my own and sometimes with my travel partner) have lunch at the one by the bandstand. I also enjoyed watching the neighborhood guys play petancque, aka boules (bocce ball).

I also loved to take a bus... not to anywhere in particular... I just enjoyed seeing the passing scenery and being on a bus with Parisians living their daily life and hearing French spoken. In the whole month, I never saw another tourist on any bus I was on. Truly a "backdoor" experience for me. On one ride, I sat behind two women (related) who were having a dinner party for their family and they were talking about what they were going to make and how they were going to cook it... so fun to listen to them.

Recommended things to do: flea market at the Porte de Vanve, Nissim de Camondo Museum (once the home of a wealthy family) next to Parc Monceau, rue Montorgeuil (a pedestrian only street), Pere Lachaise Cemetery, outdoor markets, renting bikes on a Sunday and ride along the Seine on the Right Bank which they close to cars on Sunday, take a Mike's Bikes/Fat Tire guided bike tour, sit at an outdoor cafe eating/drinking/people watching (my all time favorite Paris cafe is on ISL called La Flore en l'Ile, right by the pedestrian bridge behind Notre Dame), climb to the top of Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe, a daytrip to Fontainebleau and another to Vaux-le-Vicomte. (I've tried to mention things I really enjoyed that aren't high on the list in guidebooks, or aren't listed at all).

Continued...

To meet people, my only advice is the American Church (on the street along the south side of the river very close to the Pont des Invalides). I'm not religious and don't go to church here, but I really enjoy this church and their service and meeting people after the service (they serve coffee). All nationalities and religions are welcome, they all speak English (majority are American/Canadian), most all live in Paris and everyone has always been very friendly.

Hope some of this helps in some way. Enjoy Paris!

I second Vaux le Vicomte, and suggest timing your visit so you can see the Château by candlelight at night. Also try to be there when the fountains are running, and rent a golf cart for touring the gardens. I took the train from Paris and visited in the evening by candlelight, stayed overnight nearby, visited for the grounds and fountains the next morning, and then returned to Paris. It made for a very pleasant, relaxing weekend. Their website is quite good and provides details on timing.

For meeting other Americans, there is the American Church and the American Cathedral. For lesser known sights, you can pick up more detailed or specific guidebooks once you arrive at W.H. Smith, Shakespeare & Co. or another English-language bookstore. There is a series about mysterious Paris. I also highly recommend the Michelin Green Guide to Paris as a comprehensive guide to the city. You can get that in English in the States, sometimes at your local bookstore but definitely on-line.

Cathedral St Denis, Jardin des Plantes, Bercy Village, Parc Villette, and day trip to Provins or a slightly longer (almost 2 hours each way) one to Amiens. We also love exploring the Belleville neighborhood. As to meeting Americans, I have no suggestions although we met lots of people during our month in Paris in of all places the laundromat near our apartment. Have a great trip.

Have you been on the Promenade Plantee? Railroad viaduct turned into a walking path, from just south of the Bastille Opera out to Vincennes and beyond. Beautifully landscaped, flat, and interesting scenery on either side.

The Chateau de Vincennes has a lot of history, interesting medieval portion, beautiful chapel that looks like the Ste-Chappelle but without the great stained glass, big park nearby.

Second the nomination of the St-Denis basilica, where most of the kings and queens are buried, at least parts of them. Also the pioneering Gothic church in France and maybe Europe, from the 11th century.

Second the nomination of the Jacquemart-Andre Museum, Rembrandts and such in a furnished house, like the Frick in NYC. Nice food there too.

Musee Marmottan in Passy if you haven't seen it, full of Monets and others.

Canauxrama runs boats up and down the Canal St-Martin between Bastille and La Villette, also up and down the Seine beyond Paris.

A month will give you time to really appreciate the city and take some day or even overnight trips. Ina Caro's book "Paris to the Past: Travelling Through French History by Train" describes her favorite sites accessible by Metro in Paris or train from Paris, including how to get to them, all but one (La Rochelle) are day trips. Her descriptions are vivid and she adds info about her favorite places to eat.

Have fun.

To all of you that have replied, I thank you! I will be sending private replies to some of you to get more information. We have now booked an apartment on Ile St Louis after reading numerous positive reviews about the owner and his apartments. Thanks again and look for private replies.

You've received many good suggestions. If you like gardens, visit the Parc de Bagatelle, the rose garden in the Bois de Boulogne which should be in full bloom in late May into June. I also suggest visiting food markets, I like the Sunday market on Blvd Raspail. I have not done this yet but the American Library in Paris has programs and activities, just check the website.

Behind Notre Dame in a small park is a memorial to the Jews who were deported from Paris to the Nazi death camps. Once you enter the park there's a stairway over toward the river which descends into the memorial. A lady was standing at the stairway asking people to turn off their cell phones. This is an immersive experience. Very moving. I came out, and wept.

We have stayed from a month to two months three times. I would advise an apartment in an
outer arrondissement e.g. the 17ty or 18th or even the 14th -- something less in tourist hell at
the center. The shops and restaurants are cheaper and more 'local' in feel and it makes
you feel like a resident. You will then establish 'your bakery' and butcher and so forth.

Get a Navigo decouverte for transport. You can load it for a month if most of your month falls
in one calendar month but if it laps across two months, you can load it weekly. It runs a calendar
month or Monday to Sunday of each week. You could load it for 5 zones one week and plan day
trips out of Paris for that week; you can also get cheaper out of Paris tickets called complement
de Parcours if you have the ND. e.g. you get a loading of a one time pass for that trip
(e.g. Versailles or Fontainebleau or whatever within 3 hours of travel at a reduced rate)

If you have a monthly pass you can go anywhere in the 5 zones on the weekend with a
zone1-2 pass.

There are literally dozens of great day trips within about an hour from Paris. YOu can see a few
we have done lately here: http://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/day-trips-from-paris/

on the same photo journal web site are a lot of posts on Paris itself including some of the
ways we get to know Paris like seeking out interesting churches in distant parts of the city or
going to the ends of metro lines and seeing what is there or doing self guided walks (note
particularly the street art/graffiti walk) or going to free concerts in areas we haven't visited.
You can get information on free concerts in each weeks Pariscope. If you want to meet
other English speakers, the American Cathedral coffee hour that first Sunday you get there
is a good way to connect with others looking to do the same.

Other great day trips include Chartres, Rouen, Giverny, Reims, Auvers sur Oise (I'd
put that on the list -- it is where Van Gogh spent his last days and a great day trip). Someone
suggest fat bike tours in the city which are fun but you could also do a countryside bike trip
to villages and sites you would not easily visit otherwise with http://www.frenchmystiquetours.com

He is an American expat who lives near Paris and does really great customized countryside rides.

A month will not be long but it is long enough to really see a lot of Paris and environs
and live in the city in a relaxed way. We can hardly wait to head back again for a couple of months.

You can visit a scale model of the Statue of Liberty on Ile des Cygnes near Pont Grenelle. From there you also get a great view of the Eiffel Tower.

Hi, a good book to read is "An Hour From Paris" by Annabel Simms (http://www.amazon.com/An-Hour-Paris-Annabel-Simms/dp/1873429495). My personal suggestions include the Marmottan Museum, Giverny, Rouen, and Chartes. Sounds like a wonderful trip. I'm hoping to do this myself one day!