Paris for the 5th time: Need off the beaten path ideas

St. Denis Basilique, it's a little tough to get to, don't think Rick covers it in his Paris guidebook re transportation details. It's where almost all the French Kings are buried. It's been pillage several times but there are still burial effigies.

I was supposed to go on my previous trip, but I realized it was going to require lots of time to get there. It also didn't help that my last trip was in November when the days are super short. With more daylight in August I really should not think about how long it will take to get there this time :-)

Construction in terms of the outside being covered in scaffolding or the inside being a mess?

The St-Denis Basilica is one stop before the end of Metro line 13 (the last stop is St-Denis Universite), easy to get to. Not a very attractive suburb but a short walk to the basilica, where you see all the tombs amid one of the first Gothic churches ever built, a real landmark in architectural history.

Edit -- I don't know about any current construction, we were there several years ago.

Another unsung favorite of ours is the Promenade Plantee, running along a former rail viaduct from just south of the Bastille Opera out toward Vincennes. It's above the street at first, then under some steep slopes, level itself but gong through interesting topography and neighborhoods. Follow it as far as you want and turn around, or pick up a Metro or bus back. Best in nice weather of course.

We also like the Marmottan Museum, full of Monets and other impressionists, a short walk east through a park from the La Muette Metro.

Given your time frame I'd suggest just one of these, or another you choose, plus the always-valuable café sitting time. You know the drill by now, I'm sure! Have fun!

I would second the Marmatton. It is in a gorgeous area of Paris. I thought it was really good, and pretty easy to get to.

Kudos for Promenade Plantee. Thanks for the tip!

An especially good time to visit the Marmottan and Orangerie art museum in Paris is, just before your visit to Giverny, where he painted all those Garden and Water Lilly (Nymphea) paintings that you see the original of in the Marmottan and Orangerie.

OMG I forgot about Giverny!!! Thank you. Is the end of August a good time to see flowers in bloom, though?

The Musee Guimet.
http://www.guimet.fr/fr/musee-guimet/histoire-du-musee-guimet
Happens to have an excellent collection of Gandharan Buddhist artifacts,
very relevant for recent history in the region.

I went to St. Denis last month. There was a lot of scaffolding on one corner of the facade and a good bit of the center of the church was covered up - they're cleaning the tombs, which was kind of interesting to see (briefly). It was still worthwhile, the stained glass windows are beautiful (not quite as good as Sainte-Chapelle, but then what is?).

Look at this thread which I started a couple months ago. Lots of great suggestions, only a few of which I had time for.

I rented an apartment for a month last October (the weather was unusually warm then) just off the rue Montorgueil in the 2nd (Mo: Sentier-Petits Carreaux exit) and just loved the whole atmosphere. Very non-touristy shopping street that filled the cafes with the French after-work crowd in the afternoons. Lots of shops to explore or just enjoy the people-watching sitting outside at one of the cafes. Ends at Les Halles. Another suggestion would be exploring the 15th starting at Mo: La Motte Picquet-Grenelle. Look for one of the largest Starbucks I've ever seen just outside the metro, cross over the Bd. de Grenelle (where there is an open air market I believe twice a week under the overhead Metro tracks) and stroll down the rue du Commerce. Grab some picnic supplies at the large Monoprix there (2nd floor) and walk back up Av. La Motte-Picquet to the Champ des Mars at the Ecole Militaire end and find a bench to spread your feast on for a different view of the Eiffel Tower if you have not seen it from the opposite side of the park.

Tom, funny you should mention Rue Montorgeuil because I stayed just off this street during my second visit to Paris. I also enjoy coming here, especially to have what I think is the best quiche I've ever had at Patisserie Stohrer. And yes, this time I want to make it a point to relax with a small picnic on the Champs de Mars.

There are numerous places outside the beaten track, I liked my visit to Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace near Le Bourget Airport and Napoleon´s mansion Château de Malmaison in Rueil-Malmaison.