Paris - Surprise me

I usually pick a few places on the Atlas Obscura website that are generally well off the typical tourist track. I've also gone online and found information on filming locations for favorite movies and tv shows that were set in Paris and then gone to find them.

Keri,

I wouldn't really refer to this as a "surprise", because we actually planned to go there.

Anyway, we enjoyed visiting the Statue of Liberty (replica) found at the end of the Île aux Cygnes, not far from the Eiffel Tower.

Enjoy Paris!

What a great idea! Can't wait to read the responses....

Maybe seeing non-famous churches (look at a map and go to ones that aren't Notre Dame, Sacré-Cœur, etc), and their surrounding neighborhoods. Or cemeteries that aren't Pere-Lachaise.

As a movie lover, I've gone to movie theaters in various cities that were not in the tourist areas, and where seemed to be the only non-local. In fact, that's what gave me the cemetery idea; Francois Truffaut is buried in Montmarte Cemetery. A look at the Wikipedia entry for this cemetery shows lots of other famous people, including Nijinksy.

A friend of mine went to a huge motorcycle supply store in Paris; that's something different from where tourists usually go, but he loves motorcycles and had a great time. I forget where it was, but he said the neighborhood was interesting.

So, if you have a special interest, try to do something related to that; it should take you off the beaten track.

I just read a book called Forever Paris: Twenty five walks in the footsteps of Chanel, Hemingway, Picasso and More. It gave me some inspiration for future trips. You can find it on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Forever-Paris-Footsteps-Hemingway-Picasso-ebook/dp/B007KLFI4A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488200531&sr=1-1&keywords=paris+twenty+five

I purchased a "deck" of City Walks Paris cards years ago - very handy to grab a couple of cards and carry them with you

Hi,

On exploring places not visited by tourists, I heartily suggest the 20th Arrond.

My first was a determination to receive a "Bis" from a local French woman. I figured that would entail getting to know a local well enough that they would feel comfortable greeting me as a friend.

It didn't end up being much of a challenge. On my first afternoon in Paris I walked by a bachelorette party at a cafe. Apparently the bride-to-be had a scavenger hunt list of things to do - one of which was to engage an American in a conversation regarding their long-lost love affair. They asked as I passed if I was American. When I said yes, the bride popped up, promptly gave me a kiss on both cheeks and started to emote about how crushed she was that I hadn't contacted her after our torrid romance ten years ago. I played along. The group she was with seemed to enjoy it.

Sometimes being spotted as an American isn't that bad.

I agree the 20th is my favorite to stay in:
It feels like Paris but no tourists

Avoid the 20th and let it continue to be our secret, relatively tourist free, Paris. Besides it's gritty, multi-cultural, far from tourist sights (and sites) . . . . and here be dragons.

(and you can probably can tell that I live there . . . .twenty-five years now)

That presupposes that American tourists have no desire to see gritty and multi-cultural sections of Paris but would rather seek out those cafes where Piaf and Rina Ketty are still being played, as if it still existed.

Fred. Your comment is interesting. I guess my try at sarcasm didn't work.

Though from the remarks I read on this and other forums, I think tourists in general want to see the postcard views, the view they saw in a Woody Allen movie, The Top 10, the mentions on Must See lists and have little if any interest in the living, breathing city. On their short three to five day trips they don't have time to look further.

I know your comments were laced with irony...understood. True, "they" want to see the postcard Paris as you described and that portrayed in "Midnight in Paris." So, "they" are missing out on the seeing the 20th, 13th, 17th, 19th districts.

Brad, a similar thing happened to my husband in Venice. A bachelorette party (or hen party) was going on in a square near Rialto Bridge. The bride was dressed outrageously with a colorful bra over her clothes. She walked up to my husband & persuaded him to buy her a drink, which of course he was happy to do. We took a fun picture & they were off to find another American sucker. LOL

What a great collection of tips. I esp. like the idea about Atlas Obscura (I've signed up for their newsletter) -- also, churches, cemeteries, and the like. We do take a LOT of photos so almost anything outdoors is of interest.

I'm not much of a movie person but that suggestion reminded me that, last trip, I'd been reading Cara Black's mystery series, which gets into each arrondissement (maybe even the 20th ). In fact, inspired by one of the books, one fairly easy hunt was for some 'papiers d'armenie'. By this summer her book set in Saint-Germain will be out ... and that's close to where we'll be staying. So there may be some nearby back streets to check out from that book.