picnic lunches in Paris gardens

In quiet park areas, you should have no problem sitting on a bench with your picnic. Of course it's going to be makeshift, barring one of those old-fashioned wicker picnic sets with a butler to carry it for you. If you want glass stemware, go to a restaurant. Some formal gardens may not be hospitable to al fresco dining. Years ago I was kicked off the lovely swarth of grass at the foot of the Eiffel just for sitting down. Since then I have snacked on benches beside the Seine and elsewhere with a mini-bottle of wine and a sandwich (don't forget the corkscrew or buy one with a screw cap.) Being discreet is part of Parisien manners.

I either carry some plastic/paper cups that I purchase in the grocery store, or I buy the very small individual bottles (6-8 ounces, usually sold in sets of 4) and sip from the small bottle. A bit uncouth, but it worked for me and I didn't need to haul a heavy bottle.

The previous poster is correct, you often cannot sit on the grass in certain places; Luxembourg Gardens I believe is one place. I have had a lovely picnic out of my backpack sitting on a bench there, at the Rodin Gardens, the Champs du Mars by the Eiffel Tower and by the Seine.

Enjoy Paris.

We always take along plastic wine glasses and discreetly sip wine with picnic sandwiches, cheeses, or maybe take away crepes. One of our favorite picnic spots, besides the Eiffel Tower benches, is the very tip end of Ile de la Cite, right past Pont Neuf. For people watching we sit in the Notre Dame courtyard and munch crepes bought from a nearby bistro, Esmeralda, at the very eastern end of Ile d la Cite on the street adjacent to Notre Dame. Best crepes we've had.

I would join others in stressing you should picnic on a bench and not on the grass, as you may be moved on.

If you're drinking ordinary table wine, there's no need to put on airs - paper or plastic glasses are the most practical and won't really affect the taste.

Some people advocate putting wine in plastic soda bottles, but I wouldn't go that far.
It's a good idea to keep the glass bottle in a bag when you're not using it, as the gardiens might tell you that alcohol isn't allowed. Bring small knives, if you need to cut anything.

Place des Vosges and anywhere along the lower quais are fine for sitting. Champs de Mars is mostly OK, and the parks at the Bastille Arsenal and the outdoor sculpture garden near Pont de Sully on the Left Bank are OK for sitting on the grass undisturbed.

It's not allowed to sit near playgrounds with alcohol and cigarettes, as the gardiens will tell you to move.

I carry 2 glass wine glasses in my backpack - this last trip they were 30 days - all over Europe - on & off trains - no problems. They are fairly sturdy and small but worked great.

My husband broke one returning it to the picnic basket when we got home!

The nice lady from whom we purchased a bottle at the street market in Lyon asked if we were drinking our rose right away and wanted it cold, and did we need cups. She had a few bottles in a small cooler, opened the bottle for us and gave us little cups for our picnic.
I also occasionally throw the cups the hotel provides in my daybag (not the glasses, of course) in case of an impromptu wine opportunity!

For me, it's just the nicest plastic cup I can find. Like my plastic fork, I replace it regularly with new ones I find along the way as opposed to worrying about having, and keeping, something nice to bring with me. I rarely find myself using a spoon, so it's not part of my pack list. If you do, plastic spoons can be picked up along the way.

I do always have a swiss army knife. Pre 9/11, it was part of my carry on list, post 9/11 it's one of the first things I pick up in Europe. I get one with a small cutting blade, scissors, tweezers, bottle opener and cork screw (any thing else is a bonus) - those seem to be the things I'm most happy to have along the way.

Most importantly, when you pick up picnic supplies, don't forget chocolate.

We swig from bottle or bring plastic cups from hotel or if we rent an apartment sometimes they have plasticware. We don't stress about it too much.

While it is true you cannot always sit on the grass.. there are benches in any park I have been to.. and there is an area of grass in Luxembourg gardens that you are allowed to sit on.. however on hot days that area is wall to wall people sitting.. kind of fun in a way though.

There is also a section of the Tuilleries gardens ( behind Louvre) that you can sit on the grass.. but it is only in this section.. not everywhere.

Buttes Chaumont .. while not in the center of Paris.. has many areas to have a really nice picnic on.. lots of grass you can sit on.. and not be crowded. This park is worth a visit to get the feel of being out of a big city ( but you are still in Paris)

It is technically illegal to drink in the parks; it is not enforced except at certain times on the Champs du Mars and other spots where drunks congregate or if the people doing it are rowdy or draw attention to themselves (like say sitting on the grass except where it is permitted which is not very many places) The grass that allows sitting in the Luxembourg gardens is so crammed with people that it is not a good picnic spot -- instead gather some of the chairs into a circle for picnicking. Because it is illegal, it might be prudent to not be swigging from a bottle but to have some disposable cups and be discreet with the bottle.

I think you can picnic on the grass at Parc Monceau, at least there were plenty of people sitting on the grass when I was there a few years ago. I'm not much of one for eating on the grass, I prefer to sit on a chair or bench so I did have a bench picnic in Parc Monceau, as well as in Pere Lachaise cemetery, on Ile de la Cite near the Henry IV statue, in the Place des Vosges, etc etc. I use plastic cups for the wine, tastes just as good as out of fancy glass ones.

Last June we stayed on Ile Saint-Louis and every evening there were many people enjoying picnics along the banks of the Seine looking across the river to the back of Notre Dame and the sunset just beyond. We didn't picnic along side, but joined in by just sitting along the banks taking in the scene (I regret not doing our own picnic dinner there). Everyone seemed to have bottles of wine and wine glasses (perhaps they weren't glass, I don't know) and nobody seemed to have a problem with it. You may want to consider this as a good spot as well as the many parks.

One major issue is the amount of trash left by people who are enjoying picnics. I doubt any of those travelers that just leave trash are the ones that are reading this thread, but I do offer a simple polite reminder that Paris is having a large uptick in rat problems primarily due to litter/food refuse thrown around by tourists.

I've bought cheap wine glasses at grocery or department stores when necessary. I will not drink wine out of paper or plastic, because as far as I'm concerned it ruins the taste, even for vin ordinaire. And the advice to be discreet is a good one.

There's also a very nice park at the eastern end of Ile St Louis. You could go to the many great shops on Ile St Louis for pinic stuff and have a nice pinic at this very uncrowded park surrounded by the river.

We noticed people on the grass in Parc Monceau as well and it is a pretty park, so it is worth a try if sitting on the grass is your idea of a picnic. Just notice what other people are doing and look for signs.

Isle St. Louis is a great spot as well; we like to use the chairs in Luxembourg Gardens or the Tuilleries.

This is another reason to try my oft-recommended Avenue du President Wilson!

The garden in front of Musee Galliera and the backyard of the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville are both great, peaceful
picnic spots that have terrific, if quirky, views.

If you make a point of observing where teens after school go to hang out, you will also learn some more great spots, like the Jardin Roger Priou Valjean and other pocket parks in the Marais between the Vosges and the Ile St Louis mentioned above.