Hello Fellow Travelers,
I am strongly considering traveling to Paris within the next 30 days for a week. I am a single female and will be traveling alone most likely staying in the Marais. My question is what types of activities are available for the evening hours? I enjoy museums, music, cafes, and am comfortable with the Metro. Also, I am not afraid of being out after dark alone. Thanks in advance for ideas.
I've traveled alone to many places all over the globe. I was in Paris in Feb with a group of friends - but did notice that lots of museums, theaters, night walks, outdoor concerts were going on in the evenings......even in cold Feb....so I'm sure you will find lots ot do. The metro is a great way to get around.
Musee d'Orsay is open late Thursday.
Louvre is open late Wed+Fri.
Quai Branly is open late Thu+Fri+Sat.
Pompidou is open late daily except Tue.
Fat Tire Bike Tours - you can do a bike or Segway tour in the evening, Paris after dark - beautiful.
St. Germain des Pres has a couple of concerts scheduled for August. The concerts at Sainte Chapelle are a good way to see the beautiful stained glass.
Arc de Triomphe - Watch the sun set behind La Defense and the lights of the city go on, especially the Eiffel Tower. Go to Trocadero after dark to watch the hourly Eiffel sparkle (be watchful of pickpockets).
I enjoyed the Paris Ghost Tour , the guide was engaging and told interesting stories.
Seine cruise - I like Vedettes du Pont Neuf.
There are lots of cafes in the Marais and in the Latin Quarter.
If I was in Paris alone (and odds are I would be - sad face) then I would eat after nine, preferably at a casual bar or bistro in a busy area like Quartier Latin, St Germain, Les Halles or Le Marais. Watch the people, or ask the waiter if there is a happening local bar that night with a cool crowd. Don't do what I would probably do, however, and that is stay out too late and drink a few too many. Enjoy.
Debbie -- one thing to consider is it stays light SO late, so strolls along the Seine in the evening hours, even 8 and 9 pm, are still daylight activities.
There are evening concerts at Sainte-Chapelle and at Eglise de la Madeleine, among other venues. Go to classic tic.com for listings.
Paris is a cultural hotbed, but live theatre and music take a summer vacation along with the rest of the French. Some of it just moves outside for concerts under the stars. Jazz and other forms of musical clubs will have something on their stages. There are plenty of official and unofficial events guides on the Internet. One I like is operated by the international magazine Time Out
http://www.timeout.com/paris/en
The Washington Post ran this survey of jazz clubs last winter http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/vive-le-jazz-parisian-style/2015/03/05/43c5ed34-bd40-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html
For dining late, you should note that many small places stop taking orders as 10 p.m. approaches so around 9 p.m. is about as late as you should wait. A reservation will help and your hotel staff probably will assist you if your French isn't good enough for the telephone.
Thanks Everyone, I have my apartment rented, plane ticket purchased and I am ready to go! So excited to get back to Paris. Thanks for the great ideas and support.
Glad you have your ticket. I'll keep my eyes open for any outdoor music events info. I can think of a couple of things, but have to check if they're on in August.
Edit:
Classical Music Festival at Parc Floral (on the eastern edge of Paris, at the Chateau de Vincennes -- line 1 Metro to Chateau de Vincennes and then a short walk to the Parc Floral). Admission to the park for the concert is 6 euros.
http://www.classiqueauvert.paris.fr/programmation
(look up the days of the week and know that "août" is the word for August and you should be able to tell what program is on what day. Keep in mind the French use the 24-hour clock so "16h" means 16:00 which means 4 pm.)
Generally Saturdays and Sundays at 4 pm, except for Sat. Aug 29th, when the program is at 8 pm. The series started on August 1 and goes through September 13.
Rock en Seine, in St Cloud (another near suburb of Paris, but on the northwestern edge). Domaine National de St. Cloud.
August 28-30.
Here's the English version of the Domaine National de St Cloud website with metro stop listed etc.
http://www.saint-cloud.monuments-nationaux.fr/
Outdoor summer film series at La Villette:
http://www.sortiraparis.com/loisirs/cinema/articles/50927-cinema-en-plein-air-de-la-villette-2015
Admission is free; it's 7 euros to rent a "transat" -- i.e. a beach chair to lounge in if you don't want to drag a blanket with you to sit on the ground.
All the films are screened in their original language with French subtitles.
The PDF gives the dates and titles of movies being screened.
http://lavillette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Brochure-CPA-Villette.pdf
Hope this will give you some ideas!
