beyond touristy Paris

Paris has so much.We can recommend a few: Cite des Science et Industrie ,walk the Bois de Boulogne or the Bois Vincennes Go along the canals in the northeast of the city

There's a pretty good natural history museum across from the botanical gardens, a maritime museum at the Palais de Chaillot, a really good air and space museum out at Le Bourget. Nobody seems to actually go into the village of Montmartre (back/north side of the butte) which is a great place to wander around. My personal favorite has become the village of St Ouen, a really neat multi-cultural/multi-ethnic/multi-lingual/multi-everythingelse pocket that makes me wish I lived there.

Thanks you, Bets, Paul n Sara, and Ed for the great ideas! I will check out the NYT Travel section, as well!

The Grande Arche at La Defense, Chateau Malmaison, which you can reach in about 20 minutes from La Defense, Musée Branley, Pavillon de l'Arsenal, the Saturday morning market at Place de la Nation (not a tourist in sight), Chateau de Vincennes.

Norma wins: Saturday at Place de la Nation.

We did "the usual touristy stuff" in 2008 and added these places in 2010: Parc Monceau, Le Printemps observation deck, lunch under the dome at Le Printemps, Jardin de Plantes, Promenade de Plantes, Musee Jacquemart Andre. We wanted to visit Musee Marmottan and Butte Chaumont but it was very hot and we ran out of energy. I'm not sure if these are "the usual touristy stuff," but we also enjoyed visiting the Cluny both trips and the English language tour at Opera Garnier in 2008.

You could pretend like you're living there. Go to a movie (if you don't speak French, look for "VO - Anglais" to see one in the original English), see a play/concert/dance performance, go for a swim in Europe's biggest indoor water park - Aquaboulevard. Take the RER to the banlieus and explore. Check out libraries, post offices and other bulidings you might have overlooked, but still have interesting architecture. Look on Craigslist and find a moving sale to shop at. Or find a French tutor who will meet you in a cafe and give you some lessons in French. There's also some lesser visited tourist sites like the Paris Mosque. There's just so many choices!

....but Norma might have seen my mother in law....she often shops there, or at the marché de la reunion, up (or down) the hill from Pere LaChaise....and once again i suggest my favorite book QUIET CORNERS OF PARIS...it includes gardens and lovely little museums ( Musée Bourdelle, Maison de Balzac, etc)...Quaranteed not to be "touristy"...though you might cross a "foreigner"

Fabulous ideas! Thanks!

We were just there 9/20-26...go to the open markets. We loved President Wilson on Wed., another on Thurs near Ecole Militaire and weekend flea market. Alot of vendors don't even speak English because it is locals shopping there. PM me if you want more details. I'll have to look it up.

You could look into the Paris Walks tours. Check their website for neighborhoods and topics.

Take a day trip to Reims and tour the champagne houses. Reserve for english speaking tours. Two remarkable cathedrals in this town too. Back in Paris by 5. Definitely do the observation deck on Printemps. Visit L'Orangerie if you have not. Visit the restaurant, La Gare.

A slight correction to what Lauren said. There's only one cathedral in Reims (cathedra being the bishop's chair and cathedral being the building that houses it). Bishops are rather scattered. The other church is the St Remi Basilica. Lauren is absolutely correct, however, in that both are well worth seeing.

And for a less exciting, but perhaps very rewarding idea, as you walk around Paris you'll pass approximately a zillion parks - both large and (especially) small...Check Them Out! You've been there "several times before", but may have never investigated those little squares, triangles, etc., for a brief respite. Do! Just 5-15 minutes of seeing things from a new perspective (and maybe a little hand-holding and snuggling!) between activities can completely change the way you experience the city. And crêpes taste très magnifique on a park bench ;-)

Thank you! I also found a lovely site called My Lisette that talks about the "secret gardens and tearooms, etc." not to miss. I think you have all given me months worth of ideas! Now, to my maps to coordinate! Thank you so much! What a brilliant and sharing community! Any hints about cell phones while there? We know to look for unlocked phones with sims cards from the USA, not Verizon or Sprint. Buy the Sims card here or there? Buy the minutes almost anywhere in Paris, yes?

You might want to check out the Gustav Moreau museum, Montparnasse cemetery (and go to the observation deck of Montparnasse tower - a touristy thing you may already have done), check out the shopping mall at La Defense, the Canal St. Martin cruise. I also like strolling through the various covered passages.. Gallerie Vivienne, etc.

We stayed in the Montparnasse area and had fun exploring the neighbourhood. I can't remember which day it was (perhaps Friday?), but the sidewalks were filled with market stalls, selling everything from socks to meat, from cooked food to knives, purses...everything. Chinatown is also located in that area, and there were a ton of restaurants. The one thing I wanted to see but did not get to see was the Muse du Arabe Monde. It was our first time and we didnt see everything because we chose to take each day slowly. Lastly, Canal St. Martin is a great little area. Even if you do not go on a cruise, try to stay long enough and walk along the banks as the boat goes from one section of the canal to another - it was cool to see how water was pumped and released into a section so that boat could rise above & below bridges and pass through from end to end.

Nice name Caryn! What are the chances we are both researching on this site at the same time? Not a very common spelling. We will just miss seeing you in Paris as we will be there Dec. 2 through the 8th. I did enjoy reading all the suggestions, I have been to Paris once though my husband hasn't.