Paris

Lots of off-beat stuff! Zoo in the Jardin des Plantes; Mosquee de Paris in the same area; Montparnasse Tower; Rodin Musuem, Parc Buttes Chaumont; Pantheon; Denhillerin kitchen store; Galeries Lafayette department store; Holocast Memorial near Notre Dame; the Cluny Museum and the Musee Marmottan for Monets. I can't remember the names of the particular restuarants but we love the two located just across the bridge from Notre Dame on the Ile St. Louis. We also liked a little fondue/raclette restaurant behind the Pantheon. I had written a much longer list with comments but it was lost in RS cyberspace. Now, my fingers are tired. Have fun!

You could take a short train ride to see the beautiful stained glass windows in the Chartres Cathedral. It's also a nice small town to walk through and have lunch/dinner. Have a great trip!

If you have not see the Paris Opera House, go and amaze yourself. It is a fantasy of red velvet, marble, chandliers, and luxurious architecture. There is an English tour during the day...I stumbled upon the Opera House so I had not planned ahead to arrive for the English tour, but even without it.....SPECTACULAR. You know that scene when Cinderalla comes flying down the staircase because it is almost midnight.....she was coming down a stairway like the one here, I'm sure. There is also a great costume display.

How about the Paris sewer tour? I found it pretty interesting and certainly not the everyday Paris outing. A couple hours is plenty.

+1 for the Marmottan. Only a couple of blocks from the metro stop and is open late on Tuesdays. It's also the site of a famous art theft.

http://fattirebiketours.com/paris
Try the night tour, amazing and so much fun. Also get a river cruise included and lots of wine. A blast.

On a nice day, the view from the top of Montparnasse tower is pretty cool. Also recommend, the spectacular architecture and art out at La Defense (not on the weekend though when it's virtally deserted). There is a large underground shopping mall there also. Other suggestions: Bois de Bologne, Luxembourg Gardens, Pere Lachaise, Musee Carnavalet, The Concergerie, shopping at Le Bon Marche, including the Epicerie food court. Get hot chocolate at Angelina's, macaroons at Laudree, lunch at A Priori The in the Gallerie Vivienne, or Cafe de Flore.

In an earlier post someone mentioned Pere Lachaise. This is a cemetery on the east side of Paris. It is easily reached by Metro. Exit at Pere Lachaise. Jim Morrisson of The Doors is buried here, as well as Oscar Wilde, Rossinni. Chopin, etc. Print a map off your computer before you go, or buy a map outside the entrance of the cemetery. You will be lost without a map. There is no fee to enter. Plan at least two hours. Part of the cemetery is very hilly, and the graves are almost on top of each other, so wear walking shoes. This is a very peaceful and quiet area of Paris, and with all of the walking you will do; it is great exercise.

What a great bunch of ideas. Glad I found this discussion. Does anyone else have any ideas?
Thanks

SusieQQ, you apparently had no prior reservations to see the Opera House. I assume you are talking about Garnier. Tickets available at the entrance? Do you recall cost? Cost of tour? Time of tour?

The Montparnasse Cemetery also has quite a few famous people in it... Sarte and Simon Beuvoir, Man-Ray, and Serge Gainsbourg to name a few...

No one has mentioned walking along St. Martin Canal yet.
Picnic on pizza from Pink Flamingo. They give you a ballon to find you and deliver the pizza to you.

I took the sewer tour in 1988, so I don't know what it's like now. But at that time, it was just a bunch of plumbing facts; not very entertaining or interesting. If you're looking for an offbeat museum, try the Museum of Counterfeits (Contrafaçon in French). They not only have knock-offs of purses and the like, but also more dangerous things, like car parts and medicines. I don't have information in front of me at the moment, but I remember it's near the Bois du Boulogne, at the western edge of Paris.

The sewer museum hasn't changed, but it's a good place to cool off. Contrafacon is about five hundred feet from the P. Dauphine metro station, go east, then south. In the southwest wing of the Chaillot palace, there's the Museum of Mankind and a really good maritime museum - - i think you can get a twofer ticket.

I thought La Taverna Italian restuarnart in the 7th was excellent! Great food and location. 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower

Rue St. Denis is a pleasant surprise. By day, it is filled with shopowners finding wholesale deals, by night it's a lively street scene with restaurants and pubs. The area in the 1st is the nicest. I got a pizza from a fast-food joint and sat by a beautiful fountain to eat it, watching all the hubbub.

Canal St-Martin boat ride, or walk beside. Marmottan Museum for More Monets. Promenade Plantee near Gare de Lyon. Deportation Monument near Notre Dame. Archeological crypt beneath the square in front of ND. Cluny medieval museum.
St-Denis Basilica in northern suburbs. Wait a minute, you're already back from your trip! Hope you saw all those places! If not, assume you will return....

All large city trips deserve a few minutes of quiet time! Read the following article on Paris hidden gardens: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/travel/29gardens.html?pagewanted=all We heard the author speak on one of Rick's podcasts. Seems like we were always close to one of these when our energy was about to run out. With three trips to Paris, at least 1 week each, under our belts we have still not experienced all we want to! We put off the Opera and Holocaust Museum until our last trip and were sorry we had waited so long. We are not Jewish but spent hours there - it was amazing! Thank you former French President Jacques Chirac for finally recognizing France's role during WWII.