My girlfriend and I will be in Paris. We both love sitting outdoors and eating. In order to save some $$ we want to picnic. Bottle of wine, cheese, meats, and I don't know - what else do you picnic with in Paris?
We'll be in the 6eme so we'd like to stay close so we don't have to walk too far with a bunch of stuff. Suggestions on somewhere to relax for an hour or so. We'll probably do a 'late lunch' and then head to dinner around 9. We'll be doing this on the night we 'splurge' for dinner.
Picnicing is very popular , with tourists, and locals. Try Luxembourg Gardens, or on a hot evening go down the pedestrian only bridge ( Pont Arts I think, but I totally suck at remembering names) and you will find locals with blankets, plates, cold roast chickens, salad bowls, children, guitars, its a hoot!
From what i've researched it seems there are places all over Paris so it won't be an issue. I have however read that an open bottle of wine is a no,no - however everyone else almost always says to take a bottle of wine or champagne and sit for hours.
Thoughts?
Picnicking is very easy in Paris. There are plenty of little parks and such that are great to stop and have a bite to eat. The grocery stores have a fridge area full of stuff to grab and go - sandwiches, individual desserts, drinks, etc. You can of course also go to the different local stores for wine, cheese, etc. There are many street-side to-go places also to grab a crepe, baguette sandwich, and such. My favs are tuna salad sandwiches, chocolate mousse, and nutella crepes.
I have never heard that wine was a no-no as a previous poster stated. When I was admiring the Eiffel Tower in lights one evening there were people walking around selling bottles of wine. I don't think you will have a problem with the wine.
The deal with the wine is it is a selectively applied law. The law is meant to discourage the drunk homeless you may on occasion see. I t is never applied to civilized picnicers or tourists have lunch om a bench.
The gendearms will smile and walk on if they see you having a nice little picnic with wine, as long as you are not SITTING on the grass where there may be no sitting on the grass signs, that is a far grave offence...LOL
Awesome! Thanks for the tips.
I was noticing that the Eiffel tower has 'tours' until Midnight every night and was hoping we could be there when the lights are on late at night. Is it relatively crowded late in the evening? I was hoping our first night after dinner we could grab a bottle of wine and sit on a bench and enjoy people watching and of course the Eiffel Tower. We'd love to go up but both have no interest in wasting 1-2 hours waiting in line - my mom said it was 'overrated' in her opinion.
JB, be sure to check out the Eiffel tower right at the top of the hour. For 10 min the lights blink & it's so pretty. I've been to Paris about a dozen times & I still love the Eiffel tower at night. I also like to walk down the streets running alongside the tower. You get some interesting views of parts of the tower from the little cross streets - one leg of the tower will fill the view. It makes you realize how really big it is. One of my best pictures was taken at night from one of those streets.
About crowds, I usually travel in Nov when it's too cold to picnic. There are still a lot of people milling around tho. I hope you have a great time in my favorite city. By the way, if you want to picnic at the ET, consider buying your food in the rue Cler area. That way you won't have to carry it far.
Sitting below the Eiffel tower is actually not a great people watching zone (might be different in the summer, but I've never been to Paris in the warmer months). The unfortunate reason is that you will be approached continuously by young men trying to sell you various Eiffel Tower related trinkets. For a nice picnic lunch, Paris has many small take-away delis that make delicious sandwiches.
The very best view of the Eiffel Tower is from the Trocadero side of the river on the steps of the Palais de Chaillot. Go in the evening between 8:00 and 9:30 for the best view...take along some food and drink and you will have a great start on a great night!
http://troi.cc.rochester.edu/~tdip/tomsguidetoparis.htm
Hi JB,
... the above link may be helpful. We like to use the area behind Notre Dame (view of the cathedral's flying butresses, side) for picnics. It's a gorgeous, clean, secure setting too. bon appétit! P.
Many of the local groceries have take away - Monoprix for example. You can buy pre-made salads to add to your selection of meats.
Also - many boucheries and daily markets will have fresh rotisserie items - chicken etc. Easy to take with you. Some of the markets (mine here in particualr) will have quiche and such as well. 6eme has market between Sevres-Babylone and Rennes on Tuesday and Fridays (boulevard Raspail) - fresh vegetables, cheese, meats etc. 7h to 14h30.
For where you are - :Le jardin du Luxembourg is great. But then many boulevards such as boulevard Raspail have nice trees and benches along the way.
There is a small parc at Metro Sevres Babylone near Bon Marche that is nice as well.
My girlfriend and I picnicked on the Champs de Mars a few months ago and it was one of our favorite experiences of the trip. I think we ended up buying a baguette, some ham, some stinky cheese, some wine, and some fruit... nothing too fancy.
Remember to bring your corkscrew and a few wine glasses. Pick a decent day and a decent location and it's impossible to go wrong.
At the end of a sightseeing day my husband and I found ourselves in the Galleria department store.
We ventured into the food department and got a basket. It was so much fun trying and selecting varoius ethnic prepared dishes as we assembled a picnic dinner. Then we visited the wine area, bought an inexpensive bottle and a corkscrew and viola, we had our meal. We enjoyed the Champ du Mars Parc, watching the people, and the lights come on at night.
It is still one of our best travel moments.
Of course there are many wine shops ut we we there so we did it then. Because we did carry-on luggage we needed a corkscrew. Enjoy!
Just returned from Paris. Food was very expensive! The cheapest and adequate, but not gourmet, was a lunch put together at the Monoprix grocery store. The Paul Boulangeries (bakeries) are a chain and very good and scattered throughout Paris. It seems we never drink enough water while traveling, perhaps because it is not as available, and bottled water is expensive, unless bought at a store like the Monoprix. If you are going to be in Paris for a few days, buy a large bottle or two and refill your small bottle, or just refill with tap water each day. A picnic lunch for us happens wherever we are whenever we are hungry. Since most all the views in Paris are unlike anything here in the US, nearly all are appropriate for a picnic lunch. Bon appetite!
Susan,
Thanks for the tiP! I am a freak with my water bottle, it'll be going everywhere with me for sure - it'll save money on water bottles.
I'm a little worried about our food price, however we're both huge foodies and really want to eat, eat, and eat some more - whether its a picnic, street vendor, or a gourmet dinner. We want to try it all!
My husband and I are photographers and we like to go to all the out door markets-- there are many each day. We photograph and get our lunch... a baguette, olives, fruit, drink, cheese, dessert. Very inexpensive. We sit on a bench and eat... no one cares, people say " bon Appitite" Also in the markets they have wonderful little gift items.. I have some of the most wonderful scarves and other different things.You probably can google and get the markets and times, however if you have time before you go there is a great book called the Bread Basket of Paris... it tells all the Markets , where they are , times, days, and even which metro to take to get there.It is a big book so you might want to check it out from the library. We always take our empty backpacks to put our lunch in and we bring back the extras. I really disagree that food inParis has to be expensive..there are also restaurants in every price range.The book is really called Paris in a Basket by Meyer and Smith. Sorry.
Also, JB there are many vantage points to see the Eiffel Tower at night.If you go there and it is too crowded for your liking, cross over to the Trocodero side of the river, but turn left after you cross the river and go down the stairs to the quay right on the river and look up at the tower all by yourselves. There is a bench or 2 and I thought I woiuld be scared as my husband was photographing all up and down the river, but it was not at all scary. There are also benches in the Park there that extends down where the Tower is and the further you get from the Tower the less people there are. Take some time away from underneath the Tower and watch it twinkle.
I am anxious to try many of these ideas. Thank you all for the great tips.
