The Why Is There No Paris Thread? Thread

[Guest]

possibly going in august

so uh ... PARIS! ... discuss

[2000dB]

what do you want to know?

It's expensive to go out and not terribly exciting. Sunday is extremely quiet and everything is closed so make sure you have provisions. Harder to get groceries after 18h which is really annoying too. They put too much mayo in their sandwiches.

It's really a nice city to walk in. I'd walk from my apt to my work everyday and it would take me almost 40 minutes but it was nice. Most major things are pretty close too. Trains are good too though.

Get falafel on rue des rosier. Get macarons. Go to the japanese at the marché des enfants rouges. Try to run in John G. Stay hydrated. Chinese food is cheap and pretty good.

Check out the museums and galleries, obviously.

[AstroWolf]

"Bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys"

C.M. Burns

[stagename]

to add from what 2000dB said...

the falafel place nytimes talked about is l'As du Falafel on rue des rosiers, le marais, metro line 1 (st-paul le marais). Closed on saturdays.

in summer there's Batofar nearby BnF who has nice shows (i.e. last friday, 2007 dmc champion dj rafik was there).

Plus there'll be Paris Plage and Paris sous Plage which had nice artists last summer.

For shopping I would recommend l'Eclaireur, Colette, Blue/Royal Cheese (*edit* but don't listen to the salesperson that much as what the recommend is sometimes quite strange... great selection of jeans though!*) and another japanese shop on the same street (i forgot the name), Killiwatch+Etienne Marcel neighborhood, the only 45rpm shop in Europe nearby Colette, Uniqlo at La Defense, Printemps+Galerie LaFayette and 66 Champs Élysées.

There's a shitload of good restaurant out of my price range, I'm sure ;P Mini (the car), opened one late june 07 called Le Mini Palais, in Le Grand Palais, in the 8th. PDG restaurant has nice burgers. I personally really like Le Tarmak in the Bastille sector.

As for the museum, Palais de Tokyo usually has nice exposition. First sundays of the month are free for most of the museums if you're under 25. Pompidou center for the view on the top.

On sundays, everything's closed (shops, some restaurants) except for Le Marais neighborhood.

what else, really depends what ur looking for boy! Just be more specific I'll pass by this thread in a week or two.

Cheers!

[beberthur]

"Bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys"

Groundskeeper Willie

fixed.

You can find cheap places to go out, the rue Mouffetard for example has a lot of bars and restaurants easily affordable. And the crowd here is nice, mostly students and twenty-somethings.

Also, not everything is closed on sundays. As PierreYann said, in the Marais, everything is opened, as well as on the Champs Elysées (though it's an avoidable place).

Running in John G. is pretty hard to do. At least much harder than running into Hedi Slimane (and I know what I'm talking about).

[coinlockerbaby]

Everybody says that　August is the worst time to be in Paris. Parisian people all leaves on holiday, and the city shuts down.

[Tisswat]

The search must be broken.

[beberthur]

Everybody says that　August is the worst time to be in Paris. Parisian people all leaves on holiday, and the city shuts down.

wrong.

august is probably the best month to visit Paris. Streets aren't packed, the weather is nice, shops are opened.

[mike lowrey]

I dont see how august is the best month. even though the city might not be completely closed down like it used to be, I'm quite certain many small shops, restaurants etc are closed sometime during august.

anyway;

Paris trip

1 day in Paris

Places to Hit in Paris

Paris from 3.3-10.3

my paris shopping experiences/thoughts

hotels in Paris

[aloves]

Make sure you visit the Centre Pompidou, in the 4th arrondissement, can't miss it. They are always hosting amazing exhibitions and awesome concerts, the library is incredible. Not to mention the Stravinsky Fountain and the view! (always closed on tuesdays however.)

[beberthur]

I'm quite certain many small shops are closed sometime during august.

even kokon to zai was opened.

[jey_s_tears]

August is definatly the worst time to experience Paris nightlife, the city simply shuts down. As mentionned, If you are just planing a trip to visit and... shop, this sound quite good. As a Parisian, I must temperate some words.

shops are opened.

Not so true, of course big retails on avenue Montaigne are opened, some shut down sooner, big shops like le bon marché or galleries lafayette are opened too, but a lot of small retailers are off, around bastille for exemple almost everything is closed. When it comes to eat, you will easyly find usual junk food. It s really harder to find a restaurant when you hang out in dickstricts that don't bear any monument for tourists, sadly enought this is where you can find smal spelcial shops.

If I was planing a shoping + cool musuems visits trip, I would choose a hotel in the south east, 5em or 13em arrondissement. Very calm, a lot of gardens, l'institut du monde arabe provides exceptionnal shows, is a good place to drop in for a tea. Subways availables:

line 7 takes you fastly to chatelet ( lot of shop, nothing specials), palais royal musee du louvre ( must see buildings, + the famous Colette ), Chaussée d'antin ( galerie lafayette, printemps, you can also check the magnificent Opera )

line 6 takes you to APC and all designers based in Saint germain des prés

13em arrondissement should also be quite a cheap place to sleep in.

[Gabriel]

Traditionally Paris closes down in August, Parisians all go to Brittany or wherever, and American tourists move in and walk around in the sun wearing brightly coloured shorts and tshirts.

However it's changing, as people take their vacations at different times. Hard to tell what's happening and what's not.

[kstanl]

I've just come back from a couple of weeks in Paris.

Most of the obvious shops have already been mentioned, but you should try Les Alternatives in Le Marais (Rue des Rosiers or Rue du Roi de Sicile, can't remember but they're short streets). It's a high end consigment store. I didn't look at womens but for men they had lots of nice number nine, drkshdw, dior homme, rick owens and then gucci, lanvin etc. Prices are around half retail or less I would think.

It's a glass fronted store and you have to ring a doorbell and wait outside for a couple of minutes to get in, but it's worth it.

I stayed in the 6th (St Germain) near the river and it was a great spot in that it was really central to everything.

[aloves]

Any hostel recommendations for Paris?

[grandnash84]

if u cant speak french then expecte to get treated hella rude

[beberthur]

^^Unfortunately, that's true.

[Serendipper]

In a lot of places in America, expect to be treated rude if you don't speak English...poorly.

I love Paris, By the way. Don't forget all the cool thrift stores off Rue De Bac. You will find everything from handmade leather goods and knit scarves (big, cool looking black one I picked up for $16) to Chanel, YSL, etc....hot French brands from past seasons for the cheap.

A lot of the futuristic/retro/steampunk stuff is tempting, but don't buy too much or you will wind up looking like a Canadian raver.

[meta]

could you be a little bit more specific about the thrift stores? I would love to check them out.

[mike lowrey]

if u cant speak french then expecte to get treated hella rude

I dont get this, how american do you have to behave to get treated poorly?

I don't speak a word of french apart from hello, thank you and goodbye and I haven't had a single situation in Paris where anyone would've been unfriendly or particularly rude to me, compared to any other big cities. I can't say how this works if you walk into a place wearing white running shoes, khaki shorts and a camera around your neck yelling HOW YA DOING, but from my experience people are friendly if you're friendly towards them and behave casually.

[Tisswat]

I don't buy this Parisiens-are-assholes myth either. As long as you don't barge in and start yapping away in english you'll be fine. The problem is that people (not is not only true for Parisiens) don't really appreciate it when you expect them to speak English. If you visit other cultures/countries, it is not more than normal that you make an effort to indulge in the local language and customs. Show humility and respect and people will be hospitable - so far this has worked for every single place I've visited.

So, learn this by heart:

Bonjour monsieur/madame,

Parlez-vous anglais?

If your pronounciation is (anywhere near) correct, I guarantee instant improvement of people's attitudes towards you. Just make an effort to speak French. It's really that simple.

By the way, I remember this exact discussion already took place in one of the other threads about Paris.

meta, I think there is a Paris thrift thread in superjetset somewhere with some good info.

[Matay]

for a good laugh that'll cost lots of money, go watch the Moulin Rouge!

Paris really is amazing to just stroll around in.

and a trip to Versailles is nice too...if you're at all intersted in architecture and/or history and royal families etc

[FunkyFrenchy]

"Bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys"

C.M. Burns[/quot]

aaaahhhhhhhh come on, we are not that bad...

kstanl Thanks fir the info

[homme.homme]

anyone have any french lessons on mp3 or something they can upload for me?

[Tisswat]

anyone have any french lessons on mp3 or something they can upload for me?

Will Rosetta Stone level 1 and 2 do? Send me PM.

[little ants]

I'm moving to Paris in September for school, and I might have to give up eating because I no longer have any self control when it comes to money.

[stagename]

hey little ants, cutting on the food budget? C'mon, french people define their lives around eating...

U can't move to the capital of food and cutting on food expenses ;P