Journey to Paris

[Corbin Law]

my final highschool power squad team of friends has decided to have our last summer hurrah be a couple of weeks in paris.

well be there from july 21 through august 2.

in terms of shopping: dont want to blow all my money, but apc and s2a and stores like that seem reasonable.

im sure the womens will probably be hunting for more than i will so its not much of a concern.

museums: of course theres the louvre and all that shit. but What are some interesting contemporary art meseums, large and small worth checking out. Im sure there is a parisian equivalent of MoMa or Mass MoCa..?

Consumption: drinking must begin and 8 am and not finish until 7:59 the next day. along with a fuck load of baugettes unless that is a stereotype im not too sure.

but in terms of food as well there should be some not expensive yet seemingly sophisticated to my untested taste buds level restaurants?

night life: any good jazz clubs? whats the possibility of my running into john Mclaughin on the street.?

any experienced travellers have any words of advice?

[jonathanschley]

go two days earlier and skip any part of august. honestly, there is no point in being there a day into august. ton's of stuff closes. most people are gone. as far as night life, when i lived there i hung out at Baron. everywhere else is pretty euro trash or touristy. the french equivalent of MoMa is the centre pompidou. a good inexpensive restaurant that is very authentic is le bistrot d'henri in st. germain. it's on rue princesse. there is also a good english speaking bar next door to it, can't recall the name, but 10 vodka shots for 20Euro. as an american to meet young people just go get drunk on the pont des arts (a bridge). it's fun for mellow nights and it's pretty much the best place to meet people/find drugs in paris if you don't know people.

EDIT: also, for fallafel, everyone will tell you to go to l'as du fallafel, bullshit. it sucks and the fallafel is soggy. there is a place 2 restaurants up called "king fallafel palace" it's MUCH MUCH better. these are all in le marais (the jewish/gay area) and there is good shopping there, i can't remember the name but a place that is the french equivalent of atelier nyc, like the french goth ninja heaven but they sell dior and other generic shit too.

EDIT again: i remember, l'eclaireur. is the store. nearby also is the place de vosges. its a cool area and victor hugo's apartment is there and you can go there and there is a cool park that is fun to get drunk in too.

[White Teeth]

there are baguettes everywhere

the underground is the best way to go 8 times out of 10, navigating it is simple. buy the week long ticket which has the best value, or for the weekends ask for a "ticket jeune" roughly pronounced ti-que jean (as in jean claude van dam) which is a deal for under 26 year olds and lets you travel where ever, but it's only available on weekends and holidays

i went there for 3 days. for the first day traveled hard and saw concorde-louvre-eiffel tower-arc-etc-etc all of the major landmarks just to get the major touristy stuff out of the way which left the rest of the time to appreciate the smaller stuff like the latin quarter-gothic quarter-notre dame-african district-markets-shopping-drinking-etc etc

i forget what they're called atm but try to find the minority districts to experience the flip side of paris as well, the food is cheaper there anyway

[semper]

Just eat in bars. Typically French, good, not too expensive. Have a steak frite, or Confit de canard. Expect to spend quite a bit of money on food , so perhaps you could save up for good dining and eat from a falafel place (if you must, I would never) on cheap days.

For modern art, apart from Centre Pompidou there is the smaller Palais de Tokyo, opposite the Eiffel Tower on the other river bank, with temporary exhibitions.

Also visit La Sainte Chapelle on a sunny day. The most beautiful medieval stained glass on the planet. Unfortunately, you will always see one side only, where the sun shines through...

[hapsical]

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Edited July 24, 2014 by hapsical

[Corbin Law]

for the 2 days in august might it be better to go out of the city into some country side?

any good parisian country side/nature/beach/etc spots?

[jonathanschley]

for the 2 days in august might it be better to go out of the city into some country side?

any good parisian country side/nature/beach/etc spots?

st. malo is beautiful and kind of cool. great sea food and there is a casino there. it wouldn't be a bad idea to make the rounds at mont. st. michel. normandie and bretagne and stuff.

[semper]

st. malo is beautiful and kind of cool. great sea food and there is a casino there. it wouldn't be a bad idea to make the rounds at mont. st. michel. normandie and bretagne and stuff.

It's not that close though.

The only way to visit Mont Saint-Michel is to take a hotel or whatever very close to it, rent bikes if you can and make sure you are there at opening time; nine o'clock or even earlier. You will find all the chapels empty and that's the only way they "work".

If you go any later, the place will be crammed with tourist groups and their amplyfied guides.

But it's beautiful, if you're into medieval architecture and seaside.

Otherwise, go to Versailles - very close.

And what I would do: take the train 1-2 hours out of Paris, preferably south but any direction will do really; rent bikes and bike around the rapidly disappearing French countryside. Buy a Michelin map, a yellow one, and take the white roads. Avoid any larger towns. France is bicycle paradise.

[The_D]

If you go to the Palais de Tokyo (for contemporary art), make sure you go to the Museum of Contemporary Art (de ville de Paris, or whatever) which is literally next door to it. They have an extensive collection, including a whole room downstairs with three Boltanski installations and a video-art space with a constantly rotating programme, if that's your thing.

When I lived in Paris (which is a few years ago now - I am old), the place for Jazz was the New Morning club. It's like the Paris equivalent of Ronnie Scott's in London.

If you want 'seemingly sophisticated' traditional French food without blowing the bank, try one of the famous (if ever so slightly touristy) bistros in Paris - Au Pied du Cochon (open 24 hours a day; onion soup is fine); Bofinger; or Chartier.

[Corbin Law]

thank you for the suggestions.

weve decided to hit normandy like its fkn dday.

any necessary adventures there?

[jonathanschley]

thank you for the suggestions.

weve decided to hit normandy like its fkn dday.

any necessary adventures there?

notthing really super adventurous there... it's a really humbling experience to go there, like omaha beach... also, when you go to omaha beach, it's US soil...on the way there, visit Rouen, that's where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, there is a dope cathedral there, cool small town, and also it's where "supposedly" the oldest hotel in europe is, some say oldest hotel in europe, some say oldest hotel in france.

[Mbrand]

In Le Marrais:

Anatomica (Make sure to try some Alden modified Lasts, + get Quality History inspired clothes made in France/ japan)

Le coude fou (restaurant right next to Anatomica) for good french food and a great selection of wines. Get their "parmentier de confit de cannard"

Rocker Speed Shop

A biker's clothing shop that is worth a visit (japanese denim, redwing, leather goods, La Durance, Filson, etc).

Everyone these days Eat at Rose Bakery. Your friends might like it.

If you're into classic made in France shoes, try any paraboot store.

Get classic made in France naval stuff for summer in St James Stores.

[belgaux]

contemporary art: centre pompidou

jazz club: if youre downtown theres one just next to the metro station in the center of the latin quarter.

other stuff: baguettes at the corner, the pere lachaise cemetary, keep away from the eiffel tower, see a film at the rex, walk up to montmartre through the city, smoke cigarettes with no filter, don't wear shorts, stay away from the 2 euro wine, 5 should get you something good.

[semper]

Père Lachaise is good.

[Flock]

sorry to hi-jack this thread, im heading to paris soon around 18th may for about 3 weeks-anyone know of any good house clubs-mostly detroit minimal type shit aka moodymann, omar-s, recloose etc etc?

thanks

[Mbrand]

stay away from the 2 euro wine, 5 should get you something good.

Are you talking about buying a bottle in shops or geting one glass of wine at bars ?

[ouss]

he's talkin about bottles

[belgaux]

yep, bottles.

also - if you like photography, there's a martin parr exhibition at the gallerue kamel mennour, 47 rue saint-andré des arts (which is basically 2 minutes walk from ile de la cité/notre dame) it's on 'till the end of july.

[gfunkdocta]

i'll be driving from barcelona to paris

i need to stop for rest in between, was thinking clermont-ferrand.

is this an ok idea?

[LaGourgandine]

You mean for the night ?

Barcelona to Paris is easily doable.

[gfunkdocta]

yea i was thinking for the night..

my calculations say a 9 hour drive

tell me more

[LaGourgandine]

yes it is a 9 hour drive.

To be honnest I wouldn't even consider doing it in two times, but if you need to, why not stopping in Clermont-Ferrand, it is a nice little town, but there is nothing to do there, well at least from my point of view.

I don't know how long you stay in Paris but I would rather spend a day driving in order to spend one more night in Paris.

[gfunkdocta]

ahh. yes, maybe i'll just head out from barcelona earlier