First Trip to Paris

My husband and I will be embarking on our first trip to Paris in Feb. We are extremely excited and are trying to get all the %26quot;inside%26quot; scoop of where to go. We will do the %26quot;typical%26quot; site seeing of the Louvre, Eiffel, Notre Dame and Arch de Triomphe. But being from San Francisco we know what it is like exploring the neighborhoods and what wach has to offer, which is what we are more interested in doing while we are in Paris. I have read through many of the postings and have some suggestions that I am going to look into such as a cooking class with Anneparis and tea at Angelina%26#39;s. If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them. We love eating good food (doesn%26#39;t necessarily need to be fine and expensive, we tend to enjoy local places more than the 5 star restaurants), shopping, cooking and art. We will be staying at the Prince de Galles, so any tips or suggestions near that area would be great!! Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

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We really enjoyed the open markets. It was quite interesting and we made several wonderful purchases while shopping there.

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Hi,

Visited Paris in July last year. The neighborhood I enjoyed the most was the 5th arrondissement (The Latin Quarter-on the Left Bank). Quaint shops, excellent restaurants, and close to many of the sights. Real character. You can spend two days just exploring this area. I see your hotel is in the 8th arr. If I can remember, this is closer to the Champs Elysee neighborhood with more designer type shops.

Couple restaurants recommendations in the 5th are Marty (20, av. des Gobelins) and La Rotisserie du Beaujolais (19, quai de la Tournelle) right across the street from the Seine. Both a little pricey but oh so good. I particularly enjoyed the roasted duck and the fois gros.

If you like sculpture, be sure to add The Rodin Museum (77 rue de Varenne) to your list of must-sees. Also the Musee D%26#39;Orsay.

If you are planning to visit a few museums I suggest you look at getting one of the Paris Museum Passes (Carte Musees), which allows you to save time (skip long queues) and money. You can pick these up at most of the big museums (www.parismuseumpass.fr/flash/hp_fr.html)

Some not so widely visited but none the less interesting churches in the 5th arr are St. Severin, St Germain des Pres and St Sulpice (of Da Vinci code fame)

If you’re up to it, you can try the Fat Tire Paris Bike tour. Run by visiting English-speaking college kids. Very informal and relaxing and entertaining. Vaguely informative. But truly a different perspective of the city. Ends off with a boat ride up and down the Seine sipping cheap French wine.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

PS-Loved your city. Visited SF back in 2002.

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Dinner at Le restaurant du Marche 59 rue Dantzig in the 15th. This is an inviting, neighborhood restaurant that Bob recommended a couple of weeks ago. I went Thursday and found the food to be quite good. I also really enjoyed the neighborhood and spending time in a Paris that is off the tourist track.

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We%26#39;re going again in March and I%26#39;ve booked a wine-cheese tasting at O Chateau which is in a sommelier%26#39;s loft! Haven%26#39;t tried it before, but looks fun. The Marais is my favorite neighboorhood - still kind of quirky, has history and interesting shops and small restaurants and bars. As I see someone has mentioned Fat Tire Bike Tours below, I%26#39;ll tell you we took the Versailles tour in summer 2004 and it was great fun. Make sure you leave time for just wandering the streets and sitting in cafes - don%26#39;t pack so much %26#39;official%26#39; site-seeing in that you don%26#39;t really experience Paris! Have tea at Mariage Freres (the Marais location has a small tea museum upstairs), visit Maison du Chocolate, wander Isle St Louis at night...admire people%26#39;s dogs, it%26#39;s a great way to start a conversation. Bon voyage!

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Thank you all for your fabulous tips. I really appreciate it. JaimeLaFrance, where did you book the wine and cheese tasting. This sounds like something that we would love to do!! You can%26#39;t go wrong with cheese and wine!

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If you have time, please be sure to visit Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur..... Metro stop---%26gt; Anvers....then head north, up the hill!

As a French teacher in the U.S., I can assure you that I strongly urge my students to visit this area. The view from the steps of Sacre-Coeur is awesome...and you will never forget the quaint, charming, %26quot;old world-feel%26quot; of the entire area.

Imagine...no buses, no cars, no traffic, no noise..that is what Montmartre means to me. And, toss in the beauty of Sacre-Coeur Cathedral.....pure magic. Mix in the delicate brush strokes of the local artists completing the portraits of visitors from around the world. If you want a portrait done, this is the place to do it. Bon Voyage, mes amis. Please let us know how your trip turned out.

Do some research on the city. Read, read, read. A knowledgeable traveler is a smart traveler. Have a fantastic visit to Paris!