Paris -- what are your favorite "hidden gems"?

Hi everyone, I love it that folks are still adding great suggestions to this thread. They are much appreciated!

Keep them coming!

One of my favorites is the Musée Carnavalet in the 3rd arrondissement. It focuses on the history of Paris from Lutèce to the modernization of the city. It is housed in two separate mansions.

I will also add my favourites - Hotel Dauphine on Rue Dauphine in the 6th arrondissement is a fab boutique hotel. This is in a great neighbourhood. Steps from cafes and restaurants and the best pub - Pub St Germain in the Odean. A tiny little cobblestone alleyway with gorgeous pub and restaurants. And for a hidden gem I would recommend a walk down rue mouffetard for the markets and a really authentic French street.

 

Cheryl

Cheryl, We do share your love of this neighborhood although our preference is to rent a furnished apartment in that area. But the nightlife, restaurants, and atmosphere are terrific.

Hank

Here's another vote for the Musee Nissam de Comando. Near Parc Monceau. Very atmospheric, peaceful and poignant. Really recommended.

The Hotel Brittanique will be where we stay in May....wonderful reviews.....

We just arrived in Barcelona two days ago via the wonderful TGV from Paris where we spent five days.( We board the Seabourn Legend today for its final cruise -- so sad!) In spite of cold, extremely windy weather with intermittent periods of rain we enjoyed ourselves. Have been to a Paris on a dozen previous occasions we had little need to visit the big tourist attractions. The one exception was the Musee d' Orsay because there was a Bonnard exhibition of interest to us. ( And it was a good place to spend fours hours on a rainy day) . My husband and I are not real young but we are in good shape and so we walked everywhere. My iPhone shows we averaged about 9 miles a day. Even at night we walked a mile or more to our favorite restaurants to dinner and then back to our lovely Left Bank hotel ( Hotel de a Varenne in the 7th ). One of our favorite hidden gems that I am surprised no one has mentioned is the Canal St Martin. In addition to walking along this charming canal that flows into the Seine what is fun is to watch boats disappear into the tunnel that begins where the canal flows under the city or watch a boat come out of the tunnel and proceed through the locks. Much of our focus in Paris is one food and dine -- returning to favorite shops, cafes and restaurants and discovering new ones. My longtime favorite chocolate shop on Ille St. Louis has changed names but still makes the best chocolate covered hazelnuts ( de Neuville), the bread was great most everywhere( along with the very flavorful butter), and we had terrific dinners at La Fontaine de Mars( southwest french country cuisine -- if the cassoulet is available have that) and our all time favorite Au Bon Aucceuil for a more elegant dinner with friendly service and outstanding food. Best part there is as it is next to the Eiffel Tower we were fortunate to leave on the hour when the Lights on the tower start to twinkle. Can you imagine a more perfect way to end an evening? Another hidden gem we did not make it to this trip was their version of New York's High Line Park-- this one is supposed to be the inspiration for New York's. But as the weather was poor and little was in bloom we have decided to save it for a future trip.

We are looking forward to our 1st trip to Paris.

We are staying at the Hotel Le Regent....

It got good reviews so I hope we are pleased.

Does anyone have any experience with that hotel?

And looking for somewhere to eat on Ille St. Louis..thanks to Chairsin I know where to get desert, chocolate.

We will be in Paris this October, and a friend who knows the city well said this:

"...the street market in Rue de Buci is a classic local French market, with a number of wonderful shops, selling everything from fish to cheese to bread. It's at the intersection of Rue de Buci and Rue de Seine (as I recall). You'll find Rue de Buci just on the other side of Blvd. St.-Germain when going from the Seine towards Blvd. St.-Germain. One of the best places for people-watching is at the intersection nearby the market."

This market looks very close to your hotel.

I always stay on Rue Jacob or Rue de Seine, literally around the corner from the Rue De Buci market. This is the best area in Paris to stay IMO. I found this market many years ago and have been staying nearby every time I return to Paris. The only problem I have found are the constant smokers at the sidewalk cafes, but hey its France...nothing you can do about that. This is a famous area...Hemmingway stayed at the Angleterre on Rue Jacob... With many small boutiques, cafes, and intereesting stores, plus famous hangouts like Deux Magots and Cafe de la Paix, on Blvd. St. Germain, 2 minutes away, and of course, Laduree at the corner of Rue Bonaparte and Rue Jacob.:D a wonderful atmosphere!

Musee Nissan du Commando

Giverny (1/2 day excursion)

Palais Garnier

Blvd St. Germaine

St. Michel fountain area cafes

Moulin Rouge show

Musee Nissan du Commando

Giverny (1/2 day excursion)

Palais Garnier

Blvd St. Germaine

St. Michel fountain area cafes

Moulin Rouge show

Thanks for the great suggestions. We would actually like to visit Giverny, but it will be late October (a few days before they close for the season), and wondering whether it would be worth taking the time, given that nothing will be in bloom.

Has anyone visited that late in the year who could comment?

Thanks!

Thanks for the great suggestions. We would actually like to visit Giverny, but it will be late October (a few days before they close for the season), and wondering whether it would be worth taking the time, given that nothing will be in bloom.

 

Has anyone visited that late in the year who could comment?

 

Thanks!

Here's a link to a web page "Giverny's Garden Calendar:

http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/calendar.htm#Oct

Dahlias are the central blooming flower along with unspecified annuals.

There's another link to an article titled "... Garden in Autumn" with a number of photos: http://giverny.org/artists/chrysotm/fall.htm

Of course, Autumn covers about 60 days so you'll probably still want to hear from some one who has been there/done that.

We once stopped at Giverny in mid-October and it was absolutely perfect. In fact, it was far superior to visiting in the busier tourist season. There were still lots of greenery and some plants were blooming. The water lilies looked great and the lower angle sun light found outside the summer month was a plus. The best part was that the day we drove over to Monet's home there were no buses, and only a few visitors.

Hank

Here's a link to a web page "Giverny's Garden Calendar:

http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/calendar.htm#Oct

 

Dahlias are the central blooming flower along with unspecified annuals.

 

There's another link to an article titled "... Garden in Autumn" with a number of photos: http://giverny.org/artists/chrysotm/fall.htm

 

Of course, Autumn covers about 60 days so you'll probably still want to hear from some one who has been there/done that.

Thanks! I've been on that site; as you say, Autumn is long. :)

We once stopped at Giverny in mid-October and it was absolutely perfect. In fact, it was far superior to visiting in the busier tourist season. There were still lots of greenery and some plants were blooming. The water lilies looked great and the lower angle sun light found outside the summer month was a plus. The best part was that the day we drove over to Monet's home there were no buses, and only a few visitors.

 

Hank

Thanks Hank, that's particularly helpful since you visited in October. I think we will keep it on our list and if we have a day with good weather, take the train from Paris. If it's cold and rainy, probably not....

For us, the Paris street markets, are a hidden gems. Different neighborhoods have street markets on different days of the week... we usually picnic when we go to Paris, so always plan to check out a market - fun to shop with the locals. It is easy to discover them, simply google Paris Street markets for specific information, locations, days of the week and times open.

Ok another boutique hotel in Saint-Germain-des-Prés: Hotel Des Academies et Des Arts is a lovely and small hotel in a beautiful neighborhood near Luxembourg Gardens and with a the Metro stop nearby. Walk to great restaurants in Montparnasse, including the wonderful seafood restaurant Le Dome (need reservations).

Thanks for the additional tips!

If you like antiques do not miss the famous Marché Aux Puches at Porte du Clignancourt. And the smaller, more manageable one on Saturdays at Porte de vanves. Must take metro to reach them.

We once stopped at Giverny in mid-October and it was absolutely perfect. In fact, it was far superior to visiting in the busier tourist season. There were still lots of greenery and some plants were blooming. The water lilies looked great and the lower angle sun light found outside the summer month was a plus. The best part was that the day we drove over to Monet's home there were no buses, and only a few visitors.

 

Hank

When you say you drove, did you go on your own in a rental car? We have four days in Paris this October, not sure we want to do a day trip, but if so, this would be the one. Doing a private or semi-private tour would be pricey, but easy. I hear it's easy by train. Viator has a small-group tour that includes Auvers sur Oise as well, but costs C$275 per person including lunch and pickup at our hotel.

Regarding hotels, our personal preference is to rent a furnished apartment (this is very practical for a week or longer) which allows us to stay in parts of St Germain des Pres where there are no reasonably priced hotels. However, in the 5th (Latin Quarter) we used to enjoy a hotel called Hotel des Grandes Ecoles. This is a very small French-style hotel and is certainly not luxurious like the Ritz :). But we loved staying that mostly residential neighborhood and being close to the charming Place Contrascarpe and not too far from the Blvd St Germain.

 

Hank

Hi Hank,

We are planning a trip to Rome, Venice, Paris and Barcelona with our 15 year old daughter. My husband and I have been to each city except Paris. This will be our daughter's first European adventure. Is this a hotel you would suggest for first time visitors to Paris? Or do you have any additional hotel suggestions?

We will be traveling in June 2017. Our plan is to spend 4 nights in Paris.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can offer.

Becki

Purchase a Navigo Decouverte pass INFORMATIONAL LINK HERE. It is good for all metro within the city of Paris as well as RER and regional trains through zones 1-5 of the greater Paris area. Of note: Both CDG and Orly (in addition to Versailles/Chateau Fontainebleu are within this area).

Some folks may still like to go old school and buy carnets(packets of 10 metro tickets), but if you're going to be hopping around the city doing a lot of sightseeing, the convenience of having the Navigo pass(which is simply smart-card scanned at the turnstiles) can't be beaten.

The 22E cost of a weekly pass(after the one-time 5E fee/also bring a passport photo printed from home) is essentially paid for if needing to do a RT to/from CDG. Day tripping to Versailles and multiple hop-on hop-offs on the Metro are essentially a bonus.

EDIT: Oh I see this is an older thread. Well the info provided in this post is still valuable:).

EDIT: Oh I see this is an older thread. Well the info provided in this post is still valuable:).

Indeed it is -- and since I started it so long ago, I was quite surprised to see it pop back up. :) (And yes, all info posted about Paris is still valuable!)

Our trip was a year ago --- I wound up having a totally UNplanned visit to what turned out to be a true "hidden gem" -- the emergency room of the Hopital des Quinze-Vingts. I mean that sincerely; as I learned, this is one of Europe's leading eye hospitals; the existence of their ER and their wonderful staff literally saved our trip.

I had an eye emergency while we were in Paris (on a Friday night, no less) and my eye doc in the U.S. said I'd have to fly home (rather than board a ship a few days later for our planned transatlantic) if I could not be seen quickly by a retina specialist. Fortunately, the concierge in our hotel knew of this hospital, assured me the doctors would speak English (we don't speak French), and got us in a cab over there.

To make a long story short, the folks in the ER were great, I was examined (by an English-speaking eye doctor), told I was okay, and... the biggest surprise of all --- NO CHARGE! (Just like in America, I thought.)

And that is how we spent midnight in Paris. :)

Indeed it is -- and since I started it so long ago, I was quite surprised to see it pop back up. :) (And yes, all info posted about Paris is still valuable!)

 

Our trip was a year ago --- I wound up having a totally UNplanned visit to what turned out to be a true "hidden gem" -- the emergency room of the Hopital des Quinze-Vingts. I mean that sincerely; as I learned, this is one of Europe's leading eye hospitals; the existence of their ER and their wonderful staff literally saved our trip.

 

I had an eye emergency while we were in Paris (on a Friday night, no less) and my eye doc in the U.S. said I'd have to fly home (rather than board a ship a few days later for our planned transatlantic) if I could not be seen quickly by a retina specialist. Fortunately, the concierge in our hotel knew of this hospital, assured me the doctors would speak English (we don't speak French), and got us in a cab over there.

 

To make a long story short, the folks in the ER were great, I was examined (by an English-speaking eye doctor), told I was okay, and... the biggest surprise of all --- NO CHARGE! (Just like in America, I thought.)

 

And that is how we spent midnight in Paris. :)

So glad all is well, Turtle. Thanks for sharing your story here on the boards. Most of us hope this never happens and usually, it does not but once in a while something (illness, accident, injury) can and does happen to folks while abroad. Things might not always go THIS well but often can go very well as it did here.

Also not so sure about the likelihood of there being "no charge" were the situation reversed (though anything is possible) for a foreign traveler requiring similar assistance here - maybe?

Wishing you good health and good travels :)

Sorry not to respond sooner (to a few posts) but we have been cruising :). Regarding our driving in France, yes, we simply rent a car (or for really long trips one could lease from Peugeot). However, we do not ever recommend having a rental car in Paris (although we will drive into Paris to drop a car or rent in Paris to leave).

As to the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles...we would urge anyone considering this property to read some recent reviews (on sites like Tripadvisor) and also take a look at their web site. This is a European style hotel which is not going to satisfy folks looking for a typical Hilton/Marriott type experience. Not sure if this is a good choice for a family..because of the small size of many or their rooms. The more we travel, the more we prefer renting furnished apartments....but many times this is not a great opton for stays less then a week.

Hank

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