The Three-Legged Duck

This is the online version of “Violetta’s informal guide to Paris,” a document I put together for friends visiting the city after I’d left, and synthesized from all my favorite haunts and experiences in the time I lived there. It was originally posted on my LA blog, but I think it needs to be here too. I’ve been tweaking it since 2005, adding things and removing some after feedback. I can email you the PDF version if you request it via comment on this post if you use your real email address. Only I can see that.

~Violetta’s informal guide to Paris~

It’s stream of consciousness of must-sees organized by Arrondissements so read through it and highlight the stuff you’re interested in, and let me know if you have any other questions. For hotel, how to get around and other boring things, go to the bottom section (Hotel Schmotel)

4 useful tidbits:

1.    Get a good Paris map that shows the walkable streets, and covers all the areas, not just the main touristy ones. Make sure it shows the metro stops clearly.

2.    Buy a Pariscope magazine for 30 cents, it’s all in French, but you can figure it out. It has movie listings for the revival cinemas, which are really fun.

3.    To call people back at home, get calling cards from the news-stands or cigarette shops (see picture) all over the city. Ask for your region, and follow the instructions (they’re basically like 1-800 calling cards)

4.    The Paris guide by Lonely Planet is great and if you’re going to be there for a while, I recommend it. It’s what I had when I was there.

Where you can get a lot of useful stuff: cigarette stores. Look for the diamond-shaped red sign that says “TABAC”

1st-2nd-3rd

1st-2nd-3rd Arrondissements (a.k.a. The center of Paris, the Louvre, Notre Dame cathedral, the Marais neighborhood, and Rive Droite, the North bank of the Seine river

• La Sainte Chapelle. You must see the Sainte Chapelle, above the Notre Dame Cathedral. It’s on the Ile de la Cite. It’s a tiny, but absolutely gorgeous chapel. It is just one of the most amazing places you’ll ever see. Get off at Metro Cite and cross the street, it’s a little hard to find because it is right along a wall after you see the palais de justice (the courts), but once you see the guards along the gates, keep asking and you should find the entrance.

The Chapel was completely restored, and there are stained glass windows 360 degrees all around. It’s where all the Kings of France were crowned. Imagine the floor used to be polished white marble so that it would reflect the stained glass and make people feel they were in Heaven! One last piece of advice: Go there on a sunny day, so you get the full effect of the stained glass!

• Le Louvre.  I would really go to the Louvre first, if you’re planning on seeing the Musee d’Orsay and you have enough time, because they complement each other chronologically.

With the Louvre, you can actually see everything if you breeze through all the floors and rooms, but the best way to avoid being overwhelmed is to first sit down, when you walk underneath the pyramid,  take a map and circle what you absolutely cannot miss: The Mona Lisa, The victory of Samothrace, the Venus de Milo, and see those first. Once you’ve done that, and seen your priorities, you can try to go through all the rooms. You can also come another day, if you buy a multi-day museum pass, which lets you in for a fraction of the price, but you have to be ready to go to only museums for three days in a row. You can get those passes at the metro stations.

• Le Marais. Le Marais is in the 3rd arrondissement. Its popularly known as the Jewish and the gay and very trendy part of Paris, and you should absolutely make a stop there. It’s quite a small neighborhood, but it will blow you away. You will immediately notice the difference with the rest of Paris, because it just doesn’t look like the rest of the city. It is one of the only parts of Paris that wasn’t rebuilt by Haussman the great civil engineer who gave Paris it’s “look” with the wide avenues and the six-story high buildings with grey slate rooftops.

In the Marais, you’ll see small two or three-story buildings, stocky and leaning in. You will see enchanting fairy-like looking buildings with little Rapunzel towers for Rapunzel along Rue des Francs-Bourgeois and Rue Vieille du Temple.

Get off the metro at Saint Paul and walk straight ahead into the neighborhood. You should see the outside of the Guimard Synagoguge, the world’s only art deco synagogue)

• Musee Picasso.  In the Marais (and it really is only Picasso so only go if you are a die-hard fan)

• La Place des Vosges. Not to miss, la place des Vosges is the nicest plazza in Paris in the Marais area. Apparently this is where Johnny Depp has his Paris pad. :-) But the place is incredibly beautiful, the covered arches are gorgeous and the buildings are just lovely. There are benches and fountains all around, so it makes for a nice restful pit stop.

• L’Ile Saint Louis (where Camille Claudel sculpted and lived) is a must-see. It’s a tiny little man-made island behind Notre-Dame and it is definitely worth a walk through, a little stroll, a baguette and cheese on the benches facing West. The pedestrian bridge you take to cross over from behind the Cathedral usually has some wonderful music, and some great performers, and the island is generally very quiet, like a little village, an oasis of calm in the center of the busiest part of Paris. I always found it restful and charming. I recommend not going to any cafes on the island, they’re not great and they’re overpriced. There is a nice creperie on the main street (Rue de Saint Louis en L’Ile) you shouldn’t miss it, it’s on the left, and it is yellow on the outside. If it’s open, walk into the gem-stone shop nearby. The collection is so beautiful, it’s like a museum. It’s one my favorite store in Paris. I used to go there regularly, just for the beauty.

• La Cathedrale de Notre Dame. Not many people see the museum attached to the Cathedral with holy relics. I’ve heard it’s worth the stop. Usually there are masses throughout the day, so if you walk in, you have to be respectful and discreet. I prefer the Sainte Chapelle.

• Across from the Sainte Chapelle at Metro Cite is the flower and bird market, very fun to stroll around in and quite original.

• Le Canal Saint Martin. This is a fun thing to do, it gives you a chance to see a side of Paris that is a little unusual. This is where Amelie skips stones in the movie. Y get there by walking up from Rue du Faubourg du Temple (near the metro Republique area) and walk up about ten, fifteen minutes until you see really artsy stores, once you see these stores, you can walk south along the canal, all the way to the Seine and watch the locks in action. It’s pretty cool!

• L’Opera Garnier. Beautiful, it is in 2nd arrondissement and near the place Vendome. Also gorgeous, you can see all the beautiful original designer shops, like Chanel (Rue Cambon) and jewelry merchants, for some incredible displays (Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels)

• Galleries LaFayette/La Samaritaine. Gorgeous stores. See if you’re interested. However, if you are in Paris at Christmas time, you cannot, under any circumstance, miss the lit up store fronts of the Galleries La Fayette and La Samaritaine stores. People come from all over the world, just to see their Christmas displays. They are huge magical windows, of animated dolls, automated systems, choreographed with music and lights.  It’s near Opera Garnier in the second arrondissement. Also, the Champs Elysees will be lit up at night for Christmas, it’s really fairy-like. The whole city is magical at night at that time of year.

5th and 6th

The 5th and 6th  arrondissements (a.k.a. Saint Germain des Pres, the “Latin Quarter”, “Rive Gauche”, the South bank of the Seine and the student side of Paris

• Le Musee d’Orsay.  The Musee d’Orsay starts chronologically where the Louvre collection leaves off. It’s an amazing experience to see the arrival of impressionism in the middle of a renewal of classicism. If you want to treat yourself, have lunch or a tea/coffee in the café on the rooftop, where Cartier-Bresson and Andre Kertez, took historical photos. Take your time in this museum, it’s a real treat.

• Hot Chocolate from the Cafe Flore. This is so amazing, it gets a section of its own. Le Café de Flore is in the Quartier Latin in Saint Germain des Pres (6th arrondissement). It is my favorite cafe. And it has, hands-down, the best hot chocolate in the entire world, but if you prefer your hot chocolate milky rather than chocolatey, abstain.

Sit inside on the red seats or outside in the patio (but people smoke…) if you go upstairs it is non-smoking, but the authentic way to experience Flore is sitting outside on the patio. The last time I was there the server nearly sat down with me, gave me souvenirs from the Café and a good bye kiss on the cheek to wish me good luck in California!

• Next to the Café de Flore is the Café des Deux Magots—there is still a table inside where Dali traced Gala’s hand one night.

• Brasserie Lipp is across both of these, and is a famous bar.

• Crepes. My favorite place is at the carrefour de l’odeon Metro stop “Odeon” on line 4. It’s a fair-atmosphere, you can smell them from blocks away, and as soon as you exit the metro station in the central plaza area of Odeon. They’re cheap for the students crowd, and there’s all kinds of fun candy for sale all around so it smells delicious.

• Rue du Commerce Saint Andre. If you turn your back to the crepe place at Odeon, right in front of the main fountain-like structure in the middle of the plaza on the other side of the boulevard, you will see a little arch with written ” Rue du Commerce Saint Andre” under a stone arch. It’s a pedestrian heaven with lots of quaint and interesting shops. Go through it to Rue Saint Andre des Arts and get lost in the little art boutiques.

• Nearby is the Café Procope, a real hang-out and reported to be the very first café that ever opened in Paris.

• Rue Mouffetard in the Latin quarter. Lovely street, really fun and very quaint. It’s really narrow and cobblestoned, it’s the student neighborhood so there is a ton of really cheap food, greek cafes, etc.

• Revival Cinemas. While you’re in the Quartier Latin, if you’re a movie fan, I would definitely see an old movie in the Latin Quarter. Listings are in the same Pariscope magazine (30-40 cents) I mentioned earlier, and they have Fellini and Cary Grant, 70s  movies and Japanese movies playing all day at all times. It’s the only city left in the world that has so many revival theaters. So that’s amazing and it is one my favorite things about Paris. I used to go to those theaters all the time. If you’re looking through the Pariscope book, the names of these theaters are: Accattone, Action Christine, Action Ecoles, Epée de Bois, Espace Saint-Michel, Grand Action.

• Les bouquinistes. That’s the name for the book sellers who sell postcards, books and posters all along the banks of the Seine out of the wooden green stands that are resting against the river wall. The antique postcards they sell make fantastic Paris souvenir :-)

• Buskers. The musicians, singers, performers who play in this neighborhood for money are wonderful. I used to go listen to this one guy who played rag-time piano. In the street. He had a little car that he would hook the piano to, and drag it back home.

• Le Bon Marche. If you’re interested, le Bon Marche is the very first department store. It’s all art deco, it’s worth a stop for the inside architecture. It’s at metro Sevres-Babylone. They have nice free exhibits too.

• Le Jardin des Plantes. Right across from the Mosquee, it’s an arboretum in the middle of the city. Gorgeous. You can also see animals, and it’s free.

• Le Musee du Monde Arabe. Amazing museum of Arab culture and right across the street on the banks of the Seine is a free sculpture garden.

7th and 8th

The 7th and 8th arrondissements (a.k.a. The Eiffel Tower and its surroundings, the Champs Elysees and its surroundings):

• Les Champs Elysees: the two things I would hit on the Champs Elysees are the Louis Vuitton Store and tea at La Duree. They’re next to each other at Metro George V on line 1. The Louis Vuitton store is like a free fashion museum, because Marc Jacobs does everything well. La Duree is on the next block, on the same side of the street http://www.laduree.fr/ The front of the tea house is very green with lots of plants, and you can’t quite make out the name form the street.  a green-fronted very full of plants little place. They are world-famous for their simple macaroons, macaroon-creations (more like edible sculptures) and flavored teas (rose, violet). Try to get a seat upstairs, although it’s quite hard to do. The decoration is beautiful. Tea starts at 4-5 PM.

• La Fermette Marbeuf:  this is probably the only place I’m recommending that I’ve never been to, but it’s just because I never had the occasion. It’s a hidden gem of Paris, a fancy restaurant that is also a historic site, preserved entirely in art nouveau style. I only heard good things about it when I lived in Paris, so if you have a chance to have a fancy dinner, I would reserve a long time ahead, maybe before you leave home.

• The Eiffel Tower. Must-see, especially at night. The best view is to get off the metro at Trocadero, take the “musee de l’homme” exit and walk over the plaza next to the museum. It’s grandiose.

• Le Musee Rodin. The Rodin museum is in my top 3 museums in Paris, (Le Louvre and Le Musee d’Orsay are the other two). It’s an unforgettable experience. All that white marble, all that passion. I would not miss it…it’s in the seventh arrondissement.

• Le Musee du Quai Branly (seventh arrondissement, RIGHT next to the Eiffel tower, walking distance) is very much only ethnic art and pots and pans and jewelry and cloths, so if you don’t like that stuff, you can skip it and look at the gardens and the outside…(they have a really cool flower wall on the street) but they have a great aboriginal and pacific indigenous section so it’s pretty amazing. (my favorite was the Native American and South American sections…)

9th through 20th

Other areas outside of the first ten arrondissements or that lay in more than one arrondissement:

• Cemetery of the Pere Lachaise.  (19th or 20th arrondissement all the way on the East of Paris) This is my favorite spot in Paris. I went in late summer, when it was beautiful and sunny. In winter it might be miserable, so you’ll have to make that call. I highly recommend doing a guided tour if you have time. Check Pariscope to see if they have any English-speaking ones, because the cemetery is 44 acres, so it’s very daunting. It does seem like every famous person that ever lived in Paris is buried there, and the alleys are very green, so your stroll through this park will stay with you long after you leave Paris.

• Montmartre. Be prepared to be accosted very insistently by Senegalese bracelet weavers, who will start weaving the bracelets on your wrists. Awful. Try not to get to Montmartre through the base of the church, and approach it from side streets to the East. At the top are lovely winding streets and an artist plaza. Also, there is a small Dali gallery.

• If you want to visit the café from the Amelie movie (where she worked), it’s called les Deux Moulins, and you can get to it from metro station Blanche, or you can get to it as you walk down from Montmartre (with your handy street map) and it’s at the intersection ofat the junction of rue Lepic and rue Cauchois.

• Le Moulin Rouge. Please skip this unless you’re actually seeing a show there, then go. If you want to see the outside, please skip it and leave it to your imagination or to Baz Luhrmann’s. The Moulin Rouge is in the Red Light district. It’s unappealing, parts of it are trashy and quite ugly, seedy movie theaters and solliciting prostitutes. Not much to see unless you want the ubiquitous and universal picture in front of the tacky red windmill. The angle for the shot is even not good.

• Le Notre. If you want an amazing selection of French patisseries, try Le Notre. They have about 60 locations all over Paris…

• The bridges. Walk through the whole 1st arrondissement, spend time in the Louvre arcades, walk on the bridges, especially the pedestrian bridges, The best bridge is sunset on the Pont des Arts that goes from the Hotel de la Monnaie or French academy to the Louvre, it is a pedestrian bridge and people play music and picnic on wine, bread and cheese late into the Fall. I also loved the Passage Solferino. There are 43 bridges in Paris, so you’re not going to get bored. Another nice one is the Pont Alexandre 2, it’s grey and gold, near the Eiffel tower. By the way, there is a small replica of the Statue of Libertyin the middle of the Seine, farther East than the Eiffel tower.

• The Parcs. Jardin du Luxembourg is the best one, and they have large photo installations all along their gates all summer. A couple of other ones are the Jardin des Tuileries, Parc Montsouris, Parc des Buttes Chaumont, if you ever notice a park, go.

Jardin des Batignolles (17th):

• Metro Ligne 6. Get on the metro line 6 at Etoile—it’s the last stop, and is right next to the Arc de Triomphe—and ride it all the way to Corvisart, you’ll be above ground most of the time, and get to see Paris from a unique standpoint: at the same height as the fourth or fifth stories of the buildings, it’s magical. You might miss taking it in, so take it on the way back too! I love this metro line, they call it an aerial line, because it spends so much of its time above ground. You’ll basically see the whole Southwest-South of Paris on this arc. You can either get off at Corvisart and take a hike up the hill to the student district (but it’s not a must see) or you can get back on the metro, and stop off at Trocadero and get to the Eiffel Tower that way.

• La Butte Aux Cailles. If you decide you want to stop off at Metro Corvisart on Line 6, you can hike up the steep hill and visit the cute student district called La Butte aux Cailles. It’s sort of like a Southern Montmartre with cute winding streets, but it’s not a must-see.

Hotel Schmotel

I would reserve at the Hotel St. Cyr Etoile. This is the direct link to reservations.

This is where my family and I stay when we go through Paris.

When you arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport, you should ask for the “Air France” bus, (they’re called “cars air france” in French), and get the one that goes to Porte Maillot. It will drop you off in front of the Palais des congres (large conference center), and what you will have to do is cross the street, and go to Avenue des Ternes, turn the corner, and your hotel will be right there. Less than a two minute walk from the bus. To get back to the airport, same thing. So it gets points for convenience.
The hotel is small, some would say cramped, and the elevator is ridiculously tiny. Sardine box comes to mind. It’s also not expensive by Paris standards but it’s the only one I go to because it’s so convenient to get to and leave from. One additional perk is that it’s a hotel of regulars, there aren’t that many tourists, and the neighborhood is very professional, so there are lots of Parisians going about their day-to-day business. You’ll get a pretty authentic slice of daily life, unless you’re there in July and August, when there are no Parisiens left in the city!

In the neighborhood of the hotel (if you’re at the St. Cyr):

• The Champs Elysées are ten minutes away by metro, but you can also walk there in about twenty or so minutes on foot. (you should get a little Paris map).

• The direct train to the Chateau de Versailles is up the street (RER C). Just a quick note: this train is extremely confusing, even for Parisians, but they won’t admit it. I don’t have much advice except for ask and make sure you’re on the right train.

• Skip the hotel breakfast, it’s depressing. Walk across the street to have breakfast in an authentic French café, or walk around the city and eat somewhere else.

• For the ladies: If you walk UP the avenue Des Ternes, you’ll see shops like Naf Naf etc. closer to the end of the street that are sooooooo cute, you’ll find lovely shoes and tops not too expensive, and great quality and way ahead of US fashion. Stock up!

• One of my favorite places in all of Paris is the fantastic Viennese bakery that I highly recommend you go to and splurge. It’s called Le Stubli, and it’s on the LEFT as you go up avenue des Ternes, passed the Fnac store. It’s a good ten minute walk from the hotel. It’s on Rue Poncelet. Rue Poncelet also has an absolute rarity in Paris: a daily outdoor market that is absolutely amazing. I think you’ll fall in love with that street, and that restaurant.

Two friends and a random happy guy who wanted to be in the picture in front of “Le Stubli”:

• If you want to chill one evening, there is a great movie theater, right inside the Palais des Congres, next to where the bus dropped you off, you can see the posters from the street. All the US movies are in English with French subtitles. You may think this is weird advice, but it is kind of fun to do.

• If you like seafood, there is a cheap and great Leon restaurant, next to the Meridien hotel (across the street from wehre the Air France buses drop you off). You can’t miss it, it has bright green awnings. They’re famous for their mussels, and are very cheap.