Paris

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Cad

<Bronze Donator>
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That's a nice place, if I were rich, I'd live in that area ! (kinda ridiculously expensive to buy something there...)

I did a google map of all the shit I want to visit while I'm there, and aside from Versailles everything is in a big circle with that area right in the middle.

It's like a 2nd floor walkup in some 18th century building. Will be cool to think some parisian fucker lived in this same flat during the revolution. You don't get that kind of shit in the US.
 

Gurgeh

Silver Baronet of the Realm
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It's not just nice for tourism, it's also a nice area to actually live in. Tons of students, best schools in France. You can go to the Rue Mouffetard to eat, it's a street full of all kind of restaurants, quite a nice place to eat, especialy if the weather is nice enough to eat outside in the evening.
 

Frenzied Wombat

Potato del Grande
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All that matters in France is the FOOD and the horny women. But ultimately what's more important in life than food and sex?

Just make sure you get to eat a) Pain au Chocolat b) a real French eclair c) a genuine baguette jambon fromage d) Boeuf Bourgouignon.

Once you get back you'll never be able to eat at La Madeleine again.
 

Gurgeh

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Finding a decent éclair in Paris isn't that easy, probably more than 75% of the Boulangerie will sell you an unfrozen industrialy produced one and it's not quite obvious until you taste them... If you've rented an appartment you'll want to go and purchase stuff to eat at "La Grande Epicerie" of "Le Bon Marché", shit is expensive there, but you're sure to get the authentic stuff. You can buy cheese that would be considered as a NBC hazard in the US, the patisserie is fresh and excellent even the wine they select is rarely average. It's a 15 minutes walk from rue Dauphine and I can only highly recommend to visit it if you want to to taste authentic french products.
 

Cad

<Bronze Donator>
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Finding a decent éclair in Paris isn't that easy, probably more than 75% of the Boulangerie will sell you an unfrozen industrialy produced one and it's not quite obvious until you taste them... If you've rented an appartment you'll want to go and purchase stuff to eat at "La Grande Epicerie" of "Le Bon Marché", shit is expensive there, but you're sure to get the authentic stuff. You can buy cheese that would be considered as a NBC hazard in the US, the patisserie is fresh and excellent even the wine they select is rarely average. It's a 15 minutes walk from rue Dauphine and I can only highly recommend to visit it if you want to to taste authentic french products.

I'm not particularly a fan of french food, but maybe it's because I've mostly eaten it in the US. I've tried fois gras, eclairs, macarons... I'm not really a fan. I'll try it in Paris just to say I did, but I'll probably come back and say I didn't like it. :)

I'm going to Paris to see the history and the sights, and have a nice anniversary trip. I'll probably end up working half the time I'm there.

We got a photographer booked to do the usual eiffel tower photos, gonna visit the louvre and musee d'orsay, Les Invalides and Sacre Coeur. Bought opera tickets for Palais Garnier, Crazy Horse, and gonna go see Versailles and Notre Dame and all that stuff. Should be a fun week.
 

Frenzied Wombat

Potato del Grande
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I'm not particularly a fan of french food, but maybe it's because I've mostly eaten it in the US. I've tried fois gras, eclairs, macarons... I'm not really a fan. I'll try it in Paris just to say I did, but I'll probably come back and say I didn't like it. :)

I'm going to Paris to see the history and the sights, and have a nice anniversary trip. I'll probably end up working half the time I'm there.

We got a photographer booked to do the usual eiffel tower photos, gonna visit the louvre and musee d'orsay, Les Invalides and Sacre Coeur. Bought opera tickets for Palais Garnier, Crazy Horse, and gonna go see Versailles and Notre Dame and all that stuff. Should be a fun week.

TBH, fancy French food isn't all that great and that's all they serve in Dallas, then it's poorly done to boot. The best French food isn't the fancy shit, it's the stuff the commoners used to eat. Bread, cheese, cold cuts, jams/marmalades, pate, and certain pastries for example. Pick up some French bread along with some cold cuts and cheese and you'll be in heaven. Even something as simple as a fresh well made croissant with some home made jams is godlike in the morning.
 
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woot!

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I know quite a lot of restaurants in the center of Paris (had my office for 8 years not far from Opera/Le Louvre), so I'll throw in a couple addresses I like :

Good bread and "petits pains" :
-Du pain et des idées (34 Rue Yves Toudic, next to Republique). This is a no contest. Just go there and buy one of everything. Try the "brioche" (Mouna), might not look like it, but it's to die for (and eat it fresh ! ).

"Brasserie" : Not a kind of restaurant I personally go to very often, but this kind of restaurants is very Parisian, and you should try one if you are visiting. Two references come to mind :
-Le Grand Colbert (2 Rue Vivienne, next to the "Jardins du Palais Royal / not far from Opera/Louvre)
-Brasserie Galopin (40 Rue Notre Dame des Victoires , right next to Bourse)
Mind you those two are more on the "upper class" side of things, most people eating there wear suits (it's not mandatory at all, just related to the location), but those are the kind of restaurants you'd see in a movie if they needed to show a Parisian restaurant.
Another, which is really very typical, but not classy (at all) (in fact, doesn't look like shit ; has more kind of a working class feel to it). But if you want to try typical every day, (good) french food, I'd recommend you try this one :
-Le Bougainville (5 Rue de la Banque). The place is always packed for lunch, and there is a reason for that.

Good meat (beef) :
-Santa Carne (24 Rue des Tournelles , right next to Place de la Bastille). Charcoal grilled argentinian beef. Good stuff.
-The Beef Club (58 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau , that's close to the Louvre). Kind of a hipster/bobo place. But who cares, their beef is good, and their mac&cheese side is god damn delicious. Ask for the "stilton sauce" ; holy fuck ! Book ahead (open only in the evening). Also if you go there a friday or sat night, they have a speakeasy (downstairs).

Italian ?
-Daroco (6 Rue Vivienne , next to the "Jardins du Palais Royal / not far from Opera/Louvre). Located in the former Jean-Paul Gautier workshop (place looks great). Book ahead to be sure.
-Pizzeria Popolare (111 Rue Réaumur, next to Bourse) New and overcrowded, upper level is quite noisy (ask to go downstairs), can't book ahead, but I love their truffle pasta. Their pizzas are not half bad either !
Talking about Pizzas ! Excellent ones can be found here :
-Iovine's (7Bis Rue du Colonel Driant, close to the Louvre as well) This is my personal fav for pizzas in Paris (but they only serve Pizzas, nothing else). Their dough, tomato sauce, and mozarella are top notch.

Bit more classy :
Le Restaurant du Palais Royal (inside the Jardins du Palais Royal). Just got their first Michelin star. Well deserved, but sadly as expected, they raised their prices. Still worth it. (this one you might get away with wearing a hoodie if they see that you are American and that you are eating on the terrace in summer, but inside you'll look very out of place)
Kei (5 Rue Coq Héron) Fine stuff. Kind of the same things that I just said for Le Restaurant du Palais Royal apply here.
Passage 53. (53 passage des Panoramas, next to Bourse). Two star Michelin. Japanese Chef cooking his vision of french cuisine. Was my fav restaurant for several years

Japanese. Someone mentioned the Japanese restaurants located rue St Anne. I am not a big fan of those. Here are much better ones :
-Lengue (31 Rue de la Parcheminerie). They serve what they describe as a Bento for lunch (a fine and delicious one) and becomes an Izakaia at night. I love it. Great collection of Japanese alcohols (some amazing whiskies), the chef is a fine wine connoisseur.
-Momoka (5 Rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle). Good stuff as well
-Isse Izakaya (45 Rue de Richelieu) : their bento is very good as well.
Now for more specific stuff, but that are kind of street food oriented
Want Gyoza : go to Gyoza Bar (passage des Panoramas);
Ramen ? Go to Kotteri Ramen Naritake (be ready to wait in line outside)
Udon ? Udon bistro Kunitoraya (1 Rue Villedo)
Kare ? (Japanese Curry) : Ok I don't know any exceptional ones, I just take one at Taisho Ken 3 or Sapporo, they are ok, but nothing crazy.

Korean ? Jan Chi (6 Rue Thérèse)

Burgers : You can find some perfectly good burgers in Paris now. They are not gigantic, but they are tasty and made with quality ingredients :
-PNY (Paris New York) : 1 Rue Perrée (next to Republique, they have two other locations, but this one is my fav). Try the "Smoky Blue" (with extra bacon for good measure :p ) and ask for "loaded fries".
-Roomies . (14 Rue du Cygne ; Next to Chatelet - Les Halles) Here you tell them what you want in your burger. Good meat, crunchy fries.

Wine Bar. Want to sample some excellent wines ? You are so very right !
-Try "Legrand filles et fils" (located in the "Galerie Vivienne" , close to the Louvre/Palais Royal). It can be very expensive (they do have some very affordable stuff though), but the place is beautiful, and they do have some top of the line wines that you will not find anywhere else (think Petrus, La Tâche, Haut-Brion, Yquem and so on). They also have a delicatessen shop, just go look.

Coffee (and by coffee I mean espresso) :
-Telescope (5 Rue Villedo). If you like good coffee, this is the place to go. I go there almost every other day. The owner knows his shit. (fyi : they have a "no laptop" policy, never really understood why. Just don't go expecting to be able to work from there)
You could also try L'Arbre a Cafe (next to Sentier).

Feel like eating huge amounts of meat and seafood ? (I'm talking about 1kg of beef tenderloin on skewers)
-Pedra Alta (11 Boulevard Beaumarchais, there are several in Paris. In fact it's a Portuguese restaurant. They have pretty good meat imho)

There ! Hope this helps. And if you are looking for something else or more specific, just ask.

Actually there is a bunch of Romanians that pretend to be syrian refugees to beg...
They are not Romanians (inhabitants of Romania), but Romani people ("roms" , aka Gypsies ) ;)
 
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Lanx

Oye Ve
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Another, which is really very typical, but not classy (at all) (in fact, doesn't look like shit ; has more kind of a working class feel to it). But if you want to try typical every day, (good) french food, I'd recommend you try this one :
-Le Bougainville (5 Rue de la Banque). The place is always packed for lunch, and there is a reason for that.
i would like more of these please
 

Chillz

Bronze Knight of the Realm
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awesome infos, thanks woot!

++ what Lanx said.

Staying for a few days at Montmartre pretty soon with my Gf. Beyond the obvious touristy stuff is there anything you would reccommend, like stuff you wish you'd knew before and are worth checking out?
 

Cad

<Bronze Donator>
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I had a great time in Paris and in central Paris at least you really don't see Muslims at all. You do see plenty of Frenchmen in suits riding bicycles and talking on their phones while barely missing getting killed by traffic.

On the RER B out in the northwestern suburbs, it does look vaguely like Somalia.
 

woot!

Trakanon Raider
217
1,025
i would like more of these please
Le Mesturet (77 Rue de Richelieu) Quite similar to the "Bougainville" in many ways. Also, good selection of wines here.
La Poulette de Grain (261 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, next to Nation) : know that they also serve a good brunch (but only in the weekends I think)
Le bistrot de Maëlle et Augustin (42 Rue Coquillière, book ahead) smallest of the three, feels the least like a "bistro", but my favourite regarding the food (bit more modern than the two others).

And now that I am thinking about brunch : another great place for that, in a very nice location (esp in summer) :
"La Gare" (19 Chaussée de la Muette) The place itself is a very old train station, the tables are setup where the tracks used to be.

Staying for a few days at Montmartre pretty soon with my Gf. Beyond the obvious touristy stuff is there anything you would recommend, like stuff you wish you'd knew before and are worth checking out?
-The most important thing to know, is that Paris is a tiny city, so do not be afraid to walk and just wander around randomly, especially in the single digit "arrondissements", which compose the center of Paris (you can always know in which arrondissement you are by looking at the street nameplates, the number on top is the arrondissement).
Yeah, that would really be my main advice : explore randomly. Start at a landmark (say Arc de Triomphe), aim roughly east (or west if you start at the Pantheon for example). Give yourself one hour and start wandering around. Take the streets where there are fewer people (the heart of the city is perfectly safe. The crowded places are the ones where you'd have to worry about pickpockets if you look too much like a tourist anyways). Look around you. When the timer's up : check where you are, define a new general direction. Rinse - repeat.

-People under 40 pretty much all speak english, so don't be afraid to ask for directions. The trick is to ask nicely, and to try to squeeze a couple french words in front. Get a phrasebook or an app on your phone, and learn just a few key sentences. It's so easy/simple, yet so rewarding. 100% worth it.
Start with something like "Bonjour ! Excusez-moi, pouvez vous me dire ou se trouve ... ?" (Hello, Excuse me, can you tell me where ... is located ?), works wonders.
Whereas if you start by asking "Excuse me, do you speak english ?" a lot of them might just answer "Non" even though they do (I think a lot of them are just not confident in their language skills or are ashamed)
Anyways ; asking nicely might seem obvious, but I've seen tourists just block the way of someone that was obviously headed to his work in a hurry and just throw "Where is blablabla ?". Yeah ... that is not going to work.

-Champs Elysees : Honestly, the place is just full of tourists and "racailles". Mind you, you don't risk anything, the place is packed with cops and soldiers as well. It's just not pleasant. Go there once because well, it's the Champs Elysees. just visit it in the morning when the street is empty. Note : All the other streets going from the Arc de Triomphe are much nicer -> Go explore !

On the RER B out in the northwestern suburbs, it does look vaguely like Somalia.
So true. Both from the northern and southern airport. Every time I come back from a trip, I am appalled at the image those ugly suburbs project on visitors. They come expecting beautiful architecture, Haussmanian buildings ... and the first thing they see arriving in France feels like going through a 4th world country.

Bonus : Super accurate map of the city :p (plus you get to learn a couple words ! )
*note : I didn't make this map, just translating it.
500w_paris001.jpg

Vieux = Old people
Putes & Touristes = hookers & tourists
Racailles = riffraff. Kids from the poor suburbs
Banlieusards = commuters
Coupe-gorge = cut throat
Bobos = hmm hard to translate, refers to some form of liberals. People who are typically well educated, have money (not super rich), but vote left.
Rien = Nothing
Chinois = Chinese people
Pedes = fags
Fringues = clothing
Personne n'y va = nobody goes there
Bourges = Rich people
Chalalas = Pretty much all the Teens/tweens that are not "racailles"
Reste du Monde = rest of the world
Pauvres = poor people
Ploucs = roughly means "rednecks"
 
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Cad

<Bronze Donator>
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45,377
Le Mesturet (77 Rue de Richelieu) Quite similar to the "Bougainville" in many ways. Also, good selection of wines here.
La Poulette de Grain (261 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, next to Nation) : know that they also serve a good brunch (but only in the weekends I think)
Le bistrot de Maëlle et Augustin (42 Rue Coquillière, book ahead) smallest of the three, feels the least like a "bistro", but my favourite regarding the food (bit more modern than the two others).

And now that I am thinking about brunch : another great place for that, in a very nice location (esp in summer) :
"La Gare" (19 Chaussée de la Muette) The place itself is a very old train station, the tables are setup where the tracks used to be.


-The most important thing to know, is that Paris is a tiny city, so do not be afraid to walk and just wander around randomly, especially in the single digit "arrondissements", which compose the center of Paris (you can always know in which arrondissement you are by looking at the street nameplates, the number on top is the arrondissement).
Yeah, that would really be my main advice : explore randomly. Start at a landmark (say Arc de Triomphe), aim roughly east (or west if you start at the Pantheon for example). Give yourself one hour and start wandering around. Take the streets where there are fewer people (the heart of the city is perfectly safe. The crowded places are the ones where you'd have to worry about pickpockets if you look too much like a tourist anyways). Look around you. When the timer's up : check where you are, define a new general direction. Rinse - repeat.

-People under 40 pretty much all speak english, so don't be afraid to ask for directions. The trick is to ask nicely, and to try to squeeze a couple french words in front. Get a phrasebook or an app on your phone, and learn just a few key sentences. It's so easy/simple, yet so rewarding. 100% worth it.
Start with something like "Bonjour ! Excusez-moi, pouvez vous me dire ou se trouve ... ?" (Hello, Excuse me, can you tell me where ... is located ?), works wonders.
Whereas if you start by asking "Excuse me, do you speak english ?" a lot of them might just answer "Non" even though they do (I think a lot of them are just not confident in their language skills or are ashamed)
Anyways ; asking nicely might seem obvious, but I've seen tourists just block the way of someone that was obviously headed to his work in a hurry and just throw "Where is blablabla ?". Yeah ... that is not going to work.

-Champs Elysees : Honestly, the place is just full of tourists and "racailles". Mind you, you don't risk anything, the place is packed with cops and soldiers as well. It's just not pleasant. Go there once because well, it's the Champs Elysees. just visit it in the morning when the street is empty. Note : All the other streets going from the Arc de Triomphe are much nicer -> Go explore !


So true. Both from the northern and southern airport. Every time I come back from a trip, I am appalled at the image those ugly suburbs project on visitors. They come expecting beautiful architecture, Haussmanian buildings ... and the first thing they see arriving in France feels like going through a 4th world country.

Bonus : Super accurate map of the city :p (plus you get to learn a couple words ! )
View attachment 141836
Vieux = Old people
Putes & Touristes = hookers & tourists
Racailles = riffraff. Kids from the poor suburbs
Banlieusards = commuters
Coupe-gorge = cut throat
Bobos = hmm hard to translate, refers to some form of liberals. People who are typically well educated, have money (not super rich), but vote left.
Rien = Nothing
Chinois = Chinese people
Pedes = fags
Fringues = clothing
Personne n'y va = nobody goes there
Bourges = Rich people
Chalalas = Pretty much all the Teens/tweens that are not "racailles"
Reste du Monde = rest of the world
Pauvres = poor people
Ploucs = roughly means "rednecks"

Your "rich people" area there just south of the Seine is interesting. I walked back from the Arc d'Triomphe (it was 2 miles, big deal, nice walk) across Pont Alexander III and then across on Rue d'Universite, and holy shit, the number of art galleries, music venues, and other high society things was SHOCKING. And I live in a rich area of Dallas. I have literally never seen anything like that. At one point some troupe of orchestra players walked by us just playing music on the street. It was something I've never seen before so it was cool, but I was like. What the fuck do these people do for a living, I need to get in on that if this is how they spend their spare time.
 

Tenks

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Maybe my outside perception is just wrong but does anyone think of Dallas as a culture center? I'd be more shocked if there was a place in Dallas with art galleries and music venues.
 

Frenzied Wombat

Potato del Grande
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Maybe my outside perception is just wrong but does anyone think of Dallas as a culture center? I'd be more shocked if there was a place in Dallas with art galleries and music venues.

Dallas is a fucking cultural wasteland. It's allure is a great standard of living, weather, and an infrastructure designed for work/life balance. But when people come visit and want to know "what to do" I am at a total loss with the exception of a) dine out b) shop and c) go to the gun range. France/Spain have an overwhelming amount of cultural things to do, partly because nobody fucking works.