Paris part 1: Truth in Advertising

[Qubert]

This represents my first day of my first time ever stepping off the landmass known as North America. Paris has always been on my bucket list and before I kick said bucket I decided my 35th birthday would make a good time to stop aimlessly scrolling Orbitz and actually book something. I have to say Paris is truly as beautiful as it's spoken of (hence the thread title). I'll post a thread for each day of my trip so this represents day one:













Does it get any more French than raw beef and creme brulee?



Avenue George V + Rue Montaigne























What's this thing? Must be a cell tower...


I Seine-s a river walk coming up...




Like our own dear home, it seems Paris is plauged with politicans too


The French George Washington? Honestly, I dunno who he is. Lemme stop before I get banned.








Getting into the heart of the Left Bank:











Jardin du Luxembourg





After this it was off to ride the RER to my hotel....First day in Paris complete

[Architype]

It is a great first choice destination, great title for the thread.
An American in Paris, bien vivre.

[muppet]

I urge you to check out some secret Paris - chapel of Ste Chapelle (Gothick overload), and Parc des Buttes Chaumont (a human fantasyscape made from a Victorian quarry, riddled with manmade caves, waterfalls, tunnels, monoliths, hills and follies, plus an abandoned railway track Ive never been able to find)

[EastSideHBG]

Beautiful!

[Coldrsx]

Congrats and nicely chosen.

Cafe du Commerce, the 8th,9th and 5th.

Cheers

[bilbao58]

Originally Posted by muppet

I urge you to check out some secret Paris - chapel of Ste Chapelle (Gothick overload), and Parc des Buttes Chaumont (a human fantasyscape made from a Victorian quarry, riddled with manmade caves, waterfalls, tunnels, monoliths, hills and follies, plus an abandoned railway track Ive never been able to find)

I second Buttes Chaumont and will add Canal Saint-Martin.

[Qubert]

Thank you guys for the feedback and recommendations. Heartbreakingly, I'm back home already but please keep the ideas coming because this will absolutely not be my last time in Paris.

[OhioGuy]

These photos have me feeling excited as I'm heading to Paris next year after a nearly quarter century absence since my last visit. Thanks for sharing!

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Qubert

please keep the ideas coming because this will absolutely not be my last time in Paris.

If you're fascinated by the dense urban fabric and have enough time for it, I would simply suggest you to rent an e-bike for your next stay and to get lost in the many streets of the city. It remains a delight even to a local like myself.
Talking about something electric as I think it would be better, more relaxing for your vacations. You're not supposed to work out or sweat while you'll be exploring the city as a newcomer.

However, if you ever happened to bike the town, keep in mind you'd have to be cautious and focus on your ride first and foremost.
I would stress on that because as a silly individual, I sometimes find myself distracted, like - what kind of shabby building is that? or - oh yeah, nice looking woman, which caused me to crash a couple of times.
I mean, biking may feel safe, it obviously still requires you to be focused on what you're doing in the traffic, especially when biking infrastructure over here is not as mature as it can be in Danish or Dutch towns.

Voilà, that would be my piece of advice. Glad you enjoyed the city. It is pretty overall indeed, though I think it lacks real contemporary landmarks like cool skyscrapers, for instance.
I see you went up to la Défense in your day 2 thread. It's not bad, gradually getting better and more and more popular to locals; but let's be honest, it needs more mixed-use towers, some really taller if possible to have it established as a must-see district. So far, it's mostly been a huge office park, that doesn't feel very lived-in yet, even though it's often crowded nowadays.
The old inner city's been built-up anyway. It is hard to find any more room in there. You probably could sense it.

[Qubert]

Originally Posted by mousquet

If you're fascinated by the dense urban fabric and have enough time for it, I would simply suggest you to rent an e-bike for your next stay and to get lost in the many streets of the city. It remains a delight even to a local like myself.
Talking about something electric as I think it would be better, more relaxing for your vacations. You're not supposed to work out or sweat while you'll be exploring the city as a newcomer.

I thought about renting one of those e-scooters you see everywhere now but I'd rather try that out here at home in NY before doing in an unfamiliar city. That being said, I found Parisien driving habits to be much less aggressive than here in NYC. If they see you, they'll stop.

The urban fabric is unparalelled. Somehow the each block manages to both work within the larger whole yet still be unique at the same time. Some of the suburbs are also very pretty. Hauts-De-Seine (Montrueil, Saint-Could, Colombes, etc) comes to mind. I liked what I saw on the Transilien L line from La Defense to Versailles.

Voilà, that would be my piece of advice. Glad you enjoyed the city. It is pretty overall indeed, though I think it lacks real contemporary landmarks like cool skyscrapers, for instance.
I see you went up to la Défense in your day 2 thread. It's not bad, gradually getting better and more and more popular to locals; but let's be honest, it needs more mixed-use towers, some really taller if possible to have it established as a must-see district. So far, it's mostly been a huge office park, that doesn't feel very lived-in yet, even though it's often crowded nowadays.
The old inner city's been built-up anyway. It is hard to find any more room in there. You probably could sense it.

I liked La Defense because it offers a break from the Haussmann city while still managing to work within it. Unlike most, I do find a certain urban poetry in large-scale office centers like The World Trade Center, Rockeffeller Center, etc. They can work as bustling districts provided they offer a collective focal point. Yes, I definetly think La Defense would be perfect with some supertalls mixed in.

I think the whole concept of preserving "Paris" while building these large mixed use districts on the periphery is smart. Bercy, Issy, Porte De Clichy/Pont Cardinet are good examples. I do think they should try the same in Pantin and St Denis as well to help bring some more job centers closer to the more working class sections, since Paris seems to put more things on it's "Ouest" side than it's "Est".

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Qubert

Bercy, Issy, Porte De Clichy/Pont Cardinet are good examples. I do think they should try the same in Pantin and St Denis as well to help bring some more job centers closer to the more working class sections, since Paris seems to put more things on it's "Ouest" side than it's "Est".

I don't like the Bercy area very much yet. It needs some redevelopment. Some highrises were planned there, but the master plan was scaled down because of local nimbyism. We'll see what happens...

Some southeastern inner burbs of Val-de-Marne like Saint-Mandé, Vincennes or Charenton have been pretty good. Saint-Maur-des-Fossés and Maisons-Alfort where I live ain't bad at all either. It is safe and clean out here. If you can get an Airbnb over these areas, you'll be fairly satisfied.

We've had more problems with suburbs run by the left wing, but some like Ivry-sur-Seine are getting better due to master plans to enhance their standards.

That being said, most of the wealth is concentrated to the large west side indeed, that's mostly run by the Conservatives.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Qubert

Some of the suburbs are also very pretty. Hauts-De-Seine (Montrueil, Saint-Could, Colombes, etc) comes to mind. I liked what I saw on the Transilien L line from La Defense to Versailles.

That's the favored quarter. The closest French equivalent to upscale North American suburbia is due west of the city, through Versailles.

The greatest concentration of French wealth is in a corridor from the western third of Paris, heading west to Versailles. Think of it (very roughly) like the Upper East Side-Westchester-Connecticut.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Qubert

I thought about renting one of those e-scooters you see everywhere now but I'd rather try that out here at home in NY before doing in an unfamiliar city.

I forgot to tell you, by e-scooter, I assume you mean something like this.


https://ridejetson.com/products/eris-electric-scooter

It is fun, but again, beware as it may be "casse-gueule", lol.
That means likely to cause a few unfortunate falls to you.

The problem with those things is their wheels are tiny, so any pothole on the road may break your ankles or worse.
You'd have to watch both your surroundings and the very shape of the pavement or roadway itself, which may be tricky in many situations.

That's why I think bicycles are safer. And they're very much in trend here in Europe, so no one would look at you as a weirdo.
Oh well, it's up to you. Just be cautious and safe.

[geomorph]

Originally Posted by Qubert

This screams Paris to me!

[muppet]

Paris also has its fair share of stunning modern architecture.

I heartily recommend Fondation Louis Vuitton (and if you have any kids there's this amazing looking kiddies centre/ playground nearby). Never quite worked out what the building's for, but it's fab to wander about in. I think it's a modern art space.


https://www.mfsgroup.com/wp-content/...%CC%81zek1.jpg


and La Philarmonie (there are walkways all about the shell - not sure if that's for visitors or maintenance)


http://api.stagings.com/storage/app/...0_0_0_crop.jpg


and L'Espace D'Abraxas - a satellite development that I'd call 80s pomo fascism - very haunting and De Chirico






And catch an exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe