I love this video!
It’s a home video of snippets of Paris on a rainy Sunday in February, from the River Seine to the Eiffel Tower.
A spot of shopping, an accordian player with an umbrella … the sights and sounds of the Paris I love.
Thanks to Enchanted-Traveler.com for this great video!
If you’re on a budget, finding the best Happy Hours in Paris could save you a ton of money. Cocktails in many bars are around 11-12 Euro each – quite expensive – so here are a few options you might like to consider.
Friends of mine tell me that the Benjamin is a typical French café on the rue de Rivoli with a pretty good happy hour. Cocktails here normally cost a very up-market price of €22.
Best deal: Share with a friend at the 50% discount – half a giant cocktail each will cost around €5.
Where: 53 rue de Rivoli, 75001. Metro Châtelet.
I’ve heard you can get one of the best prices for beer in Montparnasse. A small beer will set you back around €2.
Where: Big Panini Shop | 9, Rue du Depart. Metro: Montparnasse
62 rue Mouffetard, Paris
When: until closing at 10pm
Price: €3
The Fifth Bar has a very cheap happy hour (3 Euro pints) and heavily discounted mixed drinks. A friendly place, live music on weekends, sports games on wide screen tvs.
23, Boulevard Poissonnière
Type: Irish Bar
When: Monday – Friday, 5-8 pm
Enjoy a quiet pint of beer or attend one of the many sporting or traditional Irish music nights. Happy hour runs from 5pm to 8pm on Mondays to Fridays. Traditional Irish pub.
18 rue saint-denis
Type: Bar and Nightclub
When: Most days, 5-8pm
An Australian themed bar, sports orientated playing most major football and rugby games. Happy hour between 5pm and 8pm most days of the week. The crowd is mainly students and young professionals.
13, Quai des Grands Augustins
Type: Irish bar.
This bar shows various sporting events including football and rugby. Live music is also played here, and there’s a happy hour.
16, Rue des Dames
When: Happy hour Friday & Saturday, 8-10pm
Price: All cocktails €4.
A relaxing bar, comfortable chairs.
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I’ve seen these next few on the internet but don’t have any other details other than they have Happy Hour:
Beaubourg – Shabby chic and souk kitsch.
Oberkampf Indie Bar
“Cheap drinks and bright DJs put Clockwork Orange on the Oberkampf map.”
Oberkampf Indie Bar
“Brand new rock bar for the Oberkampf scene.”
Buttes aux Cailles, Paris.
Happy hours start around 4-5pm and at some places can last until 9pm, then it’s time to find something to eat.
The Picasso Museum closure was from August 23rd 2009 (for renvovations) and should be reopened in summer of 2013.
Website translated by Google: Musee-Picasso.fr
You can of course still send ecards (electronic postcards) from the website:
http://www.musee-picasso.fr/homes/home_carte_postales.htm
To fill in the form, follow these translations:
Images © Musee-Picasso.fr
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Printemps is one of the large multi-storey gorgeous stores in Paris, and I’ve just found out they have Happy Hour every Thursday night, until 10pm.
If you enjoy fashion and want to rub shoulders with other fashionistas, this is a good place to be.
So on Thursday evenings, after a spot of retail therapy (shopping) in the small designers’ department, go right up the escalators to discover a spectacular view of Paris … with music and some nibblies and other fashionistas. Voila!Where: on the Roof Terrace
Printemps
64, boulevard Haussmann
75009 Paris
Tel : +33(0)1 42 82 57 87
Highlights: Music, DJ, champagne and sushi
How much: €10
The 9th annual Cinéma au Clair de Lune festival runs from August 5th-23rd and can be found in various arrondissements throughout Paris.
All films are free and open to the public and range from classic films through to futuristic thrillers with a diverse selection of films, many of which are set in Paris or France.
Cinéma au Clair de Lune is a great opportunity to hang out with your friends outside on warm summer nights. The great thing about this festival is that it moves from neighborhood to neighborhood, so you’ll get to see different districts of Paris. Call some friends, whip up a picnic, grab some wine, and head out to your nearest moonlight showing. And don’t forget extra blankets – to sit on and to keep you warm when it gets cool.
When: Starts on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 and all subsequent screenings take place on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights until August 23rd.
Time: All screenings begin at 9:30pm.
Language: All films are screened in their original versions with English subtitles.
Website: Cinéma au Clair de Lune festival
A beautiful building houses the Musee Rodin, and it is surrounded by wonderful gardens where you can stroll and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Rodin’s sculptures are dotted throughout the gardens, and it’s well worth a visit inside the museum.
Musee Rodin
79, rue de Varenne – 75007 Paris
Phone : +33 (0)1 44 18 61 10
Métro (line 13) : Varenne or Invalides
R.E.R (line C) : Invalides
Buses : 69, 82, 87, 92
Website in English: http://www.musee-rodin.fr
* Museum and museum store :
* Open from 9.30am to 5.45pm (from Oct 1, opens at 10am)
* Hôtel Biron cleared at 5.45pm
* Garden cleared at 6.45pm
* Last tickets sold at 5.15pm
The museum is closed on January 1st, May 1st and December 25.
The museum is wonderfully free on the first Sunday of each month, and it only costs €1 to visit the gardens.
I’ve been hearing about – and reading about – tourists getting ripped of by some (not all) tourist cafés.
The first thing I’d like to say is – ASK THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING BEFORE ORDERING.
Scam #1 – The recent scam I’ve heard about is if a coffee or tea is ordered, then the waiter asks if you’d like milk with that – so you say yes. What you should have asked is, “Is there an additional or extra cost for the milk?” or “How much will it cost with milk?”
I know this seems silly, but some unscrupulous cafés have been charging up to 3 euros extra for the milk.
You can avoid this by carefully reading the menu and selecting the coffee or tea WITH MILK on the menu – rather than the other item the waiter has proposed.
Scam #2 – Yes size does matter.
I’ve been told that when tourists are asking for a beer, they are offered “small or large”. Thinking that “large” is a normal large glass, the tourist is then presented with a LITRE of beer – much more than a large glass, and being charged outrageous prices.
Rather than being one of these tourist victims, you can avoid this if you simply ASK THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING BEFORE ORDERING.
After all – it’s YOUR money and you should know what you’re spending so you won’t get ripped off.
Please be aware this may only happen in a couple of venues throughout the whole of Paris’ touristy areas, but it’s always best to be cautious.
Have a great time in Paris and try a few French words every day to make your stay more enjoyable :-)
Although it’s not strictly vegetarian La Fourmi Ailee has some meals that any vegetarian would enjoy.
If you are a vegetarian visiting Paris I recommend having a meal there, even though I haven’t been there myself, but I have friends who’ve recommended it highly.
They tell me it’s a charming and informal “writer’s haven” filled with bookshelves of books – sounds great! It used to be a library, so it has lots of history and a real “bookish” feel to it, for those who love the written word like I do.
There’s a non-smoking section upstairs, something still very rare in Paris.
My friends said, “La Fourmi Ailée features a wonderful, varied menu including several delicious vegetarian items. One is a tofu lasagna with just enough cheese and Roma tomatoes to hold the ample noodles together.”
8, rue du Fouarre (between Notre Dame and the entrance to the Latin Quarter neighborhood)
Paris 75005
Metro: Maubert-Mutualite
You might also like to view the Where to Eat in Paris page and also the Famous French Food page.
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Got a couple of free days? A free walking tour of Paris might be the perfect thing to do – wander at your leisure, pop into a few marvellous museums, see historical landmarks, and get to know the French :-) Here’s one suggestion: 
There is a group of Parisians who would love to show you around for an hour or two at absolutely no cost!
This is amazing generous, so contact them in advance to make a reservation:
Pop over to Paris Greeters >>
Paris is a city perfect for walking – much more so than even New York, San Francisco or Sydney, in my humble opinion, as it’s small enough to get around easily. Enjoy these walks, see parts of Paris you didn’t expect to see :-)
Oh gosh I hope I get to see this wonderful exhibition! It’s on until January 2010, so hopefully I’ll be able to see it when I’m back in Paris in November.
A bit about this wonderful artist/lithographer: Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec is a descendant of the Counts of Toulouse, and was born on 24 November 1864 in Albi.
In 1882, he received his first lessons in drawing and painting with a friend of his father, painter René Princeteau.
The year 1891 was decisive in his career when he created the new poster for the Moulin Rouge. This first large poster has immortalized Lautrec, and he went on to create beautiful lithographs.
Some of Toulouse Lautrec’s work (of which I’ve been very fond for many years):
Although Toulouse died at the very young age of 37, his work has lasted and is known worldwide – this exhibition is over 100 years since his untimely death in 1901.
Les Arts Décoratifs
107 rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris
Tél. : 01 44 55 57 50 Métro : Palais-Royal, Pyramides, Tuileries
Buses: 21, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, 95
To read about this Toulouse Lautrec Exhibition in French, please click this link >>
Great news! I’ve just read about the Paris Burlesque diva Juliette Dragon who has classes at her Ecole des Filles de Joie. Discover your sensual side with lessons in cabaret dancing, striptease etc.What a great thing to do! Grab a couple of girlfriends, or a Hen’s pre-wedding group, and have some fun.
Classes: at La Bellevilloise- 19-21 rue Boyer, 75011
Metro: Gambetta / Menilmontant
When: every Saturday afternoon
Price: only €25 (€10 for the dance lesson, €15 for the striptease lesson)
Website: http://www.collectif-surprise-party.com/programme-ecole-des-filles-de-joie.html
If you’re really keen and love what you’ve learnt and feel ready to wow an audience, you can ask to participate in one of the performances of the Cabaret des Filles de Joie (every two months) – what fun!
If you don’t want to learn Burlesque in Paris, you might enjoy these instead:
Budget wartime fashion.
Above: Dunand, sandales en taffetas violet; semelle compensée en bois, 1941. (Taffeta sandals with wooden soles by Dunand in 1941) © © E. Emo et S. Piera / Galliera / Roger-Viollet.
Exhibition dates: 20 mai au 15 Novembre 2009
If you have time, do spend some time at this coloourful exhibition celebrating the fashions and objects created for Parisiennes during the difficult and dark days of Nazi Occupation.
The exhibition, “Accessoires et Objets, Témoignages de Vies de Femmes à Paris 1940-1944,” is on at the Musée Jean Moulin, on top of the Gare Montparnasse, and shows us how the human spirit managed to triumph during the difficult years of World War II.
When it was impossible to source luxurious materials, the creative artisans of Paris created shoes, scarves, purses out of innovative products in ways not seen before using a combination of wood, paper, straw etc in extremely attractive and classically elegant forms.
There are wonderful items on display, a prime example is these most exquisitely sculpted shoes by Jean Dunand – I love the purple taffeta and the striking yellow of the wooden soles.
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