dordal

Last year I took a trip to London, and before I went, I asked Dear Flyertalk: I'm in London. What's off the beaten path? A few days, later, I had three pages of awesome suggestions... we ended up going to Bletchley Park (WWII code breaking), hanging out for a day at an architecture conference, and much more.

This summer is Paris, and I'm hoping lightning might strike twice. Same interests as last year...flyertalk stuff... travel/transport related, airplanes, aviation, etc. I also have interests in astronomy, tech, and architecture / urban design.

This year also has a twist... celebrating a 'zero' birthday while I'm there. What's a great spot to go to dinner? Doesn't have to be romantic; just something memorable with really good food and ideally a great location.

Update - June 20 2015: I've put all the suggestions so far on custom Flyertalk Google Map: Flyertalk Paris Off the Beaten Path 2015

stimpy

Well great architecture can be found all over. I'm sure you can find the airports and tour them.

There's a store that might be for you http://www.maison-astronomie.com/ and the Paris observatory http://www.obspm.fr/?lang=en but you could find all that with Google.

I was going to suggest a restaurant off the beaten path, but then you said "great location". Which is it? The 11th district is off the beaten path and has some reputedly nice restaurants such as Servan. But if you want to stay firmly on the beaten path, check out this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...nts-paris.html

dordal

OK fair question. The stuff to do should be off the beaten path... I've been to Paris several times before and I know all the 'normal' stuff.

The restaurant, on the other hand... just good food and a great location. Will remove the 'off the beaten path' requirement for that....

Thx for your ideas.

Doc Savage

Go to the Latin Mass at Notre Dame. It feels like stepping several centuries back in time.

There are always lots of great organ recitals and other concerts that are fun to go to. Just look around for fliers.

I've had the catacombs recommended to me, but got frustrated twice. Once, they were closed for unclear reasons. The other time, the Pompiers were on strike and causing a mess, so they closed the catacombs.

stimpy

For great location and great food, many might choose Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower. Make sure you reserve well in advance.

willie--wonka

Not in your astronomy/urban planning sector, but quite incredible tours Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays, nonetheless:

Galerie des Gobelins: Only open during temporary exhibitions Individuals: Everyday from 11am to 6pm, except Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. The ticket office closes at 5.30pm. - Manufactures des Gobelins, de Beauvais et de la Savonnerie: Guided tours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, except on public holidays. Duration: 1hr30. Tours start at 1pm (possibility of tours at 3pm during school holidays). Enquiries and reservations should be made with FNAC on +33 (0)8 92 68 46 94 or on their website www.fnac.com. You can also buy ticket on site when the Galereie des Gobelins opens at 11am, subject to availability

Ghentleman

If you're hungry: http://parisweekender.com/the-full-list/

ajGoes

The Musée de Montmartre is a short walk down the hill from Sacré-Cœur. Both the museum and its gardens are, IMO, well worth the detour.

A couple of blocks down the butte, you can take a look at the Passe-muraille sculpture, strolling through the residential side of Montmartre on your way to the Cimetière de Montmartre. I've seen only a handful of fellow tourists there. The graves of Nijinsky, creator of the French Can-can La Goulue, Jacques Offenbach (composer of The Infernal Galop to which the Can-can is danced), and many other notable or notorious people are found in this cemetery.

stimpy

That's a good one, but also the Montparnasse cemetery I found to be very interesting and not well visited.

PhotoJim

I wouldn't call the Catacombs off the beaten path exactly, but they are worth doing. We visited them two weeks ago. They are certainly different. (Vienna has something similar but the history is different.)

The Espace Dali in Montmartre is off the beaten track and quite interested, if you're into Salvador Dali. We'd previously visited the museum of his works in St. Petersburg, FL so it was interesting to see more of them.

I really enjoyed the pub Autour du Moulin with tables outside that have a magnificent view, and some really good beer on tap (the Blanche was particularly good). Their charcuterie board (and their *mixte* board) were also very good and interesting.

stut

Hire an Autolib' and drive round the Étoile. It's like a rollercoaster with higher insurance premiums.

See if that excellent Aveyronnais bistro on rue de Tocqueville is still there, and have a wander round the market on rue de Lévis while you're there.

Walk round every branch of La Cure Gourmande to see how many free biscuits you can eat.

Drink heavily on the banks of Canal St Martin late at night, ensuring you make us much noise as possible for local residents.

Hire a Vélib and bomb it down the Champs Élysées. Yeah.

fwoomp

Take the tour of the sewers. (Really!) I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but if you're interested in tech and architecture, you'll probably find it fascinating.

Mountain Trader

And bring a letter of credit from your bank.

MSPeconomist

One of my favorites is the Baccarat crystal museum and store. It used to be in an old store/showroom in a very local and almost industrial neighborhood but then it moved to a gorgeous mansion not far from the Four Seasons with space for a real museum and a fashionable cafe for wine and light meals. You can see antique works of art in crystal as well as some stunning current (and extraordinarily expensive) pieces for sale.

There's an airplane museum (not sure of the exact name) roughly near CDG.

There's also a respected science museum, complete with submarine, that has an interesting section on math. It's in a modern building that you might enjoy too. (IIRC there's also a Musee de la Decouverte near the Grand Palais and Petit Palais on the right bank.)

For modern architecture and city planning, you must visit La Defense, out in the suburbs beyond Etoile on the subway line that runs under Champs Elyssees. In the 5th near the river (not far from Place Jussieu IIRC) the Museum of the Arab World (musee du monde arab) is world class and in an interesting new building with a fancy middle eastern restaurant on the roof (the terrace has wonderful views and comfortable seating for drinks). [BTW, there's a mosque in Paris in the Left Bank that can be visited; it also has a restaurant.] Of course, don't miss Pompideou Center and the nearby sqaure filled with modern sculptures or the pyramid at the Louvre.

Other more beaten track places would include Musee d'Orsey in a converted train station and the Rodin Museum. Don't forget the museum with the Monet water lilies or take a day excursion (much easier by car) to the village, house, and pond where they were painted. In the same direction (west from Paris), you can find a place where van Gogh stayed (now turned into a little museum).

You can walk into the Sorbonne (impressive building but parts inside are somewhat basic) [there's an impressive three level apartment in the tower which I've seen, but it's not open to the public at all] and the various University of Paris locations. [I'm trying to remember where the Curies worked; you should be able to find the address easily.] You can look into Ecole Polytechnique (5th) through their iron gate. Ecole Normal is basically in some buildings in the 5th also, but there's not much to see. Ecole des Mines in near Luxembourg Gardens and looks a bit like a fortress. It contains a small geology museum with precious gems. [There's a small admission charge and very limited hours.] Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees is in the 6th, a couple blocks from the cathedral at St Germain des Pres. These are all science-oriented (very generally) grands ecoles, focusing on military, math and pure science (including the formal Bourbaki approach to math that has been very influential), obviously mining and mineral science, and civil engineering (how to build bridges and roads). Given your urban planning interests, you might be interested in visiting Cite Universitaire (almost at the metro station of that name, right on the border of the city in about the 14th) which houses foreign students studying at various places in Paris. It has some interesting buildings in a garden-like setting.

It's hard to think of many example of modern architecture in Paris, but there are various places where old structures have been converted into modern spaces.

Non-NonRev

As an architecture fan, check out the recently-opened Philharmonie de Paris, which opened (after many delays) last Januay.

The design by Jean Nouvel is quite spectacular - even better, attend a performance if time allows