Best kept secret?

Question

what is the best kept secret of Paris i.e restaurant place etc

Answer 1

I can't say that's a secret

Answer 2

The above answers are all very good and I agree!  To add just a few more:  Place Dauphine (small quiet park) on the very tip of Ile de la Cite (looks out into the Seine out away from the front of Notre Dame), the Deportation Memorial, on the same Ile at the rear right of Notre Dame on the back of the Ile, to remember the French Jews killed by the n***s, and the grave of Lafayette in Cemetary Picpus, just south of Pere Lechaise, are some hidden treasures in Paris.   There are also Roman bath ruins at Musee Cluny and a Roman theatre ruins nearby at the Arenes de Lutece.  Best secret hotel:  Hotel Mansart.  Best little restaurant: Le Gastroquet.

Answer 3

1/ good secret is get the museum pass it allows you go to the front of the line....purchase it at the first museum you get to.  also,

2/ when you go to the louve, there are several entrances so don't wait in the long line at the front pyramid entrance.  

3/ shops across the street from the louve have the best antiques.  

4/ if you go to versailles get reserved tickets online you print out to go to the front of the line

5/  nearby outside of paris by train is chateau vaux le vicomte designed by the same people who did versailles.  lit by candlelight on saturday  evenings & has music but open other days --go to the website for info.....beautiful & not too crowded!!!!  their onsite restaurant serves great local dishes for reasonable prices so eat there!!!  i was surprised at how good it was for the $$!!

6/  outside at notre dame you go downstairs to see original paris ruins now underground

7/  victor hugo's house is cool so don't skip it in la place de vosage (sp)

Answer 4

It's been quite some time since I've been to Paris, but remembering from my many trips, the Marais area was somewhere I loved to go.  I think it's become more touristy now, but the Place des Vosges is a wonderful square, Paris' oldest.  Used to be called Place Royale. Richelieu lived at no 21, Madame de Sevigne was born at no 1.

There are many private townhouses of the nobility of France ("hotels"): Carnavalet, Lamoignon, Rohan, Sully, Soubise, etc.  The Carnavalet Museum is fascinating, with vivid souvenirs of the Revolution; the Soubise has some great historical documents including, if I remember correctly, the only contemporary sketch of Joan of Arc.

A place I loved is the Chapelle Expiatoire, just a short walk away from the Madeleine and easily missed.  This is somewhere to visit if you're interested in the Revolution.  It was a small cemetery opened in 1722, used first as a burial ground for the Swiss Guards killed at the Tuileries, and then for the victims of the guillotine (in the Place de la Concorde).  There were 1,343 victims buried here, including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.  There's a little altar in the Crypt commemorating the place where the king and queen were found, and fresh flowers are laid there regularly.  Charlotte Corday and Philippe Egalite are buried on either side of the steps leading to the chapel.  Since so few people know about it, you're unlikely to be disturbed by many tourists!

I also love the Ile St-Louis, full of 17th century houses, most with historical or anecdotal plaques.  Sit on a bench and watch the sun set over the Seine.

Again, it might be touristy now, but the Musee Grevin (waxworks) was a charming experience, far from the overpriced commercialism of Tussaud's in London.  It was on Boulevard Montmartre, and had tableaux of scenes from French history - plus an Enchanted Forest experience and a magic show in a bijou theatre.  I do hope it's not changed for the worse!

Restaurants I don't know about, but you could always try the famous La Procope!

Answer 5

The best hot chocolate in Paris. But that is a secret.