There are many tourist guides for Paris. So, I am just going to mention things that might reflect my personal opinions etc in addition to standard information if given. Arriving in Charles de Gaulle airport, be sure that you have filled out a disembarkation card (yellow) if you’re not a EU or French citizen. Prepare yourself for long and disorganized lines for passport control. Then prepare yourself for long waits for your bags. The airports do have ATMs though not always in the most visible places. So ask! Once you’re ready to get to the city, your options depending on your budget and luggage can either be the suburban train (RER), the city bus (non-stop and will take you to Opéra), the Air France bus (to Gare de Lyon and Montparnasse, or Invalides and Champs Elyssées, or yet another line directly to Orly airport). The RER will take you to Gare du Nord, Chatelet (smack in the center of Paris) or Saint Michel and Luxembourg on the southern side of the river Seine, near a huge and beautiful park known by the same name. On the same side of the river (known as Rive Gauche), you will find the known English bookstore Shakespeare (station Saint Michel). A good place to get information of where to stay for cheap if you did not plan ahead, which is not advisable unless you’re 17 and ready to crash anywhere or unless you have tons of money).
Where your hotel is
Where you stay in Paris can make a difference to your Parisian experience. Paris is divided into districts (or arrondissements) that spiral out of the center like a snail. Each district has its own characteristics and personality, so to speak (for the 4th , it’s gay and Jewish and touristy). In the center you have First arrondissement, the 2nd above it, the 3rd to the right of the 2nd, and the 4th below the third. The 5th arrodissement is below the 4th on the rive gauche. To the left is the 5th (where Sorbonne University used to be. These days it is composed of many universities, though the place de la Sorbonne still exists) followed by the 6th and the 7th as you move leftwards along the rive gauche. Traversing the Seine you have the 8th, 9th, and so on with the outer arrondissements straddling the inner ones moving in clockwise direction. In total there are 20 arrondissements in Paris. By the way, Parisians have clear images about Rive Gauche and Rive Droite (areas above or below the river Seine). If Rive Gauche evokes intellectualism and richness, Rive Droite evokes more socialism, excitement, and quartiers populaires (quarters for workers etc.) though bizarrely, les champs Elysées is on this side of the river along with all the grand monuments such as la Défense, Le Grand Palais etc.
The fourth arrondissement: Gay barsThe fourth arrondissement (75004) is probably where you want to be if you are gay. The Marais, in the 4th arrondissement is the gay area of Paris. Here, you should go to the gay bookshop Les mots à la bouche ( English
books available here and all kind of guides), the Open Café on rue des Archives (a good place to meet locals and tourists alike in the evening and into the night) or the Cox bar almost next to it (a good place, slightly leather but not at all strictly,
VERY popular late afternoon and early evening). Many of the places closed at 2 am though except for a few bars. The Quetzal (now called Happy Quetzal) is one of the late closing bars. It used to be very dingy and exciting (dark, dirty complete with a backroom upstairs). Changes have come in the closing of the backroom, and a recent renovation that unfortunately (in my opinion) make this place now resemble any other gay bars and at first glance even a showroom of IKEA. Still, the crowd, thankfully unchanged, makes it worth going there. The bathroom (upstairs) also is pretty cool (for example, the video mirrors above the sink…so whilst washing your hands you see a video of yourself rather than an image in the mirror). Mirrors everywhere in the toilet cubicle also make for an interesting experience! The other is le Raids which includes men taking showers as part of the ambiance (sort of like the Splash in NYC if indeed it’s still there, haven’t been back there for a while).
Bars along rue Vieille du Temple, rue des Archives et rue St. Croix de la Bretonnerie are all worth a look and a visit. Central Bar on rue vieille du temple is supposedly one of, if not the oldest gay bars in Paris and it also has a hotel upstairs (the only gay hotel in Paris officially). Other hotels abound in the district though not always cheap. Another option is the Hotel Loiret at, I love the street name, rue des mauvais garçons (literally, street of bad boys!). Near Central, you will also find l’Amnesia (the bar where I kissed my supposedly straight boyfriend for the first time in public. So it's special for me but apparently to many too as it is always crowded), and Okama. Old institutions that have been there forever include le Piano Zinc, les QG (leather/jeans bar with a backroom downstairs). Wonder around and you will find bars with different ambiances.
Restaurants
Restaurants abound as well. You might want to try the Gai Moulin which has a fixed menu that includes choices of entrée (what we call appetizers in the US), plat principal (entrée for Americans), and dessert or cheese. The ambiance is excellent. You sit very close to your neighbors and in all the times that I went there I have ended up chatting with those next to us (likely to be local gays or gay tourists). Try their oeuf cocotte for entrée. Next to the Quetzal there is a small Vietnamese restaurant that is very very popular with locals because not only are the prices reasonable but the food is also fresh and very good. It is small, so it is very crowded most of the time. You can also get food to take away here. For Jewish food (the 4th is also a jewish neighbourhood), go to rue Rosiers and get Falafel in the number of restaurants lining the street. Cakes also abound with many traditional Jewish bakeries.
Sex clubsMoving towards the 1st from the 4th district via rue des Lombards, you will find more bars (including a bears’ bar called the Den, as you approach boulevard de Sebastopol that separates the first and the fourth districts). Continuing on Lombards street, you will find yourself near Les Halles. In this hood, you will find Banana Café, a well known institution if a bit touristy but nonetheless gay (mixed actually, so you can bring girlfriends) bar. Going up boulevard de Sebastopol, you will also find a cruising club at rue aux ours (le Depot). This place is huge and if you want meat market this is exactly it. The bar is on the first floor while the cruising areas with cubicles etc are on the floor below. For the other cruising club in the 4th, you have to go towards the Seine (at Quai de l’Hotel de Ville) and find a place called Le Deep (!! Easily found by the two lion statues guarding the entrance which is a plain door illuminated by a spotlight).
If you must: real touristy stuffIn the fourth arrondissement, you will also find the Hotel de Ville de Paris (Paris Town Hall), an imposing building built in the 18th century. What I like about this building is the small statues of famous people that one finds all around the outside walls of the building. These include famous painters, philosophers, writers and thus not only political people! (Moliere, for instance) That’s great I think. Each district of Paris also has its own town-hall. For the 4th, the town-hall (or Mairie) is two steps from the Hotel de Ville de Paris though of course a lot less imposing than the latter. In the place in front of the Mairie (town-hall) of the 4th, there is an open market for vegetables, cheese, fish and meat and cooked meals such as Paella and French dishes ready to consume. Notre Dame, located on the island Cité (Ile de la Cité), is also in the 4th arrondissement. Did you know that the open place in front of Notre Dame is the point zero from where all the distances in France are calculated (in km)? Museum Picasso is also in this district. And one that you should also visit is the Museum for Photography, near the metro station St. Paul. They have great exhibitions there. But, of course, the Museum of Modern Art, George Pompidou is in this district too.
Having been a resident for the past 9 years in the 4th arrondissement, to my extreme dismay, I have seen traditional Parisian coffee shops disappeared and replaced by modern looking (San Francisco or Sydney style) coffee shops. Oh well, times they are a changing. You can still find more or less traditional coffee shops at Place de la Mairie near the town hall, or if you go further up on the streets Archive, Temple etc. Le pick clop, a café, on rue Vieille du Temple, I like very much because it has not changed much and retained its 70s ambiance somewhat, sort of like a combo of Marilyn Monroe and Paris traditional (that is, if Marilyn was to open a traditional café, it would probably look like this). Another favourite of mine is the Café Beaubourg in front of the George Pompidou. Here, if it’s a nice day, you can sit in the terrace and watch people go by (heavy traffic of very good looking men shuttling between the bars in le Marais and les halles) and the street performers tend to perform right in front of the café! This pseudo intellectual café is decorated in if you wish a modern traditional Parisian café, though once the smoking law comes into effect in February 2008, I cannot vouch for the ambiance…I will say it again, Paris café without smoke is SO unthinkable for me.
Where your hotel is
Where you stay in Paris can make a difference to your Parisian experience. Paris is divided into districts (or arrondissements) that spiral out of the center like a snail. Each district has its own characteristics and personality, so to speak (for the 4th , it’s gay and Jewish and touristy). In the center you have First arrondissement, the 2nd above it, the 3rd to the right of the 2nd, and the 4th below the third. The 5th arrodissement is below the 4th on the rive gauche. To the left is the 5th (where Sorbonne University used to be. These days it is composed of many universities, though the place de la Sorbonne still exists) followed by the 6th and the 7th as you move leftwards along the rive gauche. Traversing the Seine you have the 8th, 9th, and so on with the outer arrondissements straddling the inner ones moving in clockwise direction. In total there are 20 arrondissements in Paris. By the way, Parisians have clear images about Rive Gauche and Rive Droite (areas above or below the river Seine). If Rive Gauche evokes intellectualism and richness, Rive Droite evokes more socialism, excitement, and quartiers populaires (quarters for workers etc.) though bizarrely, les champs Elysées is on this side of the river along with all the grand monuments such as la Défense, Le Grand Palais etc.
The fourth arrondissement: Gay barsThe fourth arrondissement (75004) is probably where you want to be if you are gay. The Marais, in the 4th arrondissement is the gay area of Paris. Here, you should go to the gay bookshop Les mots à la bouche ( English
books available here and all kind of guides), the Open Café on rue des Archives (a good place to meet locals and tourists alike in the evening and into the night) or the Cox bar almost next to it (a good place, slightly leather but not at all strictly,
VERY popular late afternoon and early evening). Many of the places closed at 2 am though except for a few bars. The Quetzal (now called Happy Quetzal) is one of the late closing bars. It used to be very dingy and exciting (dark, dirty complete with a backroom upstairs). Changes have come in the closing of the backroom, and a recent renovation that unfortunately (in my opinion) make this place now resemble any other gay bars and at first glance even a showroom of IKEA. Still, the crowd, thankfully unchanged, makes it worth going there. The bathroom (upstairs) also is pretty cool (for example, the video mirrors above the sink…so whilst washing your hands you see a video of yourself rather than an image in the mirror). Mirrors everywhere in the toilet cubicle also make for an interesting experience! The other is le Raids which includes men taking showers as part of the ambiance (sort of like the Splash in NYC if indeed it’s still there, haven’t been back there for a while).
Bars along rue Vieille du Temple, rue des Archives et rue St. Croix de la Bretonnerie are all worth a look and a visit. Central Bar on rue vieille du temple is supposedly one of, if not the oldest gay bars in Paris and it also has a hotel upstairs (the only gay hotel in Paris officially). Other hotels abound in the district though not always cheap. Another option is the Hotel Loiret at, I love the street name, rue des mauvais garçons (literally, street of bad boys!). Near Central, you will also find l’Amnesia (the bar where I kissed my supposedly straight boyfriend for the first time in public. So it's special for me but apparently to many too as it is always crowded), and Okama. Old institutions that have been there forever include le Piano Zinc, les QG (leather/jeans bar with a backroom downstairs). Wonder around and you will find bars with different ambiances.Restaurants
Restaurants abound as well. You might want to try the Gai Moulin which has a fixed menu that includes choices of entrée (what we call appetizers in the US), plat principal (entrée for Americans), and dessert or cheese. The ambiance is excellent. You sit very close to your neighbors and in all the times that I went there I have ended up chatting with those next to us (likely to be local gays or gay tourists). Try their oeuf cocotte for entrée. Next to the Quetzal there is a small Vietnamese restaurant that is very very popular with locals because not only are the prices reasonable but the food is also fresh and very good. It is small, so it is very crowded most of the time. You can also get food to take away here. For Jewish food (the 4th is also a jewish neighbourhood), go to rue Rosiers and get Falafel in the number of restaurants lining the street. Cakes also abound with many traditional Jewish bakeries.
Sex clubsMoving towards the 1st from the 4th district via rue des Lombards, you will find more bars (including a bears’ bar called the Den, as you approach boulevard de Sebastopol that separates the first and the fourth districts). Continuing on Lombards street, you will find yourself near Les Halles. In this hood, you will find Banana Café, a well known institution if a bit touristy but nonetheless gay (mixed actually, so you can bring girlfriends) bar. Going up boulevard de Sebastopol, you will also find a cruising club at rue aux ours (le Depot). This place is huge and if you want meat market this is exactly it. The bar is on the first floor while the cruising areas with cubicles etc are on the floor below. For the other cruising club in the 4th, you have to go towards the Seine (at Quai de l’Hotel de Ville) and find a place called Le Deep (!! Easily found by the two lion statues guarding the entrance which is a plain door illuminated by a spotlight).
If you must: real touristy stuffIn the fourth arrondissement, you will also find the Hotel de Ville de Paris (Paris Town Hall), an imposing building built in the 18th century. What I like about this building is the small statues of famous people that one finds all around the outside walls of the building. These include famous painters, philosophers, writers and thus not only political people! (Moliere, for instance) That’s great I think. Each district of Paris also has its own town-hall. For the 4th, the town-hall (or Mairie) is two steps from the Hotel de Ville de Paris though of course a lot less imposing than the latter. In the place in front of the Mairie (town-hall) of the 4th, there is an open market for vegetables, cheese, fish and meat and cooked meals such as Paella and French dishes ready to consume. Notre Dame, located on the island Cité (Ile de la Cité), is also in the 4th arrondissement. Did you know that the open place in front of Notre Dame is the point zero from where all the distances in France are calculated (in km)? Museum Picasso is also in this district. And one that you should also visit is the Museum for Photography, near the metro station St. Paul. They have great exhibitions there. But, of course, the Museum of Modern Art, George Pompidou is in this district too.
Having been a resident for the past 9 years in the 4th arrondissement, to my extreme dismay, I have seen traditional Parisian coffee shops disappeared and replaced by modern looking (San Francisco or Sydney style) coffee shops. Oh well, times they are a changing. You can still find more or less traditional coffee shops at Place de la Mairie near the town hall, or if you go further up on the streets Archive, Temple etc. Le pick clop, a café, on rue Vieille du Temple, I like very much because it has not changed much and retained its 70s ambiance somewhat, sort of like a combo of Marilyn Monroe and Paris traditional (that is, if Marilyn was to open a traditional café, it would probably look like this). Another favourite of mine is the Café Beaubourg in front of the George Pompidou. Here, if it’s a nice day, you can sit in the terrace and watch people go by (heavy traffic of very good looking men shuttling between the bars in le Marais and les halles) and the street performers tend to perform right in front of the café! This pseudo intellectual café is decorated in if you wish a modern traditional Parisian café, though once the smoking law comes into effect in February 2008, I cannot vouch for the ambiance…I will say it again, Paris café without smoke is SO unthinkable for me.
NOTE (2014): Le Central and le Gai Moulin have also disappeared now :-( .
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