Things to do in Paris in May

Markets! My favorite thing to do was walk through the street markets, different than the kind holgate mentioned. Mostly it was produce and cooked food, but also other stuff - clothes, gizmos, coffee, random stuff. I just liked being there while normal Parisians did their daily thing instead of staring at paintings. I particularly liked all the different foods, even just for looking. A fun thing to do is buy some cheese, bread, fruit, etc. at a market and go to the inevitably nearby park for a little picnic. Here are a number of markets with the nearest Metro stop and Saturday hours. There are others I didn't write down, and you can find them in a single list in the most recent Lonely Planet Paris. If you don't want to buy the book, you could pop into a bookstore and find this page for the full days and hours for each, and the exact location. Some are open most days, some only a couple. Marché aux Enfants Rouges. 9am-8pm. M: Filles du Calvaire Marché de Batignolles (organic stuff). 9am-2pm. M: Place de Clichy or Rome Marché Beauveau (arab & african). 8am-1pm. M: Ledru Rollin Marché Brancusi (organic). 9am-2pm. M: Vavin Marché Maubert (near St. Germain de Pres) 7am-2:30pm. M: Maubert Mutualite Marché President Wilson. 7am-2:30pm. M: Iena or Alma Marceau Marché St. Quentin. (glass enclosed, mostly upmarket and gourmet food) 8am-1pm and 3:30pm-7:30pm. Forgot to write down Metro stop Marché Rue Cler (less of a stalls thing and more of a shops/cafes thing on a pedestrian street - very cozy). 7or8am to 7or7:30pm. M: Ecole Militaire Marché Montorgueil 8am-7:30pm. M: Les Halles Orsentier Marché Rue Mouffetard (wonderful street but wasn't there during market). 8am-7:30pm M: Censier Daubenton Marché Rue Poncelet & Rue Bayen. 9am-1pm and 4pm-7:30pm. M: Ternes. I read that travelers in the know go to the one near the Bastille. But it's only open Sunday and one other day, I think. Look into it. http://www.parismarkets.net/ about a few of the markets. Here's a http://www.aparisguide.com/maps/metro.htm The Catacombs are neat and a bit different than the museum circuit. I hear they're better if you can find a guide. I read here about the sewer museum, which is in the sewers. Sounded interesting from a civil engineering and historical perspective, as well as offbeat, but in one of the descriptions I read, it said raw sewage flows just below where you walk and if it rains they've got 30 min to get you out because it floods. I couldn't bring myself to do that, but did see people lining up for it. Check the hours. Musee des Egouts de Paris. The Jewish area in the Marais has some great food, particularly for lunches. Rue Mouffetard has a number of Greek crepe places that are good for lunch too. Given the absurd number of wonderful restaurants all over the place, you'll get better dinner recommendations if you name some areas you're interested in. Make reservations in the morning or the day before if you can. As for day trips, Givenchy is about an hour away, where Monet's home and gardens are. I didn't care about the home (nice kitchen though), but the gardens were beautiful. Everything's blooming right now. You see the big pond with the waterlilies he painted so much and the Japanese bridge going over it, draped in leafy vines and flowers. A picturesque stream runs behind it. Rows and rows of blooming things, wonderful color combinations. Tour operators can take you straight there from Paris or you can take a train from St. Lazare station to Vernon and then a regular bus, very clearly labeled, to Givenchy. There's a little cafe there for lunch if you need it. The Loire valley is not too far away for wine fans. There are various chateaux to visit. Chartres Cathedral is maybe 50 mi away. That's supposed to be great. I have to think there's a train. Bon voyage!

For a day trip, Chartres cathedral really is amazing. Try to go for an English language tour, with http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=%22malcolm+miller%22+chartres if possible. The town itself is cute, particularly the area by the river. Easy train ride.

For the weekend, the http://www.parispuces.com/en/Default.asp take you out towards the historical edge of the city -- the largest is Saint-Ouen (Porte de Clignancourt, northern end of Métro line 4, and is still fun though on the tourist track, and there are http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/hunting-for-treasure-in-pariss-marches-aux-puces/ along with less formal Parisian-style yard sales. (You'll just miss the brocante de la printemps on the http://www.evous.fr/Inscriptions-a-la-Brocante-de-la,1125607.html.)

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=vRW&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=le+refuge+des+fondues+montmartre&aq=3&aqi=g1g-sx2g1g-sx1g1g-s1&aql=&oq=le+refuge+des+fondues&gs_rfai= in Montmartre.

Seconding the Pont Des Arts. It's a fantastic experience. And try the Velibs.

This ranks as my most successful askme ever - pretty much every single answer here is fantastic. I want to do it all! It's like you people totally understood what kinds of things i was going for!

After seeing zeikka's comment: the totally dark restaurants are a great experience. The original, in Zurich (Blindekuh), is affiliated with and supports a school for the blind. Don't know about the Paris one. There are so so so many delicious things in France though, I don't know as I would go to a gimmick-meal before hitting all of the regional specialties of France and the major immigrant country foods (West African! Vietnamese! Polish...?!)

Daytrips: - Rouen: one of the biggest cities in Normandie, but not that big at all. Good shopping, beautiful architecture, and en entry into all of the foodie specialties that come out of Normandy (principally meats and cider). Beautiful architecture and lots of Jeanne d'Arc. - Giverny: did you go here yet, to Monet's home? If you want to walk in the gardens, it is out there for you. And the weather is just getting nice out here. - Le Touquet: I don't know about the train accessibility since I went by car, but this is THE place Paris people go to the beach. Very much a chi-chi beach town but totally kid friendly. Easy to walk around in, lots of sandy beach, and the season isn't really started yet. In Paris, I second the recommendation for the Catacombs and the sewer museum. But save it for a rainier day if you can. Both of them are underground, cool, and involve narrow spaces and climbing. I wouldn't put a 2-year-old through it or put the other visitors through a 2-year-old going through it. (And screw Versailles; man, I went there last week and it will probably be my last time ev-er!)

I haven't done this, but always wanted to try after hearing a story on radio some years back. Dine in complete http://www.danslenoir.com/accueil_an/accueil_an.php