So... I'm finally heading back to Paris end of June/beginning of July. I lived over there for about 4 months while I was studying abroad so I've done pretty much all of the touristic stuff already. What I'm really looking for at this point are more non-traditional things, restaurants to visit, places to shop, not so famous museums, etc. and I wanted to know if any of you have any suggestions!

So far I've found on thing place that I absolutely have to visit while I'm there:

Salon de thé, Paris - Parisian Cat Cafe!

Places to Visit:


Japan Expo

Pont de Bir-Hakeim
Pont de Bir-Hakeim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paris Plage

Sewers?

Catacombs?

Musée et jardins Albert Kahn
http://www.timeout.fr/paris/musee/mu...ns-albert-kahn

Maison Loo – Pagode
Maison Loo - Pagode à Paris | Un Jour de plus à Paris

Immeubles Art Nouveau
Immeubles Art Nouveau à Paris | Un Jour de plus à Paris

Pont des Arts
http://www.happycity-blog.com/2011/0...rts-paris.html



Outside of Paris:

Beach Towns:

-Deauville
-Le Touquet
-Trouville

Chartres
Things to do in Chartres: Check out 14 Chartres Attractions - TripAdvisor

Givernay

Foret Rambouillet

Park Zen Rueil Malmaison

Stuff to Buy:


Magazines
Clothes
Spedifen
Beauty Products
Candy
Children's Beret
Figurine of the Eiffel Tower
Father's Day Present
Marie Claire Magazine



Books to Buy:


La Voleuse de Livres - Markus Zusak Translation
Un Eclat de Givre - Estelle Faye ~21€
*L'Été à Lulaby - Rémi Giordano ~7€
*Nina - Frédéric Lenoir, Simonetta Greggio ~7€
Demain J'arrete - Gilles Legardinier ~8€
Morwenna - Jo Walton ~21€
Anna et le french kiss - Stephanie Perkins Translation
Journal intime d'un chat acariâtre - Frédéric Pouhier, Susie Jouffa ~10€
*Automne - Jan Henrik Nielsen ~16€
*Plum : Un amour de chat, Tome 1 & 2 (Manga) - Natsumi Hoshino ~8€


Good Places to Shop:


Chatlet Les Halles
La Defense
Boulevard Haussmann
Place de l'Opéra
Boulevard St. Michelle
Rue de Rivoli
Champs Élisée



European Clothing Sizes:


Tops - S
Pants - 38?
Shoes - 38-39

Restaurants:


Le café des chats
Salon de thé, Paris

Dernière Bar au Monde

Neobento
^^ NeoBento ^^
Neo Bento - Marais Nord - Paris, France | Yelp

Nanashi
Nanashi - Marais Nord - Paris, France | Yelp



Food:


Strawberry Tart
Macarons
Chinese Food

Links to check out:


Paris par Time Out | Sortir à Paris | Le guide des Parisiens

Balade Geek à Paris

Japanese Boutiques

I just found out that I'm going to miss the Pokemon Center pop up shop in Paris by just a few days. How depressing. V_V

Looks like I'll be doing a lot of day trips outside of Paris. Has anyone visited the French countryside?

Eep! 12 days to go and I still don't have a lot of my plans set. I need to get crackin!

I added a bunch of books I hope to buy! Just over a week now... *Squirms*

OMG it looks like I might be going to Disneyland Paris! I've never even been to the parks here in the US. I'm so excited!

I'm leaving tomorrow! *Squeals*

Woo, Paris is expensive, you're a lucky one to get to go there on holiday!

Be sure to take in lots of the local culture (read: food) for me, I haven't been since I was maybe six years old! And let us all know how it was, okay?

I, for one, expect a full report, including baguettes, frog's legs, and bouillabaise!

Edit: And yes, do the Catacombs. If anything follows you back, I want it as a pet.

Definitely! I've been saving up my money so I'm planning on living it up. XD

I'm sooo excited for the food. I'm going to have real macarons and pain au chocolate and tartlette aux fraises and baguette and all of those goodies! I'm not so sure about the frogs legs or the escargot but I'm definitely going to enjoy "la cuisine".

I lived in Paris for a few months back in 2009 but I'm super excited to be going back. There are so many things I want to do and see, food I want to eat, things I want to buy and I'm super happy to be seeing my friends again! I plan on taking a ton of photos so maybe I can share some of them here when I'm back. ^_^

As for the catacombs I'm still trying to decide. I'm a bit claustrophobic when going underground so I'm afraid I might end up freaking out? Not because of the skeletons but because of that... It might be okay though, I dunno. A while back when my dad came to visit we went in a submarine and I sort of freaked out at the entrance. Eventually I went inside and was okay but I did have a mini moment of panic where I was thinking "am I really freaking going to go under the water?!".

Oh, that's just instinct's way of warning you about a point of no return... Like once the plane takes off, there's that little rush, or when you've just jumped off the diving board, and you know you're committed to the dive.

Moving past the fear is easy, you just have to be unafraid of the fact that you could die. Not unafraid of death itself, just unafraid of the fact that it could happen.

Funny, I think it's a rational fear, not wanting to climb into a hole in the ground or a submarine, but there are so many people who would probably just blithely walk up in there, unafraid of potential tunnel cave-ins or whatever, and then they see a moth or a mouse and run out screaming.

Intrepid until faced with the utterly harmless, lol, it's hilarious.

It's such a dumb fear too... I ride the subway all the time and it hardly ever bothers me until I stop and actually think about it. I'm pretty sure I just have to not think about it at all. Still, like you say there's that nagging little instinct... But of course! I just have to remember that lurks EVERYWHERE and that I could DIE ANY MOMENT so then maybe it will be less scary? I mean, if I'm going to go I guess it would be more exciting to kick the bucket in the Paris underground. XD

DON'T DO THE CATACOMBS. *just saw a horrifying new movie trailer* Why do movies have to ruin everything?

I actually just got back from my vacation. I didn't end up doing the catacombs. What movie trailer did you see them in?

Here are some vacay pics if anyone's interested!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/260766...7645603455595/