Hi Everyone!
Ok, I%26#39;ll be coming to Paris and London to celebrate my 35th (ouch!) birthday. I%26#39;ll be in Paris on my actual birthday, and I%26#39;m trying to think of where a single gal should go for a BLAST!I am pretty much open to anything (as long as it%26#39;s NOT illegal--hahaha). Anyway, I was thinking of doing a wine tasting w/a sommelier that day. I have some info on that. And possibly either doing the Seine boat tour, or perhaps having a drink at either the Ritz or Crillion or Athenee and then going somewhere really nice and %26quot;single person%26quot; friendly for dinner and then somewhere later that night for dancing.
All you locals, please feel free to provide your input; Phread, KDKSail,Cocochanel and all the rest (can%26#39;t remember everyone - sorry :(
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What day of the week is your birthday? I have read a couple of threads ago there was ladie%26#39;s night at the %26quot;Queen%26#39;s%26quot; on thursdays. In general I wouldn%26#39;t say that Paris is very single friendly but you seem to have the right attitude to make it a good time.
Personnally I like the Ritz bar, it would be a nice place for an apperitif. For dinner I wouldn%26#39;t go in the classical restaurants (ie Alain Ducasse, tour d%26#39;argent,1728 etc) since they are very formal and thus not single friendly. A restaurant with great atmosphere, good music and mostly younger public is the Music Hall. Or maybe the Alcazar in the 5th, it%26#39;s a mix of bar/lounge/restaurant.
Whatever you decide to do I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll have a great time, even if it is not realy easy to meet people in Paris I love the flexibility of travelling alone!
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Thanks Kasthor-- I appreciate the info and candor of your response regarding single travel.
I%26#39;ll just be happy to be in Paris, so if that means sitting at a café people watching all night by myself; well, I can do that too!
My actual birthday falls on a Wednesday night, but I can still look into checking out %26quot;Queens%26quot; on Thursday.
My friends seem to think I won%26#39;t have ANY problems finding people to talk to. Hahaha, I never do. I travel a lot for work and pleasure and have met some of the greatest people who are now friends from some of my travels!
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Hello fellow %26quot;going to Paris to celebrate my birthday%26quot; traveller! I%26#39;m doing exactly the same thing only a few weeks earlier. I love that you posted this thread. I%26#39;m going to be following along if you don%26#39;t mind.
I realize I am not a local, as you requested, but the one thing I do have reserved for the big day is afternoon tea at the Ritz Paris. If money were no object this trip, I%26#39;d be staying the night, but I do want to be able to make my mortgage payment on return, so that will have to wait.
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Hey thatgirldina --- Congrats on your trip too!
I don%26#39;t know how much interest this thread will generate; however, if I hear of some things from my friends (that have lived/been to Paris), then I%26#39;ll post them here for you too.
The tea sounds great at the Ritz, but I definitely will want to go there for a %26quot;real%26quot; drink ;-)
I like the idea of not going anywhere too formal, because I%26#39;m sure it will be too couple oriented (not that that is a bad thing, I just won%26#39;t be part of a couple =)
Like I said, I plan on doing this sommelier wine tasting; they have a lunch one that I think I%26#39;ll sign up for. I%26#39;ll be staying in the 8th, so I%26#39;ll likely do some %26quot;serious%26quot; damage shopping! Yikes!
That evening I%26#39;ll make sure I make reservations (if necessary) wherever I want to have dinner, and then just go over to the Ritz before. As for partying/dancing - I love jazz too, so if I stumbled upon something low key, that would be cool too. Not to say that jazz joints are low key!
I wish you the best on your trip and I%26#39;ll be reading whatever you write upon your return, since you will be going before me!
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I too am a tad concerned about not being the only single in a sea of couples, but after reading through a few solo trip reports, I must say that I am braver now than I ever thought I%26#39;d be. One report in particuliar, from our very own BeatChick, although on another board, is the one that inspired me to book the tea. She did it solo and seemed to have a marvelous time. Drinks will be had as well later in the evening, I%26#39;m sure! ;) I%26#39;m thinking of spending the evening at La Caveau de la Huchette, a jazz place in the Latin Quarter. I hear the ambiance is great and the music fantastic.
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La Caveau de la Huchettemm, I might have to look into that place. Even if I don%26#39;t go for my birthday, maybe I can check it out while I am there.
Also, a co-worker of mine is from France, so I am going to pick her brain :) Her family still lives there and her sister lives in Paris, so I KNOW she should have a scoop on some of the places.
As for traveling alone, I love it! I%26#39;ve traveled with friends and family and I honestly have to say that besides traveling with my mom and one of my closer friends, I really prefer to go solo. There are too many logistical things you have to worry about, and people who don%26#39;t travel a lot really don%26#39;t have the patience and/or tolerance level to deal with airport security, delays, etc.
I think we are going to be in for a blast and a time to remember!
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Cleo %26amp; Dina,
I am so jealous of you girls! I got to spend 3 weeks there last summer. I was with my family but I loved every minute of it. They had to drag me to the train. When I feel like running away from home I day dream about what it would be like to go to Paris by myself. I would go alone in a second but I have obligations. I am going to follow along to see what the experts come up with so just in case I ever do run away I will know how to entertain myself LOL!
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Ride the wave Sandi (see you are in San Diego ;-)
Hopefully between now and before we leave in April, we will get a fair amount of ideas/options! (I hope :-o)
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Cleo24kt, I went to Paris solo a few months ago and had a blast! By going out alone, I made new friends and ended up barhopping and clubbing through the night with them. It sounds like you%26#39;ll make friends easily.
Before I got to Paris, I had all these plans to see the tourist sites -- the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, l%26#39;Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, etc. But by my third day, I was so enchanted with Paris that I decided to skip the really touristy stuff and explore the different neighborhoods. I%26#39;m quite sure that if I%26#39;d gone with family or friends, they would have dragged me up and down the Champs Elysees instead!
During the day, I%26#39;d scope out brasseries and bars that looked interesting, go back to my hotel in the evening, shower, get dressed up, and then go back to the places I%26#39;d picked out. As a single woman, I seemed to get a lot more attention from restaurant staff than some of the couples and groups around me. I found that it was very comfortable to dine alone at a nice brasserie, instead of going to an upscale restaurant. When I went to cafes, I took a notebook and practiced writing in French.
Depending on where you%26#39;re staying, I would recommend the Latin Quarter as a great place for a single person -- not only for all the cafes, brasseries, restaurants and bars -- but it%26#39;s also safe to walk around at night.
When is your trip? I%26#39;m going back in March, with some new friends I met on TA!
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Sorry, after I posted, I saw that you%26#39;re going in April. Bon voyage!
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