Q – Off in three months to take my girlfriend to Paris. Per your suggestion we are dividing our stay between the banks but we really are serious walkers and explorers and we want to get into the neighborhoods that are both interesting and away from selfie-seeking lemmings. We’re in our early forties and we’re getting serious even though we’ve both been married previously. I love that I finally found a woman who enjoys exploring cities as much as I do. Really cool site. Congratulations.
A – There are several off-the-beaten path ways to explore Paris. We would suggest you begin with the still secret 13th arrondissment and the neighborhood of Butte-aux-Cailles. It is rather up-and-coming and it is set against a hilltop. The whole neighborhood is changing but it still feels a lot like a walk through an eighteenth century village. We also love Belleville, a former working class district that straddles the 19th and 20th arrondissments. This area is filled with ethnic restaurants because it has become both an artists colony and home to a number of recent settlers in France. We would visit Belleville solely for the quality of its Chinatown – incredible Cambodian, Malaysian, Thai, and Chinese food from all of the major regions. Portions of the neighborhood may seem dicey but, on the whole, it is safer than attending a Manchester United match.
