Paris Travel Forum

My boyfriend and I will be travelling to Paris at the end of May and I think he just might pop the question. He seems intent on locating a place for a picnic and as he has never been to the city of light I thought I might offer an informed suggestion as to where we might have a romantic picnic. So many parks and places to choose--any suggestions?

Thanks!

No bad choices, well maybe an after dark rendezvous in the Bois de Boulogne is ill advised.

I like Montmartre, around Sacre Coeur. Great view, weather permitting.

1) There is a nice garden park at the back / passing through the Arch Du Triomphe Du Carousel which is in front of the Louvre Museum.

2) Like already mentioned above - the Sacre Coeur. Wait for the sunset sitting on the stairs in front of the Sacre Coeur.

3) Parc des Buttes Chaumont - 61 acres of hilly land in the 19th arrondissement in the northeast of Paris. Two Métro stations are at the edge of the park: Buttes-Chaumont and Botzaris on Line 7b. Another station, Laumières, is a couple of blocks northeast of the park on Line 5.

4) Jardins et Palais du Luxembourg

5) A leafy haven beckons to lovers out for a stroll. The Square du Vert-Galant, perched on the western tip of Île de la Cité in the Seine, was named for the dashing 16th-century king of France, Henri IV, known as the lusty gallant. Today the garden is a popular spot for marriage proposals.


*** I found this one at (and many more suggested romantic parks) :

http://yellowbordermagazine.com/ngm/0610/feature3/gallery4.html

Enjoy your trip!

The Square du Vert Galant is a superb recommendation. Great location by the river.
Jeannette

As beautiful as it is I wouldnt consider Sacre Coeur at sunset to be particularly romantic. Too many tourists (I know I'm one too) and irritating hawkers.

Buttes-Chaumont, in the 19th is a bit off the well beaten tourist trail but may be what you are looking for. It is frequented by locals and has a fairytale feel to it IMO.

3rd vote for Square du Vert Galant. If you have google earth type in "Île de la Cité, paris, fr" and there is the view of the little park. Surrounded on both sides by the river with a view of the Eiffel Tower and many of the magnificent bridges of Paris. That is one of a number of parks in an article in the National Geographic from about 18 months ago.

Perhaps a large piece of pate and a bottle of moet should be purchased - LOL

Try the tethered air balloon in the lovely parc André-Citroen south of the Eiffel Tower, I recently posted about the new balloon ("Air de Paris") that they are installing at the minute (not quite yet ready -another 3 weeks I understand). Not sure how well the Search facility works on this site, but it was about 2 weeks ago. It will be the biggest tethered air balloon in the world of its kind (a sort of ecological air balloon -see website), will go up to 160 metres and will change colour according to the pollution levels.

Yes, there were will be people around and all that (at least they won't be tramps!), but it should be more fun and a damnsight more original than the usual romantic parks or gardens, Monceau, Buttes Chaumont, Vert Galant, etc. The view will certainly be more memorable. Just don't drop the ring.

http://www.ballondeparis.com/

Exparisian
Sounds very interesting but...
I just checked out the website and it's a big confusing.
Are they saying that for only 10-12 Euros, one can go up in a balloon above Paris. That can't be.
Jeannette

Our favorite romantic place in Paris is the Tuileries Gardens (mentioned above as through the Arc du Carousel past the Louvre). That aside, a great place with romance and privacy would be a bench by the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens. It is utterly romantic and we've never noticed a lot of people there either.

Up by the bandstand in the Luxembourg Gardens would be fun too and you might get applause there! 8^)

Le Ballon Air de Paris : informations pratiques

Horaires d’ouverture : tous les jours à partir de 9H jusqu’à 30 minutes avant la fermeture du parc.
Lieu : Parc André Citroën dans le 15ème à Paris
Métros : Javel ou Balard / RER C Javel ou Boulevard Victor
Jeannette, AFAIK, the new balloon is there BUT not ready yet (they are still testing all the techie bits inside as it will double up as a sort of weather and pollution measurement station.

The infos pratiques section says that it's €12 for adults (weekends and bank hol), €10 any other day

12/17 y-o: 10 € weekend and bank hol/ 9 € any other day
3/11: 6 € weekend and bank hol/ 5 € any other day
Under 3 ans : free
Free for any child under 12 living in Paris

>Just don't drop the ring.

LOL - now I'll bet original poster won't tell us where "that" picnic will take place just in case there's a mob of us saying things like, "I told you such and such would be a better place."

Sirgaw: LOL! 2 much!

Now that you've mentioned that.... would really love to hear an update from the orig poster by first week of June. Hearing some bells... anyone?

I've got to go with Beausoleil and put in my vote for the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens. Actually, any part of the gardens will work because the whole thing is so beautiful, but the Medici Fountain is really stunning and it's one of the few shady parts (meaning not a lot of sun, not sketchy) so you won't have the sun in your eyes when he does it! ;) Does it have to be a picnic? If it were me, I think I'd love a boat down the Seine, although some are better than others so it might take a little more research than a picnic.

I went up in that tethered balloon (the original one, which at the time was the largest in the world) in 2007, and it really did cost only 12 Euros, but the ride only lasted ten minutes, just once up and down. I really liked it, though. Great views of the western half of Paris!

By the way, I hope this picnic is going to be during daylight hours, because as far as I know most Paris parks tend to close at dusk. The big exception is the Tino Rossi park where people gather at night to dance by the Seine.