Anyplace to grab a beer in Paris?

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paulthenurse

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Anyone know of anyplace where we can sample some local beer in Paris?

I found an unbelievable last minute deal on Kayak.com, and booked a surprise trip for me and SWMBO. I told to take off Friday, Monday and Tuesday. She asked where we're going and I told her it was a surprise. Then I did the ol' misdirection thing by whistling "A New York State of Mind" when she thought I didn't know she was there.

I like wine almost as much as beer but I don't want to miss out on a chance to try some local brews. Anyone know of a good beer bar there?

PTN
 
Bonjour et bienvenue a Paris! I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but I'll throw out some suggestions and you can do with them what you wish. Here is a good start for you: http://www.classiccitybrew.com/paris.html I went to the Horse's Tavern (now just called La Taverne) recently and they have a really good selection of worldwide beers. Frog and Rosbif is a microbrewery that I've heard is decent, but I've never been there. Culture Biere is on the Champs Elysees (downstairs) and is decent. It turns into a dance club late at night, but you can get decent pints there until then. And, to just buy beer, I recommend The Bootlegger. He has tons of beers and is very friendly, speaks english and can make good recommendations if you tell him the style you're looking for. Give it a shot and enjoy your time in Paris!
 
I actually enjoyed the Picon beer. Very tasty. Perfect for quenching your thirst after walking around the city all day. We never made it to a pure beer bar, we were too busy packing all of the Parisian sight into the 5 days we had. We'd just find a little bistro on our travels and duck inside for a quick one or two and a bite to eat.

I fell in love with the following things while there:

Bread. 50 years on this earth and I've never had bread before. I've had stuff that is sort of like bread, vaguely resembles bread but after eating a fresh, still warm baguette with butter I came to realize that I'd never eaten bread before. It was life altering.

On our first night there (after having been up for 36 +/- hours) we stopped in at the corner grocery store a few doors down from our hotel. We grabbed a bunch of stuff, wine, cheese, pate', etc for the following days picnic under the Eiffel Tower. We get back to the hotel, Alice goes in to take a shower and I tear off a piece of the baguette. By the time she's out of the shower I had polished of the whole loaf. The single best thing I've ever eaten.

4 Euros buys you a white Bordeaux that would sell for $40 here.

Parisian woman are hot. Even the ugly ones are hot. And they all smell nice.

The Metro. Ya, its a subway, big deal. But it is a nice subway. The platforms are pretty and not a bad place to wait for a train. One afternoon we ran down the steps just as the doors closed and the train pulled away. So we sat on a comfortable bench, tore into a loaf of bread, sliced up a cheese and popped the cork on one of those 4 Euro bottles of White Bordeaux from deep within the recesses of my backpack. The next train came and we just sat there and let it go. "We've still got a half bottle of wine and half a cheese. Another train will be along in 8 minutes. Drink up." Even the schizo's who were bumming money on the subway did it with a nice accent.

Crepes. Very nice. I don't have an overwhelming desire to make them at home but a nice warm treat when the wind is howling. (It was surprisingly cold and blustery when we were there.) I doubt I'll ever buy a jar of Nutella but it worked well in the crepes.

The opuance and grandeaur of the entire city was a little (a lot) over the top but it was nice for a few days.

I never knew that the Eiffel Tower glittered at night with sparkling lights. Very pretty.

The boat trip on the Seinne was great, as were Notre Dame and Sacre Seaur. (sp?)

We climbed the steps up the Eiffel Tower one night. All six billion of them. 900 meters straight up. But they serve cognac and champagne at the top so it was worth it.

Hot, bubbly, cheese fondue is the best use in the world for stale bread.



Disapointments:

The catacombs were closed cause some ********* vandalized them. That sucked, I really wanted to see them.

The Arc de Triumph was closed because of a civil service strike so we couldn't go to the tp of that. But that was the day we arrived and we were at around the 30 hour mark at that point so maybe it's just as well.

800 *****ebags trying to sell the same piece of **** tin model of the Eiffel Tower all withing three blocks of each other. "I just walked past 750 of your buddies without feeling the need to buy one of those bits of junk, do you thing because you stand in front of me and impede my progress I'm going to have a change of heart? GTFOOMW."

As in most other European countries, the words "Lung Cancer" apparently get lost in translation. At least they don't smoke in restaurants or cafe's. But EVERYONE smokes there. Quite sad.

PTN
 
Awesome. No idea how I found this thread or why I'm reading it but I had the exact same experience when I went last year. Did you run into any of the guys who pretend to find a gold ring then give it to you and then guilt you into giving them some money for it?
 
Awesome. No idea how I found this thread or why I'm reading it but I had the exact same experience when I went last year. Did you run into any of the guys who pretend to find a gold ring then give it to you and then guilt you into giving them some money for it?

Hah that's funny. I'm going to Paris this summer for the first time so I bought rick steves book on it and read about the ring scam literally fifteen minutes ago. Is it really that prominent of a scam?
 
There are a LOT of beggars and street people in Paris. Probably more than in any other city I've been in. But they are pretty respectful of your space and if you just keep moving you are fine. I only had one guy actually stand in my way and impede my progress. Just ignore the beggars and peddlers and it won't be a problem for you. And of course, take a few precautions whenever you are in a crowd so you don't get your pockets picked. I think most Americans have enough of a sense of personal space that we're uncomfortable in crowds were people are pressing up against you and that is where the pickpockets strike. Just use common sense.

PTN
 
Hah that's funny. I'm going to Paris this summer for the first time so I bought rick steves book on it and read about the ring scam literally fifteen minutes ago. Is it really that prominent of a scam?

One day I was there within a 30 min period I had three guys do it to me. I got so fed up by the 3rd one that I took the ring and chucked it into the river. But since you are aware of it, its no big deal.

Other than there wasn't too much issue with beggers. State street Madison, WI is 10x worse
 
Good point about the bread. You rarely see someone carrying bread that has not already started eating it dry before they even get it home! :)
 
Any updates on the Paris beer scene in 2016? Nipping in for work (the flight is just over an hour long) and I was thinking checking if they had some new stuff, or failing that, some decent Belgian beers.
 
JKaranka, how was your trip?
I'm going to France for the Euros in two weeks so I'm keen on finding some great places to eat/drink in quite a few different cities.
 
JKaranka, how was your trip?
I'm going to France for the Euros in two weeks so I'm keen on finding some great places to eat/drink in quite a few different cities.

I didn't make an enormous effort but I did meet friends at a decent Belgian place in central Paris. Obviously, expensive as hell. 8e for each bottled beer. Overall, France is massively different from Belgium. I was recently just over the Franco-Belgian border in Tournai (Belgium) and even the smallest place had a decent selection of bottled Belgian beers. Even in the middle of the countryside.
 
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