Geek stuff in Paris?

[pseydtonne]

Here is a question I never thought I'd be asking, but what's there to do in Paris if Paris isn't your fetish?

I feel weird asking the question at all. You have to understand that the more I travel, the less I want to see the rubber stamp of metropolitan tourism. I live in a sizable city and I avoid its tourism sectors avidly. When I was in London, all I wanted to do was head west or attempt to get to the Isle of Wight instead.

My plans for immersion studies within France involve avoiding Paris as much as possible so that I don't wind up with the equivalent of a European's view of America only from New York City. Lyon is my target: lots of mass transit ephemera, lots of cool views of stuff, proximity to intense mountain views on paved roads.

Since I may have a few days to spend in Paris after I land, I would want to see stuff. Most of my thinking has been transit surveys: check out the new streetcar lines, ride the circuit of surface metro lines that follow the borders of the city, get lost in general. I'd like to know what anyone else has learned about abnormal things to see or things to avoid in Paris. I'm guessing moominmolly would have the most details, but anyone else got stuff as well?

Are there more interesting neighborhoods to visit than others? What's a kitschy, Allston Village or equivalent to find a hostel in?

Oh, and web sites about obscure things? Maybe I should simply get out of Paris just as I had escaped London and pick a city at random. Maybe I should get a visa for Switzerland and blow a few days hearing the Swiss French accents instead.

Maybe I should also go for a walk before the sun sets. I know obscure and cool things all up and down the eastern seaboard, too.

Comments

[pseydtonne.livejournal.com]

West African food! Oh dude, that sounds rawkin'! I love obscure foods. I'm there. Any restaurants that stood out for such cuisine?

[fanw.livejournal.com]

I haven't been there for any length of time for years (the 12 hrs this summer doesn't count) so I can't really recommend any places. I just remember there being a lot of yummy African food around. Should be pretty easy to find.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Try wandering around Belleville for weird culture clash -- African, Arabic, Israeli, and East Asian immigrants all bumping blocks and shops.