Direct connections with the RER line C

Hop on the RER C in Ivry-sur-Seine toward Paris and discover the city by getting off at theses stations:

• Station Gare d’Austerlitz, gets you on the other side of the Jardin des Plantes, where you’ll find the Zoo.

• Station St Michel Notre-Dame: Another way to reach Notre-Dame church, or you can go and visit the beautiful Musée de Cluny.

•  Station Musée d’Orsay. 

• Station Invalides: Cross the Seine and go visit the Palais de la Découverte (a beautiful science Museum)

•  Station Pont de l’Alma: From her you can go to the Musée du quai Branly, or cross the Seine and walk toward the Modern Art Museum , the Palais Galliera or the Asian Arts Museum.

•  Station Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel.

•  Versailles Rives-Gauche: So, this is not a real direct trip since you’ll have to change train. In «Ivry sur Seine» board on any train toward Paris, get out the train in Bibliothèque François Mitterrand and step on the next train towards «Versailles Rive-Gauche» (same platform), this will take you to Versailles Castle. The full trip takes around 1h30, and you’ll need specific tickets (Versailles is in zone 4). I recommand this as a one-day trip with a picnic in the castle’s gardens.

Festi'Val de Marne

Each year in october, the Festi'Val de Marne presents concerts in many different styles all around the Val de Marne Department. Some concerts are held in Ivry, or in nearby Vitry (you can easily reach Vitry's theater using bus line 182 from Ivry). Many popular french artists participate to the Festival and the prices are usually much lower than when you attend a show of the same artist in Paris.

We are particularly fond of the kids concerts where you can have a great time with the whole family for a remarkably reasonable price (around 6€ per ticket).

Shopping: What should I bring back from Paris ?

Paris is an expensive city, an bringing back original, pretty, and yet affordable stuff from a parisian stay is not an easy task.

Here is a list of ideas and places where I go whenever I want to make a gift to friends living abroad :

• A good bottle of wine is usually a safe choice. I recommend the wine seller close from home on rue Marat which has a good selection (for various prices) and always gives us excellent advice when we visit him.

• Fragonard, is a old french perfumery brand, which sells good quality products that are both lovely and with remarkably reasonable prices (I find their products much better, and cheaper, than those sold at l'Occitane). I usually go to their shop in the Louvre shopping mall.

• Macarons, may be trendy but they are still delicious treats. The most famous maker in Paris is probably Ladurée, but they are 1)Expensive (ok, good macarons don't come cheap anyway) 2) Crowded (expect to queue for some time) 3) Far away from my place (I'm a lazy gourmet). So instead I go and buy them at Gerard Mulot, which has a great selection of flavours (some changing along with the seasons) and a shop that's easy to reach in the 13th district (next to the subway station Glacière on line 6). If you are planning to bring back some fresh macarons be careful to buy them at the last moment since they are not supposed to be kept more than three days (it never was a problem for us though, a macaron box that would last for more than 48 hours is something unheard of in our family...)

Festival au fil de...

The "Festival au fil de..." is a puppet show festival held every year in the Parc des Cormailles at the beginning of october. During two days there are all sorts of shows for children scattered all around the park (and some are held under a covered area in case of a rainy week-end). The entrance to the park is free, and we always had a great time attending the different shows with the girls.

In 2013 the festival will be held on october 5th and 6th and more practical information, and a complete program, can be found here.

Other places we like

These places are not directly connected to Ivry, but they are still very easy to reach and well worth the trip :

• Subway line 7, get out at Porte d’Ivry and take the tramway T3 toward Pont du Garigliano. Get out in Cité Universitaire and enjoy the beautiful Parc Montsouris.

• Subway line 7, get out at Porte d’Ivry and take the tramway T3 toward Porte de Vincennes, get off at Porte Dorée and visit the Aquarium or enter the Bois de Vincennes for a walk (you can also reach it by bike from Ivry).

•  Subway line 7, change in Place d’Italie for line 6 toward Charles de Gaule-Étoile, get out at Trocadero. Here you’ll find the Marine Museum, another aquarium (bigger than the one at Porte Dorée, but also much more expensive) and a beautiful view on the Eiffel Tower.

• Subway line 7, change in Place d'Italie for line 5 toward Bobigny, get out at Porte de Pantin. Here you'll find the Music Museum and its beautiful collection of musical instruments.

 

• Subway line 7, change in Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre for line 1 toward La Défense and get off at Franklin D. Roosevelt. There you can visit the Palais de la Découverte, a beautiful science museum.

Direct connections with subway line 7

(our kids favorites are in purple)

• Station Censier-Daubenton, you can go to the Natural History Museum (note that the dinosaurs are not in the main building, but can be found in the Galerie de Paléontologie) in the Jardin des Plantes. On your way there, have a look at the beautiful Grande Mosquée.

•  Station Place Monge: Visit the Arènes de Lutèce, a roman arena (nice spot for a picnic), or take a walk uphill to see the Pantheon, from the top of the building you can see the whole city.

•  Station Jussieu: Visit the Institut du Monde Arabe.

•  Stations Sully-Morland and Pont Marie: From here you can visit Le Marais, one of the oldest and most beautiful part of Paris. Don’t miss the Musée Carnavalet, which has a remarkable collection about Paris history set in a beautiful building (and since it’s a city museum, the entrance is free).

•  Station Chatelet: Don’t get lost in Paris biggest subway station, once you’ve reached the surface again, you can walk to the Centre George Pompidou.

•  Station Pont Neuf: The Pont Neuf is the oldest bridge in Paris, cross it toward the Ile de la Cité and visit Notre-Dame church.

• Station Palais-Royal, Musee du Louvre: Of course, you have the Louvre Museum, but take also some time to stroll in the beautiful Palais-Royal gardens... From here you can also walk to the Musée en Herbe, which is a great place to discover art for really young kids (age 3 to 6).

•  Station Opera: Have a look at the Palais Garnier.

• Station Porte de la Villette: This long subway trip will take you to the Cité des Sciences, where the Cité des Enfants is an all time favorite of our daughters so it’s well worth the travel !

Things to do and see in Ivry

As a former industrial suburb, Ivry is not a touristic place, but there are still a few interesting things to see and do without going very far from home. The city has a nice website with lots of practical information.

• Our favorite place in Ivry with the girls is by far the library, which has a large kids department, you can find the opening hours here. (n°1 on the map)

• On a sunny day you can go and play at the Parc des Cormailles in the center of the city. (2)

• The CREDAC is a center for modern art set in a renovated factory (there are plenty of them in Ivry), its very close from our place and the red bricks building is worth a look. (3)

•  The swimming pool is only a 5 mins walk from home. (4)

Drink !

• Right now our favorite place to share a drink is le Bistrot le Nouveau Brooklyn where you can also watch football games in the evening. (1)