Hey you Euro TB'ers! Any good open mics/jams in London or Paris, and tips for a traveller?

here's a pretty extensive list of London open mic nights:

http://www.richardgregory.org.uk/music/openmic/london-circuit.htm

the only one I can vouch for is my local, the Railway at Tulse Hill (you get a free drink or pizza if you perform). However it's a bit far out from the middle of town so you may want to stick to central

in terms of general tips, it depends what kind of thing you're wanting to do. here are a few places I like.

For bass stuff, check out the Bass Gallery in Camden:

http://www.thebassgallery.com/

also the music shops/general music history of Denmark St/Tin Pan Alley are worth a look, especially now that the street is under threat from property developers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_Street

... as is The 12-Bar Club (same street):

http://www.12barclub.com/

Foyles (giant, independent) bookshop is just around the corner if you like that of thing:

http://www.foyles.co.uk/

...near the Crobar if you like sleazy rock dive bars. happy hour runs til 9pm and you can get £2.50 beers, which in London terms is practically free:

http://www.crobar.co.uk/

this pub is a bit of a hidden treasure:

http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-nags-head-london-3

if you like eating meat, this restaurant is great (expensive, but worth it. plus you can get slightly cheaper eats - still delicious - in the bar area):

https://www.stjohngroup.uk.com/

for everything else, you can find good up to date listings on the Londonist website:

http://londonist.com/


There's another similar thread somewhere in OT with loads more good London recommendations including more touristy stuff... enjoy!

 

+1 for St. John. Had an amazing meal there when I visited last year. And for a true diner-style English breakfast, check out the Regency Cafe near Westminster Abbey. It was one of the best meals of my trip, and not expensive at all. London isn't cheap in general, so I made sure to keep my splurges to a minimum.

Also, make sure to take the Tube whenever possible...cabs are exorbitant.

 

Don't know about jams, but I have a few good tourist tips for Paris. Take buses instead of the Metro. Price is the same, but underground is no way to see Paris. 2 things that aren't common knowledge for things to visit. One is the Musee D'Orsay, it picks up where the Louvre leaves off, and it is a converted train station. AMAZING stuff in the permanent collection if your into the art thing, and the building itself is really cool. The other is St. Chapelle, a gothic medieval church built by Louis the something basically as an homage to himself. It is the most amazing stained glass structure you could ever imagine. Think of the most brilliant church sanctuary wall you have ever seen, and then make the entire building out of it. You enter through this little twisty monks stairwell, and then you emerge into the main space and kaBOOM, floor to ceiling dazzling glass in every direction. I was told it would be cool, but we were there on a rare sunny winter day, and it blew my mind.

Also, the square, meat-covered, street food pizza, with the creamy pink hot sauce, is not as good as it looks. It is like 50 times as good as it looks. I think our last night I tried to eat my weight.