here is nothing particularly Japanese about the Palais de Tokyo. But with its bookstore, odds-and-ends gift shop and new restaurant, this contemporary art space at the Place de Tokyo has emerged as a place to browse, eat and meet from noon until midnight every day except Monday.

In a city where fusion food tends to be either overpriced or just not good, Tokyo Eat, the restaurant on the main floor that opened in July, serves well-prepared, well-priced dishes. A plate of assorted steamed and stir-fried vegetables is $12.20, at the rate of $1.10 to the euro, and paper-thin raw tuna in sesame oil and eggplant caviar is $14.40. (The food is better and cheaper than at Kong, a new Japan-meets-West, Philippe Starck restaurant at 1, rue Pont Neuf, just off the bridge.) On the lower level, the Tokyo Idem cafeteria serves inexpensive organic food, and customers are encouraged to linger.

The exhibitions (ranging from courageously avant-garde to just plain dreadful) mounted in vast, warehouselike spaces, change frequently; the next featured one, next month, is of sculptures by the late Chinese artist Chen Zhen. And on any given evening there might be a garden party, a D.J. at the bar or a food tasting. The small Black Block shop sells funky modern clothing and a few vintage handbags and shoes at bargain prices (Bruno Magli and Charles Jourdan shoes go for $42).

The Palais de Tokyo is at 13, avenue de Président-Wilson, in the 16th Arrondissement, across the river from the Eiffel Tower near the Trocadéro.Information: (33-1) 47.23.38.86 and http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/ (in French).

To see a part of Paris less visited by tourists, the Butte-aux-Cailles neighborhood in the 13th Arrondissement is worth a walk. Until the mid-19th century, the area was an industrial and residential slum and one of the poorest parts of the city. Things have changed, although with its low buildings, cafes and alleyways, the neighborhood has retained its village atmosphere and quiet charm and well as a rough working-class feel.

It is a pleasant stroll from the Métro at Place d'Italie to the cobblestones of the Passage Barrault just off Rue des Cinq Diamants. The houses on nearby Rue Gérard are covered in wisteria in spring; the Rue Michal is home to several artists' workshops.

Yet even this sleepy neighborhood is reinventing itself. Two restaurants, Le Volubilis and Fusion, have opened next to each other on Rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles, and at least two new bars are scheduled to open soon.

For those who prefer the tried-and-true, Chez Gladines, a longtime Basque restaurant at 30, rue des Cinq Diamants serves a respectable cassoulet for only $12.75. Le Temps des Cerises, loud and smoky, is considered the focal point of the neighborhood.

With its excellent subway and bus system, getting around Paris has always been easy, but now there's a new way to maneuver around town. Mike's Bike Tours (which has long offered bicycle rentals and tours of the city) recently started a four-hour tour on Segways, those funny-looking, high-tech, motorized scooters with handlebars and two wheels.

The tour, which begins at the Eiffel Tower and goes down the Champs-Elysées to the Louvre, then to the Île St.-Louis and Notre-Dame, costs 70 euros. There is a night tour as well. Information: (33-1) 56.58.10.54, http://www.parissegwaytours.com/.

ELAINE SCIOLINO is chief of the Paris bureau of The Times.