We utterly love Paris! It is beautiful, vibrant, stylish, and the eating and drinking is exquisite.
This is by no means a guide that contains everything, and really is more of a journal of places we have enjoyed staying, dining, drinking, and experiencing.
For first timers in Paris, this is probably quite helpful because it does collect a number of learnings over several trips. For those who have been to Paris once, or more, it perhaps has a new experience or two that can supplement what you already know. That is what I tend to ask others about their trips too.
The best way to utilise the guide is by referring to the map depending on where you are staying or are on any particular day whilst in Paris, or if you are planning your trip and want to mark a few places down. Note that each heading should contain a link to the website of the establishment named, and I’ve also included Instagram handles for easy searching.
I’ve divided it into Staying, Eating and Drinking, and Not Eating and Drinking. Enjoy!
To begin, here is the map, which contains the places below, and others that I am planning to try on future trips: Paris Guide Map
Staying in Paris
There are a raft of areas I’ve been able to stay in Paris, and they have all been fantastic. While I love the area around Marais and Bastille, trips staying in St Germain, and the Latin Quarter, have been wonderful, and a ritzy night on Rue de Rivoli is unforgettable.
Concorde
Staying at Le Meurice was one of our lifetime highlights. We had dinner here the night we got engaged (booked late in the day!) and decided to do a night to begin our honeymoon. It is not the primary area I would recommend, unless you have the budget, which in that case it is worth your while.
Marais and Bastille
It is completely wrong, but personally I associate both of these areas, and I’m happy to write about them together. The main differentiator is Marais is more expensive, and closer to the convivial atmosphere I love about Paris. On the other hand, Bastille is close enough to Marais, but has cheaper options, and a little more grunginess.
There are places in Marais that feel unique. Bookshops that double as popular wine bars. Cafes that they use in street scenes advertising Paris around the world. Great specialist coffee, and incredible patisseries.
Walking from here to other places in Paris takes you on a tourist journey of itself. If you’re in a hurry you can get a quick ride, or go on the Metro, and it takes next to no time.
I’ve previously stayed at Hotel Bastille Speria, and Hotel Jeanne D’Arc and both are still reasonably priced options in great areas.
St Germain and the Latin Quarter
It’s quieter than other areas, but some of my favourite places are in, or surround, St Germain and the Latin Quarter. It’s calm and incredibly beautiful around here, with night time walks to the Pantheon fittingly spooky.
The closer you get to the Seine, the more lively it gets, and on this count, there is plenty of reason to stay around here. Many of my food recommendations seem to centre around these areas.
A bit further, but not far enough to discourage you, is the beautiful Rue Mouffetard, which is an exceptional market street. One favourite thing to do is visit this street, buy up a bunch of gourmet snacks, and head to Luxembourg Gardens (Jardin du Luxembourg) to enjoy nature, and people watching too.
We’ve previously stayed at Hotel Saint Jacques, which had views of Notre Dame from our window, and was reasonably priced.
Vaugirard
Our next stay in Paris is in Vaugirard at a friends place. We are looking forward to staying in the more residential 15th arrondissement, which is a close stroll to the Eiffel Tower on the left bank of the Seine. We are staying in a beautiful two bedroom apartment and if you are interested in staying in the same property, and we know you, please let me know.
Eating and drinking in Paris
Top experiences – eating
Le Meurice
I busily searched for a three star restaurant with an opening on the day we got engaged at Jardin du Luxembourg. Le Meurice was my fourth call and I was losing hope, but this magnificent restaurant, known as much for its stars as for the dining room, was our saviour, and they gave us a table to suit the occasion. The whole meal was magnificent, although we did have some learnings regarding three star restaurants in France, such as the enormous portion sizes (presumably to make the expense a little less challenging).
A few years later we were back to stay. If the restaurant is exemplary, then the accommodation is as good, if not possibly better. It was our first taste of this level of luxury, and we haven’t really had the same type of experience since. The ridiculously good service extended to complimentary pastries when we arrived early in the day after 24 hours of travel, in almost freezing temperatures.
Les Deux Magots
Sum up Parisian cafes in one place and you have the corner occupied by Les Deux Magots. There is a lot of history in this cafe, which is translated “the two figurines”, owing its history to a novelty and fabric shop of the same name.
It holds a special place for Catherine and I, as the initial celebration after getting engaged, and the first place we indulged in Dom Perignon.
La Cotte Roti Restaurant
Back when we tried it, this restaurant was hot, and the food appears to still be terrific! It is an amazing Parisian bistro doing incredible food that is just that tiny bit further out (in a Paris context). Management has changed in the decade since we’ve been, but we are going back in August, as the food still looks incredible. We are also going to the previous chef’s restaurant in Lyon given how much we loved this meal.
Le Comptoir du Relais Restaurant
There are many bistros in Paris, but this one feels unique. Line out the front. People watching paradise! Touristy and local all in one. Terrible and great service. But all amazing food. I recommend lunch because you can get in but if you book dinner it would be great too. Everyone seems to go here. But don’t get me wrong, this is not a cliché restaurant – it is out of the tourist places to an extent and a place to have an adventure on the way.
Rue Mouffetard after Rue Jean Calvin
This is a classic Parisian experience. If you have time and it’s a nice day I really recommend it, especially prior to a picnic at Jardin du Luxembourg. There are a series of speciality food shops, plus Rue Mouffetard Market that is open for most days of the week (Tuesday to Saturday). I find it to be one of the most exciting places in Paris, but some of the excitement is dulled if you have nowhere to store or cook the various offerings. Nonetheless, cheese keeps for a long time, as do baguettes, and plenty of other tasty treats found along this street!
La Truffiere
I haven’t been to La Truffiere for almost 20 years but as a 25 year old I was stunned. Imagine every dish having plenty of black (and some white) truffles scattered on them. Imagine dining through several courses on your own, and just loving every moment. That is La Truffiere. The cave (cellar) is a special place to dine too.
Top experiences – drinking
La Belle Hortense
I love this book store that turns into a wine bar come night. People are spilling out onto the street outside, many very intoxicated. A beautiful place to enjoy some warm weather and a beautiful end to the day.
Buddha Bar
We walked towards Buddah Bar hopeful we would have no issues getting in and we didn’t. It has aged well, with a spectacular mezzanine style, restaurant below and bar on the mezz. It is the original and opened in 1996. There are lots of comfortable areas to sip on cocktails, and people watch. We downed several, the best being the lighter Electric Daiquiri, the Double Dragon (very strong with two types of rum and Aperol), and the Negronis were very good too.
Le BHV Marais – rooftop – entrance on 37 rue de la Verrerie
We thought we would wander and have one more drink on our way from St Germain to Marais, and Catherine spotted a rooftop bar above Le BHV Marais. We had no issue in getting in, and took in a stunning view from the Eiffel Tower through to Notre Dame. It was a memorable experience and a great place to have a drink with heaps of atmosphere.
Worth some effort, especially if you are in the area
Ma Bourgogne
If you are close by to Place des Vosges, Ma Bourgogne is a nice option, and we’ve been for a late dinner. I tried one of the specials, Gigot d’Agneau which is leg of lamb. It came with beautiful beans. Angus had the steak frites (‘faux filet’ or sirloin) and Catherine had a nicoise salad.
St Regis on Ile St Louis
We stopped for croissants and coffee at this good looking, but touristy café on the water just before Notre Dame. The croissants were excellent and the petit dejeuner for 8 Euros (at the time) was a decent deal. Angus had the Eggs Benedict which he smashed!
Le Café du Marche
Cute place to enjoy a drink near the Eiffel Tower. So nondescript I cannot find any reference that is official or on instagram! It is still on the map though.
Café du Trocadero
The Trocadero is a superb place for tourists, but it comes with that extra price tag. At this cafe the prices are not insane, and you can see the Eiffel while you eat! Catherine and I both had a Croque Monsieur and salad. I tried a Kir Royale which is what I tend to enjoy when at this famous intersection. Angus had the salmon club sandwich which was a bit of a mistake (he wanted the normal one), but a tasty one!
Terre des Café – terrific coffee near Centre Pompidou
Excellent coffee on rue Rambeteau using a single origin that changes daily.
I expect the quality of coffee in Paris is going from strength to strength like many of the world’s best cities, and hopefully what places like Terre des Cafe are doing has continued catching on.
Hure patisserie
Everything we tried here was excellent, but many patisseries have equivalent quality across Paris. The croissant and palmier we had this particular morning were quality, and we later tried the chocolate éclair, orange juice they do fresh, and baguettes (freshly made in the morning or made up already later), and they were all brilliant (and cheap!)
Enfant Rouge Market
We were looking around the market wondering how it was so popular (as it is not amazing looking) and decided to go to the longest line, which Angus suggested looked the best. Indeed, the tagines and cous cous dishes at Traiteur Marocain were both great value and hugely flavoursome, with my chicken (poulet) tagine with carrots and grains, ridiculously well cooked. When you order here they find a table for you themselves so you don’t have to worry about grabbing one before you line up.
L’enoteca
This is a sleek Italian place in Marais. We couldn’t resist a change up from French, and luckily this place delivered. It was absolutely full, had a great atmosphere, and some of the most abrupt (but fine) service imaginable. We were not here for a big meal, and all settled on a pasta each. Mine and Catherine’s were pappardelle with duck ragu, with some coffee ground on top, and Angus chose a pesto, potato and bean tagliatelle, which he said was excellent. The bottle of Barbera d’Alba was equally good, going down a little too well.
Le Relais de l’Entrecote
For great steak frites in St Germain it is hard to go past Le Relais de l’Entrecote.
We were about 20 back in line when we arrived just before opening at 7pm and got seated in a spot overlooking the street. Around St Germain is a terrific area. The steak frites, and the salad, were very good without being life changing! The serving is huge with an initial helping, before getting the rest of your steak with as many frites as you like. I shared a half bottle of Haut-Medoc Bordeaux 2011, which was superb.
Not eating and drinking
Notre Dame to Eiffel Tower walk
We had a good look around the outside of Notre Dame, before heading down the Left Bank past the Latin Quarter and St Germain. When we got just past the start of the Louvre we headed across what used to be the love lock bridge and entered the first courtyard of the Louvre.
From there we went past the Louvre pyramid entry point and along the Tuileries before turning left and back over to the Left Bank when we got to Concorde.
We walked towards Tour Eiffel and scoped the place for Angus who would later return to see the top. We then looked for lunch in between and did a bit of a loop starting down the Left Bank and then going across a bridge into Passy, but then going back towards Trocadero where we eventually decided to eat after another kilometre of walking.
Centre Pompidou
There is a very short wait to go through security and once in you head to the roof to take in the impressive views. After that the 2nd highest level is 1905-1960s art by artists such as Picasso and Matisse. The really modern art is below and we saw an excellent exhibition by Wagner of several hundred pieces. Some of the art is bizarre but a lot is stunning.
Versailles
We dedicated most of a full day in Paris to Versailles, with a visit to the Palace and Gardens. We arrived by taxi to make sure we were there before 9am when the Palace opens. The 50 Euro (at the time) for the taxi was more than worth it with the line only getting longer and longer even as we stood waiting at 8.45am. Catherine’s research really helped knowing that some people stand in line for hours in the sun.
Today it was actually very chilly with the wind and being early in the day, so we were quite cold. We got in 15 minutes after opening and got a great chance to view the beautiful palace rooms, but there were still hoards of people doing the same thing.
Once we got out to the garden the sun was coming out a bit here and there, and the grounds are so stunning we stopped feeling so cold. It is an incredible place that is difficult to describe, or even capture in photos how elaborate and exquisite everything is.
To save a few dollars we decided to walk to the SNCF station about a kilometre away but unfortunately it started to rain so we got a bit wet. The journey is about 90 minutes instead of 45 in a taxi so to save 35 Euro (at the time) it is probably worth it if you have time. We needed to be there early so the way we did it was good, but maybe taxi there and back is best. To put it in perspective our lunch was less than 35 Euro for the three of us. There does seem to be a lot of crepe places around, and the buckwheat ones we had at one of them were memorable.
Jardin du Luxembourg
These gardens facing a palace are very special. Like many Parisian gardens they are orderly, and synchronous. Beautifully kept, they whisper relaxation.
Many years ago on our first outing to Jardin du Luxembourg I got on one knee and popped the big question, so it is even more memorable and special for us as a result. Nearby is a market street on Rue Mouffetard that is handy for picking up some provisions to enjoy a picnic in the gardens.
Musee d’Orsay
The first time at the Louvre is chaotic, exciting, and exhausting. The first time at d’Orsay is almost no one’s last, because there is a magic about this gallery. The art is stunning, the train station renovation is a work of art in itself, and it is neither incredibly busy, nor so large that it is exhausting.
Abbey Bookstore
English (Canadian) bookstore in St Germain which we recommend.
Louvre
The contrast of old and new in the entrance is world famous, and so is the contents of the museum and gallery. There’s not much more to be said, except that there is an overwhelming amount of art at the Louvre, and it is best to focus if you possibly can. For that reason, I’m normally more attracted to Musee d’Orsay.
BLK's Food Blog 