Places – or squares – to rest in Paris

(I love the concept of a ‘place’ like the Italian piazza where all the kids come and hang out in the square)

Place Dauphine on Ile de la Cite (metro Cite, line 4) is a beautiful quiet spot in the middle of busy Paris. (Click on the wikipedia link for the history)

Place de Vosges, where you’ll find Victor Hugo’s house, near Bastille, is beautiful. You can sit, have a picnic, and look at the luxury apartments towering above. This place is in the movie An Education. Its in the marais, dividing the 3rd and the 4th.

Ice cream in Paris

Berthillion  on Ile St Louis. AMAZING. I had long awaited my Berthillion experiences as it was closed every time I went. (Typical France – make sure you check the opening times.) It was worth it when I finally got one. I had chocolate nougat and salted caramel, it was incredible. The glacière is also known for gelato; so go crazy with fruity flavours.

Metro: Pont Marie (line 7)

Amorino:  is an ice cream chain, so they are everywhere. But I can’t go past one without getting a scoop. When you order a cone, they sculpt the ice cream into a flower. And if you are a student, you can get a discount at the Amorino on Rue Mouffetard. Did I mention you can get as many flavours as you like. My favourite is l’inimitiable. Omg.

English bookshops

Shakespeare and Company  (Obvs). Near Metro St Michel. It is a great place for free being (think Zadie Smith). you can read in Sylvia’s library at the top, play chess, or listen to someone playing the amelie soundtrack on piano. Check the blackboard for when author’s readings are on. Usually it is a Monday night, and is totally worth it.

The Abbey Bookshop  is a tiny little canadian bookstore also near Metro St Michel with everything old and new. They serve free tea or coffee with maple syrup which is lovely when you are cold.

Galignani’s near Metro Tuilieries. This was the first english bookstore in Europe (dont know where I heard this?). It is beautiful and grand, and I saw Karl Lagerfeld walk out of there once!

 

Organic / fresh food in Paris

Organic, fresh, new fusion style in food, I’d say is still developing in Paris. – this was written in 2012 – there are now more. Careful of the Price.

Rose Bakery  in the Marais or the 9th, is tasty, particularly the carrot cake. Do not order a soy mocha, it’s not very good.

Nanashi in the 10th or in the 3rd asian fusion food is delicious, the free bread is spectacular. (Photo above).

The Bal, near Metro Place de Clichy cafe english/french food is wonderful, the coffee is also a highlight. It’s at an exhibition space.

Bob’s Juice Bar, near Metro Jacques Bonseargant: New Yorker Bob has opened a juice bar, serving quinoa salads etc. There’s another restaurant of his now (2015) in the 2nd arrondissement.

Brocantes / antique-y markets

 

 

 

Brocantes are scattered all over Paris. There is a good one near Metro: Les Gobelins. If you want to make the treck, the Marche Aux Puces is the biggest, at the north of Paris. I believe this photo was taken at Brocantes near Metro: Republique.

Best streets for strolling and food

Food streets

Rue des Martyrs: in the 9th, became known to my kiwi friend and I as treat street. I would love to work my way down from Kooka Boora cafe on the top, of the street, just south of Pigalle, to the church Notre Dame de Lorette. By that time, occasionally I would have a bakery treat (often from the one in the upcoming picture) in my hand that I could eat on the church steps, usually with a friend so as to not feel guilty. This was also the street where I had my phone stolen by a boy on a bike, who swiped it out of my hand.

Metro: Pigalle or Notre Dame de Lorette

Rue Mouffetard: you would have heard about this one from the guide books. It’s in the 5th (the latin quarter). and is one of the oldest streets in Paris. It is cobblestoned, and has beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables down the bottom and a whole lot of bars at the top. There are several creperies on the way, but Au Petit Grec is the one to go to. Ernest Hemingway lived here.

Metro: Cardinal Lemoine (pictured), Place Monge, Censier-Daubenton

Gourmet pizza

Marie et Luisa; tasty pizza behind Canal St matin in the 10th. Beautiful outdoor location. Delicious food.

Metro: Goncourt or Jacques Bonseargant

Piccoli Cugini : also in the 10th, so yummy, gorgeous indoors and bar. Also features white or cream-based pizzas.

Metro: Jacques Bonseargant

Boulangerie

Everyone in Paris has their own favourite bakery. It’s the sort of thing that is hard to go wrong with. I often go to a bakery in my area near Marche St Quentin, where croissants are 0.80 centimes. I now get upset when I have to pay more.

Erik Kayser: is a chain bakery, but you cannot go wrong. Everything they do is incredible. Particularly the cookies, I know it isn’t typically french, but they are to die for.

Metro: Maubert-Mutualite or Etienne Marcel and others.

Carton: on Rue de Buci in the 6th. They do incredible pastries. The street is very quintessential french; whether contrived or not, I’m not sure. But they are french cafes, cello players and fruit stores nearby.

Metro: Odeon, Cluny La Sorbonne, or Mabillon.

 

 

Des Marchés

Every arrondissement in Paris has a marché. Mine was at marche St Quentin near Gare de L’Est, but I also loved going to the marché du bastille (pictured). It begins at Bastille and goes up along metro line 5 toward the canal. This route is the perfect route to bike ride on a non-market day. There are also markets at Place Monge in the 5th, Marche Raspail in the 6th and 7th is an organic marche, tout les choses ‘bio’.

Map: Boulevard Richard Lenoir 75011

Metro: Breguet-Sabin, Bastille

Near: Place de la Bastille, Place de Vosges, Marais

Petit-dèj

Claus

photo: tendaysinparis.com

As you can see, Claus is a pretty cute spot. Coffee is not amaze, but the food is good and everything is just so cute and pretty and pinterest. It also does petit-dèj, which is rare in Paris. So if you want eggs Benedict, this is the place to come. You can also do what my friend Chloe and I did, and get take-away items at eat them at the nearby jardin des tuileries.

Website: Claus

Map: 14 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Metro: Louvre-Rivoli (line 1), Les Halles (so many lines)

Near: Les Halles, The Louvre, Jardin des tuileries

Coutume

photo: foursquare

Again, Coutume is great for petit-dèj. Also, great coffee. This was one of the first cafes I visited in snowy Paris, January 2012. The owner at the time, Nico, was lovely. They have breakfast menus including mini-croissants. And you can fit it into your routine if you plan to spend some time strolling around st-germaine, going to Musee D’Orsay, or visiting Le Bon Marché and La Grande Epicerie de Paris (where I used to buy international things like rice noodles).

Website: Coutume

Map: 47 Rue de Babylone 75007

Metro: Saint-Francois Xavier, Varenne

Near: Le Bon Marche, La Grande Epicerie, Musee D’Orsay, Sevres-Babylone

Holy Belly

I haven’t been to Holy Belly, it was closed when I visited in 2014. But I hear it’s the place to go for petit-dèj. One of the only places doing “brunch” as we understand it. I beleive kinfolk covered it last year. It’s in the 10th, so go along when you head up there. Feel free to report back!

Website: Holy Belly

Map: 19 Rue Lucien Sampaix

Metro: Jacques Bonsergent

Near: Canal St Matin, Chez Prune, Comptoir-Generale

photo: insiderei.com