Yes, yes I did recently have yet another trip to Paris, and no, no I’m not having a secret affair with a bearded French man called Romain. But whilst we’re on the subject, here‘s an Instagram account you must follow immediately. You’re welcome, you can thank me later. I was visiting my little sister (little perhaps not quite the appropriate word here, what with her being taller than me and turning 24 this summer) so let’s go for marginally younger sister who saw sense and moved to the French capital when greeted with a few free months between law studies. You may remember she was earning her dollar at SticksnSushi, and well, here she is spending it all on crêpes.
After a sun-kissed evening on the Seine and a long belated catch up over a glass of wine in her insanely cushy French apartment, we arose the next morning with a bizarrely strong urge to indulge in a little culture. But with a mild hangover we couldn’t face the vastness of the Louvre or begin to wrap our (hurting) heads around the ‘conceptual’ offerings in the Pompidou so we headed to the museum that never disappoints, my favourite in the world, Le Musée d’Orsay. It’s blissfully easy to navigate, by which I mean disregard most of the rooms and head straight up to the 5th floor to marvel at the great expanse of Impressionists, and two rather wonderful clocks. From up here it’s glaringly obvious that this space used to be the train station – in fact, it was only in 1986 that it went from being the Gare d’Orsay to the Musée d’Orsay.
For lunch we were in an ‘only a croque monsieur will do’ type of mood so we sat in the sun in St Germain and indulged ourselves in Les Deux Magots. The perfect place to people watch, it’s quintessentially French and is steeped in history. It used to be a favourite watering hole for literary greats such as Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre and Ernest Hemingway.
I was entirely spoilt with the weather but I like to think Paris was happy to see me again – and I thrilled to be in my favourite city on a Wednesday afternoon instead of being at work. We dipped our feet in the Seine and watched the boats go by, trying to work out just what it is that makes Parisian buildings infinitely more beautiful than those in London.
This little munchkin and I had a slurp on some cocktails in St Germain before a dinner at the most reliably delicious bistrot just below my old flat, Le Bistrot du 1er on Rue St Honore. The owner is Welsh, the food is Basque/Pyreenean but the experience is about as French as it gets, with red leather banquettes, fabulous wine and bread baskets which are refilled constantly with inexhaustible supplies of baguette.
Breakfast the next morning, and there was only one place on my mind to make a beeline for. Frenchie To Go has long since been a number one haunt of mine, with their delectable brunch options and monstrous sandwiches for lunch. You won’t find a better pulled pork bun or pastrami sub within a 100-mile radius, that I can guarantee.
Paris is finally catching up with superior quality of coffee trend which has bounced from New York to London and now across The Channel. Ten Belles, Honor, Telescope, Coutume, Broken Arm and Lockwood are just a few of my tips for a good cup of coffee in Paris and now I can safely add Fragments to the list after a visit there with Lu. I read my book, she wrote up her journal and we sipped our flat whites, tapping our feet along to the Indie rock songs from an iPod in the corner.
To wander round The Marais would be in my top five favourite ways to spend an afternoon in the world. The National Archives in the Marais hides a wonderful little garden away from the hubbub of tourists and is also a great place to snap some more Parisian rooftops.
There are gorgeous little shops hidden here and there. L’Art de Basic stocks the most beautiful work wardrobe you can dream of owning and Aesop is a favourite for soaps and smellies (and much better value here than in London). And when it all gets too much and you need a sugar pick-me-up, head to Rue des Rosiers for a crêpe. There are plenty to choose from but the one just of Rue du Veille du Temple would be my pick of the bunch.
Thank you Lulu for the best time. Looking forward to Paris visits together until we’re old and grey.
For all my Paris recommendations, click right here. On this trip, and in this post you saw:
To eat
Les Deux Magots: About as classic as it gets. You pay a little extra for the name but it’s by far and away the best people watching spot there is. Perfect for a Croque Monsieur in the sun but steer clear of the €18 G&Ts in the evening!
Bistrot du 1er: A little favourite of mine where the owner knows how to run a restaurant and the chef knows great food. Pyrenean and Basque menu, good wine selection.
Frenchie to Go: Not a classic French brasserie breakfast with flakey croissants and a milky coffee but the place for a more hardcore Americanised version of brunch. Pastrami, pulled pork and lobster roll are on the menu for lunch. Great coffee.
La Droguerie: My new favourite crêpe place in Paris. If you eat in, the owner will no doubt show you photographic evidence of the highlight of his life – the time when Gary Lineker visited his shop. Now if that’s not an incentive to come here, I don’t know what is.
To drink
Fragments: you can add this espresso bar to an increasingly lengthy list of places to seek out good coffee in Paris. Goodbye café crème, hello flat white.
Café Jade: head to any café on Rue de Buci for cocktails between 17h-20h and happy hour will be in full swing.
To do
Le Musée d’Orsay: Go here for the best selection of Impressionist paintings in the world. Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cézanne and Dégas in abundance.
Banks of the Seine: Whether the sun shines or not, make sure you stroll along the banks of the Seine, especially around the two islands – Ile de la Cité and Ile St Louis.
Wander around the Marais: The best place to head if you want to shop or simply eat a crêpe and stroll down to the river with it.