The historic Androuet fromagerie has been sourcing and maturing exceptional cheeses since 1909. Their shop on rue Mouffetard is staffed by friendly English-speakers who will be happy to explain and vacuum-seal your selections, including the utterly charming manager Patrick who grew up on a goat farm. He wrote a book called "Allo les Chèvres!" (Good Morning Goats!) and makes his own fromage fort (strong cheese paste) on site. 134 rue Mouffetard, 33/(0)1-4587-8505. Photo courtesy of Parisbymouth.com

Now you can sample the cuisine of celebrated local chefs by visiting their walk-in wine bars. Braden Perkins eases his elegant culinary style at Verjus’s downstairs bar (47 Rue de Montpensier), where groups share small plates of succulent pork belly and veggie dumplings. This fall, chef Pierre Jancou, shown, reopens Vivant (43 Rue des Petites Écuries). Next door, Vivant Cave will serve charcuterie, daily specials such as rabbit and andouillette, and natural wines. Photo by Marie Hennechart. This appeared in the October 2012 issue.

The Paris café scene has always been compelling, but the actual café (coffee) is often forgettable. That's all changing, thanks to places like Coutume, Kookaboora and Telescope, where obsessive (and often mustachioed) baristas are redefining the French coffee tradition. Using freshly roasted beans and frothy Normandy milk, they're producing delicious fuel for the real raison d'être for any Parisian café—the people watching. Coutume, 47 Rue de Babylone, 33/(0) 1-4551-5047. Kookaboora, 53 Avenue Trudaine, 33/(0) 1-5692-1241. Telescope, 5 rue Villedo. Photo courtesy of Parisbymouth.com.

My friend, who lives in Paris, told me about this Boulangerie, Du Pain et des Idees, so in my latest visit to Paris on June, I had to go there and try out by myself. We bought cheese in a local outdoor market and then got some bread and cakes and headed for a picnic linch on one of the benches near Canal St. Martin. As I love boulangeries, don't skip this one. Highly recommended!

So, you think you know Paris? There are hundreds of memorable streets and boulevards in the City of Light. But, for my money, Rue Montorgueil is the best. It is compact, only 3 blocks long, with a Metro stop on each end. In between you have dozens of the kinds of places that symbolize Parisian culture: cafes, high end restaurants, cheese shops, chocolate shops, wine stores, patisseries, a couple of neighborhood type groceries, all topped with classic Parisian apartment buildings. And, what makes it even more unique, it is a pedestrian-only street. For my wife and I, who have always stayed in smaller hotels in years past, it was a throwback to the Paris we first saw 40 years ago. In fact, this street is just off Les Halles, where the heartbeat of Paris was once found in the colorful and vibrant market district. The old Les Halles is now gone, moved to the suburbs. But, there are a few places where the old self-contained neighborhoods still exist, and Rue Montorgueil is the finest example. You won't see many tourists with cameras here. Most are a few blocks away at the Pompidou Center or a short metro ride away at the Louvre or Notre Dame. What you will find is Stohers, the oldest Patisserie in France, where baba au rhum was first made, and eclairs are world famous. And, this is just one of many gourmet surprises. We just spent a week in an Apartment on this street, and fell in love with Paris all over again.

My wife and two friends were tired of "museums" so they mistakenly decided to go shopping while I went to the Rodin Museum alone. It was breathtaking, the flowers were all in full bloom, the art on displayed inside was rare and beautiful but the sculptures outside were displayed the way art should be seen. Here in three planes is the original design by Eiffel for the Tower, Rodin's Thinker and mid ground with the Eiffel Tower in the back round. The gardens were just perfect and I was sorry for my friends show decided to go into a department store to shop instead.

Frenchie is nearly impossible to get into, but the wine bar across the street provides a taste of chef Gregory Marchand’s housemade charcuterie and pasta, and small plates such as blackened mackerel and burrata cheese with peaches. 6 Rue du Nil, 33/(0) 1-4039-9619. Photo courtesy of Parisbymouth.com

The Louvre is at once spectacular and intimidating and for art novices, its sheer size and collection may even prove anxiety-inducing. To avoid shuffling through each corridor aimelessly, it's wise to visit armed with an intinerary or even a guide to create a tour according to what you'd most like to see. Thanks to one New York expat, there's now a third option. Daisy de Plume (yes, a pseudonym!), art fanatic and entrepreneur, launched ThatLou (Treasure Hunt at the Louvre) as a way to give purpose to touring the museum (and make it fun!). She runs a hunt open to the general public on the first Sunday of each month and several thematic hunts throughout the month. Beyond its value as a unique way to explore pieces of history, ThatLou is a great way to meet new people. Note: some tours are bilingual, others are all in French. Consult the "Menu of Hunts" for more information!

When deciding where to stay on my first two week trip to Paris, I had some very stringent criteria. I wanted the local experience and felt that a flat was more likely to offer that. So I eagerly began my search for something in a very safe and central location. When I spotted such a flat on I'le Saint Loius, I was sold. The island is located in the middle of the Seine and just across the bridge from I'le de la Cite, the very center of Paris. I'le Saint Louis is the perfect location to explore all the wonders of Paris. What I didn't expect was the wonderful small village charm of the island. You can literally find almost everything you need on this tiny piece of real estate. Patisseries, boulangeries and fromageries abound. There are dozens of boutiques, cafes, creperies and bistros. The plethora of ice cream and gelato stores is enough to put one into a diabetic coma. The island even boasts its own exquisite church and the tiny colorful florist shop above. I'le Saint Louis became my home away from home for two glorious weeks, while I lived my Parisian dream. For two weeks I lived among both locals and tourists and came to know the shopkeepers by name. I have no doubt that staying on this little piece of heaven made my trip a more memorable one... It could do the same for you.

In French, the idiomatic equivalent for 'window-shopping' is "leche-vitrine," which literally means 'window-licking'--appropriate for staring in the storefront of a bakery on a cold February day! Here at the très chic Boulangerie Fauchon, on the Place de la Madeleine in the heart of Paris, the loaves can look almost too good to eat.

Hold forth with the French about coffee and you'll quickly understand its purpose. It's not meant to be consumed leisurely but rather serves to clean the palate after a hearty meal. They think of it as a digestif which they tend to down in one slurp. It's wincingly acrid and unpleasant, only worth ordering for the accompanying speculoos cookie or chocolate covered almond. For someone as fanatic about quality coffee as me, the java scene was dismal when I arrived 6 years ago. Things improved drastically a few years ago with a couple of roasters diving in to shake things up but it's Télescope, which opened in the spring by Nicolas Clerc and American barista David Flynn a few blocks from the Palais Royal gardens, that peddles what I think are the most expertly prepared artisanal coffee drinks in town. Their claim to fame: filtered coffee. It may look innocuous, even weak, but the strong, rich notes in each cup put the average French brew to shame. It quickly became my weekly hangout. Though the space is small, its affable owners give it heart. They know my drink - a noisette with an occasional iced coffee (filtered!) - and my vacation plans. It's the neighborhood place I always dreamed of frequenting and whether or not it's actually around the corner from you, it merits your time.

The great macaron debate may forever wage on but from the first time I tucked into a small box of Pierre Hermé's dimunitive cookies, perfectly crisp on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside, I knew I'd remain loyal to his interpretation. Perhaps best known for his unique flavors - foie gras and chocolate, lemon and fennel, vanilla and basil among many others - it's his Ispahan croissant - with rose almond paste and crushed raspberry flakes - that really keeps me going back.

As cliché as it sounds, there is nothing like springtime in Paris. A detour to Notre Dame's side garden is a great way to evade the crowds out front and enjoy a more scenic view of the cathedral's flying buttresses and gothic architecture. Further back one can find Pont de l'Archevêché – a bridge full of locks left behind by lovers.

I arrived in Paris at 6:00 a.m. after a restless, overnight flight from Washington DC with the knowledge that it was still too early to check-in to my hotel room. Weary and fatigued, I left my baggage with the concierge and headed to the l'Orangerie to peacefully ease my way into the day among Monet's giant water lilies. The small museum is an urban oasis located in the Tuileries Gardens across from the Louvre. Its two oval-shaped rooms offer panoramic views of Monet's serene Nymphéas series.The paintings are a part of the structure since the artist had the panels built into the walls. The best time to visit is at opening on weekday mornings. Not only will you avoid noisy school groups, but it's a great time of day to admire the nuances of the abstract paintings changing under natural light.

Even if you don’t like taxidermy, you’ll like this store. We had the animals photographed, and we turned the manipulated photos into prints for an Opening Ceremony collection. 33/(0) 1-42-22-3007. For the September, 2012 issue, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony shared with us their favorite places in Argentina and around the world.

A near-daily ritual was a visit to this nearby Marais fromagerie, featuring an outstanding selection of cheeses and knowledgeable help. In the U.S., one often sees Brie, Camembert, Boursin, and Roquefort, but most of the 350-400 kinds of French cheese do not appear on our grocery shelves. Every day in Paris was a cheese festival! We looked forward to selecting a cheese and eating it with a freshly baked baguette. Several favorites emerged. French chèvre comes from grass-fed goats in the Alps and has a tangy subtle flavor unmatched in domestic versions. Vergers Saint Paul carried types ranging from soft in the center to firm. St. Agur, a soft blue cheese that is 60% butter fat (forget about your cholesterol count -- you’re on vacation) is mild, spreads easily, and melts in the mouth. Creamy-textured Saint-Nectaire tastes of hazelnuts and mushrooms and is made only from milk from the Saler breed of cows. This cheese dates from the time of Louis XIV. It is helpful to know the French words for strong, mild, soft in the center, and firm for your discussions with the clerks. They will give you small samples to help you choose, especially when words fail you. You will not find this quality and selection at a French supermarket; a visit to a fromagerie is in order. Fortunately, there are many outstanding shops scattered through Paris. Each major market street will feature at least one. Now back in the U.S, my husband and I are pining for our daily cheese fix.

Tasting the city's best baguettes is one thing, but wouldn't it also be great to learn how to make them? Award-winning baker Benjamin Turquier, shown, runs the bakery 134 RdT and placed in the top 10 in this year's annual Best Baguette in Paris competition. He teaches baguette-making courses for private groups in both French and English. You learn about every step of the process and actually produce your own baguettes to taste after class. 134 rue de Turenne, 33/(0) 1-4278-0472. Photo courtesy of Parisbymouth.com.

Located at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, a stone's throw from the Seine, and draped in a long-cast shadow of Notre Dame, is what should be proclaimed one of France's national treasures: the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. This is actually the second site of the original store, which was closed in June of 1940 due to German occupation during the second world war. The location pictured here was opened in 1951 under the name of Le Mistral, but was later changed in honor of the original store that was shuttered years prior. Walk through the green double doors and you will find a world steeped in history and literary greatness. It's sometimes hard to even move around due to the endless stacks of books and shelves teeming with manuscripts that were banged out on ancient typewriters, or possibly carved on clay tablets. The smell of aged parchment wafts through the air, and that fragrance alone makes one reminiscent of a bygone era. My weathered copy of A Moveable Feast was picked up at this very spot, in honor of Hemingway, a frequent visitor of the original shop. Pop in for a minute or stay for hours, Shakespeare welcomes your company.

Most visitors venture to the Marais for two things: falafel and shopping. I go for the gelato. Unlike the majority of Italian ice cream shops who brandish their mountainous flavors in the windows to entice passersby, Pozzetto (Italian owned and run) stores their ice cream in wells which allows for precise temperature and texture control. The menu never exceeds 12 flavors (all-natural, prepared daily) which means you're guaranteed the highest quality scoops possible. If, like me, you enjoy an espresso with your dessert, head inside their shop - they have some of the finest brews in town.