Paris continues to inspire and reinvent itself each year. Hemingway-famous cafés brush up against swish new cocktail bars along the grand Boulevard Saint-Germain, while neighborhoods like Canal Saint-Martin, once relegated to boatmen, have become as “bobo” (bourgeois bohemian) as it gets.
The city’s 20 arrondissements, or districts, spiral clockwise stretching across both banks of the Seine, each exuding their own village-like charm. Despite calling the city home for nearly a decade, there are some quartiers (neighborhoods) I’ve hardly set foot in, while others you can’t pull me out of. (Like a loyal Parisienne, I’m partial to my street art–heavy quartier Belleville, one of the most dynamic dining and drink destinations in the city right now.)
“Paris is a walking city,” explains Rami Mekdachi, founder of French fragrance company and art project Lola James Harper. “It’s a city you can cross in a single day without ever needing a cab or the metro.”
Embrace the French flaneur spirit with a day dominated by strolling. Work your way from the former red-light district of Pigalle, with its boulangeries and bistros, to the banks of the Seine, lined with the signature green bouquiniste stalls piled with antique books.
Morning: Montmartre, Pigalle, and pastries
Start your day with seafood for brunch at Maggie.
Photo by Alice Casenave
Get an early start and beat the hordes of tourists and buses climbing their way to bone-white domed Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre, where you can see panoramic views of the city from the hilltop basilica. Stroll around to Place du Tertre, the historic artists’ square where masters like Modigliani once held court. These days, caricaturists post up sketching on-the-spot portraits at easels.
Sip an espresso and people-watch from one of the many bistro terraces like Chez Eugène. (The term “bistro” is believed to have been coined at neighboring La Mère Catherine, one of the city’s oldest restaurants.) Then pop into the Montmartre Museum for a crash course on the area’s history and a glimpse into the gardens where former resident Renoir painted some of his masterpieces.
At the foot of the hill, Montmartre blurs into Pigalle, which has a red-light reputation that stems from its cabaret culture (this is the home of Moulin Rouge, after all). Today, it’s one of the liveliest parts of the city with a booming restaurant and bar scene and affordable Belle Époque boutique stays like Hôtel Rochechouart, where Sunday brunch at Maggie is an indulgent affair thanks to such dishes as seafood towers and brioche lobster rolls. “The food is generous and comforting—it’s a perfect contemporary Parisian bistro with just enough polish,” says Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger, cofounder of alcohol-free sparkling wine maison French Bloom, adding that she’ll often walk uphill through the neighborhood and climb the 222 steps to Sacré-Cœur to burn off the meal.
If pastries are more your speed, beeline to Mamiche for a croissant or pain au chocolat. “They also have an amazing babka that you can order by the slice,” says Aurélie Panhelleux, co-owner of cocktail bar CopperBay Lancaster off the Champs-Élysées. “The line can be long, but it moves fast.”
Don’t have time to wait? Babka Zana is a block away and serves a savory spin in the form of a braided challah reuben, which Mekdachi claims is a standout in Pigalle. For a caffeine fix, KB Coffee Roasters, one of the city’s original craft coffee shops, is around the corner.
Afternoon: Haut Marais, shopping, and seafood towers
Try Eastern European Ashkenazi cuisine at Boubalé.
Courtesy of Le Grand Mazarin
Walk off the morning’s carb-heavy feast along the Canal Saint-Martin. Peer into the vitrine of one of the city’s reigning boulangeries, Du Pain et des Idées, whose original, 19th-century painted ceilings are as impressive as its trademark Pain des Amis wood-fired loaf. Next, saunter down to the water to browse the shelves at bookstore Artazart before perusing ceramics and housewares at nearby La Trésorerie, a contemporary take on the city’s old hardware shops and haberdasheries.
“On Sundays, I make my way to the Marché Bastille, and on the way, I might stop by a couple of vinyl shops—the neighborhood is great for that,” says Panhelleux, recommending three favorites: Babaluma, Hark, and Listen!
As you approach the Haut Marais neighborhood, stroll past the vintage Fiat 500 car permanently parked at the courtyard entrance to cutting-edge concept shop Merci, which has rotating exhibitions of curated clothing and accessories in a gallery-like display. A few blocks down, you’ll find BIS Boutique Solidaire, one of the area’s top secondhand shops.
A popular food market for lunch, bustling Le Marché des Enfants Rouges—the oldest in the city—is a melting pot of flavors, with wooden stools huddled around high-top tables. Arrive early to snag a seat at one of the makeshift restaurants like seafood-heavy Les Enfants du Marché, where the natural wine-only selection is on display above the counter.
Beyond the market, Breton crêperie Breizh Café is always a trusty backup for a late lunch in le Marais. At maximalist boutique hotel Le Grand Mazarin—the first in the city from family-run French collection Maisons Pariente—Boubalé serves a refined take on the Jewish quarter’s Eastern European Ashkenazi cuisine. “I always recommend the crispy cauliflower with its slightly spicy lemon tahini sauce or the seared white tuna with pistachio,” says Maisons Pariente’s co-owner and artistic director of Kimberley Pariente. (She notes that the whipped chocolate ganache with roasted peanuts is a must for dessert.)
Le Marais’s galleries are just as worth seeking out as its restaurants. Frerejean-Taittinger returns to her old neighborhood on weekends to visit Thaddaeus Ropac, which showcases, as she describes it, “museum-level contemporary art in a relaxed, walk-in setting—it’s serious work, but no intimidation.” When you’re ready for a coffee break, take a seat on the sliver of sidewalk outside Dreamin Man, where the city’s creative crowd gravitates for a pour-over—which, I can personally attest, is well worth the wait.
Evening: The city center, jazz clubs, and Boulevardier cocktails
Get Michelin-starred food and an equally impressive view at Le Tout-Paris Cheval Blanc.
Photos by Maki Manoukian
While in the 11th arrondissement, start the evening with apéro (predinner drinks) at Folderol, the cult-favorite natural wine bar and ice cream parlor where scoops of homemade rocky road and cookies & cream are served in silver coupes. Reserve a table next door at hallway-size sister spot Le Rigmarole for a Japanese yakitori tasting menu, or head five minutes away to Delicatessan Place, where you can snack on well-priced small plates prepped by rotating guest chefs, accompanied by a bottle of wine you can bring in from the adjacent Delicatessan Cave.
As you slowly make your way toward the city center, duck into century-old Harry’s Bar—an institution as iconic as Ritz Paris’s Bar Hemingway (sans the crowds)—and sip a classic cocktail like the Paris-born Boulevardier alongside the sole bar snack: a hot dog. Michelin-star brasserie Le Tout-Paris Cheval Blanc is a splurge, but it’s worth it for the terrace views of the sun setting over the Seine and the Eiffel Tower’s 20,000 bulbs twinkling on the hour from dusk until midnight.
The subterranean jazz clubs on the opposite side of the Seine are some of the city’s most famous, but head instead to the locally loved Le Duc des Lombards and Sunset Sunside Jazz Club in the heart of the first arrondissement. “For an insider tip from a jazz connoisseur, Le Bal Blomet in the 15th arrondissement offers a more intimate and authentic jazz experience,” says Mark Bonte, cofounder of family-owned French travel agency French Side Travel.
At the end of the night, check in to the newly opened Mondovi Luxury Suites, only steps from the Tuileries Garden and Place Vendôme. In addition to personalized concierge service, the hotel offers a collection of 11 apartment-style suites swathed in pale wood and onyx marble. If you’re not ready for the evening to end just yet, settle in for jazz and champagne around the corner at gilded Les Ambassadeurs at Hôtel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel; its ceiling is adorned with 18th-century frescoes and the horseshoe-shaped bar is helmed by visiting mixologists hailing from some of the world’s best bars.
