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The Pont St-Bénézet is so famous it even has its own song, “Sur Le Pont d’Avignon” (as the bridge is more commonly known). The last crossing on the Rhône between Lyon and the Mediterranean Sea, the 3,000-foot bridge was built between 1177 and 1185, using similar engineering to the Pont du Gard (one of the world’s most famous Roman aqueducts, just up the road). As legend has it, the process began when a young shepherd named Bénézet heard voices telling him to build the bridge, then carried a boulder down from the mountains and threw it into the water to lay the foundation. The bridge was later destroyed during a siege in 1226 and rebuilt in 1234 with 22 stone arches. Due to flooding, all that remains of it today are four arches, but it’s worth a visit for historical purposes. You can purchase one ticket for entry to both this UNESCO World Heritage site and the adjacent Palais des Papes.

The Palais Garnier, the national opera house of Paris, is a magnificent building dripping in ornate details and glittering with gold. The five-ton chandelier, made famous in The Phantom of the Opera, still takes center stage in the auditorium. It is surrounded by a swirling, colorful ceiling painting by Marc Chagall. The decoration goes beyond the auditorium: The grand foyer rivals the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, and the grand staircase is an entryway fit for royalty. You don’t need to buy a ticket to the opera to see the space: Tours are given daily in a variety of languages.

After glowing stints at Fauchon and Le Bon Marché, pastry chef and author Sébastien Gaudard opened his own pâtisserie on rue des Martyrs, just south of Pigalle, 9 months ago; the speed of his ascent into the annals of traditional pastry-making left him and his team of 14 stunned. But it’s no surprise he achieved such wild success so quickly - he doesn’t just revisit pastry classics, he brings them back to life giving new vigor to everything from the Paris-Brest and Mont Blanc to Tarte au Citron, macarons and divine chocolates. His shop feels like an old school candy store with jars full of French bonbons and cases full of indulgent desserts. It’s a stunning pastry shop with stellar sweets well worth the detour for those staying (or living, like myself) on the other side of the city. In the summer, try a carton of their homemade ice cream. click on the link below for more photos!

It would be hard to find a more idyllic spot for recharging than Naïa Resort and Spa, Placencia’s newest (and, we’ll say it, most comfortable) resort. Stay in your own studio, one-, two-, or three-bedroom beach house, all of which come equipped with floor-to-ceiling front windows, a kitchenette, a deep tub, and an outdoor shower (trust us: once you’ve had the luxury of an outdoor shower, you’ll never want to go back to the boring, indoor version). Every beach house is just that: a beach house. You’re never more than a short walk from the shores of the Caribbean Sea, and the Naîa’s watersports center can get you off the sand and into the water on a kayak or paddleboard. (While you’re there, ask for Stony, whose a pleasant man to talk to and the guy you’ll need to open a fresh coconut from one of the many palm trees on the property). The resort also staffs expert concierges, who can recommend the best tours, spa treatments, and in-town experiences.

The spa, as expected, is one of Naïa’s best features. Located a short golf cart drive away from the lobby, Naïa’s spa feels like a secluded oasis. Lillypads sit calmly on the surface of still ponds, and treatment rooms—all housed in small, individual wooden buildings—overlook the vegetation. The masseuses will alleviate you of all pent up stress with expert hands and sweet-smelling lotions exclusive to the resort.

The town of Placencia is only a short drive away, and the Naïa can shuttle you wherever you need to go. Eat and drink at Barefoot Bar or Tipsy Tuna, walk along the paths near the beach to find handmade treasures to take home, and hang out by the docks and watch the fishing boats come and go. Then go back to your little slice of paradise on the Caribbean shores.

H&M’s first stand-alone brand debuted in Europe in 2007, selling minimalist, architectural basics that evoke the aesthetic of luxury house Céline—albeit with a few zeroes knocked off the price tag. There are plans to bring the chain to the United States, but until then, Paris, with five shops sprinkled throughout town, is one of the best places to sample the goods. This appeared in the October 2013 issue.

Without a doubt Versailles is the most luxurious palace in Europe, built to astound visitors and impress the king’s subjects into awed submission with crystal chandeliers, gilt, and fine art. This opulent monument is also attractive to those with simpler tastes: Visitors with green thumbs will love the king’s kitchen gardens while others may want to rent bicycles to pedal the lavish grounds, and animal lovers will enjoy the sheep, goats, and chickens receiving the royal treatment at the queen’s quaint hamlet. La Petite Venise, an excellent restaurant on the grounds, offers garden seating on sunny days.

Many of the glories of the Right Bank are just a short walk from this five-star hotel, including the Louvre, Tuileries, Orangerie Museum, and the gardens of the Palais Royal, for which the hotel is named. That’s assuming you’ll want to venture out, though, as the 18th-century building’s luxe interiors—crafted by hotel design icon Pierre-Yves Rochon—make it easy to linger. Greenery and flowers fill the public spaces (both indoors and in the glass-walled winter garden), as do designer fabrics, bespoke furniture, and a mix of classical and contemporary artwork. A similar style is found in the 68 rooms and suites, which vary in size due to the shape of the historic building (some parts of which are landmarked), but all feature a bright design, soundproofed windows, free Wi-Fi, and Atelier Cologne amenities.

Sitting at the tip of the peninsula of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, which juts out into the Mediterranean, the iconic Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, is now under the management of the Four Seasons brand. Located halfway between Nice and Monaco in the striking Antibes cape, the beyond-glamorous property first opened in 1908, and remains the epitome of the bonne vie, Jazz-era French Riviera. A destination resort, it has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill to Charlie Chaplin to Pablo Picasso, and is set on multiple lushly landscaped acres full of gardens, pools, and tennis courts that tumble down to the Mediterranean. Rooms are in three buildings. Try for one in the hotel’s original core, as these have soaring ceilings and floor-to-ceiling, sliding-glass-door windows looking out to the sea. The suites are also enormous, but ask for a higher floor for the best ocean views.

After achieving tremendous success in Paris, London, New York, and Ibiza with the Experimental Cocktail Club and a handful of other nightlife hangouts, the three bons vivants behind the Experimental Group have expanded the concept into hospitality. Their first hotel is located in Paris’s most coveted neighborhood, South Pigalle, overlooking the Villa Frochot (Toulouse-Lautrec’s former abode). Unsurprisingly, these pioneers of the Paris cocktail movement have integrated their savoir-faire in top-shelf drinks. In fact, they go so far as to bill it a “bed and beverage” boutique hotel, which translates to custom cocktails offered in the ground-floor lounge, delivered straight to rooms, and available in guestroom minibars. To further drive their vision, the trio enlisted the talents of Dorothée Meilichzon, the city’s most in-demand interior designer, who has already directed the look and feel of each of the group’s establishments. Here, she applies her flair for mixing unique patterns and design styles to the cocktail lounge and rooms, kitted out with sumptuous velour sofas, black leather armchairs, and brass light fixtures. The result is a style that feels like understated Hollywood regency meets 1920s Parisian glam. While rooms afford less quiet and privacy than most design hotels, the (tolerable) din feels like a necessary component to the stay-up-late Pigalle experience.

Though the Pigalle neighborhood has mostly shaken off its red-light reputation, the bon vivant spirit of the area’s past has been elegantly revived at Maison Souquet. The owners gave carte blanche to Jacques Garcia, the venerated French designer with a passion for Belle Époque interiors, who masterfully reworked the early 1900s design codes to bring to life the space, itself a former pleasure house. As during the heyday of these maison closes, which brought together artists and socialites, Garcia created an intimate, multi-room layout, meant to take guests from one stage of the experience to the next. It begins in the entrance lounge bedecked in Moorish tiles and Cordovan leather, leads into the Salon des Petits Bonheurs (Little Delights), where you’ll find the bar, and ends under the glass canopy of the Jardin d’Hiver (Winter Garden), which also doubles as the breakfast lounge.

The specialty coffee scene was slow to sprout in Paris but thanks to a brigade of entrepreneurial career baristas, the march toward change in consumption and taste is putting the city on the global bean map. At the vanguard of the movement are David Flynn and Thomas Lehoux, both veritable stars in the milieu. David, formerly of Télescope, and Thomas, currently the co-owner of the Canal St. Martin coffee shop Ten Belles, pooled their talents and brought in Anselme Blayney, owner of Le Bal café, to open a roaster in the 19th arrondissement. In a quick few months, the trio’s top-brass beans are popping up all over town in shops like Fondation and Holybelly. The space is reserved for roasting during the week but opens for public cuppings on Saturdays from 11:30am-6:30pm - a prime opportunity to chat with and learn from the city’s best.

With their Paris supper club Hidden Kitchen, Americans Laura Adrian and Braden Perkins regaled guests with a sensational 10-course meal with wine pairings around a communal table in their apartment. The food was nothing short of transcendental; inventive in taste and elegant in form. With such staggering success in relatively short order, it’s no wonder the desire emerged to share their talents with a wider audience.

Their first brick and mortar restaurant and wine bar in Paris opened its doors to immediate praise and the crowds haven’t slowed. Braden and his team apply the same technique, heart and originality to each dish that made Hidden Kitchen a resounding favorite. And even if the prix-fixe dinner in the upstairs dining room exceeds your budget, the ample selection of wines and mini plates in the bar will keep you drinking and nibbling all evening (particular attention goes to the buttermilk fried chicken and celeriac dumplings). And in a recent development, the culinary duo has begun serving American-inspired sandwiches like the Bakesale Betty and Midnight Cuban in the wine bar at lunchtime, Tuesday-Friday. Not to be missed.

With a bakery on every other corner in even the tiniest villages in Belgium, what makes one stand out more than another? The answer is threefold: hand selected organic ingredients; skills built on tradition, passed from generation to generation and, most of all, the passion to create the perfect loaf of bread. All three of these are present at the Boulangerie Legrand in Namur. Baker, Dominique Legrand, has been baking bread since he was 18, but the history of the Legrand Bakery runs much deeper. Six generations ago, in 1831, Dominique’s ancestors founded Boulangerie Legrand and little has changed since those days. Dominique and his wife, Angela, had a mission when they took over the Boulangerie Legrand and moved it to its current location in Namur. Their goal was simply to create the finest breads from the best ingredients they could find. This is the reason people drive all the way from Brussels and even as far as Northern France, just to buy their breads. Some of the grains come from as far away as Egypt and their natural fermentations take anywhere from 18 to 24 hours. These are live breads and we could taste the difference, as the flavours danced on our tongues. From deceptively simple baguettes to sweet brioches to rich loaves made of chestnut spelt, it was impossible to choose a favourite. More Information: http://cheeseweb.eu/2013/08/boulangerie-legrand-namur-belgiums-bakery/

Small enough to get around without being overwhelmed, the Musée d’Orsay is a favorite stop in Paris not just for its size but for its collection of Impressionist, Postimpressionist, and art nouveau art. Perfectly set in the center of the city, on the banks of the Seine, and opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a railway station that was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900—so the building itself could be seen as a work of art. The extraordinary collection spans art created in the period between 1848 and 1914.

For years now, the neighborhood between the Palais-Royal and the Opéra Garnier has been a hangout for Japanese and Korean ex-pats and visitors in Paris, with the Rue Sainte Anne as its culinary epicenter. Lined with Japanese restaurants and Korean groceries, this is where to come for a ‘break’ (if that’s even the right word) from steak-frites and macarons... When I lived in Paris, my Japanese neighbor told me about “Higuma,” which I subsequently introduced to all of my French friends. I’m glad to say that when I re-visited this ramen-house recently, it hadn’t lost its non-chic-charm. No sushi here--fresh hand-made noodles, donburi and curry will fill you up, along with perfectly steamed/fried gyoza--known here as ‘raviolis japonais.’ Grab a seat at the counter and watch your steaming bowl come together. Lines are common at lunch-hour. And even though Higuma now has three locations in Paris, THIS is the original: no-nonsense and venerable in the 1st arrondissement... As for the spelling of ‘lamen’ for ‘ramen’ in this Parisian institution--just enjoy the L-R confusion. Here, slurping won’t be considered gauche...and remember, “bon appétit” = “itadakimasu” and “merci” = “arigato gozaimasu!”