There are so many things to discover and enjoy that I try to get “organized”
Madeleine district : for your soul and education : the Pinacothèque. small museum next to Fauchon with interesting exhibitions.
Afterwards you can have lunch in Fauchon (nice contemporary décor and excellent food and champagne) or try the Bistrot de l’Ecluse “Bar à vins” affordable and traditional.
15 Place de la Madeleine, Paris - 01 42 65 34 69
After lunch I went to Baccarat to check on how to rejuvenate my glasses (in order to lay out nice tables for you in Maubourguet).
I also went to Maille for their nice spicy mustards that will blend well with the duck, the guinea fowl, and the lamb.
There are many other gourmet addresses in this district (Hédiard, la Maison de la truffe, Prunier, and the must : Ladurée)
If you want to indulge on luxury, you should go to rue St Honoré or toward the Opéra.
I had another “luxury day” in the 6th Rive Gauche.
I HAD to visit Philippe Conticini pastry shop. For the Paris Brest and Saint Honoré.
(see chapter Librairie Gourmande). I usually do not indulge on sweet, especially creamy cakes but I had to taste these famous ones, especially for my dad who is fond of them.
You start dreaming when you see the cake and its aesthetic and it goes on when you feel the light, not too sweet cream melting in your mouth. As light as a breeze, a zephyr.
Pâtisserie des Rêves 93 rue du Bac 75007 01 42 84 00 82
Go towards the end of the street, at the corner of rue de Sèvres, you’ll stop at Grande Epicerie (Bon marché, one of the luxurious department stores in Paris) and admire their aisles full of quality spices, rice, pasta, oils, mustards, bread, cheese, Spanish raw ham, coffees, teas… Difficult to resist, the best of French food in just one store !
I then had lunch in marché Saint Germain and strolled around the area, window-shopping, passing by the famous Lip, Flore, and 2 Magots/ Also had a visit to the most beautiful fabric designers around Place Fürstenberg.
Not all my visits were that luxurious. I also visited more popular districts and had wonderful discoveries.
In the Bastille district, you can visit Dorothy’s gallery rue Keller, craftsmen shops on Boulevard Daumesnil. have lunch either at the “Train Bleu” gare de Lyon for the décor (food is very good but quite expensive) or at “le petit Cahoua”, authentic Moroccan cuisine and décor.
24 rue des Taillandiers 75011 01 47 00 20 42
Another day in the 9th and 18th around Montmartre.
Started with a nice haircut at “le boudoir” rue Fontaine, then going towards metro Blanche, I stopped at Denise Acabo’s irresistible chocolate and candy store.
Mrs. Acabo selects the best candies in each category. She also sells these miniature boxes so well appreciated for by Japanese “ kawaii” (charming, adorable)
Acabo Denise 30 rue Fontaine 75009 Paris 01 48 74 59 55
Then I crossed Boulevard de Clichy and went up hill on rue Lepic (the Amélie Poulain movie); All the way up, I was able to admire a small exhibition of photos by Camille Levert (poetic series of air conditioning boxes in Nez York). I hope Camille will exhibit this Summer in Maubourguet…
Then went down rue des Abbesses towards marché Saint Pierre the fabric shops area.
I love fabrics, difficult to resist. Not the same design as St Germain or rue du Mail (1mn walk form Argout) but so affordable.
Leave the area going down rue de Steinkerque, crossing the Boulevard and gardens and have lunch at Catz.
Catz was recommended by a mutual friend Aurélia Bernard (fashion designer and owner of Rosa Tapioca)
http://www.rosatapioca.com/site_fr.html
Aurélia was right. The place is conveniently located a few yards from the bus stop 85 that will take me back rue d’Argout. But mostly it is very good, healthy, and organic with nice salads and quiches. Apparently the word of mouth has been efficient as it was full of happy people.
57 rue Rodier 75009. 01 45 26 43 61
I also spent many days in the 3rd and 11th district. ( République, Bastille.)
Rue de Bretagne, Carreau du Temple,
Another famous and healthy organic place for your lunches, very trendy Rose Bakery with British and US desserts (pies, scones, crumbles, cheesecakes, carrot cakes.) Another address rue des Martyrs. Bourgeois, bohème atmosphere “ bobo” Bohème for the décor, bourgeois for the prices ! But really good…
As you know good spices were and still are quite expensive. This probably explains that to enter or exit Goumanya, one needs to ring the bell!
You’ll find there refined spices, oils, and some Rosle utensils.
I bought pistachio oil, saffron and saffron caramel for my chocolate cakes. Bought also a special peeler for tomatoes and delicate fruits such as kiwis.
3 rue Charles-François Dupuis • 75003 Paris
http://www.goumanyat.com/Boutique.html
Another must for trendy people is MERCI Boulevard Beaumarchais : huge space where you can find clothes, jewelry, table ware, some furniture, “salon de thé” and another good and healthy coffee shop with organic salads and quiches …
I had to make several trips to Alis for my computer, a Mac laptop. If you experience some difficulties with your Mac while in Paris, I would highly recommend Alis : nice, efficient, and reasonably priced.
You can go further toward Bastille, rue de la Roquette. At the far end of the street you can visit galerie Goutte de terre 46 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac, Paris - 06 98 63 77 32. This Gallery is an association whose purpose is to develop water usage in poor countries. All exhibitions raise money for this purpose.
Camille, my daughter, exhibited her jewelry before Christmas with other Etsy artists.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/papermode
http://www.gouttedeterre.org
Very nice exhibitions.
They are finished by now but others have replaced them. I’d recommend checking the Museums websites. Main Museums links are on this website www.key2paris.com
Grand Palais, MAJH, Orangerie, Georges Pompidou
I will leave here 2 small galleries that you might, unfortunately, miss
Gallery JR Dard rue des Arquebusiers 75003
Gallery Jeanroch Dard is a contemporary art gallery dedicated to works on paper by young emerging artists. Jeanroch Dard founded the gallery. By promoting the work of young artists, the gallery wishes to make contemporary artworks of quality,
accessible to every budget.
Dorothy’s Gallery
Rue Keller 75011
Exhibiting Contemporary artist including Eric Turlot and its colorful, energetic painting.
Dorothy Polley organizes events. We had an “Eric Turlot Live evening” with the artist painting in front of our eyes. Always amazing to see the work of art in progress trying to guess when the artist will put down the brush saying “ that’s it … C’est fini”
http://dorothysgallery.com/art/
http://www.eric-turlot.fr/
There were many more but it is “impossible” to see them all. I already enjoyed these and had to keep some time for other visits.
You have links to all the main museums and these galleries on this website.