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Private list of best places in Paris, France

à la Mère de Famille (Like Mother Makes)Arrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)Since 1761 in a shop that is a museum-piece of a classic candy store, superb marzipan fruits, marvelous chocolates; many other specialty products. Just by the entrance to the...
Accueil Musical à l'Église Saint Merri (Music at Saint Merry Church)Arrondissement 4 (l'Hôtel-de-Ville)The Accueil Musical (literally, reception with music) is a superb concert series in a striking baroque interior, largely of works for the piano, but increasingly with a...
Album, la Référence BD (Album, the source for drawn books)Arrondissement 5 (le Panthéon)Bandes dessinées (BDs) are drawn art books, often paperbound, a genre that does not exist in the USA. In Europe and Japan, what is known in the USA as a comic book, and considered...
AndrouëtArrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)One of the best cheese stores in the world, with a knowledgeable staff. For cheese at the right stage of ripeness, tell the clerk when you expect to serve it. Wine and cider to...
Appartement.orgotherThe best internet listing source for short-term rentals, most listed by individuals, with a few agency listings. Most ads are in French; a few in English...
au Fin GourmetArrondissement 12 (Reuilly)Excellent caterers with a beautiful selection of prepared dishes to take away in their small shop. How do they do it every day? The tarts are superb. Near the pretty Square...
au Petit RicheArrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)This was Maurice Chevalier's favorite restaurant, and it is clear why it would be: traditional French food and superbly professional service. Small, lovely rooms seemingly...
Ballet Opéra de Paris (Opera Ballet of Paris)Arrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)A first-rate company with unusual and interesting choreography and staging. Particularly enjoyable at the spectacularly ornate Opéra Garnier. Tickets available on line, although...
bibliothèque Forney (Forney Library)Arrondissement 4 (l'Hôtel-de-Ville)In the Hôtel de Sens, part of the fabulous Paris public library system, the Bibliothèque Forney's extensive fine and applied art resources are open to the public in its Medieval...
Bouillon Racine-ChartierArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)A lovely Art Nouveau restaurant, classed as a historic monument, with excellent food, although cuts of meat on the daily lunch special will not be the most tender. Sometimes...
Bouillon Restaurant ChartierArrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)Set back in a courtyard, high ceilings with Art Nouveau woodwork, murals, and brass fittings; one of the last restaurants with cubbyholes for the napkins of regulars (no longer...
C. T. Loo & Cie (C. T. Loo & Co.)Arrondissement 8 (l'Élysée)Classic Chinese architecture near the parc Monceau has for many years housed the sales room and collection of Asian art scholar C. T. Loo, including several floors of breathtaking...
chez AllardArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)A graceful, old-fashioned bistro close to the tourist-laden Latin Quarter, yet maintaining a sophisticated Parisian clientele and the ambience of a traditional dinner at...
Cluny MuseumArrondissement 5 (le Panthéon)Remains of Roman public baths found under the garden of this medieval private mansion, heads of kings knocked from the Notre Dame facade during the Revolution, the five...
Crédit Municipal de ParisArrondissement 4 (l'Hôtel-de-Ville)Pawn your watch where the Prince de Joinville and Victor Hugo pawned theirs (Paris residents only). A loan agency formed 225 years ago to assist Parisians in need of immediate...
Debauve et GallaisArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)The 200-year-old wood-panelled shop, designed by Napoléon's architects, is an appropriate setting for Debauve et Gallais' excellent specialty pralines, with a wide seletion of...
Denise FrancelleArrondissement 1 (le Louvre)On the more fashionable western end of the rue de Rivoli, marking the end of the tourist-junk stores, selling gloves, handkerchiefs, scarves and stockings since 1938. Need...
DeyrolleArrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)Founded in 1831 by a natural-history-loving banker in his private mansion, this taxidermy shop offers a wide selection of stuffed real animals: zebras, boars, lions, cows; as well...
France Lodge LocationsotherThis company acts as a broker for private households renting out a room to visitors, generally for a week or more. Great way to get to know local people. Website rates are for...
FUSACotherFrance U. S. A. Contacts, pronounced as if the acronym were a word, is the best source of ads for short-term studios and short and long-term shared housing in Paris. If the...
Gérard MulotArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)Some of the most beautiful desserts in the world. Open early and late. Fabulous baguette....
galerie Véro DodatArrondissement 1 (le Louvre)The best-preserved passageway in Paris, with all its original 1830 decor, housing excellent designers, a printer, a good cafe and restaurant and interesting shops. Shown here is...
Gants Hélion (Hélion Gloves) Arrondissement 8 (l'Élysée)Making and selling gloves for men and women since 1925, including really some of the most charming women's gloves in the world, with buttons, appliqué, embroidery, ribbons,...
hôtel Heidelbach (the Heidelbach mansion)Arrondissement 16 (Passy)Emile Guimet's breathtaking personal collection of major works of 4th-18th Century Buddhist art. Beautifully restored mansion with private Japanese garden in which the tea...
hôtel Relais Saint-Sulpice (Mansion Inn at Saint-Sulpice Church))Arrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)On a tiny street directly across from the chevet of Saint-Sulpice Church (at the front of which is the fabulous Fountain of the Four Points of the Compass), a charming, luxurious...
If only I could rememberArrondissement 18 (la Butte-Montmartre)Put Moulin Rouge to your left, turn right and walk 100 meters. A nondescript door opens into a wonderful dark bar. I'll take you there....
Jamin PeuchArrondissement 4 (l'Hôtel-de-Ville)The retail boutiques for the designer of beautiful women's handbags, many with beading or stencil-cut leather. Nothing like them anywhere else. Some other accessories as well...
Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Garden)Arrondissement 5 (le Panthéon)A gorgeous, uncrowded garden, with a wide allée (space lined with rows of trees) planted with hundreds of labeled flowering plants, surrounded by a zoo, a natural history museum,...
Jardins du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Park / Gardens)Arrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)Chestnut trees and sculpture abound. Spectacular planting around the reflecting pond (where children push wooden boats with long sticks), elegant landscaped "rooms". Many musical...
Journées du Patrimoine (Cultural Heritage Days)otherThe first weekend in September throughout Europe historic public buildings open their doors for what would be translated as "cultural heritage days." Here is the once-a-year...
l'ÉbauchoirArrondissement 12 (Reuilly)l'Ébauchoir [an art tool used for making marks in the surface of a sculpture] is a casual restaurant in the lively 12th arrondissement, with some of the best food in Paris, and a...
l'AiguièreArrondissement 12 (Reuilly)Here is one of the hidden gems of Paris. In an out-of-the-way neighborhood, a formal restaurant filled with flowers, with damask tablecloths and good pieces of porcelain on...
l'Assiette Lyonnaise (The Dish from Lyon)Arrondissement 8 (l'Élysée)Midway between the Champs-Élysées and the pont de l'Alma, a very friendly neighborhood restaurant with food that is out of this world. Specialties on the menu are the two duck...
l'Epi Dupin (The Ear of Corn/Cowlick on rue Dupin)Arrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)A small restaurant wih stone walls, exposed beams, and a top-drawer owner/chef who could charge twice the prices. Market specials every day. Remarkable lunch special at 20€...
l'hôtel Drouot (Drouot Mansion)Arrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)A conglomerate of 110 licensed auctioneers, with sales rooms now being spruced up. The Drouot Guide, giving all you need to know about buying at auction, is available in French...
La CalinièreArrondissement 4 (l'Hôtel-de-Ville)Old household fixtures, specializing in ceiling lamps and chandeliers, many from the early 20th Century. One of the best selections outside the Marché aux Puces Saint-O...
la Comédie Française (National Theater of France)Arrondissement 1 (le Louvre)Excellent preformances of classics of the French theatrical tradition, as well as modern works. The Salle Richelieu is a classic, many-tiered, red-velvet theater, with beautiful...
la Marché Grenelle (Grenelle Street Market)Arrondissement 15 (Vaugirard)Everyone says their local produce market is the best in Paris. The marché Grenelle is one of the biggest and at least one of the best, with products from vegetables, fruit,...
la Pagode (The Pagoda)Arrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)One of the most interesting cinemas around, La Pagode is a Chinese pagoda, built in 1895 as a present for a rich man's wife. It served as a Chinese consulate reception hall until...
Ladurée Bonaparte (Ladurée on rue Bonaparte)Arrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)A charming tea salon includes a full restaurant as well as the to-go pastry counter out front with some of the most delectable pastries imaginable.
Featured in the window...
Ladurée Royale (Ladurée on rue Royale)Arrondissement 8 (l'Élysée)The century-old Madeleine Ladurée is a wood-paneled patisserie embellished with ceiling painting and graced with potted palms. The restaurant and tea salon serves lovely pastries,...
Laure SokolArrondissement 14 (l'Observatoire)A small local chain of women's lingerie stores carrying high quality in a wider range of sizes than usual in Paris. They carry the marvelous Lise Charmel brand among others....
le Bain Rose (The Pink Bath)Arrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)Great bathroom fixtures from the early 20th Century, as well as lighting fixtures, bath accessories, stylish pyjamas, and gifts....
le centre Pompidou / le Beaubourg (Pompidou Center)Arrondissement 4 (l'Hôtel-de-Ville)Housing a huge, free library including a top-notch language lab and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the 17th-Century neighborhood (often a line to get in, but worth the...
le Comptoir de Famille (The Family Trading Post))Arrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)In the 19th-Century passage Jouffroy, traditional French kitchen and dining accessories, and small decorative household objects, well-chosen in a pretty little shop....
le Cour de Commerce Saint-André (Market Hall, Saint-André)Arrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)In the middle of the Latin Quarter, a bit of an old market town. A partially covered (on the Saint-Andrée-des-Arts end) shopping street with a great jewelry store and one of the...
le Cour de Rohan (Courtyard of the Rohan Estate)Arrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)To the east of le Cour de Commerce Saint-André, a public passage marked "privé" (private) to discourage tourists so inconsiderate of the residents as to make noise and take flash...
le Fumoir (The Smoking Room)Arrondissement 1 (le Louvre)A stylish bar and restaurant designed as one might expect a Scandanavian gentlemen's club would look, with a few thousand books on the shelves. Right across from the Louvre,...
le LouvreArrondissement 1 (le Louvre)It takes a good year to see the Louvre. The website collection catalogs help decide where to start. Don't miss the Corot paintings (Sully building, 2 flights up, rooms 69-73) and...
le Louvre des Antiquaires (Antique-sellers at the Louvre)Arrondissement 1 (le Louvre)250 antique stores, with merchandise of the highest quality. Although you probably won't pay more anywhere in Paris, it makes for wonderful rainy-day window-shoppi...
Le Pain au Naturel (Natural/Naked Bread)Arrondissement 12 (Reuilly)In a town that once guillotined a man for insulting bread, this bakery is among the best. Wide range of baked goods featuring Pain Moisan, an organic bread, as well as quiches and...
le Palais RoyalArrondissement 1 (le Louvre)The Palais Royal is a magical place with many separate parts to it. There is the always-beautiful garden with trees, fountains, flowers and statues. Around this are precise lines...
le Train Bleu (The Blue Train)Arrondissement 12 (Reuilly)Spectacular turn-of-the-century grand palace of food. Several dining rooms: cavernous ceilings, huge allegorical paintings and gilding everywhere. Good food, too. Right in the...
le ValentinArrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)A small pastry shop in the very interesting passage Jouffroy, a 19th-Century covered walkway lined with old shops. Very good food. Enormous selection of first-rate pastries and...
les 3 Singes (The Three Monkeys)Arrondissement 3 (le Temple)Not just another Asian import store. If you had nearly spent all your travelling money, you could buy a stylish gift here, for yourself or someone else. The owners have a...
les Deux Abeilles (The Two Bees)Arrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)Refined setting of an old-fashioned parlor with flowered wallpaper, small tables and a civilized, attractive crowd not far from the Champ de Mars at the Eiffel Tower. Excellent...
les marchés à Saint-Ouen (Clingnancourt Antiques Market)otherIn the small northern suburb of Saint Ouen, 2000 vendors of antiques and used clothing, much in superb condition. Though called a "marché aux puces" (flea market), this is not at...
les Pages Jaunes (The Yellow Pages)otherThe Yellow Pages: a nationwide internet resource for finding the telephone number and address of commercial enterprises, complete with a detailed map and a photograph of the front...
LivingstoneArrondissement 1 (le Louvre)Lovely formal setting combining cubist elements and objects d'art for superb haute cuisine Thai. Open late. The website is in French only but shows a number of pictures....
Madeleine GélyArrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)Selling exclusively umbrellas, umbrella stands and canes since 1834. A charming shop with a large selection, also special orders....
Maison Balzac (Balzac's house)Arrondissement 16 (Passy)Country house where Balzac lived and worked in the 1840's, finishing and correcting the proofs of most of his Comédie Humaine. He lived here under an assumed name, successfully...
marché Porte de Vanves (Porte de Vanves Antiques Market)Arrondissement 14 (l'Observatoire)Easily the best street market in Paris for second-hand treasures at low prices. Higher quality than most; friendly vendors. There is often a good street pianist where the market...
Mariage Frères (Mariage Brothers Tea Merchants)Arrondissement 8 (l'Élysée)Selling over 500 varieties of tea, desserts, and full meals. The tea salon downstairs boasts a lovely collection of orchids. Excellent service, music occasionally; a small tea...
municipal swimming poolsotherParis has 34 well-maintained municipal swimming pools. For locations, hours, and other information, on the website, enter the arrondissement of interest in the select box under...
musée Carnavalet (Carnavalet Museum)Arrondissement 3 (le Temple)The history of Paris, mostly 18th and 19th Centuries, with extensive revolutionary material, in a restored private mansion, home to Madame Sévigné. Many furnished rooms and...
musée d'Orsay (d'Orsay Museum)Arrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)Converted Art Nouveau rail station, showing art from the 19th-20th Centuries. Gloriously fancy public rooms just above the entrance: a light-and chandelier-filled grand dining...
musée des Arts décoratifs (Decorative Arts Museum)Arrondissement 1 (le Louvre)Reopened in September after years of renovations, not only of the building but of the collections, the musée des Arts décoratifs displays tens of thousands of objects of...
musée des Arts et Métiers (Museum of Arts and Sciences)Arrondissement 3 (le Temple)From prototype motorcars to delicately engraved brass locks; from mechanical dancing dolls to Renaissance flying machines and seemingly infinite ivory spheres-within-spheres, this...
musée Guimet (Guimet Museum)Arrondissement 16 (Passy)Arts and civilizations of East Asia and the Far East, with particularly interesting special shows. Check the rotunda above the entry hall for remarkable Japanese prints, many...
musée Jacquemart-André (Jacquemart-André Museum)Arrondissement 8 (l'Élysée)A 19th-Century house designed for showing art and entertaining: a balcony for musicians in the salon, reception room walls that slide away into the floor, a lovely winter garden...
musée Nissim de Camondo (Nissim de Camondo Museum)Arrondissement 8 (l'Élysée)What would your house have been like in the 1890's with your exquisite taste and infinite resources? Maybe like the hôtel Camondo. Private mansion completely furnished,...
musée Picasso (Picasso Museum)Arrondissement 3 (le Temple)In the restored Hôtel Salé (hôtel meaning mansion, not hotel), the works Picasso saved for himself. Regardless of your feeling for this artist whose life is still controversial,...
musée Rodin (Rodin Museum)Arrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)The family mansion of Dukes de Biron, converted into a museum for Rodin's works by the artist himself. In the house and on the grounds, not only sculptures but engravings,...
NoblèneArrondissement 3 (le Temple)Extremely charming and beautifully made clothing for children, sold in a a private salon atmosphere de luxe that will make a French major out of any child with a penchant for nice...
Opéra National de Paris (Paris National Opera)Arrondissement 12 (Reuilly)A superb company, performing more frequently at the new Opéra Bastille than at the grand old Opéra Garnier. See the website for extensive details....
Orchidées et Compagnie (Orchids & Co.)Arrondissement 4 (l'Hôtel-de-Ville)A small vendor in the île de la Cité flower market with a good selection of orchids and other exotic plants. Good growing advice, source of moss and planting material. There is...
Palais de la Porte DoréeArrondissement 12 (Reuilly)Constructed for the 1931 Colonial Exposition, with notable Art Deco bas reliefs and striking lobby reception rooms. The African and Oceania first-people's art formerly on the...
PariscopeotherIndispensable weekly what's-on guide. Special museum shows, concerts, 300+ movies, theater, sports; much more. Ask for it at newsstands-it's usually behind the counter. Comes out...
passage des PanoramasArrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)One three early 19th-Century covered passageways in the area of the Grands Boulevards, the passage des Panoramas (there used to be early spectacles in the round here) houses the...
passage JouffroyArrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)The largest of the three connecting passageways through the Grands Boulevards, passage Jouffroy has a lot to take one's interest: bookshops, toy stores, M.G. Segas, antique canes,...
passage VerdeauArrondissement 9 (l'Opéra)A lovely passageway leading from the antique stores of the Drouot auction district south to the Grands Boulevards, it houses, among other interesting shops, Photographie Verdeau,...
Pavillon de l'ArsenalArrondissement 4 (l'Hôtel-de-Ville)A museum of the design of the City of Paris and the systems that make it work: transport, water, waste disposal. Many fascinating scale models of the city through the ages, videos...
Pierre au Palais Royal (Pierre at the Palais-Royal)Arrondissement 1 (le Louvre)An award-winning chef creates incredible food at this stylish restaurant. This, combined with a luxurious space filled with flowers right next to the Palais Royale and...
PoilâneArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)Famous "pain Poilâne", a sliceable white bread that is great toasted with pâtés and other appetizers, but also tarts, spice bread, excellent croissants. Often a crowd....
Radio FranceArrondissement 16 (Passy)Many broadcasts are open to the public....
restaurant le SoleilotherThe freshest ingredients, award-winning cooking, a very good wine list and reasonable prices. Across the street from the antiques market. Little-known but one of the best...
restaurant le VoltaireArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)Don't confuse the entrance to the restaurant with the Café le Voltaire right on the corner; the restaurant is the next door east along the quai. A warm welcome in this formal...
restaurant PaulArrondissement 1 (le Louvre)Enter this first-rate bistro from the quiet of place Dauphine, where it has a few tables outside, or from the quai des Orfèvres. The interior is solid and stylish; the food is...
rue de ParadisArrondissement 10 (l'Enclos-Saint-Laurent)Quite a number of china and crystal shops are located on this street, mostly between rue d'Hauteville and rue Martel, as well as the free Baccarat Museum at #30 (see web link, in...
rue du BacArrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)Maybe the most interesting shopping street in Paris. Taxidermy at Deyrolle, 46; wonderful hand-made eyeglass frames at L'Optométrie Moderne at 92; a giant selection of French and...
rue du Cherche MidiArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)Some of the most innovative clothing, accessory, jewelry and interior design stores in the world, plus some really great restaurants on this and surrounding streets. Amazing...
rue PoitouArrondissement 3 (le Temple)Rue Poitou is a treasure-trove of unusual shops, restaurants and small hotels, frequented more by in-the-know Parisians than tourists. Shown is the window of Atelier Mille Lieux...
SimonArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)A hundred-year-old, family-owned firm making beautiful umbrellas, including a good selection of very small travel umbrellas....
Sommeil d'Orphée (Orpheus' Sleep)Arrondissement 7 (le Palais-Bourbon)A very good selection of high-quality household linens, including much embroidered linen, at fair prices....
Street Markets of ParisotherStreet markets are among the best places for fresh produce, prepared food, plants, birds, used clothing, old books, flowers, household items, and socks. The web link is the...
Théâtre des Champs Élysées (Champs Elysées Theater)Arrondissement 8 (l'Élysée)Built in 1913 and decorated in the early Art Deco style in collaboration with the sculptor Bourdelle, the Théâtre des Champs Élysées was the site of the riot that broke out during...
the SenateArrondissement 6 (le Luxembourg)Sessions of the Senate, the national elected body that studies and recommends policy to the national Assembly, which makes law, are open to the public. Reservations at...