Here are the keys to my neighbourhood in Paris 🗝️
THE PERFECT TRIO:
After a visit to my boutiue, Messy Nessy’s Cabinet (19 Rue de Bièvre, we’re open Mon-Sat), head for lunch or a snack at Tram: fresh, homemade and located on the street where they filmed Midnight in Paris — all day café, restaurant, part cookbook shop. It’s next door to a gem of a church that rivals the interiors of Notre Dame; the Eglise Saint Geneviève, where the patron Saint of Paris is buried in a glass coffin to give Snow White’s a run for her money.
BEST PEOPLE-WATCHING:
- Place Maubert market (sit & order oysters at the poissonerie 🐟 Tues/ Thurs/ Sat)
- Place de la Contrescarpe and Place Georges Moustaki are both charming roundabouts surrounded by cafés.
- Square Tino Rossi (tango dancing on the seine).
- Place de l’Estrapade (to see the Emily in Paris fans fanning)
- Arènes de Lutèce (a Roman amphitheatre rediscovered in the 19th century and turned into a park)
DON’T BE A TOURIST IN PARIS!
- Musée de la Prefecture de Police: a weird little free museum of crime above the local police station
- Jardin des Plantes and its multiple time capsule museums, glasshouses, mazes, plus a Victorian zoo and a restaurant (les Belles Plantes).
- Hotel des Rêves: immersive theatre inside an 18th century mansion
- Institut du Monde Arabe and its world-class cultural exhibitions
- La Nouvelle Seine: Watch a burlesque show on a boat or below deck
- Le Piano Vache: Catch some Django Reinhardt jazz on Monday nights
- Grande Mosquée de Paris: Visit the Moroccan gardens or experience an authentic hammam
- Discover Roman Paris the Arènes de Lutèce, a gladiator amphitheatre unearthed in 19th century
- Tango dancing on the Seine at Square Tino Rossi
- Discover Medieval Paris at the Musee Cluny
- Taste your way through the Place Maubert & Place Monge markets
SUMMER EATING:
- Le Petit Bal Perdu (@lepetitbalperduparis): spectacular hidden terrace spot, delicious French bistro food.
- Rotisserie d’Argent (@larotisseriedargent): the only restaurant in Paris with outdoor dining on a bridge over the Seine!
- Saveurs d’Asie (Vietnamese restaurant with a great terrace on Place Maubert)
- Charcuterie Saint Germain (Place Maubert): for the French pizzas and great takeaway picnic food to eat along the river.
- Café de la Grand Mosquée: be transported to Marrakesh in a beautiful courtyard, sampling delicious pastries & drinking mint tea until twilight.
FINE DINING:
- Atica (@aticaparis): an immersive cinematic dining experience inside a former cinema
- Solstice (@Solstice.paris): Michelin-star excellence with incredible wine
- La Table de Colette (@latabledeColetteparis): blind tasting menu but totally unpretentious
- Restaurant AT (@restaurant_at): Michelin-star French & Asian fusion where food becomes literal art on a plate
- Kitchen Terre (@kitchenterre): They do things with pasta that you’ve never seen before
- Bistrot des Lettres (@bistrotdeslettres): write a letter to yourself at the end of the meal and they’ll post it to you a year later
COZY & OLD SCHOOL:
- 5eme Cru (@5ecru): Wine, charcuterie & drippy candles
- Chez Rene (@ChezRene1957): Classic bistro where politicians eat under the radar
- Au Moulin A Vent (@au_moulin_a_vent): historic brasserie for trying snails & frog legs
- La Fourmi Ailée (@la_fourmi_ailee): surrounded by twinkle lights and books, this place feels like something out of a 90s romcom. Long tea menu, good quiches, cosy writer’s spot.
BARS
- 5eme Cru: @5ecru
- Le Piano Vache @lepianovache
- Sola Cave @sola_cave_ceramiques
- Le Son de la Terre @SondelaTerre
SMALL SHOPS:
- Le Club K7 (@leClubk7) – A lost world dedicated to the cassette tape
- Initiales Bonnie (@initialesbonnie) – repurposed French bric a brac
- Bonbon au Palais: a unique sweet shop elaborately decorated to look like a charming 1950s French schoolroom; a pastel-coloured time machine to childhood. From platters of exotic candied fruits to jars filled with guimauve (old-fashioned marshmallows), it stocks some of the rarest candies in the world curated from small towns all across France. These sweets are so rare that they have their own patents from the age-old artisanal houses that are still producing them in the same little villages where they were first concocted.
- Bourgine: run by a talented young Parisienne, this grassroots women’s fashion brand is in a whimsical world of its own, creating collections inspired by niche historical figures or subcultures that capture her fascination. Combining quality with quirkiness has gained the designer a cult following in Japan. For a his & hers shopping excursion, Bourgine is nestled amongst several artisanal boutiques of note, including Hollington, creating exquisite men’s clothing inspired by Bauhaus design since 1974.
- La Tuile a Loup: ceramic shop by appointment @latuilealoup
- Jazz corner: record shop
- L’Epee de Bois: selling handmade wooden toys @l_epee_de_bois
- Avanti la Musica: specialises in music boxes
- Au Vieux Campeur: Family-owned chain of adventure gear shops @auxvieuxcampeur
CAFFEINE CLUBHOUSES:
– Jozi Paris (@joziparis)
– Cafe Revolotion (@caferevolotion)
– Le Bon Moment Cafe Paris (@lebonmomentcafeparis)
– Cafe Nuage (@cafenuage)
– Dalbodree Paris (@dalbodreeparis)
– La fourmi Ailée (@la_fourmi_ailee)
WHERE TO STAY:
– Hotel des Grands Ecoles (@hoteldesgrandsecoles) To feel like you are miles away from a city, in the midst of the countryside, opposite Hemingways old apartment.
– Le 66 (@le_66_lhomond) A very mid nineteenth century atmosphere, carved out of a former antique shop, in the heart of the Latin Quarter. Friendly cats who won’t go to your room unless you invite them in.
– Hotel de Jardin de Cluny (@hoteldejardindecluny) A quiet pedestrian-only street in the Latin Quarter, steps from Notre Dame, one of the best markets in town and of course, Messy Nessy’s Cabinet.
– Le Jardin de Verre by (@lockehotels) An 18th century mansion turned Hoxton-esque nest in the Latin Quarter.
– Hotel La Lanterne (@hotellalanterne) Has a swimming pool in the basement!