The Grand Foyer at Le Grand Palais welcomes us to a new post full of ideas and inspiration of where to go, what to do and where to sleep well and in a bit of luxury when we arrive in Paris – pourquoi pas !

As I was organizing my posting schedule for this week, I quickly realized, I had more than two French Week’s worth of content. And so in an effort to make sure I can share with you everything I recommend, I have gathered together 13 of the places and recommendations to provide ideas for how to enjoy Paris just as best fits your tastes.

All of the recommended places in today’s post are now in TSLL’s Tarvel Guide for Paris which you can find here, and it will always be free. Below in the images, you will see how to access TSLL Travel Guides in the future whenever you return and are looking for that place that tickled your interest while you were reading today’s post.

Now, let’s take a look at this list!

Stay

—La Maison Boheme (Montmartre)

During last year’s French Week, I shared 4 New & Remarkable Places to Stay in Paris, and one of them was a new vacation rental/apartment complex that had opened after a major renovation – La Maison Boheme.

I booked the first three nights of my stay in Paris in the Monet room, which while my windows overlooked the alley (some of the rooms overlook the Artist’s Square atop Montmartre and you can see Sacre Couer just one block away), I was incredibly happy with my apartment. And they are full apartments.

Complete with a small kitchen (sink, dishwasher, stovetop, etc.), one and a half baths, living room and bedroom with a small dining area, you feel as though you have a full mini sanctuary in the city, all located literally on top of Montmartre. The apartments are located above the busy tourist restaurant that Le Tour de France cyclists raced by just last month and is catty-corner from the famed artist’s square – La Bohème Montmartre. In fact, you meet the host of the apartment in the restaurant when you arrive, and they will hold your luggage if you arrive earlier than check-in.

At first, I presumed I would hear the hustle and bustle on the street level, but only being one floor up, I heard nothing. Absolute quiet. It was magnificent because I had the locale, but also the peace.

The interiors are rich in gem tones and English wallpaper. The bathrooms, being brand new are fabulous – large shower, wonderful water pressure and a very comfortable bed with two wardrobes to hang my clothes. While there were other guests in the other apartments, the only time I heard them was when the woman above me, who I later learned was a fairly popular style influencer, walked around presumably in her heels, but she didn’t do that for long, and it was bearable. Below are a few images from my apartment.

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—La Place Dauphine

Back in April, I shared a detailed post about my five nights that concluded my trip in Paris Perfect’s La Place Dauphine apartment. There are five apartments in their building, they own it and remodeled it entirely about ten years ago, and this place was my favorite. Quite special, and ideally located is an understatement of truth. You are absolute central in Paris, and as soon as you walk into the square of La Place Dauphine on Île de Cité, you feel as though you are in a local, private, quite intimate neighborhood.

Have a look at the detailed post here.

Eat

—Bistrot Minim’s (1st)

Newly opened this past spring/late winter is the sister restaurant of Bistro Maxim’s. Located just two doors down from each other, and around the corner from Musée de l’Orangerie and the Tuileries, I absolutely LOVED this restaurant.

I dined there for lunch, and if you are seeking traditional French everyday fare, but elevated, you will want to dine here. This is where I saw many local business men and women enjoying their lunch – some together with others, and others dining on their own, all in their suits and proper professional business attire. The decor is old-world with wood trim, moody red and velvet fabrics, and the service was phenomenal.

I enjoyed the stuffed cabbage, having made it once for myself and quite loved it, I wanted to know how the French made their own and how it tasted – wow! Loved it. ☺️ When I arrived, at about 12:30, I was one of the first diners, but by the time I left, the entire restaurant was full and buzzing.

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—Hestia (5th)

Opening up just last year, and in the heart of a bustling alley that opens then to where you will find Shakespeare & Co., and be just across the bridge from Notre Dame is Hestia.

Absolutely delicious, refreshing and contemporary in its presentation style. My dear friend Véronique and I met there for dinner at 7:30 and, as it more common in Paris, they only have one sitting, and we were one of the two final tables to leave at 11:45 as the restaurant was closing, but they did not rush us out.

Absolutely impeccable service, modern, yet intimate décor in neutral hues, there was an earthy, yet sophisticated vibe that sounds impossible to imagine, but they pull it off effortlessly.

I only captured a few images of my dishes because they were each so good, I was in awe, then curious, and then by the time I remembered to take a photo, the food was gone. ☺️ If you are looking for a less traditional, but still, at its heart, French cuisine grounded, then this is a restaurant to book at reservation for dinner.

Enjoy

—Notre Dame de Paris

She is back. And as endless videos and photos have captured, she looks like an entirely new piece of architecture. Having had the opportunity to visit Notre Dame in Paris back in 2000, I remember how dark the stone inside and thus the entire interior was. It just doesn’t look the same at all, in the most wonderful of ways.

No tickets are necessary (meaning you do not have to pay), but you will want to reserve your time-slot online which will save you from having to wait in line with those who didn’t not reserve a spot. You simply need to arrive at the time you selected, or be nor more than 20 minutes late, but you can arrive 30 minutes early, and they will let you in. Organized to keep the crowds moving in a circle around the wings of the church, you will enter and then go to your left, and make your way around the entire interior with the option to sit in the middle if you would like at the end of your self-paced tour.

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—La Palais Garnier tour (9th)

Just to step inside this grand building is dessert in architectural form. The Palais Garnier is Paris’ Opera House. The ballet is also performed on the same stage, and if you watched Étoile on Amazon Prime this past spring, then you saw inside this very building and location in Paris.

Wanting to peek inside, I signed up for one of their many tours, this one taking place at night/evening, and around 5pm, four different groups separated up based on langauge, headed off through the palace to learn the history of the building. One day, I look forward to watching a performance. A truly special place.

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—Petite Classical Music Concerts

When you visit the website ClassicTic, you will be able to search the dates that you will be in the city (and other cities as well). It will then show you all of the concerts, tours, etc. that may interest you. You then purchase the tickets directly from this site.

This particular classical music concert was a quintet of musicians, and they played seven different selections, all individual movements, no full symphonies, so you enjoyed about an hour-long concert. They had two solo acts – the violinist you see below who played two of Vivaldi’s season concertos – winter and spring, and one opera singer who provided the vocals for two selections while the musicians accompanied her. It was brilliant.

This small church is located right near Shakespeare & Co., and it is indeed small. And it was packed full – all tickets sold, so I was glad I purchased ahead of time. I would say there were about 50-70 of us in there, rows of chairs and the acoustics were amazing. Highly recommend looking up an event while you are in the city as a way to punctuate and experience, but not fill too much, a special moment during your trip.

Shop

—Bon Marche, home section (second building – above La Grand Épicerie)

Nearly everyone knows about Le Bon Marche for clothing shopping, but I didn’t know that there were pop-up shops in the Home section which is the second building of the Bon Marché. And this time, while I was there, one of the pop-up shops was Nomibis, a brocante/antique vendor. You will see her items in all of the non-candle images below. And those candlesticks – I am kicking myself that I didn’t purchase them. Loved them! And you know who was also there? Marin Montagut. He had a pop-up shop right next to Nomibis with all of his cups, home decor and linens with his illustrations. While I don’t think either of these shops are there now, what my discovery revealed to me is that you never know who will be there, so be sure to visit the Home Section.

And! The reason I came to this part of the store in the first place, was to pick up Le Soir d’Opera candles. They are permanently available here in Le Bon Marche.

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—La Samaritaine

As shared above, La Place Dauphine is ideally located in the center of Paris right on Le Pont Neuf, and on the right bank of the bridge is La Samaritaine. Full of luxury and mid-luxury clothing lines, skincare and makeup, be sure to stop in here if you haven’t already just to admire the new renovation that was completed just a few years ago. Louis Vuitton’s flagship store is located just to its right.

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—Les Fleurs Marché (1st)

Located on L’île de la Cité, just a 1/2 block away from Notre Dame, if you love to garden, or want fresh flowers in your apartment or hotel room, be sure to stop by this alley full of individual shops and nurseries.

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—Porcelaines M.P. Samie (14th)

45 Av. du Général Leclerc, 75014 Paris, France

David Lebovitz shared way back in 2009 that the place he shops for much of his porcelain due to its fair prices and quality, as well as variety, is M.P. Samie. They have many locations around France, but their location in Paris is right along Avenue du Général Leclerc in the 14th. I took a taxi from my apartment and arrived just as it was opening one day, and I have never seen so much porcelain in my life. Everyday porcelain, fancy porcelain, teacups & saucers, plates, serving dishes, you name it, they have it. And the prices are fair.

This is a great place to visit if you are stocking an entire new home or your pied à terre perhaps? 😉

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—Marché Maubert (5th)

Located on the same corner where you will find my favorite place for croissants – La Maison d’Isabelle’s (shared in this post), Marché Maubert is a petit market, but don’t let the size fool you. They have everything you will need for a delicious meal, and a few French clothing items as well. I picked up a couple of scarves here for great prices, something that is very hard to do actually in Paris at the department stores – they do not sell many scarves, but Marché Maubert has a wonderful vendor who does!

You will find oodles of cheese, seafood, vegetables, plants (for your garden), and much more. It is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 7am until 2:30 (3pm on Saturdays)

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—Puces de Vanves, brocante (14th)

The ‘other’ weekend brocante in Paris that is often talked about and recommended, while far different than Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, is Puces de Vanves. It is different because the vendors do not have permanent buildings or stalls, but rather pack up their treasures each week and drive them to their marked spot on the sidewalk, setting everything up in a couple hours before 7am.

However, I will say, and maybe this was just because it was March, and far colder, I arrived at 7:20am, and very few stalls were ready and set up. I have a feeling in the warmer months they will begin earlier. But what I did enjoy upon arriving so early, is that I wandered and window shopped multiple times, and then gradually, as everything was set up, I had had enough time to really see everything.

One thing I do not have a photo of is how many paintings there were. They were ubiquitous! So if you are looking for artwork, this is a great place to shop.

The vendors were very nice, and I had lovely, light-hearted bantering chats with many of them – in French no less! ☺️

I took at taxi to and from, and highly recommend this.

Well, hopefully something new and interesting was shared that you will be putting on your next itinerary when you go to Paris. I enjoy scouting out these places, experiencing them and then reporting back. Please do ask any questions about logistics if I didn’t mention what you would like to know. Bonne journée !

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