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Roisin - live music & tennis

The line-ups:

Bataclan (11e)

La Maroquinerie (20e)

French Open (Roland-Garros) - 16th arrondisement

2025 dates: May 19 to June 8

Info

Tickets

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Dory - Architecture

You can't understand Paris architecture without knowing Haussmann.

The House of Nicolas Flamel (51 Rue Montmorency, 3e) is the oldest house in Paris, circa 1407. There is now a restaurant downstairs.

Art Nouveau in Paris

Hector Guimard walking tour (self-guided)

I want to see these cabbage houses. They're in a Paris suburb called Créteil.

More brutalist architecture (24 Rue Archereau, 19e)

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GINA - KNITTING STORES

Much to my chagrin as author of this guide, there are many of them.

J'aime tricoter = I like to knit

Lil Weasel (2e)

Les Tricoteurs Volants (10e) - "The Flying Knitters"

L'Oisive Thé - yarn AND tea!

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Things Only Lisa Will Want to Do

1. Go to this pet cemetery in the suburbs.

2. See where the terrorists live.

3. Photograph staircases.

4. Pet tons of chiens.

5. Send postcards

6. Buy French fashion magazines

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Sample Itinerary

Sunday - overnight flight

Monday - arrive in morning

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat - return on morning flight

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Coffee and drinks

Café

You may be surprised to learn that it's hard to find a good cup of coffee in Paris. Alas, the coffee in your average cafe is terrible. That's why I'm pinning Fragments (3e) here. Also, where else can you find your Sucre Daddy??

Here's an exhaustive list of bars I'd (*especially) like to try:

1. Mabel (2e) - for rum and grilled cheese

2. The Shed Bar (2e) - for the rooftop

*3. Bar Hemingway (1er) - expensive, but it must be done.

*4. Lavomatic (10e) - it's a bar hidden inside a LAUNDROMAT!

5. Gravity Bar (10e) - I heard it's cool, I guess?

6. Maria Loca (4e) - Cachaça mixes. Try the Woody Wood.

7. Dirty Dick (9e) - need I say more?

8. Moonshiner (11e) - it's a bar hidden inside a FREEZER!

9. Les Petits Crus (11e) - wine bar

10. Rosebud (14e) - 20s/30s jazz bar in Montparnasse

11. Terrass (18e) - for the VIEW (another rooftop bar)

12. La Commune (20e) - a punch bar in Belleville

*13. Le Très Particulier (18e) - a hidden bar in Hôtel Particulier

14. Le Baron Rouge (12e) - wine bar

15. Le Perchoir (11e) - for the view? No sign; walk inside the courtyard, then take the elevator to the top floor.

16. Le Pavillon des Cannaux (19e) - you can sit inside a bathtub and that's all I need to know.

17. Frenchie Bar à Vins (2e) sister of famous Frenchie restaurant and easier to get into, perhaps

18. Le Fou (2e) chic cocktail bar

19. Au Petit Fer à Cheval (4e) tiny with a horseshoe shaped bar - must see in person

20. Le 43 (6e) for the views!! On top of a Holiday Inn of all things.

21. Le Marilyn (11e) - as in MONROE

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For more reading

Messy Nessy Chic, author of "Don't Be a Tourist in Paris" (offbeat and secret Paris)

Paris by Mouth guide to French restaurants - in English

Anthony Bourdain's guide to Paris

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Shopping

Stores I like:

1. for jewelry - White Bird (3 stores)

2. for gifts - Buly 1803 (2 stores) - You can have the soaps engraved with someone's initials. And yes, this French brand has been around since 1803.

3. Le Bon Marche (7e) - beautiful dept. store. My favorite floors are lingerie and books/stationery. This might be what heaven looks like.

4. Chanel (1er)- the original first store CC opened in Paris. Her apartment is still above the store (but don't expect to see it). Even if you buy a lip balm they will handwrite a receipt and put it in a bag with a camelia pinned to it.

5. A. Simon (2e) for kitchen stuff. Once I bought a beautiful, very heavy copper pot for Judd and dragged it home in my carry-on luggage. But did he appreciate it?? Not as much as I would've hoped. [Update: he appreciates it now, many years later.] Another famous cookware store is E. Dehillerin (1er).

6. BHV (4e) - a department store known for carrying EVERYthing

Want to try:

1. Didier Ludot (1er) for vintage clothes/accessories

2. Sabbia Rosa (6e) - very $$$$ lingerie that you can't buy online

3. Galeries Lafayette (6e) - another dept. store but I don't want to shop here - I want to go to the roof which has a great view of Paris

4. Thanx God I'm a V.I.P. (10e) - more vintage

5. Marché aux puces AKA the flea markets !!

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Museums and landmarks

1. Eiffel Tower It never gets old. The best ground-level view is from Place du Trocadéro (16 e). Take the 6 or 9 Métro to the Trocadéro stop. I like seeing it in the evening, when it twinkles periodically.

2. Louvre and Musee D'Orsay Never have I gone to Paris and thought, I want to spend an entire day in a huge museum bumping elbows with other tourists, and thus, I haven't visited either of these famous museums. Also, I dislike impressionists (MD'O). But if forced, I'd take a private skip-the-line tour.

3. I like quirky little museums. I want to see the Museum of Smoking, cuz. . . only in Paris.

4.Sacré-Cœur TOO TOURISTY but I guess it has to be done.

5. Palais-Royal (1er) - this is the place with the black and white columns (an art installation) in front. Instagramable AF.

6. Place des Victoires (1er) always takes my breath away

7. Le Pont Neuf (1er) - the oldest bridge in Paris

8. Hôtel de Ville AKA City Hall (4e). There's a carousel in front!

9. Jardin des Tuileries (1er) Who cares.

10. Place des Vosges (3e) - the oldest square in Paris, est. 1605

11. L'Arc de Triomphe (8e)

A good way to see much of Paris is to take a Bateaux Mouches through the Seine.

I also want to do one of these motorcycle tours!

Want to see:

Promenade Plantée - the model for NYC's High Line. Three miles, 12e. Free.

Climb the 300 steps of Tour Saint-Jacques (4e) for views of Paris. Buy tickets here.

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Parks, cemeteries and sporty things (yuck)

Pere Lachaise - 20e. Jim Morrison is buried here.

Cimetière de Montmartre - 18e. I was promised cats! But I did not see any. : (

Cimetière du Montparnasse  -14e.  The grave of Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir is covered in lipstick kisses.

Paris has a Citibike-like program called Vélib’. Maybe if you download the app you can buy tickets on it. (They have single ride tickets and day passes, per their website.)

Parc des Buttes Chaumont - 19e, see my photo below

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Basics

Arrondissements

The City of Paris is made of 20 arrondissements, or districts, which start with the first in the center and spiral outward clockwise. See the cute map below. “Arrondissement” is often abbreviated as “eme” or “e,” for example 2eme or 2e. The districts also go by various names; 3e and 4e are the Marais, the 11th is called Republic, Bastille, Oberkampf, etc.

Tip: All Paris zip codes start with 75. You can tell which arrondissement something is in by looking at the last two digits of the zip code. For example,  80 Rue de Charonne, 75011 is in 11e.

Rive Droite, Rive Gauche 

The Seine River divides Paris. The part of the city north of the river is called the Right Bank (Rive Droite). The part of the city south of the river is called the Left Bank (Rive Gauche). 

More about each neighborhood

Getting around

Walk. RER. Paris Metro is easy - easier than NYC! More on this later.

Don’t be that American.  

Always say Bonjour/Au Revoir when entering/exiting shops. Speak in a soft voice indoors.

Apps to download

Covid

You will need a French Covid Pass which you can apply for at the site below. You’ll need to upload copies of your passport, vaccination card and plane ticket. There are English instructions.

https://www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/passe-sanitaire-etrangers?locale=en

General information (in English):

https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/coronavirus-covid-19

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Where to stay

Hotels

Advantages: sometimes includes breakfast, glamour (?), more privacy if you have your own room, more ethical & dependable than Airbnb

Must check to see if these hotels have rooms with two twins.

Hotel Bachaumont (2e) - they have the best breakfast

Never tried:

Hôtel du Sentier (2e) - I think I want to stay here most but it’s $$$. A single room is about $300 per night. A double room is about $500 per night.

Then again maybe Seven Hotel - get room 505 for the balcony & the view. Basic rooms are under $200/night.

Amastan (8e)-  A room with one queen and two twin beds, breakfast not included, would be about $1800 for 5 nights. A room with one queen and a balcony is about $1500.

Hotel National des Arts et Metiers (3e) - i like the roof.

Babel in Belleville (20e - not central Paris) - nice rooms, less expensive

Hotel Rochechouart (9e) - art deco hotel in Montmartre. INTERESTED. Under $200/night

Hotel Botaniste  (16e) - Parisian friend recommended. Has a garden. Under $200/night in fall

Apartment rentals

Advantages: living room to hang out in, sometimes a terrace, can keep food and drinks, live more like a local, usually less expensive than hotel, might have washer/dryer

We stayed here, a lofty apartment in a private courtyard in the 11th and we LOVED it. Alas, it’s not big enough for a large group.

Four bed flat in Montorgueil (2e) via Airbnb, $350/night - 6 NIGHT MINIMUM. One set of bunkbeds. $87.50 pp per night

Three beds + sofa bed in the Marais via Airbnb, $500+/night

Four bedrooms in Republique (11e) via Haven In,  $4200 for 5 nights = $210 pp per night

Sleek 3 bedroom in 1st - 2 king size beds, 2 twin. About $1K night/total

Hybrid

TINAH, 10e (scroll to bottom of page to book - don’t use the red book now button). 4 bedroom. About $1000 each for 5 nights.

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What to eat

1. Most Parisian restaurants are closed Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays or a combination therein. So if you land on one of those days, go to Breizh Café (there are a few locations) which specializes in crepes. You can reserve a table online, the website and menu are in French and English, and their crepes are SO GOOD.

2. A lot of the cool new restaurants are in 11e, like Clamato

3. Chez Georges in 2e is cozy AF and is my favorite French restaurant (really a bistro).  Salad below.

4. You really can’t go wrong with any pastry shop. I favor a pastry called the Paris-Brest. Here’s picture of one I had at Le Bistrot Paul Bert.

  That said, would like to try Du Pain et des Idées in 10e.

5. ATTENTION JULIA Let’s try the hottest restaurant in Paris. I’ve been to their sister restaurant, Trois Fois Plus de Piment, but this one has a bigger menu.

6. Want to try these Middle Eastern restaurants: Balagan (1er), the probably overrated L'As du Falafel (4e), Miznon (4e), Chez Bob de Tunis (9e)

7.Went and liked: Canderia - Mexican

8. Oysters? Le Baron Rouge (12e), Juste (9e),  Huitrerie Régis (6e),  Le Mary Céleste (3e),  L’Ecailler du Bistrot (11e)

9. CHEESE La Fermette (2e) - try 30 month-old Comté

10. Marché des Enfants Rouges (3e) covered market est. in 1600s

11. The tastiest pizza in Paris

12. Maybe a wine and cheese tasting at Paroles de Fromagers (10e)?