An enjoyable trip to Paris – some recommendations

Someone recently asked us the question:

Do you have any good recommendations for Paris? Restaurants that are good but not necessarily luxurious, nice place to visit, museums that one might not think of…?

We should, shouldn’t we? So we sat down and gave it a thought. Since the people who asked the question would be staying in the eastern part of Paris we focused a bit (but not exclusively) on that side. So here are a few short Paris recommendations:

– Bercy (Paris 12), both the park and Le Village de Bercy. You can get there with the metro line 14 – a train with no driver! this is the old wine trading and wine storage quartier and they have kept some of that sprit: there is a real vineyard in the park, some nice restaurants and a wine shop in Le Village.

– The area around Canal St Martin (Paris 10): lots of atmosphere around the canal, plenty of small cafés and restaurants, especially towards Place de la République.

– Marché Aligre (Paris 12): one of Paris’ most fantastic food markets, with the restaurant la Gazetta and the wine bar Le Baron Rouge (very original). Close to the Gare de Lyon.

– Around Place de la Bastille and Le Marais (Paris 3 & 4): lots of atmosphere, old 17^th century buildings, many small shops and restaurants

– Brasserie Bofinger (close to Place de la République): one of the big, “classic” brasseries in Paris, and why not also:

– Restaurant le Train Bleu at the Gare de Lyon (Paris 12), actually inside the train station. Spectacular turn of the century (19^th!) interior. You can just have a coffee or a drink in the bar if you don’t want to eat.

– Gallerie Lafayette Gourmet (part of Gallerie Lafayette): Don’t miss the wine department with the special section with Bordeaux wines (Paris 9)

– Lavinia – Restaurant et Bar à Vin (Paris 1): Not to be missed by a wine lover. Wine shop with Paris’ biggest selection of wines and a wine bar and restaurant (only lunch).

– Legrand Filles et Fils, Boutique Vins Epicerie Fine (Espace Dégustation, 1, rue de la Banque, 75002 Paris, ph 01 42 60 07 12): an excellent wine shop where you also can have a bite to eat or a glass in the wine bar.

– Cave Augé (115 boulevard Haussmann, Paris 8): A wine shop with a long history (since 1850), very interesting selection and personal service.

– L’Angle du Faubourg (195, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, ph 01 40 74 20 20): Quite upmarket and chic café-brasserie with one star in the Guide Rouge Michelin guide. On the luxurious side but good value for both wine and food for what you get.

– Au Vieux Comptoir, Bar à vins – Restaurant (17, rue des Lavandières-Saint-Oppurtune, Paris 1, ph 01 45 08 53 08): A popular restaurant on a side street to Rue Rivoli. Good atmosphere and friendly staff (important!). At lunch time you can have today’s special for 14 euro.

– The area around Rue Montorgueil (Paris 2, near Les Halles): many interesting food shops, kitchen utensil shops, restaurants and cafés.

– Galerie-Musée Baccarat (Place des Etats-Unis, Paris 16) : A famous French glass manufacturer with a very original museum/gallery. If you want to go luxurious you can have lunch or dinner in their restaurant.

You can find more recommendations here: see the menu Reviews > Restaurants & Wine Bars > France > Paris

This is of course not an attempt to give you all interesting things there are to do in Paris, just a somewhat random selection. There are many, many more exciting things to do and to discover in Paris!

What would you add to the list? Write a comment!