I was once told by an American living in London that the best part about living in London is Paris. While it's true that for a design lover living in London is amazing, even better is being able to hop on a 2-hour train ride to Paris. Here are just a few places that make this city a design mecca.
See
• Musee d'Orsay: Across the Seine from the Louvre is this museum built inside the old Orsay railway station — the building itself is a thing of beauty.
• Musee Rodin: The perfect place to stroll through picturesque gardens on a sunny day and marvel at some of Rodin's finest creations.
• Grand Palais: There is always a great art exhibition on view in one of Paris' most palatial buildings.
• Musuem of Decorative Arts: Located on the famous Rue de Rivoli. This summer's exhibition comparing Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton is currently one of the most popular shows in Paris.
Tour
• Le Marais: Quaint, narrow streets make this neighborhood, with its its numerous art galleries and design shops, the perfect walking destination. The Picasso Museum is also located in the Marais, but unfortunately is closed this summer for renovation.
• Marche aux Puces: Every Saturday and Sunday antique furniture and objects fill stalls manned by Parisian characters.
• Jardin du Luxembourg: One of hundreds of gorgeous gardens that make you forget about the grime of city life.
• Montmartre: This neighborhood surrounds the hill of the Basilica Sacre-Coeur. Climb to the top of Sacre-Coeur for sweeping views of the city, and explore the streets where Moulin Rouge was set. Although this neighborhood can feel like a tourist trap, there are many unique shops and restaurants still to be found.
Shop
• Merci: A design concept store where trends are born and shopping is philanthropic. The profits from this shop are donated to charity, so definitely stop in when you see the famous red car out in front.
• Diptyque: Legendary purveyors of fragrances and candles well-known for their creative use of typography in their packaging.
• Colette: A fashion concept store with a cult following.
• Mariage Freres: A tea emporium with hundreds of blends from around the world lining the walls.
• Patrick Roger: Famous turquoise boxes are filled with some of the finest chocolates that Paris has to offer.
• Pierre Hermes: A macaron shop unlike any other with creations such as vanilla and basil or green tea, chanterelle mushroom, and lemon.
Eat
• Market: Stop in for a lengthy lunch of small plates to really appreciate the various contemporary dishes this Jean Georges restaurant has to offer.
• Benoit: This is a classic French fine dining experience where the escargot and the meille feuille are not to be missed. They recently celebrated their 100th anniversary, so this place is here to stay.
• Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots: Both of these cafes are a part of the Paris that you imagine. Pop in any time day or night for a snack and some amazing people watching in the fashionable 6th Arrondisement St. Germain.
• Relais de L'Entrecote: Famous steak frites that are worth the wait in line, and a meal that will fit in with most travel budgets as well.
• Mon Vieil Ami: This restaurant will fast become your old friend for its innovative menu and modern interiors.
Stay
• Hotel Montalembert: Amazing customer service, which can be hard to find as an American in Paris, located in the heart of Saint-Germain.
• La Tour D'Auvergne, located in the Opera district, is a boutique hotel filled with eclectic furnishings. You may end up sleeping under the hood of a Fiat, as pictured above.
• Kube Hotel is perfect if you are popping into Paris via the Eurostar, as it is a 5 minute walk from Gare du Nord. You aren't forfeiting style for convenience, however, as surfaces are made up of sleek Plexiglass and stainless steel.
• Hotel des Academies et des Arts: A luxury boutique hotel combining modern and classic designs and dedicating itself to the creative arts through the promotion of local artists and exhibitions.
(Images: 1, 2, 4, 6. Claire Bock, 3. Shutterstock, 5. Shutterstock )
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No Versailles on this list?
Well, i'm french and i work in Paris. You should forget the Relais de l'entrecôte. It's overrated. And expensive. Instead, you may eat at Le timbre where an english chef cooks french typical cuisine for about 30€.
And you forgot Le Musée du Louvre. Shaaaame on you!!!
Well, Versailles is outside of Paris, so that makes sense to me. The Louvre was a bit overwhelming to me, my favorite, also NOT on this list was the Pompidou Centre. Check that out!
The museum of modern art at the Pompidou Centre is amazing. Also, I could watch the fountain nearby for hours - don't know what it's called. The fountain with the lips.
When I come back from Paris I always feel as if I'm full to overflowing with art. I just want to paint things and sculpt things and listen to music.
Also, in an entirely prosaic vein, the best office supplies in the world are in France at any good stationers. Folders in every color, index cards with quadrille squares instead of lines and also in every size and color, notebooks, pens etc.
I just came back from Paris. The palace tour of Versailles was really awful. People were packed in wall-to-wall with zero space to move and everyone just had to shuffle with the crowd from room to room without a chance to look at anything. The gardens were great though.
Musee d'Orsay was my favorite. By the time we got to the modern art museum at Centre Pompidou I was starting to get art overload, but the view of the city and Montmartre from the 6th floor is really nice.
Don't forget The Collection in the Marais http://www.thecollection.fr/fr/ or Colette http://www.colette.fr/
@dulcibella the fountain is called "Fontaine Kandinsky" and was made by artists Nikki de Saint-Phalle and Jean Tinguély.
For lovely food at a reasonable price go to the "Sans culotte" at Bastille, last night I had avocado wrapped in smoked salmon topped with a ball of lime sorbet. Divine.
Also check out the "Marché aux enfants rouges", a covered market where most food stalls have a couple of tables for sit-down meals and the food is excellent.
I'll be sure to visit Merci this weekend! sounds fab!
That's Pierre Hermé, not Hermes. It's a shame Versailles gets forgotten, I live in Versailles and it is a beautiful city! Le Potager du Roi, le Marché Notre-Dame, le quartier des Antiquaires, Saint-Louis. Most of the tourists miss the surroundings of the Château.
How about the Marché aux puces at Clignancourt? And my two favorite museums in Paris/the world are the Musée Carnavalet and the Musée Nissim de Camondo. Small and manageable and totally gorgeous.
Don't forget the Puces de St-Ouen, a well-known place full of antiques and 20th century design pieces.
Foodwise, if you want to see a real Parisian bistrot, have lunch at "Le temps des cerises" near Bastille/Le Marais, a typical small cafe that serves food and is crowded during lunch time so you get close with your neigbours, and it's so good, so nice, so french and so real.. (and it's classified monument) http://www.paris-meconnu.fr/arrondissements/4eme/lieux/le-temps-des-cerises-2.htm
I am parisian but have been living in London for 6 years now, when I need a dose of Paris I have lunch there, and also I go to see the indutrial/weird antics near Metro Parmentier around rue Ternaux (19, LA CHOSE) and rue du marche Popincourt (24, Pudding ; 1, Alasainglinglin ; 5, Belle Lurette ; 3 Recycling) et rue Neuve Popincourt. I aslo check this shop near Oberkampf http://www.lescurieuses.com/ok.htm
So many things to see there for design lovers!
When I lived in Paris as a student, we found the Rue Mouffetard near the Panthéon to be one of the best streets for good food with great prix fixe menus and a bit of flea and farmer market activities too. Also the indispensable tool for Parisians and tourists is the Plan de Paris par Arrondissement (now available in English!). It has metro stops, information about each arrondissment, etc. and I still have mine from 1983! www.amazon.com/Plan-Paris-par-Arrondissement-Multilingual/dp/0785991824
A great design museum is the Cite de l'architecture & du Patrimoine in the Chaillot across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. It has amazing replicas of everything from Romanesque cathedral friezes to Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation.