09:00Paris has finally caught the Third Wave coffee movement so there are now a handful of good coffee places selling great quality beverages – albeit at a price. Our hands-down favourite is the friendly Telescope near the Louvre Rivoli where a coffee will fortify you for a chic shopping spree …
A. Telescope Cafe
5 Rue Villedo 75001 Paris, France
+33 1 42 61 33 14
11:00Despite the plethora of tour buses the Opera area – think the Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries – remains grand and quite magical. The backstreets around rue St Honore and Palais Royal are the perfect location to find a chic souvenir or gift for your host …
B. Kitsune
Palais Royal
52 rue de Richelieu
75001 Paris
Tel: +33 1 40 15 09 71
12:00Designed by those architectural wizz-kids Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers in the heady days of 1977 the Pompidou Centre of modern art has somehow stood the test of time without losing any of its eccentricity …
C. Centre Pompidou
19 Rue Beaubourg,
75004 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 44 78 47 99
13:00This small but immensely popular and *bobo-friendly market near Republique has a great selection of reasonably priced, open air food stalls: roast chicken, Japanese bento boxes and delicious couscous. Tip: Aim to arrive by 12:30 or be prepared to queue, especially on weekends. (Nb: ‘Bobo’=’bourgeois bohemian’.) …
D. Marche des Enfants Rouge
39 Rue de Bretagne
75003 Paris
Closed Monday
14:00The old Jewish quarter of the Marais turned into a gay enclave around the 80’s which attracted the bohemian crowd in the 90’s. Today gentrification rules but the Marais remains a lovely place for a Parisian stroll even if it’s mental on the weekend. Don’t miss the Place des Vosges …
E. Institut Suédois
11 rue Payenne
75003 Paris
Tel: + 33 1 44 78 80 20
16:00Just an hour from Paris you’ll find a most photogenic masterpiece of the international style: Villa Savoye. The ‘box in the air’ was designed by the Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier and built between 1928 and 1931 for his wealthy and forward-thinking clients, the Savoye family …
E. Villa Savoye
82 Rue de Villiers,
78300 Poissy
17:30Chill out at a traditional hammam. This impressive steam bath and lovely Arabic tea-room adjoins the 1930’s era mosque built for the Muslim community of Paris in recognition of their contribution to France in WW1 …
F. La Mosquée de Paris
39 rue Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire
75 005 Paris
Tel: +33 1 43 31 38 20
19:00Contemporary art afficionados visiting Paris should go to the newly renovated Palais de Tokyo – which is as enjoyable for the often cryptic art it showcases as for the building’s architecture itself. Designed by architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, it’s conceived as a bit as a art ‘hub’ so …
G. Palais de Tokyo
13 avenue du Président-Wilson
75016 Paris
Closed on Tuesdays.
19:00In summer pretty much any Parisian terrace is great for sipping an apero of cold champagne, cheap and cheerful kir or a slug of Pastis. But for cocktail drinking with intent: the most ‘ hypesque’ option for apero in Paris is Le Mary Celeste …
H. Le Mary Celeste
1, Rue Commines
75003 Paris
21:00I know we’ll offend a few here but we think good restaurants in Paris are surprisingly hard to come by – unless you are happy with a steak frites that is! It takes some work to find a place with ‘the tri-factor’: food prepared with love + friendly service + …
I. Le Dauphin
131 Avenue Parmentier
75011 Paris
Tel: +33 1 55 28 78 88
23:00La Perle: an innocuous-looking 70’s bistro has somehow become the hottest drinking haunt in Le Marais. Cheap and cheerful, the crowd makes good drinking company – art students, international hipsters and the odd fashionista – Galliano was a regular before his infamous rant here …
J. La Perle
78 rue Vieille Du Temple
75003 Paris
01:00Paris’s hipster crowd heads to the Social Club, the more casual (and accessible) sister club of the tres-hype Silencio of the David Lynch pedigree. The Social Club also does openings and events of all types – so check the program before heading over …
K. Social Club
142 rue Montmartre
Paris 75002
Tel: +33 6 84 80 99 40