With so many options, deciding what to do in Paris can be a challenge. Many of us, when visiting the city, look for an insider’s guide to Paris, featuring the city’s best hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, attractions and things to do. Spending so much of his time there, Timothy Corrigan reveals his favorite spots in the City of Light. Corrigan’s extensive guide will take you across the city in style, revealing centuries-old staples and brandnew spots.
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Le Grand Véfour
7 rue de Beaujolais
Opened in 1784 (as the Café de Chartres), this is one of the oldest and most historic restaurants in Paris.
Restaurant Guy Savoy
Monnaie de Paris, 11 Quai de Conti
Fine dining reaches its peak at Restaurant Guy Savoy, featuring delicate, acclaimed French masterpieces created by the famed chef. The Michelin two star restaurant is located in the Augustus Tower, near Qua spa and the wedding chapels.
Musée Cognacq-Jay
8 Rue Elzevir
The museum was fully renovated in 2015, with input from the fashion designer Christian Lacroix. This cosy museum houses a collection put together in the early 1900s by La Samaritaine founder Ernest Cognacq and his wife Marie-Louise Jay. Pictures are displayed in panelled rooms with furniture, porcelain, tapestries and sculpture of the same period.
Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
62 rue des Archives
A two-year overhaul turned the three-floor hunting museum from a musty old-timer into something really rather special. When it reopened in 2007, it had kept the basic layout and proportions of the two adjoining 17th-century mansions it occupies, but many of its new exhibits and settings seem more suited to an art gallery than a museum.
Moissonnier
52 rue de l’Université
One of France’s most venerable furniture companies, Moissonnier presents fresh and modern takes on classic styles in its chic shop set in the fashionable Left Bank antiques district.
Le Bon Marché
24 Rue de Sèvres
The city’s oldest department store, opened in 1848, is also its most swish and user-friendly, thanks to an extensive redesign by LVMH. Luxury boutiques, Dior and Chanel among them, take pride of place on the ground floor; escalators designed by Andrée Putman take you up to the fashion floor, which has an excellent selection of global designer labels, from Lanvin to Claudie Pierlot.
Henri Pelazzo’s Pelazzo-Lexcellent Antiquités
Marché Serpette, 110 rue des Rosiers
Go to Henri Pelazzo’s Pelazzo-Lexcellent Antiquités in the flea market, where you can always find an eclectic mix of 20th-century furnishings and antiques, perfect for creating a fresh look for today.
Seine River
Port de la Conférence, Pont de l’Alma
As touristy as it may seem, nothing beats a sunset cruise on the Seine. The vantage point of the city from the river can’t be beat, especially once the lights go on.
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