Paris in Love (64 page)

Musée Carnavalet
. This is the museum of Paris. It can be summed up as a lot of separate rooms full of furniture that were bought outright and stuck into a jumbled-up museum. As that description implies, Carnavalet doesn’t really belong on a list of small museums; after a while, you might find yourself staggering with exhaustion. So don’t get encyclopedic; just take a look at the rooms devoted to the reigns of Kings Louis XV and XVI. 23 rue de Sévigné.
www.carnavalet.paris.fr

In the Marais
. I am putting together a list of a few places in the Marais because so often people don’t have a week—let alone a year—to enjoy Paris. If you have only twenty-four hours, the Marais is a good place to go; a plus is that the stores are open on Sundays.

Brunch at
Des Gars dans la Cuisine
. You must have a reservation. Try to sit in the window and watch everyone prancing by. 72 rue Vieille-du-Temple.
www.desgarsdanslacuisine.com

Ironically enough, my favorite store in the Marais,
Noriem
, is Japanese. They make incredible crinkled-fabric coats that you can sling over anything and always look elegant—plus they’re machine-washable and never crease (because they’re already creased). Expensive, but worth every penny. 27 rue Vieille-du-Temple in the Marais; they have another address as well, 4 rue du Pas-de-la-Mule.
www.noriem.fr

Joséphine Vannier
. A fabulous creator of
“chocolat artisanal”
—chocolate shaped like shoes or made into fabulous keepsake boxes (for eating). 4 rue du Pas-de-la-Mule.
www.chocolats-vannier.com

Breizh Café Crêperie
. You can’t leave Paris without eating a crepe (or many); the best place we went to for crepes was Breizh Café. True, the waiters were dressed in striped “Breton” shirts that gave it an Epcot feel, but the crepes are terrific. 109 rue Vieille-du-Temple.
www.breizhcafe.com

Amorino
. Alessandro, like all Italians, is an ice-cream snob. He used to howl when we lived in New Jersey because my favorite flavor is Baskin-Robbins Rocky Road (so shoot me: I love it). After much experimentation, he decided that Amorino had the best gelato in Paris. They also make bonbons. You choose the colors: say, an assortment of four different shapes of purple candies packed in a violet-colored box with a cherub on top. The lines are formidable, but it’s worth it. 31 rue Vieille-du-Temple.
www.amorino.com

Dominique Denaive
. I discovered this little jewelry store by wandering in from the street. It’s unique and rather fabulous—she makes all her pieces from resin, shaping bracelets and necklaces in bright colors. I have a bright blue necklace with silver accents. This is a great place to buy a present; they package your purchase in a little velvet drawstring bag. 7 rue du 29 Juillet (very close to the Louvre).
www.denaive.com

Maroquinerie Saint-Honoré/B. Biberon & Fils
. This store is on rue Saint-Honoré, which means that it nestles right among some staggeringly expensive boutiques. At any rate, this one is quite different: loads of bags in every shape and color, very reasonably priced. I bought a hot pink bag that converts to a backpack; now I use it for walking through Central Park. 334 rue Saint-Honoré.

Hôtel Drouot
. This is one of France’s great auction houses—and much more fun than Christie’s, because its items are often affordable (my favorites: boxes that they open on the spot, with bidders pawing at the books and screaming their bids). To actually buy something you need two days, because you have to go to the showing one day and bid on the next. I think it’s much more fun than the flea markets. 9 rue Drouot.
www.drouot.com

Afterward, have lunch at
J’Go Drouot
. The restaurant is full of seasoned auction dealers, so it’s fun to overhear conversations (if you understand French); the cassoulet is excellent. 4 rue Drouot.
www.lejgo.com

Käramell
. A lovely bonbon shop, featuring Scandinavian candy. 15 rue des Martyrs.
www.karamell.fr

Café de la Paix
. This looks like one of those ubiquitous boxed-in-with-glass places, but it’s really splendid inside, and the hot chocolate is amazing. Avoid the glass box and head into the hotel itself. You can order from the menu at Le Bar du Grand Hotel while sprawled in deep, soft chairs. Sit for a while resting your feet and admiring the domed glass ceiling. Mind you, it costs almost twenty euros for a couple of Oranginas. 5 place de l’Opéra.
www.cafedelapaix.fr

Rose Bakery
. This is a lovely little bakery that serves excellent quiche—a good place to meet someone for lunch or coffee. They have two locations, at 46 rue des Martyrs in the 9th and 30 rue Debelleyme in the 3rd.

Mariage Frères: Maison de Thé à Paris
. There are various locations around Paris, one in the Marais (30–32–35 rue du Bourg-Tibourg) and another at 17 place de la Madeleine. They were founded in 1854, and still measure out your tea on a brass scale. Go pick out a crazy-named tea—Golden Monkey King or Moon Palace—and take it home to enjoy. This was the shop at which we bought my father Thé des Poètes Solitaires.
www.mariagefreres.com

Le Bistrot du Peintre
. This is a little bistro recommended by Florent, who takes his dates here. I had duck the first time, and it was so good I had precisely the same thing the second. 116 avenue Ledru-Rollin.
www.bistrotdupeintre.com

Ladurée
. If you’re going to eat at Ladurée on the Champs-Élysées, call and make sure that your reservation is for upstairs—downstairs, particularly the glassed-in part, is shabby and disappointing. But upstairs you can pretend you’re French royalty. Strangely enough (given that they are famous for their madeleines), the food is better than the desserts—except those madeleines, which are fabulous. 16 rue Royale.
www.laduree.fr

À la Mère de Famille
. A wonderful bonbon store. 35 rue du Faubourg-Montmartre.
www.lameredefamille.com

Autour du Saumon
. These little salmon shops/restaurants are all over the city. We went to 56 rue des Martyrs, in the 9th. They have ten kinds of salmon—who knew? If you happen to have a kitchen in Paris, buy their table scraps and make pasta sauce.
www.autourdusaumon.eu

Les Petites Chocolatières
. This little store sells chocolate, but they also sell fantastic salted caramels. They have two locations, 37 rue des Martyrs, and 20 rue Cler.
www.lespetiteschocolatieres.com

La Fourmi Ailée
. A bistro near Notre-Dame with a charming blue front. It used to be a feminist library, and it’s still lined with books. We had trouble finding restaurants around Notre-Dame that could admit a wheelchair (many of them are actually below street level, so you go down a few steps). If you’re in need of disabled access, this one is great. I had a salad, and truly spectacular sorbet. 8 rue du Fouarre, Saint-Michel.

Saveurs & Coïncidences
. A brilliant new restaurant started by a young chef who apparently semifinaled in a nationwide culinary competition (I assume at a much higher level than
Hell’s Kitchen
). 6 rue de Trévise.
www.saveursetcoincidences.com

And finally, just in case you venture out of Paris in the direction of the castles, don’t miss
La Chocolatière Royale
in Orléans. It was the preferred chocolate maker to the monarchy before the revolution. You can buy a perfect rose in chocolate, or chocolate coins stamped with Joan of Arc’s picture. 51 rue Royale, Orléans.
www.lachocolatiere45.com

For lingerie, I suggest you go to
Galeries Lafayette
and try on a load of different bras before you find the perfect label for your shape. For me, it turned out to be
Aubade
, which sells its fantastic (and fantastically expensive) bras on 33 rue des Francs-Bourgeois.
www.aubade.com

Réciproque
. Réciproque is a huge consignment retailer, divided into six different stores by type of clothing (women’s, men’s, etc.). I think the key to success here is not to get fixated on wanting something in particular—e.g., a Dior suit—because they are sure not to fit. If you find something wonderful, that’s great, but it’s almost as much fun just to browse through racks and racks of designer French clothing. 89, 92, 93, 95, 97, 101 rue de la Pompe.
www.reciproque.fr

AM Studio
. This is a bright and tiny store selling really reasonably priced clothing: brightly colored dresses and chic bags. I
bought a pair of bright red lace-up Victorian-style boots for 130 euros. 85 boulevard Beaumarchais.

Goyard
made the bag that I trailed a woman up an escalator to see. Their bags are magnificent, and the Goyard logo on the outside is hand-painted. 233 rue Saint-Honoré.
www.goyard.com

BHV
is good for all sorts of things, from children’s clothing to hammers or linens. It’s the Macy’s of Paris and well worth exploring. Plus, they have a somewhat utilitarian but very reasonably priced cafeteria where retired people happily eat their lunches. Very good for kids. 55 rue de la Verrerie. You can easily walk to the Marais from BHV.
www.bhv.fr

Parapluies Simon
. This is an intoxicating umbrella store. Alessandro bought me a present here: a pink umbrella edged with three rows of ruffled polka-dot silk (the Minnie Mouse umbrella came from a clothing store). I feel like Julie Andrews with it, as if I might stroll into a painting and have tea with penguins, à la
Mary Poppins
. 56 boulevard Saint-Michel.
www.parapluies-simon.com

Commelin
. If you happen to have a charm bracelet (or know someone who does), this is the place to come, since they’ve been making charms since 1880, and you can actually see the artisans at work. The workshop is at 39 rue des Francs-Bourgeois. It says on the website that you’re supposed to have an appointment, but we just showed up.
www.bijouxcommelin.com

For hair emergencies (and simply great cuts and color from someone who speaks English), go to
StylePixie Salon
. They’re a bit tricky to find, but they give you clear directions. 2 rue Edouard-Vasseur.
www.stylepixiesalon.com

E
LOISA
J
AMES
(aka Mary Bly) is a Shakespeare professor at Fordham University in New York City and a
New York Times
bestselling author of historical romance novels. Visit the author’s websites at
www.parisinlovebook.com
and
www.eloisajames.com
.