PARIS

We frequently travel through Paris and thought visitors to this site might be interested in our recommendations.

PARIS RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS [by district]

Bastille

LA MAIN D’OR 133, rue de Faubourg St. Antoine, 11e Tel. [0033] (0)1 44 68 04 68.
Corsican place, meaty stews and pasta, in a newly chic area. Good if you’re in the area, and it’s cold.

LE BISTROT DU PEINTRE 116, av. Ledru-Rolin, 11e Tel. (if in Paris) 01 47 00 34 39.
Near Bastille, pretty art nouveau décor, cheap, good.

CHEZ PAUL 13, rue de Charonne, 11e. Tel. 01 47 00 34 57.
In the Bastille area. Pictures on the wall, jolly, busy. Cheap and timeless (actually 77 years old); possibly best value in this arrondisement.

Champs-Élysées / Madeleine

LE BRISTOL in Hotel Bristol, 112, rue du Faubourg St. Honoré, 8e Tel. 01 53 43 43 40.
Faultless service in an elegant and beautiful, panelled, oval interior - not as flamboyant as some of the other great Parisian restaurants but classical dining at its restrained best. £100 a head with a posh bottle (nothing else available or appropriate).

LE RELAIS DE L’ENTRECOTE 15, rue Marbeuf, 8e Tel. 01 49 52 07 17.
Off Champs-Elysées. Busy; best steak restaurant. Two sittings. Starter is always the same - excellent salad; and the steak comes with their own piquante sauce. Very good, but not really a place to linger over dinner. Before or after theatre/cinema place.

Gare de Lyon

LE TRAIN BLEU Gare de Lyon, 12e. Tel. 01 43 43 09 06.
Justly famous and beautiful fin de siècle restaurant. On first floor. High ceiling, windows, feeling of space and light, plus beautiful, ornate Belle Époque decor. Built for Paris Exhibition of 1900.

LE SQUARE TROUSSEAU 1, rue Antoine Vollon, 12e. Tel. 01 43 43 06 00.
1940s traditional Parisian room, very nicely conserved. Excellent gigot and some international dishes. Good house wine. Medium price.

Gare du Nord

TERMINUS NORD 23, rue de Dunkerque, 10e. Tel. 01 42 85 05 15.
Bang opposite Gare du Nord. Trad 30s brasserie, reliable.

RESTAURANT DE LA GRILLE 80, rue Faubourg Poissonniere, 10e. Tel. 01 47 70 89 73.
A few minutes from the Gare du Nord. Good, small, old-fashioned, pretty, full of Frogs. Parrot chirps away.

CHEZ MICHEL 10, rue de Belzunce, 10e. Tel. 01 44 53 06 20.
Scruffy but pretty chandeliered, beamed, typically Parisian restaurant offering the ‘highest quality cooking at lowest possible prices’ (Times). True.

Ile de St. Louis

AUBERGE DE LA REINE BLANCHE 30, rue Saint-Louis, 4e. Tel. 01 46 33 07 87.
Cramped, cluttered, traditional cuisine, locals and some tourists, formidable Madame in charge. Good position, few minutes walk from Notre Dame. Medium price. Good food.

Invalides

LE BISTROT DE BRETEUIL 3, Place de Breteuil, 7e. Tel. 01 45 67 07 27.
At bottom of Avenue de Breteuil which runs down from Invalides. A 10 min walk. Popular local place – fussy decor – can’t see out of the windows for clutter, but nice, traditional, pink tablecloths. Very popular. Book in the glass-covered terrace. Prix fixe very good value, good service, noisy.

LE VAUBAN 7, Place Vauban, 7e. Tel. 01 47 05 52 67.
Bang opposite Invalides façade, a good place for lunch after seeing Napoleon’s tomb. Mostly locals, efficient if impersonal service, reliable. Local businessmen often eat crustaces at the bar. Modern but pleasant mirrored interior – spacious, light, pink tablecloths. Not really a dinner place.

THOUMIEUX 79, rue St. Dominique, 7e. Tel. 01 49 33 06 72.
Between Eiffel Tower and Invalides. Good, inexpensive, traditional, quite large, old place with long banquettes and mirrors

LA FONTAINE DE MARS 129, rue Saint-Dominique, 7e. Tel. 01 47 05 46 44.
Go on first floor. Authentic, slightly cramped family bistro, traditionally furnished.

CAFE DU MUSÉE 17, Boulevard des Invalides, 7e. Tel. 01 45 51 28 70.
Coffee bar opposite Invalides. On corner of rue de Varenne, which contains Rodin Museum. Rodin Museum also has excellent coffee /snack bar in its garden.

HOTEL DE FRANCE ** 102, Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg, 7e. Tel. 01 47 05 40 49 Fax. 00 33 1 45 56 96 78.
Get room on top floor overlooking Invalides. On quiet street. Specify bath not douche. Double room: 510 FF

DUQUESNE IFFEL HOTEL *** 23, Ave. Duquesne, 7e. Tel. 00 33 1 44 42 09 09 Fax. 00 33 1 45 55 54 76.
Nice bar/sitting area in foyer, but on quite a busy street. Specify bath. Double room 820 to 970 FF

HOTEL DE VARENNE ** 44, rue Bourgogne, 7e. Tel. 01 45 51 45 55 Fax. 01 45 51 86 63.
Small, inner courtyard, pleasant, simple, cheapish, no bar or restaurant, best to go out for breakfast. Good, interesting street with restaurants, patisseries etc. Arty area (close to D’Orsay).

Marais

LE PAMPHLET 38, rue Debelleyme, 4e. Tel. 01 42 72 39 24.
Plush, comfy, classical French cuisine, but good value. £20 for three courses without wine. Closed lunchtime Sat/Sun/Mon.

BOFINGER 5, rue Bastille, 4e. Tel. 01 42 72 87 82.
Busy – particularly at lunch – famous old (Belle Époque) brasserie, part of the chain that includes La Coupole and the Brasserie du Nord. Nice, restored interior and reliable brasserie fare.

BISTROT DU DOME 2, rue Bastille, 4e. Tel. 01 48 94 88 44.
Good fish restaurant, sister of the one in Montparnasse.

CAMILLE 24, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 4e. Tel. 01 42 72 20 50.
Excellent bistro. Good for lunch and dinner. Plain and simple, everyone takes the plats du jour on the blackboard. Full of locals.

LE RECONFORT 37, rue de Poitou, 3e. Tel. 01 42 76 06 36.
Havn’t been here myself but others say it’s good – about £20 per head.

LE ROYAL TURENNE 24, rue de Turenne, 4e. Tel. 01 42 72 04 53.
Attractive bar for after dinner games, and Cognac.

GRAND HOTEL MALHER ** 5, rue Mahler, 4e Tel. 01 42 72 60 92 Fax. 01 42 72 25 37.
Double room: 780 FF. Ask for top floor – level 6 – if going on inner courtyard, to get some light. Street facing rooms have small balconies. Nice bathrooms. Nice staff.

HOTEL SAINT-LOUIS MARAIS ** 1, rue Charles V, 4e. Tel. 01 48 87 87 04 Fax. 01 48 87 33 26.
There are 4 large, good double rooms with large bathrooms (120 Euros) in this old, quiet 2* hotel with no restaurant or bar. But other rooms are poky.

Montmartre

L’ENTRACTE 44, rue d’Orsel, Montmartre, 18e. Tel. 01 46 06 93 41.
Tiny, at the bottom of Montmartre. V. good, charming place. Must book. Only open Fri and Sat, lunch and dinner; and lunch only Sun., Mon., Tues. Madame cooks in a kitchen the size of a downstairs lavatory, which is even smaller and reached via the kitchen.

Montparnasse

L’O A LA BOUCHE 124 bvd du Montparnasse, 14e. Tel. 01 56 54 01 55.
Lunch is best at this good, cheap, busy Montparnasse bistro.

HOTEL LENOX *** 15, rue Delambre, 75014, 14e. Tel. 01 43 35 34 50 Fax. 01 43 20 46 64.
Good sized bedrooms and lounge and bar, light and pleasantly decorated.

LA COUPOLE 102 Blvd. Montparnasse, 14e. Tel. 01 43 20 14 20.
Famous 100-year-old trad. brasserie, much improved gastronomically. Delightful. Brisk service, particularly at lunch.

BISTROT DU DOME 1 rue Delambre, 14e. Tel. 0143 35 32 00.
Popular and excellent fish restaurant, sister of the one in the Marais.

Opéra/ Palais-Royale/ Louvre

L’ARDOISE 28, rue du Mont-Thabor, 1e. Tel. 01 42 96 28 18.
Excellent lunch place, almost the only reasonably priced restaurant in this fashionable and expensive area. A mixture of tourists and local hotel staff. £20 for three courses without wine. Closed Mon/Tues.

HOTEL DE NICE ** Rue de Rivoli, 1e. Tel. 01 43 54 03 46.
Good bedrooms in this pleasant B&B with terrific roof-top views of Paris from attic rooms.

GRAND VEFOUR 17, rue Beaujolais, 1e. Tel. 01 42 96 56 27.
18th C décor….grand, staggering interior, expensive, big, impressive. 2 Michelin rosettes.

Pantheon

LE VOLCAN 10, Rue Thouin, 5e. Tel. 01 46 33 38 33 www.restaurant-levolcan.fr. 50 metres from the hotel below, and a pleasant, unpretentious place to dine, with traditional, unfussy French cuisine. Good plats du jour, particularly their speciality of river fish. Good, attentive but not intrusive service.

HOTEL DES GRANDES ECOLES 75, Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 5e. Tel. 01 43 26 79 23; e-mail Hotel.Grandes.Ecoles@orange.fr / www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.fr
Regulars to this marvellous hotel around the corner from the Pantheon, near a charming square surrounded by cafes, will not be pleased to find it listed here - but it would be unfair to keep the secret. An 18th century house built around three sides of a pretty courtyard garden, it is wonderfully quiet. No frills, no TV, no mini-bar, a tiny breakfast room (best have it in your room) but the rooms are spacious and pretty and comfortable, with proper baths. Best rooms are 34 and 35 in the old annexe, on the first floor looking over the garden, across from the main hotel. Booking about 4 months before a visit is essential. Ask for rooms overlooking the garden, farthest from the road. Although there is little traffic the garden widens at this end and you profit most from its unique position.

Saint Germain

LA ROTISSERIE D’ENFACE 2, rue Christine, 6e. Tel. 01 43 26 40 98.
Good, quick, traditional and attractive.

AUX CHARPENTIERS 10, rue Mabillon, 6e. Tel. 01 43 26 30 05.
Owned by the Guild of Carpenters. Very popular, paper tablecloths, bright lights, locals and student types, pretty tiled and beamed interior.

BISTROT MAZARIN 42, rue Mazarin, 6e. Tel. 01 43 29 99 01.
Cheap, reliable and popular with local families.

Université

BRASSERIE BALZAR 49, rue des Ecoles, 5e. Tel. 01 43 54 13 67.
Opposite Musée de Cluny. Busy (particularly at lunch) and famous old brasserie, unchanged for 70 years. Patrons have petitioned new owner not to change or improve anything. Banquettes, mirrors, intellectual clientelle – who dress smartly.

BISTROT DE L’UNIVERSITÉ 40, rue de l’Université, 7e Tel. 01 42 61 26 64.
Good and cheap, arty/publishing types, service slowish.

AU BABYLONE 13, rue de Babylone, 7e. Tel. 01 45 48 72 13.
Amazing value (lunch only). Have to get there early – say 12.30. 12 Euros a head for a fabulous lunch. Can’t book.

ART NOUVEAU RESTAURANTS IN PARIS

Au Petit Riche, 25 rue le Peletier (16th).
www.aupetitriche.com/

Bistro de Paris, 33 rue de Lille (7th) .
Beautiful turn-of-the-century restaurant with excellent Lyonnaise food. Pianist.

Bouillon Racine, 3 rue Racine (6th).
www.bouillon-racine.com/

Chardenoux, 1 rue Jules Valles (11th).
www.bestrestaurantsparis.com/en/restaurant-paris/detail/chardenoux.html Beautiful interior, good food.

Chez Flottes, 2 rue Cambon (1st) 01 42 60 80 89.
Extensive menu, very good food, moderate prices, friendly.
www.flottes.fr/anglais.html.
Open daily. Continuous service 11a.m. midnight.

Gallopin, 40 rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires (2nd) 01 42 36 45 38.
www.brasseriegallopin.com/

Hotel Lutecia, 45 blvd Raspail (7th).
Several restaurants.

Julien, 16 rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis (10th) .
Magnificent 1900 decor.

Le Grand Colbert, 2-4 rue Vivienne (2nd).
Romantic. Very good food. Moderate prices. Featured in a Hollywood movie.

Les Noces de Jeannette, corner Favart & Amboise (2nd) 01 42 96 36 89.
http://www.lesnocesdejeannette.com/

Le Montparnasse 1900, 59 blvd Montparnasse (6th).
www.rest-gj.com/montparnasse.htm#
http://lartnouveau.com/restaurants/paris06/montparnasse1900.htm
Splendid Art Nouveau interior. Don't miss the ladies room. Across the street from Tour Montparnasse.

Le Petit Retro, 5 rue Mesnil (16th).
www.petitretro.fr/page1.html

Le Télégraphe, 41 rue de Lille (7th).
Glamorous Art Nouveau interior and magnificent bar (and garden in nice weather). Kosher. Best take a peep only, food indifferent.

Vagenende, 132 blvd St-Germain (6th) 01 42 25 10 10.
www.vagenende.fr/us/index.html
http://lartnouveau.com/restaurants/paris06/le_vagenende.htm
www.reservethebest.com
Magnificent interior. Excellent food and service.

Bistro de Paris, 33 rue de Lille (7th) .
Beautiful interior. Just look. Menu pricey and food fair.

Le Telegraphe, 41 rue de Lille (7th)

Lucas-Carlton, 9 place de la Madeleine (8th)

Maxim’s, 3 rue Royale (8th) .
www.maxims-de-paris.com/paris/pa4bous.html
Decor, history…food and service (more staff than patrons) outstanding. Also contains an Art Nouveau ‘museum’ - the private collection of Pierre Cardin. Open Wednesday-Sunday with English tour at 2p.m. €15.

Mollard (in Hotel Mollard), 113 rue St-Lazare (8th) .
Spectacular tiles.

Au Petit Riche, 25 rue le Peletier (9th) 01 47 70 68 68.
Restrained Art Nouveau interior. Good food, moderate prices, friendly service.

Le Grand Café, 4 boulevard des Capucines (9th) 01 43 12 19.
www.legrandcafe.com/

Julien, 16 rue du Faubourg St-Denis (10th) .
www.julienparis.com/

Bistrot du Peintre, 116 Ledru Rollin (11th) .
Very good food. Cheapish. Neighbourhood place. Tables and chairs on sidewalk. Faded interior.

Le Petit Retro, 5 rue Mesnil (16th) 01 44 05 06 05.
www.petitretro.fr/us/page1.html

Bar Antoine, 17 rue la Fontaine (16th) 01 40 50 14 30.
Tiny. Large outdoor terrace.

ART NOUVEAU BUILDINGS [Photos and maps at www.pagesjaunes.fr]

Hector Guimard

Synagogue at 10 rue Pavee (4th)
34 rue Boileau (16th) (his first important building)
14 rue La Fontaine (16th) (Castel Beranger)
11 rue Francois Millet (16th)
142 avenue de Versailles/1 rue Lancret (16th) (Jassede Apartment Building)
60 rue la Fontaine (16th) (Hotel Mezzara)
122 avenue Mozart (Hotel Guimard built for himself and his wife)
Corner rue de la Fontaine and rue Gros (16th)
(Especially notable is Bar Antoine 17 rue de la Fontaine)
18 rue Henri-Heine (16th) - One of Guimard’s last buildings, marks a transition between Art Nouveau and Art Deco

Jules Lavirotte

12 rue Sedillot (7th) (Lycee Italien Leonard-de-Vinci)
No. 3 Square Rapp (7th)
29 Avenue Rapp (7th)
34 avenue de Wagram (8th) (Ceramic Hotel)

Other Architects and Buildings

Grand Palais
43 boulevard Raspail (6th) (Hotel Lutetia)
140 rue de Rennes et rue Blaise Desgoffe (6th), Paul Auscher (this corner complex is stunning)
26 rue Vavin (6th), Henri Sauvage & Charles Sarrazin
(Also, see the interior of the Café de Paris at the Musee Carnavalet by Sauvage)
95 rue de Vaugirard (6th), Ferdinand Glaize
33 rue de Champs de Mars (7th), Octave Raquin
125 ave Mozart (16th), Charles Rouillard

Other notable buildings 16th

106 ave Mozart
125 ave Mozart
67 Avenue Raymond Poincaré
39 Rue Scheffer
59 Avenue Georges Mandel
2 Rue Eugène Manuel
Rue Chernoviz (7-11 Odd Number side of street)
19 Boulevard Delessert
40 Rue la Fontaine

THINGS TO SEE IN PARIS

Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée de Cluny (fabulous Unicorn tapestry), Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Invalides, Place Vendôme, Place des Vosges, Sacré Coeur and Montmartre (take cable car), Champs Elysées, Arc de Triomph, Panthéon, Bateau Mouche down Seine, performance artists outside Pompidou Centre (had recent facelift – big improvement), Marais and Musée Carnavalet, Picasso Museum, Orangerie for Monet, Rodin Museum near Invalides, Museum of the Liberation in Invalides. Also in Invalides is an impressive new museum on World War II in which, unsurprisingly, de Gaulle plays the major part.

Nicky Bird

19 Hale Gardens
London W3 9SG
Tel/Fax: [0044] (0) 20 8752 0956
nick@nickybirddesign.com