9. Palais Royal (and for the Louvre) 122 10. Les Halles/Beaubourg 131 11. Batignolles-Monceau 140 12. Montmartre 148 Rive Gauche 13. Montparnasse 157 14. Luxembourg 169 15. Mouffetard 176 16. Maubert 185 17. Odéon/St Michel (and for the Ile de la Cité) 193 18. St Germain/St Sulpice 201 19. Sèvres-Babylone 209 20. Faubourg St Germain 217 21. Rue Cler–Rue St Dominique (and for Passy) 224 Special restaurants for luncheon on the day of departure 234 Some practical details 241 What to say when making an initial telephone reservation to a hotel or restaurant 242 Getting there: in praise of Eurostar 244 Getting around in Paris 245 Getting beneath the surface: specialist local walks 248 A word to the wise... (Social behaviour, What you need to know about lavatories in Paris, French time, Carrying your passport, Keeping up appearances: doing your laundry, Credit cards, Paris postcodes, Telephones) 249 Free concerts and classic films 253 Antiques 255 Holiday accommodation for families 256 Special trips for children 258
Index 258
Preface Where to find Paris? Not an empty question, because the essence of the city is elusive but everywhere, in a thousand momentary details that vanish and re-appear in a different guise. A busy sight-seeing programme can mean that you miss what you’d hoped for. No guidebook, however hard it tries, can capture that dimension. You have to find it for yourself. But a guide can put you in the way of discovering those fragments that make up the whole. Leaning against the American bar in La Coupole I watched the barman preparing a multi-coloured cocktail: he caught my eye and shrugged, ‘C’est toxique’; an huîtrier opening oysters with effortless skill outside a brasserie; an old lady helping herself to chocolate cake in Dalloyau and murmuring ‘It is temptation, monsieur’ – shades of Oscar Wilde. I didn’t set out to write a guidok. In a sense it has written itself, growing out of the way I’ve planned my visits, over many years, in search of the Paris people who live there know. There is a world of difference between the Paris of tourism and Parisians’ Paris. So in these pages only summary reference is made to the obvious ‘sights’. And there are no predictable picture-postcard views, but the kind of photographs that reflect the human face of the city.
Preface to the third edition The success of this somewhat personal view of Paris was a pleasant surprise and a kind of vindication. It stemmed from a desire to share experiences and to help others discover the city. Readers have returned the compliment by suggesting changes: fuller accounts of three quarters not covered adequately are the direct result of such feedback. Much has been learnt in the process of revision, not least the extent to which Paris is constantly evolving. Restaurants in particular emerge, flourish, struggle to keep going, and sometimes – like human beings – go into terminal decline. And the guide-writer has to keep up with all this. But there are worse occupations... B. G.
9. Palais Royal (and for the Louvre) 122 10. Les Halles/Beaubourg 131 11. Batignolles-Monceau 140 12. Montmartre 148 Rive Gauche 13. Montparnasse 157 14. Luxembourg 169 15. Mouffetard 176 16. Maubert 185 17. Odéon/St Michel (and for the Ile de la Cité) 193 18. St Germain/St Sulpice 201 19. Sèvres-Babylone 209 20. Faubourg St Germain 217 21. Rue Cler–Rue St Dominique (and for Passy) 224 Special restaurants for luncheon on the day of departure 234 Some practical details 241 What to say when making an initial telephone reservation to a hotel or restaurant 242 Getting there: in praise of Eurostar 244 Getting around in Paris 245 Getting beneath the surface: specialist local walks 248 A word to the wise... (Social behaviour, What you need to know about lavatories in Paris, French time, Carrying your passport, Keeping up appearances: doing your laundry, Credit cards, Paris postcodes, Telephones) 249 Free concerts and classic films 253 Antiques 255 Holiday accommodation for families 256 Special trips for children 258
Index 258
Preface Where to find Paris? Not an empty question, because the essence of the city is elusive but everywhere, in a thousand momentary details that vanish and re-appear in a different guise. A busy sight-seeing programme can mean that you miss what you’d hoped for. No guidebook, however hard it tries, can capture that dimension. You have to find it for yourself. But a guide can put you in the way of discovering those fragments that make up the whole. Leaning against the American bar in La Coupole I watched the barman preparing a multi-coloured cocktail: he caught my eye and shrugged, ‘C’est toxique’; an huîtrier opening oysters with effortless skill outside a brasserie; an old lady helping herself to chocolate cake in Dalloyau and murmuring ‘It is temptation, monsieur’ – shades of Oscar Wilde. I didn’t set out to write a guidok. In a sense it has written itself, growing out of the way I’ve planned my visits, over many years, in search of the Paris people who live there know. There is a world of difference between the Paris of tourism and Parisians’ Paris. So in these pages only summary reference is made to the obvious ‘sights’. And there are no predictable picture-postcard views, but the kind of photographs that reflect the human face of the city.
Preface to the third edition The success of this somewhat personal view of Paris was a pleasant surprise and a kind of vindication. It stemmed from a desire to share experiences and to help others discover the city. Readers have returned the compliment by suggesting changes: fuller accounts of three quarters not covered adequately are the direct result of such feedback. Much has been learnt in the process of revision, not least the extent to which Paris is constantly evolving. Restaurants in particular emerge, flourish, struggle to keep going, and sometimes – like human beings – go into terminal decline. And the guide-writer has to keep up with all this. But there are worse occupations... B. G.
When not to go to Paris (and what to do if you have to)
From mid-July until the end of August there is a mass exodus of those who live in Paris when their city is given over to tourists who know no better. Most of the restaurants listed in this guide are closed for at least part of that time. That’s one problem. But you probably wouldn’t want to eat anyway because at the height of summer the temperature can reach debilitating levels: sometimes more than that, as in recent years large numbers of elderly people have died from heat exhaustion and related conditions. The problem is that in addition to not wanting to eat (coq au vin when the temperature is 30˚C and rising loses its appeal) you won’t be able to sleep. One of the worst things about Paris in high summer is that the nights are not particularly cooler than the days: there are no cooling sea breezes and the streets and buildings (including your hotel room) seem to retain the day-time heat like a storage radiator. If you must go you should choose a hotel with air conditioning, and this applies any time from mid-June to mid-September. Is this being too negative? Well, not because it isn’t true. What qualifies the assertion is the way the authorities have responded to the almost unavoidable heat wave that descends on the city at this time of year. Paris Plage is the astounding enterprise that for just four weeks (last week in July, first three weeks in August) transforms two miles of the Seine embankment into a riotous faux sea-side and has more recently been expanded to include the Port de la Gare and the Bassin de la Villette (see p. 257). A busy cross-roads opposite the Ile de la Cité
23
When not to go to Paris (and what to do if you have to)
From mid-July until the end of August there is a mass exodus of those who live in Paris when their city is given over to tourists who know no better. Most of the restaurants listed in this guide are closed for at least part of that time. That’s one problem. But you probably wouldn’t want to eat anyway because at the height of summer the temperature can reach debilitating levels: sometimes more than that, as in recent years large numbers of elderly people have died from heat exhaustion and related conditions. The problem is that in addition to not wanting to eat (coq au vin when the temperature is 30˚C and rising loses its appeal) you won’t be able to sleep. One of the worst things about Paris in high summer is that the nights are not particularly cooler than the days: there are no cooling sea breezes and the streets and buildings (including your hotel room) seem to retain the day-time heat like a storage radiator. If you must go you should choose a hotel with air conditioning, and this applies any time from mid-June to mid-September. Is this being too negative? Well, not because it isn’t true. What qualifies the assertion is the way the authorities have responded to the almost unavoidable heat wave that descends on the city at this time of year. Paris Plage is the astounding enterprise that for just four weeks (last week in July, first three weeks in August) transforms two miles of the Seine embankment into a riotous faux sea-side and has more recently been expanded to include the Port de la Gare and the Bassin de la Villette (see p. 257). A busy cross-roads opposite the Ile de la Cité
23
Down to the detail: a summary
Each of these ‘village’ communities is covered in a separate section containing the following: A more extended introduction. Some of the main conventional ‘sights’. Quiet hotels with most double rooms in the price range 75175€ per night: those with air conditioning are indicated. Breakfast: where to start the day in Parisian style instead of the hotel basement. Public gardens: often not marked on maps and usually called squares (with a French accent) – ideal for planning your next itinerary or just to sit (Paris can be hard on the feet). Markets: mainly selling food, these are of three kinds – covered markets, market streets and roving markets (moving along and only on certain days of the week). Cheesemongers (fromagers): easily overlooked because they’re often small and tucked away – an ideal source for an al fresco lunch. Good bread to go with the cheese is easy to find (see box on p. 36). Specialist ice-cream makers (glaciers): everyone’s heard of Berthillon but there are others as good or better – and more creative. Neglected museums: a few major collections like the Musée d’Orsay or the Louvre are tiringly over-visited but Paris is full of small, often idiosyncratic museums of great charm and interest. Artist in the square beside the church of St Germain-des-Prés
27
Down to the detail: a summary
Each of these ‘village’ communities is covered in a separate section containing the following: A more extended introduction. Some of the main conventional ‘sights’. Quiet hotels with most double rooms in the price range 75175€ per night: those with air conditioning are indicated. Breakfast: where to start the day in Parisian style instead of the hotel basement. Public gardens: often not marked on maps and usually called squares (with a French accent) – ideal for planning your next itinerary or just to sit (Paris can be hard on the feet). Markets: mainly selling food, these are of three kinds – covered markets, market streets and roving markets (moving along and only on certain days of the week). Cheesemongers (fromagers): easily overlooked because they’re often small and tucked away – an ideal source for an al fresco lunch. Good bread to go with the cheese is easy to find (see box on p. 36). Specialist ice-cream makers (glaciers): everyone’s heard of Berthillon but there are others as good or better – and more creative. Neglected museums: a few major collections like the Musée d’Orsay or the Louvre are tiringly over-visited but Paris is full of small, often idiosyncratic museums of great charm and interest. Artist in the square beside the church of St Germain-des-Prés
27
introduction with some fine paintings). Elsewhere, artists’ studios, famous individual art collections, dress and fashion, posters, postage stamps and postal history, photographers, public health, the police force, even smoking – all and many more are to be found. This is one route into what constitutes the distinctive character of Paris life and social history. Opening hours can be idiosyncratic (details are given but check with Pariscope) and there are occasionally protracted closures while museums are renovated and displays reorganised.
Interesting shops There are a number of guides to Paris shops, usually written by women who see shopping as an exclusively female occupation – for example, giving advice on what to do with your husband, poor thing. If your taste is for department stores (the 19th century grands magasins) then there is a good choice: Galeries Lafayette and Au Printemps in the boulevard Haussmann (8th), the Bazar de l’Hotel de Ville (BHV) in the 1st arrondissement; and the only one south of the river, Le Bon Marché, in the 7th arrondissement and with the best food hall in Paris. But the most interesting shops, and gender-free, are run by single-minded enthusiasts covering an almost infinite range of specialisms. There is a shop in the Maubert quarter which deals exclusively with vanilla in its various manifestations; off the rue du Faubourg St Antoine one that specialises in spectacular kites; in St Paul a specialist in wine antiques; opposite the Luxembourg Gardens a shop offering floral toilet waters of the old-fashioned variety – and in the avenue de l’Opéra the aptly named Waaf et Miaou, where you can buy a fancy-dress outfit for your favourite pet. A few shops are included in each section as examples, but you will find many more to your taste – one of the benefits of getting to know a particular quarter well.
Tradesmen’s entrance in the avenue Denfert-Rochereau
39
introduction with some fine paintings). Elsewhere, artists’ studios, famous individual art collections, dress and fashion, posters, postage stamps and postal history, photographers, public health, the police force, even smoking – all and many more are to be found. This is one route into what constitutes the distinctive character of Paris life and social history. Opening hours can be idiosyncratic (details are given but check with Pariscope) and there are occasionally protracted closures while museums are renovated and displays reorganised.
Interesting shops There are a number of guides to Paris shops, usually written by women who see shopping as an exclusively female occupation – for example, giving advice on what to do with your husband, poor thing. If your taste is for department stores (the 19th century grands magasins) then there is a good choice: Galeries Lafayette and Au Printemps in the boulevard Haussmann (8th), the Bazar de l’Hotel de Ville (BHV) in the 1st arrondissement; and the only one south of the river, Le Bon Marché, in the 7th arrondissement and with the best food hall in Paris. But the most interesting shops, and gender-free, are run by single-minded enthusiasts covering an almost infinite range of specialisms. There is a shop in the Maubert quarter which deals exclusively with vanilla in its various manifestations; off the rue du Faubourg St Antoine one that specialises in spectacular kites; in St Paul a specialist in wine antiques; opposite the Luxembourg Gardens a shop offering floral toilet waters of the old-fashioned variety – and in the avenue de l’Opéra the aptly named Waaf et Miaou, where you can buy a fancy-dress outfit for your favourite pet. A few shops are included in each section as examples, but you will find many more to your taste – one of the benefits of getting to know a particular quarter well.
Tradesmen’s entrance in the avenue Denfert-Rochereau
39
menilmontant
5. Ménilmontant
I recall walking through this quarter along the rue Oberkampf and the rue Ménilmontant in the mid-1960s. At that time well off the tourist track, it presented as a shabby but respectable working-class district: old ladies dressed in black going about their shopping, workmen on bicycles, a crocodile of schoolchildren crossing the street with teachers fore and aft. You could understand why Albert Lamorisse chose it as the setting for his famous film Le Ballon Rouge. But over the past fifteen years or so the eastern section of the rue Oberkampf has suffered the fate of becoming fashionable for those whose life begins at midnight. Now, as is the nature of such things, the action has moved on – the whole process of rise and decline being to the detriment of the area. This part of Ménilmontant now looks decidedly seedy in daylight. Yet when you leave the rue Oberkampf and cross to the rue Ménilmontant the area becomes more as I remember. Other changes are of a different character, particularly the contrasting influence of North African Muslim immigrants. Art nouveau métro entrance in Ménilmontant
90
They bring something distinctive and stable, apparent in the eastern section of the rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud with its wellmaintained bookshops selling religious texts, the halal butchers and rather beautiful clothing shops. Ménilmontant figures largely in the sentimental history of the city. Maurice Chevalier was proud of being born there and sang of it nostalgically, as did Edith Piaf who has a small museum dedicated to her (see p. 93). And, if you have the energy, it is worth traversing the district on foot as far as the cemetery of Père Lachaise where Piaf is buried along with other notables from the recent and distant past: Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Colette and, of course, Héloise and Abelard in an ornate Gothic tomb. On balance not an area for a protracted stay but a part of the mosaic of modern Paris where change, for good or ill, is of its character.
Principal sights
Quiet hotels
Cimetière Père Lachaise, boulevard de Ménilmontant: you don’t come to Ménilmontant for guidebook sights but, at the extreme south-eastern edge you find this famous cemetery called after the Jesuit priest (confessor to Louis XIV) who lived on the site. Bought in the early 19th century by the City of Paris at a time when bourgeois funerary art was flourishing, its various forms are a fascination in their own right. Well-known names apart there are many more obscure interments – like the inventor of street gas-lighting. In all well worth a half-day visit and, as there are plenty of seats, you could take your picnic lunch there as well. Or just ponder on life.
Hôtel Beaumarchais 3 rue Oberkampf, 75011 Tel: 01 53 36 86 86 Fax: 01 43 38 32 86 E-mail: reservation@ hotelbeaumarchais.com www.hotelbeaumarchais.com Métro: Filles de Calvaire/ Oberkampf 30 rooms (and one junior suite) AIR CONDITIONED Price: 130€ for a double room This charming hotel is on the western boundary of the area, hardly of it. Comfortable and civilised, it provides a good base for exploring other parts of Paris, not least the cafés along the Canal St Martin which have usurped Ménilmontant’s fashionable status. Rooms are double-glazed but upper rooms are to be preferred. The buffet-breakfast (at 10 or 12 €) is recommended if you don’t feel
91
menilmontant
5. Ménilmontant
I recall walking through this quarter along the rue Oberkampf and the rue Ménilmontant in the mid-1960s. At that time well off the tourist track, it presented as a shabby but respectable working-class district: old ladies dressed in black going about their shopping, workmen on bicycles, a crocodile of schoolchildren crossing the street with teachers fore and aft. You could understand why Albert Lamorisse chose it as the setting for his famous film Le Ballon Rouge. But over the past fifteen years or so the eastern section of the rue Oberkampf has suffered the fate of becoming fashionable for those whose life begins at midnight. Now, as is the nature of such things, the action has moved on – the whole process of rise and decline being to the detriment of the area. This part of Ménilmontant now looks decidedly seedy in daylight. Yet when you leave the rue Oberkampf and cross to the rue Ménilmontant the area becomes more as I remember. Other changes are of a different character, particularly the contrasting influence of North African Muslim immigrants. Art nouveau métro entrance in Ménilmontant
90
They bring something distinctive and stable, apparent in the eastern section of the rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud with its wellmaintained bookshops selling religious texts, the halal butchers and rather beautiful clothing shops. Ménilmontant figures largely in the sentimental history of the city. Maurice Chevalier was proud of being born there and sang of it nostalgically, as did Edith Piaf who has a small museum dedicated to her (see p. 93). And, if you have the energy, it is worth traversing the district on foot as far as the cemetery of Père Lachaise where Piaf is buried along with other notables from the recent and distant past: Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Colette and, of course, Héloise and Abelard in an ornate Gothic tomb. On balance not an area for a protracted stay but a part of the mosaic of modern Paris where change, for good or ill, is of its character.
Principal sights
Quiet hotels
Cimetière Père Lachaise, boulevard de Ménilmontant: you don’t come to Ménilmontant for guidebook sights but, at the extreme south-eastern edge you find this famous cemetery called after the Jesuit priest (confessor to Louis XIV) who lived on the site. Bought in the early 19th century by the City of Paris at a time when bourgeois funerary art was flourishing, its various forms are a fascination in their own right. Well-known names apart there are many more obscure interments – like the inventor of street gas-lighting. In all well worth a half-day visit and, as there are plenty of seats, you could take your picnic lunch there as well. Or just ponder on life.
Hôtel Beaumarchais 3 rue Oberkampf, 75011 Tel: 01 53 36 86 86 Fax: 01 43 38 32 86 E-mail: reservation@ hotelbeaumarchais.com www.hotelbeaumarchais.com Métro: Filles de Calvaire/ Oberkampf 30 rooms (and one junior suite) AIR CONDITIONED Price: 130€ for a double room This charming hotel is on the western boundary of the area, hardly of it. Comfortable and civilised, it provides a good base for exploring other parts of Paris, not least the cafés along the Canal St Martin which have usurped Ménilmontant’s fashionable status. Rooms are double-glazed but upper rooms are to be preferred. The buffet-breakfast (at 10 or 12 €) is recommended if you don’t feel
91
parisians’ paris
nouvelle athenes the whole the cooking is better than its predecessor. There is a really serious wine list running up to 340€ but with plenty of bottles at less than a tenth of that; half-bottles cost 18-26€ and for quality represent good value. Dry whites are a speciality to complement the several fish dishes offered. Booking advisable.
Brasserie
The stereotype of Paris: here on a 1960s dinner-plate entitled ‘La Parisienne’ Cheeses are brought entire to your table and you help yourself; with a free meringue at the end. The delicious food won me round, in particular the casseroled duck and a lavender-flavoured cream dessert. There are only eight tables so booking is essential. If you’re in favour the black and white cat will share your table. Villa Victoria 52 rue Lamartine, 75009 Tel: 01 48 78 60 05 Métro: Cadet Closed: Sunday (Saturday lunchtime) and three weeks in August
104
Mollard 115 rue St Lazare, 75008 Tel: 01 43 87 50 22 Fax: 01 43 87 84 17 E-mail: espace.clients@mollard.fr www.mollard.fr Métro: St Lazare Open: DAILY from noon to 1.00 am Situated opposite St Lazare station (and just into the 8th arrondisse-
ment) for some reason this fantastic (literally) late 19th century brasserie is missing from most guidebooks. The exotic oriental-art nouveau interior beats anything in Paris. Designed by Edouard Niermanns, in its present form it opened in 1895. Another establishment dedicated mainly to seafood, especially oysters; plateaux des fruits de mer (for two) are priced at 77,70€ or 105,85€ including lobster – a full price but exceptional quality. In addition there is a sound three-course menu of traditional dishes at 32€ for which you could get six oysters followed by trout meunière and their own version of omelette surprise brought flaming to the table. The reasonablypriced wine list has bottles from 21€ upwards, but you can get a ¼ litre pichet for 7€. Strongly recommended but it is essential to book.
Open: noon – 2.00 pm and 7.30–10.45 pm This new restaurant replaces the well-regarded Velly. However, it started out with a strong contemporary take on traditional dishes – a vogueish thing to do which didn’t really appeal – and it now describes itself as offering cuisine traditionelle française élaborée. Rest assured that that elaboration is relatively minor. The lunch and dinner menu costs 32,90€ for three courses, 24,90€ for two, and includes classics like brandade de morue, saumon mariné and, for dessert, a delicate cold raspberry soufflé. On
105
parisians’ paris
nouvelle athenes the whole the cooking is better than its predecessor. There is a really serious wine list running up to 340€ but with plenty of bottles at less than a tenth of that; half-bottles cost 18-26€ and for quality represent good value. Dry whites are a speciality to complement the several fish dishes offered. Booking advisable.
Brasserie
The stereotype of Paris: here on a 1960s dinner-plate entitled ‘La Parisienne’ Cheeses are brought entire to your table and you help yourself; with a free meringue at the end. The delicious food won me round, in particular the casseroled duck and a lavender-flavoured cream dessert. There are only eight tables so booking is essential. If you’re in favour the black and white cat will share your table. Villa Victoria 52 rue Lamartine, 75009 Tel: 01 48 78 60 05 Métro: Cadet Closed: Sunday (Saturday lunchtime) and three weeks in August
104
Mollard 115 rue St Lazare, 75008 Tel: 01 43 87 50 22 Fax: 01 43 87 84 17 E-mail: espace.clients@mollard.fr www.mollard.fr Métro: St Lazare Open: DAILY from noon to 1.00 am Situated opposite St Lazare station (and just into the 8th arrondisse-
ment) for some reason this fantastic (literally) late 19th century brasserie is missing from most guidebooks. The exotic oriental-art nouveau interior beats anything in Paris. Designed by Edouard Niermanns, in its present form it opened in 1895. Another establishment dedicated mainly to seafood, especially oysters; plateaux des fruits de mer (for two) are priced at 77,70€ or 105,85€ including lobster – a full price but exceptional quality. In addition there is a sound three-course menu of traditional dishes at 32€ for which you could get six oysters followed by trout meunière and their own version of omelette surprise brought flaming to the table. The reasonablypriced wine list has bottles from 21€ upwards, but you can get a ¼ litre pichet for 7€. Strongly recommended but it is essential to book.
Open: noon – 2.00 pm and 7.30–10.45 pm This new restaurant replaces the well-regarded Velly. However, it started out with a strong contemporary take on traditional dishes – a vogueish thing to do which didn’t really appeal – and it now describes itself as offering cuisine traditionelle française élaborée. Rest assured that that elaboration is relatively minor. The lunch and dinner menu costs 32,90€ for three courses, 24,90€ for two, and includes classics like brandade de morue, saumon mariné and, for dessert, a delicate cold raspberry soufflé. On
105
13. Montparnasse A first impression of the main boulevard may be one of mild disappointment: the name conjures up an ill-defined vision of raffish eccentricity even if we recognise that its intellectual and artistic heyday is long past. In which case the business-like appearance of this, the main thoroughfare, suggests that nothing much remains. It is the area around the famous brasseries, the Dôme, La Coupole, Le Rotonde and the Sélect – all part of the social history of the quarter – which redresses the balance. You see the boulevard at its best in the evening: the theatres and cinemas opening up; the crowds on the pavements and café terraces. And as you penetrate the area, work the side-streets and appreciate it at different times of day, increasing familiarity gradually shifts your perception. Take the Tour Montparnasse, for example; at almost 700 feet high it dominates the skyline, a symbol of 1960s’ urban styling, fiercely controversial (a recurring theme in Paris) and an object of public anger – an attitude I once shared. And yet, more recently, seen in the distance from the Luxembourg Gardens and softened by the morning haze, it looked graceful despite its size – almost unearthly. No re-assessment is warranted of the extensive rebuilding that has taken place in the southernmost reaches of Montparnasse (you get something similar on the east side of the place d’Italie in the 13th arrondissement). But there is plenty to discover in the established streets just south of the boulevard that separates the 6th from the 14th. This north/south divide is an economic and social one: prices are higher, the atmosphere a bit snootier in the 6th. Hotels are consistently cheaper in the 14th where many of the great names of the 1920s once stayed, among them Man Ray, the American photographer, the sculptor Constantin Brancusi and the poet André Breton who coined the language of surrealism. Brancusi and Man Ray are buried in the nearby Montparnasse cemetery along with Maupassant, Baudelaire and, together, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, all presided over by a bronze angel, Daillion’s Eternal Sleep in the centre.
157
13. Montparnasse A first impression of the main boulevard may be one of mild disappointment: the name conjures up an ill-defined vision of raffish eccentricity even if we recognise that its intellectual and artistic heyday is long past. In which case the business-like appearance of this, the main thoroughfare, suggests that nothing much remains. It is the area around the famous brasseries, the Dôme, La Coupole, Le Rotonde and the Sélect – all part of the social history of the quarter – which redresses the balance. You see the boulevard at its best in the evening: the theatres and cinemas opening up; the crowds on the pavements and café terraces. And as you penetrate the area, work the side-streets and appreciate it at different times of day, increasing familiarity gradually shifts your perception. Take the Tour Montparnasse, for example; at almost 700 feet high it dominates the skyline, a symbol of 1960s’ urban styling, fiercely controversial (a recurring theme in Paris) and an object of public anger – an attitude I once shared. And yet, more recently, seen in the distance from the Luxembourg Gardens and softened by the morning haze, it looked graceful despite its size – almost unearthly. No re-assessment is warranted of the extensive rebuilding that has taken place in the southernmost reaches of Montparnasse (you get something similar on the east side of the place d’Italie in the 13th arrondissement). But there is plenty to discover in the established streets just south of the boulevard that separates the 6th from the 14th. This north/south divide is an economic and social one: prices are higher, the atmosphere a bit snootier in the 6th. Hotels are consistently cheaper in the 14th where many of the great names of the 1920s once stayed, among them Man Ray, the American photographer, the sculptor Constantin Brancusi and the poet André Breton who coined the language of surrealism. Brancusi and Man Ray are buried in the nearby Montparnasse cemetery along with Maupassant, Baudelaire and, together, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, all presided over by a bronze angel, Daillion’s Eternal Sleep in the centre.
157
19. Sèvres-Babylone
This may not be the first part of Paris you will visit; but after you have ‘done’ the sights, and discharged your tourist obligations in that respect, it is one you are likely to return to again and again. The focus of the quarter is the crossroads of the boulevard Raspail, rue de Babylone and rue de Sèvres, with the Left Bank’s only grand hotel, the Lutétia, rearing its bulk like a transAtlantic liner: an analogy with some depth to it as you penetrate the gleaming art deco interior of the brasserie and piano bar, the foyer and the restaurant. This so impressed the Nazi hierarchy that during the occupation they were quick to commandeer it for their own use. Almost opposite, you will find the first department store in Paris, Le Bon Marché, with its internationally famous food hall: La Grande Epicerie (p. 214). One of the building’s hidden features is the iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel; the tower that bears his name subsequently gave him the chance to make visible his skill as a structural engineer. Baker in the marché biologique in the boulevard Raspail (Sundays)
209
19. Sèvres-Babylone
This may not be the first part of Paris you will visit; but after you have ‘done’ the sights, and discharged your tourist obligations in that respect, it is one you are likely to return to again and again. The focus of the quarter is the crossroads of the boulevard Raspail, rue de Babylone and rue de Sèvres, with the Left Bank’s only grand hotel, the Lutétia, rearing its bulk like a transAtlantic liner: an analogy with some depth to it as you penetrate the gleaming art deco interior of the brasserie and piano bar, the foyer and the restaurant. This so impressed the Nazi hierarchy that during the occupation they were quick to commandeer it for their own use. Almost opposite, you will find the first department store in Paris, Le Bon Marché, with its internationally famous food hall: La Grande Epicerie (p. 214). One of the building’s hidden features is the iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel; the tower that bears his name subsequently gave him the chance to make visible his skill as a structural engineer. Baker in the marché biologique in the boulevard Raspail (Sundays)
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parisians’ paris en famille. When last there I had plump white asparagus, grilled turbot and the lightest of crêpes Suzette. You’ll pay no more à la carte than for the menu at Le Grand Véfour and I think, on balance, La Closerie wins. Le Train Bleu Gare de Lyon, place Louis Armand, 75012 Tel: 01 43 43 09 06 Métro: Gare de Lyon Open: for Sunday brunch 11.30 am – 2.00 pm Brunch menu: 37€ Brunch is for some reason a smart thing in Paris. Here it is served in the bar area (you need to make that clear at the time of booking otherwise they’ll put you in the more expensive restaurant). It is essential to book as this is a popular venue and splendid value: the price includes a glass of wine, mineral water, juices and coffee. The food is self-service, buffetstyle with a wide choice of salads, charcuterie, smoked salmon etc. – plus the very English bacon and eggs, cooked for you. Altogether an animated place to fuel up for your return journey (if it’s on a Sunday). Waiters clear your empty plates and bring what drinks you want. The bar area is very pleasant and you can wander along and look at the splendours of the restaurant (see also p. 61).
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Open-air restaurants La Maison de l’Amérique Latine 217 boulevard St Germain, 75007 Tel: 01 49 54 75 10 Métro: Solférino Closed: Saturday, Sunday, the whole of August, Christmas to New Year Open: noon – 2.30 pm Lunch menu: 40€ On the right day the perfect setting. When booking you should specify a table in the garden – others are further back on an open terrace. From the outside you would never guess there was a restaurant here. The austere 18th century façade (and the name) is what you might expect of a cultural centre, which it is. The garden is a delight and you can walk round it after your meal. The food is contemporary which means I can never remember what I’ve eaten: but it’s always pleasant and suitable to a summer’s day. La Cigale-Récamier 4 rue Récamier, 75007 Tel: 01 45 48 86 58 Métro: Sèvres-Babylone Closed: Sunday, and Christmas to New Year Open: noon – 2.30 pm Lunch carte (no menu): around 50€ This used to be a favourite Burgundian restaurant for serious and hearty eaters. It now specialises in soufflés (both sweet and savoury), omelettes and what are best described as tea-salon dishes. The soufflés are astonishingly light, the
special restaurants omelettes ditto: all very well if you like eggs. The restaurant is included here for its fine open-air terrace, set in a pedestrianised cul-de-sac with a small public garden at the end of the street (see p. 212). A complete meal including a couple of drinks (wines by the glass) will cost you in the region of 50€; but remember you’re here for the setting. Jardins Plein Ciel Hôtel Raphael 17 avenue Kléber, 75016 Tel: 01 53 64 32 30 Métro: Kléber Closed: October to April Open: weekdays only, May to September, noon – 2.30 pm Lunch menu: 75€ Paradise: this seventh-floor roof terrace provides an excellent threecourse meal of the mildly inventive variety and at the same time one of
the best panoramic views of Paris. It has a relaxed, informal but smart ambience. On a warm summer’s day, with a cooling breeze, it can scarcely be bettered. If you find the sun too hot you can borrow a panama, or ask for a parasol. From the beginning of June (and also on Saturdays) you can have dinner (7.30 – 9.30 pm) with four courses for 98€, but with only 30 couverts it is essential to book well in advance. At other times of the year, or when the weather is inclement, you can eat in the beautiful restaurant on the ground floor. Quiet, elegant and discreet, it is a great bargain: the lunchtime menu d’affaires costs 58€ for three courses (plus an amuse-bouche) and includes wine, water and coffee. There is a similar dinner menu for 68€. Closed at weekends.
Restaurant Meurice c. 1930 – it still looks much the same
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parisians’ paris en famille. When last there I had plump white asparagus, grilled turbot and the lightest of crêpes Suzette. You’ll pay no more à la carte than for the menu at Le Grand Véfour and I think, on balance, La Closerie wins. Le Train Bleu Gare de Lyon, place Louis Armand, 75012 Tel: 01 43 43 09 06 Métro: Gare de Lyon Open: for Sunday brunch 11.30 am – 2.00 pm Brunch menu: 37€ Brunch is for some reason a smart thing in Paris. Here it is served in the bar area (you need to make that clear at the time of booking otherwise they’ll put you in the more expensive restaurant). It is essential to book as this is a popular venue and splendid value: the price includes a glass of wine, mineral water, juices and coffee. The food is self-service, buffetstyle with a wide choice of salads, charcuterie, smoked salmon etc. – plus the very English bacon and eggs, cooked for you. Altogether an animated place to fuel up for your return journey (if it’s on a Sunday). Waiters clear your empty plates and bring what drinks you want. The bar area is very pleasant and you can wander along and look at the splendours of the restaurant (see also p. 61).
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Open-air restaurants La Maison de l’Amérique Latine 217 boulevard St Germain, 75007 Tel: 01 49 54 75 10 Métro: Solférino Closed: Saturday, Sunday, the whole of August, Christmas to New Year Open: noon – 2.30 pm Lunch menu: 40€ On the right day the perfect setting. When booking you should specify a table in the garden – others are further back on an open terrace. From the outside you would never guess there was a restaurant here. The austere 18th century façade (and the name) is what you might expect of a cultural centre, which it is. The garden is a delight and you can walk round it after your meal. The food is contemporary which means I can never remember what I’ve eaten: but it’s always pleasant and suitable to a summer’s day. La Cigale-Récamier 4 rue Récamier, 75007 Tel: 01 45 48 86 58 Métro: Sèvres-Babylone Closed: Sunday, and Christmas to New Year Open: noon – 2.30 pm Lunch carte (no menu): around 50€ This used to be a favourite Burgundian restaurant for serious and hearty eaters. It now specialises in soufflés (both sweet and savoury), omelettes and what are best described as tea-salon dishes. The soufflés are astonishingly light, the
special restaurants omelettes ditto: all very well if you like eggs. The restaurant is included here for its fine open-air terrace, set in a pedestrianised cul-de-sac with a small public garden at the end of the street (see p. 212). A complete meal including a couple of drinks (wines by the glass) will cost you in the region of 50€; but remember you’re here for the setting. Jardins Plein Ciel Hôtel Raphael 17 avenue Kléber, 75016 Tel: 01 53 64 32 30 Métro: Kléber Closed: October to April Open: weekdays only, May to September, noon – 2.30 pm Lunch menu: 75€ Paradise: this seventh-floor roof terrace provides an excellent threecourse meal of the mildly inventive variety and at the same time one of
the best panoramic views of Paris. It has a relaxed, informal but smart ambience. On a warm summer’s day, with a cooling breeze, it can scarcely be bettered. If you find the sun too hot you can borrow a panama, or ask for a parasol. From the beginning of June (and also on Saturdays) you can have dinner (7.30 – 9.30 pm) with four courses for 98€, but with only 30 couverts it is essential to book well in advance. At other times of the year, or when the weather is inclement, you can eat in the beautiful restaurant on the ground floor. Quiet, elegant and discreet, it is a great bargain: the lunchtime menu d’affaires costs 58€ for three courses (plus an amuse-bouche) and includes wine, water and coffee. There is a similar dinner menu for 68€. Closed at weekends.
Restaurant Meurice c. 1930 – it still looks much the same
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