Dining is certainly the way to begin and end your visit in Paris. From soufflés to teeming cups of hot chocolate, Paris is the place to enjoy dining. A delightful find, Le Soufflé restaurant is tucked away at 36 rue Tabor in an exceptional location between Place Vendôme, Concorde and Madeleine. You’ll feel as if you are dining at a friend’s home in this cozy, upscale restaurant. Among its other offerings, the restaurant offers 20 types of soufflés. Soup and salad offerings are also available, and inclusive menus range from €25 lunches to €36 dinners and are worth every penny.
Located in the Latin Quarter, Rue Mouffetard deserves several visits. Staying in one of the many vacation rentals allows you to enjoy a genuine residential feeling, like a true Parisian. Rue Mouffetard is a long, cobblestone street in the 5th arrondissement with many students and young professionals. One great experience you should be sure not to miss is shopping in the morning market that stretches up the lower part of the street. Every day except Monday, the market teems with fresh produce, rotisserie chickens, fresh flowers, and little shops with delectable cheeses, candies, fresh pasta, and wines.
Each Sunday morning, locals also gather to sing and dance in the courtyard near the historic 12th century church Saint-Médard at the bottom of Rue Mouffetard. The church is often mentioned in French literature, perhaps most famously in Les Misérables. While staying in the district, you’re sure to discover a large and diverse number of cafes, restaurants, and window-service crêperies. You will regularly see lines at the latter; particularly at AU P’TIT GREC where students and others pick the ingredients for their personalized crepes-to-go.
Midway up the rue, you’ll come across the busy Place Contrescarpe, a wonderful square on which to have a glass of wine or cup of coffee and watch the bustle of mothers, babies, deliverymen, and students. Around the corner at 39 rue Descartes, a plaque identifies where the then unknown Earnest Hemingway and his first wife lived through the 1920s.
A great museum that doesn’t get the widest recognition is the Musée des Arts et Métiers, which features several interesting and historic scientific and inventions exhibits. Sadly, the cable for the original Foucault Pendulum on exhibit at the Conservatory snapped in early 2010, causing irreversible damage to the pendulum. An exact replica is now on display at the Pantheon.
The lovely, village-like area around Saint-Martin is also a wonderful spot to visit. Take a picnic and enjoy the atmosphere complete with footbridges arching over the canal where boat tours travel through the locks. The area is particularly popular in summer, when the two streets parallel to the canal are closed to auto traffic and become filled with pedestrians and cyclists. Be sure to wander down side streets, where lovely jewelry and gift boutiques can be found.
To come back full-circle to dining, be sure to try Le Grand Colbert at the refined Galerie Vivienne passage, a few blocks from the Louvre. Even if the weather is warm, you can’t pass up the hot chocolate. A tray will be delivered to you with a small pitcher of warm, melted chocolate; a pitcher of warm milk; a bowl of whipped cream, and a square of exceptional chocolate. It’s a perfect way to end a long day of sightseeing!