Paris is big, so I've divided this list up by arrondisement (neighborhoods). Notable arrondisements:
1st:
The ultimate Paris must-see; you’ve got the Tuileries, Pont des Art, Place de Vendôme, Rue de Rivoli, and a long shot view of the Eiffel Tower overlooking the river Seine at Place de la Concorde. This is the Paris you see in Chanel advertisements.
2nd:
The second is the city’s smallest arrondissement where the trendy Etienne Marcel and Rue Montorgueil reside; two bustling pockets of the 2nd that are flushed with cafés and shopping.
3rd & 4th (Le Marais ... my favorite):
Can be compared to Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. Luxury independent designer boutiques contrast the plethora of vintage shopping that sell second hand goods by the kilo, as well as haute cuisine at Zagat celebrated restaurants versus local corner brasseries-turned hipster hangouts. The Lower Marais is concentrated around the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, where you'll find a succession of charming fashion, accessories, and beauty stores. But don't be afraid to strike off into the neighborhood's medieval warren of twisting streets chockablock with up-to-the-minute fashions and trends. The Northern Marais, concentrated around the Rue de Bretagne is a hotbed of independent French designers. Go to Rue des Francs-Bourgeois and all around this area (Rue de Turrennes, Rue Rambuteau) During the day check out the Marche des Enfants Rouges... Its a really cool outdoor/indoor market with delicious food.
5th: (Latin Quarter):
The Latin Quarter, containing the impressive Rue Mouffetard with its market, boutique hotels, and old-world charm. Lots of students in this area.
6th (St. Germain ... also fabulous):
Countless cafés, restaurants, boutiques, art galleries and antique shops, and some of the city’s best small art museums. The epitome of a Parisian neighborhood. (Rue De Buci is super cute with lots of little cafes and restaurants as well as Rue Des Cannettes, Rue du Dragon, and Rue Princesse.)
7th:
Gorgeous. Fancy. Karl Lagerfield lives here. Eiffel tower.
8th:
Also fancy. Expensive.
9th & 10th:
These two areas are lively areas with tons to see and do, and are great districts to look into. They’re also pretty spread out, so be careful because some parts can be pretty sketchy, especially Rue Saint Denis. The sleepy Canal St Martin offers boho local charm along little streets Rue de Marseille, and Beaurepaire, the Quais de Valmy, and Jemmapes.
11th (Oberkampf):
young & edgy
12th (Bastille):
One of the larger arrondissements in the city; affordable and safe with access to major metro lines that will get you to many of the city’s major destinations. Shopping in Bastille is concentrated on and around the Rue du Faubourg St-Antoine, which heads east from the Place de la Bastille and counts big names and chains, and winding streets nearby, like the Rue de Charonne. The Viaduc des Arts running parallel to avenue Daumesnil is a collection of about 30 specialist craft stores occupying a series of narrow vaulted niches under what used to be railroad tracks.
1st:
- Hotel Costes (hotel) – A visit to this famed Philippe-Starck designed hotel is a must, whether you're dining, drinking, lounging or staying. The bar is open 5pm-2am; DJ sets 9pm-midnight Sun-Wed & 7pm-3am Th-Sat.
- Black Calvados (club) - Supersleek spot, done up in brushed metal, black lacquer, and bounced light, has seen an endless procession of celeb birthdays and catwalk after-parties. A joint venture between Nick Blast and Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, late night bottle service is popular
2nd:
- Silencio (club) - modeled on David Lynch's Los Angeles noir classic Mullholland Drive, with rather surreal interiors conjured by the director himself. The enigmatical corridors now contain a performance stage, a cinema, an art library, and reflective dance floor, where all manner of scandalous and unholy activities are virtually assured to unfold. Silencio is be members-only club during the early hours, and open to the public after midnight.
3rd:
- Experimental Cocktail Club (bar) - This discrete door on a side street near Montorgueil is barely marked - look for the high-heeled cue trying to plead their way inside. Score entry to this modern-day speakeasy and you'll have a short list of creative sips to choose from. The prettiest girls you've seen all week will bump against you while reaching for their lemongrass cocktails. Too pricey to stay all night and too hard to get in past midnight - use this as a swank springboard to a night of fun somewhere else. Check out the Curio Parlor for a left-bank variation by the same boys.
5th:
- Curio Parlor (bar) - From the same owners as the always-packed Experimental Cocktail Club. Best Interior Ever is filled with taxidermized animals reminiscent of the famed (and largely burned) Deyrolle cabinet de curiosités. Expect the same level of funky mixology that you found at ECC. Speakeasy-style door.
6th:
- Le Prescription Cocktail Club (bar) - This stylish 1930s-style speakeasy has a retro Prohibition feel but remains severely Left Bank, with crowds of well-dressed people sipping on cocktails by candlelight. It's always busy and almost impossible to navigate on weekends. But come at the start of the night for a relaxing vibe.
- Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels - go here after dinner at Pouic Pouic. Nice, intimate bar with incredible wine, liquor and charcuterie!
8th:
- Le Baron (bar) - The famous club; door policy is exacting (it is, after all, a teeny-tiny club), but inside the mood is welcoming.
- Raspoutine (bar) - Trendy Russian-themed nightclub - a former luxury bordello turned cabaret, once frequented by ‘tout Paris’. Attracts a young, moneyed crew into its red velvet, pink-neoned, Byzantine-style interior, for nightlong parties.
WINE BARS / BISTROS WITH GOOD BARS / DAYTIME WINE
1st:
- Les Fines Gueules - wine bar in a turreted 17th-century stone building
4th:
- La Belle Hortense - SUPER (!!) cute bookstore that’s a bar at night with great music and reasonably priced wine
- Le Petit Fer a Cheval - sister to La Belle Hortense, adorable cafe open for more than 100 years. Small! Authentic. Dark wood and reclaimed Metro benches.
6th:
- La Perle - nondescript yet exceptionally popular cafe-and-bar on a street corner in the Marais
10th:
- Chez Prune - excellent lunch spot, and still one of the best places to spend an evening on the Canal St-Martin. The local bobo HQ, this traditional café, with high ceilings and low lighting, sticks to a simple formula: groups of friends crowd around the cosily ordered banquettes, picking at moderately priced cheese or meat platters. Mostly, though, they come for a few leisurely drinks or an apéro before heading to one of the late night venues in the area.
- La Verre Vole - A bare bones room lined with shelves of natural wines, a tiny kitchen turning out simple and dishes; this doesn’t immediately feel like the kind of place a person would cross town for. And yet many do. Booking is imperative. Le Verre Volé seems like a basic wine store with a few rickety tables, ... NY Times food writer Alec Lobrano calls his favourite wine bar in the city.
11th:
- Le Perchoir - A roof bar with stunning 360 degree views of Paris. Open every night from 4pm (last drink is served at 12:45am) on a first-come first serve basis until they reach the 110-person limit. On the weekends the roof bar is open at noon. Half the fun is in finding it. After taking an elevator to the 7th floor roof terrace, you’ll find an eclectic clientele taking in the views while sipping Corsican beer & cocktails.
- Le Dauphine - Start with a star, Inaki Aizpitarte, who's ranked higher on the list of World's 50 Best Restaurants than any other Paris chef. Take the space next to his restaurant Le Chateuabriand and hire one of the world's most famous architects, Rem Koolhaas, to cover the floor, ceiling and walls entirely in marble. Put a bar in the middle and serve the most pedigreed natural wines at ridiculously low prices - €5 per glass. Line the counter with pretty Belleville girls and dangle long strips of Iberian ham in front of their noses. Put some foam on the sea scallops with salsify, some blood sausage on the oyster tapioca. Call it the most hyped (and rightly so) wine bar in Paris.
- L'Entree des Artistes - for some of the best cocktails on the mixology scene
18th:
- La Fourmi 74 - the venue’s crowd of arty bohos take up position behind the big bay windows of the big main room with its high ceilings and post-industrial décor – an enormous, yet warm and friendly wood-panelled space, with a stunning chandelier made of glass bottles. Come here to sip cocktails, glasses of wine and beers (€2.80 a pale ale) – all very affordable.
1st:
- Cafe Marly - The place to be and be seen, Le Café Marly is in the Richelieu wing of the Louvre Palace. Its terrace is on the Cour Napoléon; the Pyramid is no more than 50 yards away. Inside of the café, glass walls are all that separate the salon from sculpture and works of art in the Louvre itself.
2nd:
- Frenchie - "Almost impossible to get in, but this casual bistro has become a must on the foodie checklist," writes Elle Decor about Frenchie in March 2013, adding "Worth the wait."
3rd:
- Anahi - Looks like it’s in a rundown building (you'll want a photo - very cool), go late, order bife de lomo, super atmosphere and delicious argentinian food. Very trendy
- Derriere - Derrière restaurant on the edge of Paris’ Marais district is a clandestine restaurant that is one of the hottest meals in town. First, locate the unmarked door between the 404 restaurant and Andy Wahloo that leads into a courtyard and from there into eccentric Derrière. Dining at Derrière is like dining in a restaurant and also in a friend’s boho-chic home. You choose if you’d like to sit in the living room with the live ping-pong table, the bedroom with the mosaic mirrored ceiling where you’ll sit on the edge of the mattress, the screening room den or a host of other apartment-like chambers. If you fancy a fag break, find your way through the mirrored wardrobe into the off-the-record fumoir – very cool. Chef Lionel Delage brings real French culinary nous to his menu of modern French cuisine that features lots of salads and dishes like slow-simmer beef cheek bourguignon. Great wines and service and truly great scene.
4th:
- ***Pamela Popo*** - Hip bistro in the Marais. "Named for one of Serge Gainsbourg's songbird vixens, Pamela Popo is a cool neighborhood haunt with an '80s-inspired pub downstairs and a series of intimate dining nooks upstairs."
- During the day, check out the Marche des Enfants Rouges... It’s a really cool outdoor/indoor market with delicious food and really popular on Sundays- Le Marais is a great place to have Sunday Brunch because most everything in Paris is closed on Sundays except for Le Marais area.
5th:
- Bistroy Les Papilles - In a tiny storefront flanked by potted olive trees, Bistroy Les Papilles is many things: an épicerie fine and cave à vin which serves a delightful à la carte or prix fixe lunch and only prix fixe dinner. It is loud, and busy and really FUN. It is also incredibly reasonably priced for dinner at 31 euros for starter, main course, cheese and dessert. The atmosphere is casual, with colorful tile floors, dark wood tables and wainscoating and yellow walls with 12 tables of 2 or 4 with a round in a little niche in the very back for 6 or 7. The narrow shelves hold a selection of hand picked wines, sardines, olive oil, sea salt, confit de canard that can be purchased – it is an épicerie fine and cave à vin, after all.
6th:
- Semilla - Trendy, fashionably located on Rue de Seine in the Sixth (our one southerly destination), Semilla is not quite a bistro, not quite fine dining, not quite Parisian-feeling, but very nearly all of those.
- Le Cinq Mars – It may not be packed to the rafters with tourists, but it certainly should be. Two steps from the Seine and the Musee d'Orsay, this classic bistro serves grandmotherly fare on bare wooden tables. This is comfort food done right, from the eggy starter of oeufs cocotte until the last spoonful of chocolate mousse is devoured from its unlimited serving bowl.
- ***Pouic Pouic*** – Cool affordable bistro with a simple decor, convivial vibe. Buzzy St. Germain bistro Pouic Pouic serves serious food to "post-party-goers with big appetites." The New York Times calls it a "hidden gem of Europe," a "sliver of a bistro" where young Romanian-born chef Michael Pascale makes magic from his open kitchen. At breakfast, you can nurse a hangover on ham-and-cheese omelets or maybe spaghetti carbonara. At lunch and dinner, enjoy starters like chicken and foie gras terrine, and main courses like squid ink pasta with mussels and wild chanterelle mushrooms, and pig cheek with creamy puréed potatoes.
- L’Avant Comptoir - Crêpes up front and pork (Ibaïona) in the rear. It’s standing room only at Yves Camdeborde’s tapas and wine bar, a hit since it opened in fall of 2009. Go during the off hours or be prepared to be get to know the person next to you very, very well
- Candelaria- a small hole in the wall restaurant (eat elsewhere unless you really want tacos in France) and then when you walk to the back door and go in its an awesome lounge with great drinks and cool people. Bustling.
- Brasserie Lipp - 151, Boulevard St Germain - This is a Left Bank institution. On the day of Paris's liberation in 1944, welcomed Hemingway as the first man to drop in for a drink. Reservations are accepted today and usually respected for dining tables, but not cafe tables. The specialty is choucroute garni. You get not only sauerkraut, but also a thick layer of ham and braised pork, which you can wash down with the house Riesling (an Alsatian white wine) or beer.
- Le Vin de Bellechasse -The majority of customers are regulars of the neighborhood. The seats are red leather Moleskine and walls are decorated with cartoons. Modern bistro cuisine
- Café de Flore- One of the best, most reasonably priced cafes with a view of Notre Dame.
- Creperie des Artes – Crepes, in the Latin quarter at metro St. Michel. Super fun!
- L'Entrecôte - Steak frites is enough of a Paris institution that this restaurant — an institution in itself — serves nothing else. It's also an excellent place for catching glimpses of Paris's chic set. No reservations but worth the wait.
7th:
- Fontaine de Mars - Tucked away on one of the least touristy streets in the very smart 7th arrondissement, this small restaurant offers delicious bistro cooking and charming, efficient service in an atmosphere that is everything you ever hoped a small Paris restaurant would be (checked-gingham table cloths). Do as the locals do and choose something from amongst the plats du jour, or try the boudin noir or (in winter) the cassoulet.
8th:
- Fauchon - famous French 'grocery store' made up of little stores
9th:
- Le Laffitte - Paper tablecloths over red-and-white checked cotton ones, blackboards announcing the plats du jour, fruit tarts with charred crusts cooling on the zinc: you know the look. Le Laffitte fills up at 12:30 on the nose. Le Laffitte’s menu is encouragingly familiar: duck breast with green peppercorn sauce, pork shoulder with lentils, chocolate mousse, rice pudding. Given the zinc’s dedication to unfashionable classics, it seems almost quibbling to note that the roast chicken and mashed potatoes (made with real potatoes, never a given in France) are okay, not better.
10th:
- Hotel du Nord - The setting for the eponymous 1938 film starring Louis Jouvet and Arletty, the interior of this vintage café feels as if it was stuck in a time warp with its zinc counter, red velvet curtains and old piano. Food is definitely modernist though.
- Chez Jeanette - Good for lunch. Just when it looked like Paris would be flooded with trendy loft-style watering holes, in came the credit crunch and out popped the idea of capitalizing on the funky period features that already exist. Chez Jeannette (the bar) pioneered that idea a few years ago when Jeannette (the owner) sold her beloved joint to a young new team who promised not to change a thing – including the name. The monstrous 1940s dust-coated lights, leaky loos, tobacco-stained wallpaper and PVC-covered banquettes have finally been cleaned up (although the formica bar still gets sticky glass marks), and the café has become one of Paris’s hippest spots for an after-work bière. There’s a plat du jour at lunch and plates of cheese and charcuterie at night; at 8pm, the fluorescent lights go off and candlelight takes over to a cheer.
11th:
- Le Châteaubriand - You can only reserve for the first seating at Le Chateaubriand. After that, you’ll have to wait in line with everyone else for a stab at its unique 50€ menu, a parade of forgotten vegetables, fish, and meat (some raw, some cooked) that landed the restaurant on San Pellegrino’s 50 Best list last year. SUPER popular. The authentic 30’s-era décor (tiled floor, hanging globe lights) creates a homey, yet reliably hip atmosphere, making this a favorite address among media, art, and fashion types.
- Septime – Especially in daylight, Septime may be the most pleasant Parisian restaurant. There are big north-facing front windows; a bright, open kitchen; and simple, beautiful filament bulbs and lamps over tables of rough-hewed wood. The result is an overall glow that quickly becomes internal. This is among the most successful of a current generation of restaurants that is sometimes called neo-bistro. The cooking is subtle, the food is served leisurely and informally.
- Pulperia - The name is not exactly misleading — there is octopus on the menu — but it’s actually what you might call a Franco-Argentine restaurant, with a strong emphasis on meat. (If meat isn’t your game, steer clear.) For years, I said the same about Severo in the 14th, which in spirit this place resembles: friendly, personal, tiny and perfect for drinking red wine. It is also not a “fancy” or even especially special place: it’s just the kind of place you want in your neighborhood
- Bistrot Paul Bert – Consistently voted one of Paris' best Bistros. Off the beaten path” lies this “boisterous” bistro serving a “solid”, midpriced menu “with beef the star” (“best steaks in town” claim many) plus “interesting” wines; the old-school look is straight “out of central casting”, as are the “brusque” waiters, adding up to “everything” one “imagined a French bistro would be.”
- Aux Deux Amis - “Delicious tapas” with “delicate flavors” come at “reasonable prices” at this casual wine bar/bistro in Oberkampf, where the small plates – and a few heartier plats du jour – strike some as “a lot fresher” than the Atomic Age diner decor; it’s “trendy” all the same, packed with hipsters and foodies who gather at the old zinc bar for “boisterous” evenings over bottles of natural wine or something stronger. This tiny place is so popular in the evening, people are pouring out into the street, and we know why.
- Bistro Melac - A Zinc cafe / looks like French country kitchen - The best mustache in Paris” – attached to its “delightful” owner, Jacques Mélac – greets all comers to his 11th-arrondissement bistrot à vins, known for dishes that are steeped in the “terroir” of the Auvergne and offered at “populist” prices; the “friendly” staff is happy to ply oenophiles with wine from the Languedoc, and if the “rustic” interior is “nothing fancy” it’s still an “authentic” slice of “Vieux Paris.”
- Le Pure Café - Time stands still in Le Pure Café, a coveted neighbourhood haunt, dressed up to the nines in 1930s era lights, mirrors, tiles and a gigantic zinc bar, around which trendy waiters bustle between the tables. Set on the corner of rue Jean Macé, three huge bay windows frosted with art deco flowers filter light into the dining room, where Le Pure serves homely vintage dishes like duck in honey sauce, lamb chops roasted in rosemary and pears poached in red wine. Just as comforting is the chocolat chaud, made from rich melted chocolate. On a sunny day, grab a spot on the terrace and watch the world go by along bustling rue Faidherbe, just across the way.
17th:
- L’Entredgeu - frequented and adored by locals. The name comes from noted chef-owner, Phillipe Tredgeu, who manages the cooking, and his wife, who expertly runs the front of the house. The tiny, unpretentious restaurant in the Batignolles-Monceau area is typically crammed, and the snug arrangement of the tables makes casual chatter with neighboring diners almost unavoidable. Waiters carry a blackboard menu announcing the seasonal bistro fare, which can include battered oysters, caramelised pork belly, and quail with foie gras. The fixed-prix menu presents a real bargain, around 30 euros, for classic, well-prepared French cuisine.
- Flea Market (Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt) - Paris's most famous flea market is a grouping of more than a dozen flea markets -- a complex of 2,500 to 3,000 open stalls and shops on the northern fringe of the city, selling everything from antiques to junk, from new to vintage clothing. The market begins with stalls of cheap clothing along avenue de la Porte de Clignancourt. As you proceed, various streets will tempt you. Hold on until you get to rue des Rosiers; then turn left. SAT-MON, 9am-6pm
- Village Saint-Paul (confirm times w/ concierge) - site of a former medieval royal residence, houses a series of color-coded courtyards filled with high end antique and art shops and museums in a labyrinth of walkways
- Bercy Village - A newcomer to the retail scene, and a geographic outlier, the old wine merchant district, Bercy Village is a marvel of architectural revival. On the eastern end of the city, along the Seine, the outdoor shopping escape is easily accessible by the speedy and efficient metro line 14. At the Village, 19th-century wine warehouses have been meticulously converted into one of the most unique shopping centers in Paris. If nothing else, the many cafés and restaurants in this post-industrial setting are a great change from the huge crowds or potentially snobbish shopping experiences in other districts. (Daily 11am-9pm)
- Canal St Martin - Hands up if you've seen 'Amélie', Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2001 blockbuster. It was the Canal St-Martin's iron footbridges and tree-shaded quays that formed the backdrop for some of the film's most atmospheric scenes. Nowadays, this ever-gentrifying, 19th-century waterway draws a trendy crowd to its shabby-chic bars and appetizing bistros - starting with Chez Prune, the main magnet for bobo bière-drinkers.
- Angelina for hot chocolate
- Vintage shops
- Espace Kiliwatch - If you’re a Rachel Zoe at heart, this store will make you orgasmic.. An enormous storefront steps from the hip pedestrian Rue Montorgeuil in central Paris, long been a mainstay for vintage fashion devotees. (Open Mon. 2-7PM, Tues.-Sat. 11AM-7PM)
- Odetta - Those seeking classic accessories will do well to visit this chic boutique offering designer vintage clothing, jewelry, shoes—even furniture. Considering the quality of its carefully selected inventory, Odetta’s prices are surprisingly reasonable.
HOTELS:
- Hotel Amour: A super hip hotel/restaurant run by the singularly named Andre, who recently expanded his empire overseas, being one third of Beatrice Inn. - also great for lunch or dinner
- Thoumieux - by the Costes family
- Hotel Jules & Jim - Cosy boutique hotel in the Marais, arranged around a cobblestoned courtyard. Wallpaper cited Jules and Jim in April 2012 and praised its design work by architect Heinrich Fitger. "A tasteful ensemble of glass, wood, stone and concrete, it features 23 guest rooms, with those on the eight and top floor of the main building offering incredible views of the Sacre-Coeur and the Marais." [Wallpaper] In the attached October 2013 travel review, Elle recommends Hotel Jules & Jim for a romantic getaway in Paris.
