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A Long Weekend In Paris I have always loved Italy and always hated France. Nice, warm people generously serving wonderful food versus snobby, cold intimidators providing miniature portions of rich, heavy food. No contest. Italy wins every time. The Summer of 2001 has been dubbed the Summer of France in my life, for I will be making two trips to the esteemed country. The first trip was a long weekend in Paris for a wedding of one of my colleagues. I have to report that France has moved a notch up on my list...maybe even two notches! We had an absolutely wonderful trip and I am already eager to return. Here are a few suggestions...please pardon the spelling, for French as a language is still at the bottom of the list!
Hotels The nicest hotels in Paris are very, very expensive. Thanks to a great corporate rate, we stayed at the Hotel Meurice which is right on the Rue de Rivoli overlooking the Jardin des Tuileries. The location could not have been finer...perfectly situated as the starting point for our daily excursions by foot. It is close to all of the museums, the shopping, the sights and many great restaurants. The hotel was recently renovated and truly retained its original charm as an old world luxury hotel. The rooms were nicely appointed and not too small. The bathroom was one of the best. Elizabeth told me the gym/spa was also exquisite. Some of the other old-school luxury hotels in Paris: Hotel Georges V (Four Seasons), Hotel Ritz, Hotel Crillon, the Bristol and the Plaza Athenee. The Ian Schraeger crowd stays at the Hotel Costes, which, as you can imagine, has a great bar scene.
Restaurants Elizabeth did a lot of research on where to dine and it really made the trip. We attempted to try a wide variety of restaurants from the top fancy places to local neighborhood bistros with great food. Here was our culinary itinerary: Thursday lunch: L'Ardoise, a great casual restaurant on the streets behind our hotel. They offer a moderately-priced three-course lunch. I recommend the crab tartlet as a starter, the risotto (very buttery) and the grilled whole fish for main courses, and the chocolate quenelles for dessert. The chalkboard menu changes daily. Thursday dinner: Guy Savoy, a two-Michelin-star dinning insanity. Recently remodeled, this restaurant offered up on of the best meals of my life. For details, please visit click here. Friday lunch: with two huge meals under the belt, we decided to scale down and have a "picnic" in the Jardin de Luxembourg. We went to the Ile St. Louis for our provisions. The greatest baguette ever can be found at Phillipe Martin. The best cheese shop in Paris is La Ferme Saint Aubin. And, the finest ice cream in all of France is dispensed at Berthillon. All of these places can be found on the main street (Rue St. Louis) on Ile St. Louis. Friday dinner: Le Voltaire, a classic, old-school bistro in a great location on the Left Bank right on La Seine. A small, dark place with wonderful bistro-style food. We enjoyed the green salad (with mushrooms, green beans, tomatoes, beets, carrots) and the crab salad for starters; grilled salmon and steak frites (some of the best frites ever) for the main course; and, some amazing profiteroles with warm chocolate sauce. The kitchen sent out more frites as we finished each plate! Saturday lunch: Bofinger, one of the oldest and most classic brasseries in the city. A block from La Bastille, this amazing restaurant defines the brasserie, from its worn interior to the incredible tiered plats of fruits de mer. I had onion soup to start and a charcuterie consisting of smoked bacon slabs, a frankfurter, a garlic sausage, duck confit all served alongside a mound of sizzling sauerkraut. Saturday dinner: a wonderful French and Japanese wedding banquet at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador to France. World-class sushi and tempura paired with a variety of French classics including sliced duck breast with foie gras. Oliver and Mari really planned a beautiful ceremony and reception! Breakfast: each day we had a quick breakfast in a local cafe, usually standing at the car. Cafe noir or cafe au lait, maybe with a croissant.
Shopping The exchange rate was favorable and many of the great Paris stores were having end-of-season sales, so we spent a little time shopping... Rue St. Honore and Rue du Faubourg St. Honore was our favorite street with a wide variety of French and other European designers, from classics like Hermes to newer places like Colette. Another great high-end street was Avenue Montaigne. On the Left Bank, we liked the Rue St. Peres and Rue Cherche Midi. Also, certain sections of Boulevard Saint Germain.
Walks Leaving from the Hotel Meurice, we embarked on a variety to walks in an effort to see the city...so many that I think my legs lost an inch in length. A few suggestions: Shopping walk (half day): Rue Saint Honore to Rue du Faubourg St Honore, down Avenue Franklin D Roosevelt, around the Champs Elysees, down and back Avenue Montaigne, and back down the Champs Elysees through the Jardin des Tuileries. Sights and eating walk (full day): Through the Jardin des Tuileries past the Louvre along the Seine on Quai du louvre, crossing to Ile De La Cite at Pont Neuf past the Palais de Justice, the Hotel Dieu and Notre Dame over Pont St. Louis to Ile St. Louis, picking up your provisions on Rue St. Louis, back over the Pont St. Louis and over the Pont De L'Archeveche onto the Left Bank and in to the Latin Quarter up Rue Saint Jacques towards the Sorbonne and the Pantheon and over to the Jardin du Luxembourg for your picnic (they have lots of tables and chairs). Leave the Jardin, go down Rue D' Assas towards Place Deville, take a right on Rue Du Cherche Midi to Rue du Dragon to Boulevard Saint Germain all the way down to Pont de la Concorde passed the Obelisque and back to the bath in the hotel! Ugh... Another half day walk: Up the Rue de Castiglione into the Place Vendome down Rue Danielle Casanova to the Jardin du Palais Royal towards the Bourse along Rue Berger towards Les Halles and the Pompidou down Rue du Renard towards the Hotel de Ville and along the Seine to Boulevard Henri IV to the Bastille and then stop for lunch at Bofinger for a brief rest before you continue on to the Musee Picasso. The Museum walk: Simple and long. Spend the required time at the Louvre and leave through the Jardin du Carrousel across the Pont Royal to the Musee d'Orsay where you make sure to check out the top floors. Leave via Rue de Bellechasse to Rue Saint Dominique passing the Ministere de la Defence going left on Rue de Constantine until it turns into Boulevard Des Invalides and then you are at the Musee Rodin. By this time, after all these walks, treat yourself to a taxi back to the hotel.
Other ideas: Drinks: Hotel Costes Raging: Buddha Bar Evening activity: boat cruise (with cocktails) on the Seine Tea: Hotel Meurice Restaurant we couldn't get into, but wanted to: Taillevent Read about Sasha's Nine Star Dining Experience!
That's all for now...enjoy!
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