Where to eat, drink, stay and shop in Paris: the Esquire guide
Paris has always been hard to beat. But the last few years have seen the city enjoy a youthful surge of cool. Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, we take you through our favourite spots, so you don’t miss the good stuff when you visit
PARIS. It’s the city of love, light and luxury fashion. It’s also set to welcome this year’s Olympic Games – but you knew that, because how could you escape the Paris 2024 fever currently flooding the news cycle? But those of us who have been visiting the capital for years know that today, Paris is a city with much more to offer than its well-thumbed beacons of bloody history, art and buttery cuisine.
The city is, in fact, enjoying a youthful surge of intangible cool. It’s being driven by a sense of liveability – public and green spaces are in abundance – a start-up culture that’s being eyed off by Palo Alto (Station F, the world’s largest start-up incubator is located in Paris), an attractive and fast-moving European finance sector and a flourishing contemporary art scene that rivals its well-established museum culture.
Sure, you can head to Paris and take in the glistening nightly glow of the Eiffel Tower, battle for a quintessential bistro experience at Chez George (replete with a side of hostile waiters) or wander Jardin du Luxembourg with a book and half-eaten baguette. But we recommend going beyond the obvious and the dusty window dressing; pull back the city’s thickset velvet curtain and discover a buzzy Paris beyond the singular arrondissements – a city that is, despite the mess of Macron’s recent parliamentary election, both edgy and exuberant. As the locals say: À vous.
Where to eat and drink in Paris
There’s a rightful buzz about the 11th’s Kubri – elevated Lebanese dishes rammed and rolled with tantalising flavours used in unique alignment. If you must do snails, then you must do Restaurant Allard. Choose Parcelles or Bistrot des Tournelles as the go-to of their kind (elevated, interesting and superbly executed bistro menus) and arrange a rendezvous at Martin Boire et Manger for the people watching, wine list and fresh share plates. Montezuma Café is fun for drinking and some tunes. While in Belleville, head for an evening street scene – built on exceptional wines, community and easy small plates – that develops at La Cave à Michel. Is Dumbo worth the wait? Yes, because that cheeseburger is autre chose. As for some caffeinated assistance that’s not burnt espresso – know that Café Nuances and Mardi are your friends while Dreamin’ Man is the coolest fix you’ll find in Paris.
One final tip must also be Le Doyenné – a farmhouse restaurant run by Australian chefs James Henry (Au Passage; Bones) and Shaun Kelly, in the grounds of the 18th century Chateau de Saint-Vrain. It’s bringing the garden-to-table approach to the Parisian crowd and they can’t get enough of it. But be prepared to make it a day (or overnight) trip. A grand destination diner 40 kilometres north of town and accessible by train, it now also holds various rooms for on-site stays. Brilliant.
Where to stay in Paris
It was about ten years ago that Paris upped its game when it came to elevated and design-led small boutique stays. Of these we find ourselves happily returning to the homely chic of Le Pigalle, the boldness of Sinner, so too the hidden stylings of The Grands Boulevards Experimental. Each serves a slice of cool and a welcome air – so too some of the best addresses from which to head out and meander.
Still, if you’re looking to engage one of the city’s feted properties – those likely to house a Kardashian come summer – make it Le Crillon. The history, location and its congeniality are unexpected at this price point, so too is the fact it caters to the well-heeled (and well dressed) French over the fanny-packed masses, if you’re looking for an escape from the tourist crowds. Failing that, make it Hotel Costes for the moody-cool delivery, courtyard dining and almost guaranteed celebrity sightings (Jared Leto is a regular).
Where to shop in Paris
Let’s run this list quickly and from the top. The Marais remains a must for an amble across very good menswear, so too does the new Dover Street Market Paris and the multi-branded appeal of The Broken Arm. In the 10th arrondissement, The Next Door is a must for street-led wares, while across the Seine, Le Bon Marché remains the blueprint department store. Side note – if you do make it here, the nearby Hermès boutique at 17 Rue de Sèvres is an acute reminder of just how wonderful the historic maison’s retail experience is. Elsewhere, vintage threads are found at Thanx God I’m A VIP (it’s in fact owner Sylvie Chateigner who should be thanked) with Charly offering some striking vintage watches.
Things to do in Paris
Parisian museums abound – yet our only ‘must do’, no matter how fleeting a given French stopover, is the Museum of Hunting and Nature. It’s a romp through the private collection of French entrepreneur François Sommer, housed in a central hotel particulier (that’s French for ‘grand urban mansion’). Eager to lose the night to music, dance and hedonism? Bisou is a club that means business.
To walk off the night before is to potter about Belleville for its spirited mix of arts and immigrés culture that permeates this buzzy village far removed from Haussemann’s presentation of Paris.
It’s here too you’ll discover the Petite Ceinture – a converted eight kilometre stretch of disused railway that offers a green, pedestrianised escape from the bustle (think of it as Paris’ answer to New York’s Highline) and which boasts bars and restaurants at several former train stations.
As for art, steer for the expansive Komunuma. Opened last October on the 46,000 sqm site of a former pharmaceutical factory, this mixed-use operation in Romainville is home to contemporary galleries, emerging artists, a fashion school, exhibition spaces and more. It’s also central to the newfound sense of excitement and appeal that is redefining contemporary Paris.
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