Though it is a city famous for romance, Paris does not always woo, at least immediately. To fall for it takes time, a little insight, patience. In this regard, it is like any other relationship. But with its towering reputation, Paris also suffers from the weight of both expectation and projection: people want so much from it, have such fixed ideas about what it should be. And so, it is an easy place not to “get” — like meeting a celebrity crush only to discover them deadly dull. Here then, for anyone visiting to watch the Olympics or otherwise, is a cheat’s guide to Paris.
Find your neighbourhood
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As with London, Paris is a city of landmarks, of icons. And, as with London, staying too close to them can sometimes mean the city feels impersonal, unreal — somewhere that belongs to films and TV, to tourists and their TikToks. Granted, the famous Hotel Plaza Athénée (25 Avenue Montaigne, dorchestercollection.com), is right by the river, has views of the Eiffel Tower, is a couple of minutes walk from the Musée d’Art Moderne, and sits around the corner from the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. But it’s also a small fortune, and that part of town always feels very scant on what you might call real people.
Getting out from the dead centre pays dividends: Pigalle, which cuts through the 9th and 18th arrondissements, has the Rue des Martyrs running from the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette into Montmartre. The avenue is full of pâtisseries and boulangeries, good neighbourhood restaurants and cafes full with chattering locals. At the Montmartre end, and with a view of the Sacré-Cœur from its stylish rooftop terrace (pictured at the top of this page), is the four-star Hotel Rochechouart (55 Boulevardd Marguerite de Rochechouart, 75009, orsohotels.com), the latest from the stylish Orso Hotels group. Far more appealingly priced — rooms for about €230 a night, even during the Olympics — it is a new hotel in a historic building, where Maurice Chevalier made himself a regular. The style is elegant and art deco, with Twenties and Thirties charm (see: the metal-shuttered glass lift, the lived-in homeliness of the rooms, which might come painted terracotta or bronze). It is moments from the famous Avenue Trudaine, a flea market appears nearby on the weekends, and it’s close by the music quarter and the Moulin Rouge.
Maggie at Hotel Rochechouart
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Its restaurant, Maggieis a beauty: the original blue and gold mosaic floor uncovered, a great burled wood bar. Wonky candles are everywhere. Food is typically French — Breton lobster with homemade fries, tuna in peppercorn sauce, aspargus in sauce Gribiche — but there are modern touches too, and occasional outside influences too (Basque steak, or a chimichurri sauce). That said, what the place excels in is fun: DJs play from 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and there’s a downstairs bar, The Mikadoopen till 3am. The crowd is good-looking. And so it is an easy pick as a base to have.
Other neighbourhoods to explore? Le Marais is known for its shopping, Saint-Germain-des-Prés feels like a village, Butte-aux-Cailles is like the Provence come to town and the Père Lachaise offers quiet to those needing it.
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For as much as France and food will forever be entwined, tourist traps offering mediocre meals plague Paris. Know, though, that Parisian restaurants are required to offer a set, fixed-price menu of some kind. This can mean that even a middling meal needn’t be an expensive mistake. Take advantage at some of the more famous places. The Procope (13 Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie, 75006, procope.com), for instance, which claims to be the city’s oldest café (and certainly looks the part, with its 17th century panelling) does a two-course menu for €25.50, three for €32.50. Though the origins are Italian, the food is firmly traditional French — coq au’vin, for instance — and the historic dishes are worth exploring; the tête de veau, cooked as it was in 1686, is gooey, gorgeous.
Elsewhere, At Georges’ (1 Rue du Mail, 75002, @chezgeorgesruedumail) is somewhere to go for those who’ve fallen for the latest run on bistros here (think Bouchon Racine, Josephine, Camille). The veal sweetbreads with morels there might be perfect; the andouillette is rich, pungent and needs lashing of mustard — but the brave will be rewarded. You might find an entrecôte, plenty of snails, wine favourably priced. And you will almost certainly sit elbow-to-elbow with the table beside you, but it won’t matter (especially as it has its celebrity fans: Bill Nighy goes, Keith McNally, Anna Wintour).
The Cadoret (1 Rue Pradier, 75019, @le_cadoret) offers similarly traditional cooking (the blanquette de veau is particularly good), albeit in more modern surrounds, while the tiny market stall of Children of the Market (Marché des, 39 Rue de Bretagne, 75003, @lesenfantsdumarche) seems an improbable place to pull off the refined, detailed plates of seasonal food it turns out. That there is no wine list — they ask your taste and go from there — may be novel to some.
Just a final word, a warning that many restaurants close on Sundays; this may be a chance to pick up a picnic, or to go to no-name places and give them a go, just because. The Cock in Paste (Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009, no website) opens then, and is cheap, homely and does decent French classics — a great pâté de campagne, for instance— though the word is to avoid the pizza at all costs. But then, don’t go to Rome and have the beef bourguignon. There is much else to uncover; this is just the start. Dine, drink, then get back to the Games.