<aside> 🔢 City classification

• Familiarity with city: 3/10
• Rating as a travel destination: 8/10 </aside>

Paris is like five cities in one. The districts are all distinct, yet the density is consistently high and there is always more to discover. I recommend staying around St Gervais / Les Marais, which is central (5min to Notre Dame, 5min to Pompidou, 5min to Louvre), funky, authentic, and full of life from 10am until late. It’s less touristy than the Eiffel Tower area, which imo is overrated.

My sample size of restaurants and cafes in Paris is far smaller than other cities like Rome and Florence, but from the places I have tried, some recommendations:

• Restaurants

  • Chez Janou for dinner — it’s an amazing local hangout, but be sure to arrive early or book, since it gets busy quickly
  • Breizh Cafe Marais for crêpes at lunch or dinner — the flour, ingredients, and cooking are superb. Savoury > sweet.
  • La Jacobine
  • Chez Mademoiselle
  • JJ Beaumarchais

• Bakeries:

  • La Maison d’Isabelle (have won best croissant in France, and the award is consistent with my thoughts, unlike Lune in Australia which is a tad overrated)
  • Boulangerie Liberte (try the bread as well as the pastries)
  • Yan Couvreur Rosiers
  • Du Pain et des Idees

• From a friend