Paris
April in Paris!
It’s so beautiful they write songs about it!
I took a trip to Paris over Easter weekend to celebrate my birthday, and it was a terrific time to visit - warm weather, fewer crowds than in summertime and lots to see and do in the City of Light.
Hemingway called Paris a ‘moveable feast’ because once you’ve visited, you can enjoy the city rest of your life. I find this to be true, as I returned to a city I love but have not visited in over five years. My goals were to visit some familiar favorites - lunch at Café de Flore, a walk around the Marais to see the Picasso Museum and, of course, a visit to the Eiffel Tower - and to check out some new things like the Pinault Collection, art museum that opening in the spring of 2021, and the restaurants Semilla in the 6th arrondissement and the Michelin starred Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Saint-Germain.
Paris has an enduring charm of history, art, architecture, food, wine and pastries, all in compact neighborhoods, that makes it one of the top destinations globally. I was concerned about traveling in the spring of 2023, as the French government moved to delay the retirement age from 60 to 62 years, causing national strikes, garbage delays and mass protests. Strikes are, however, a deeply rooted part of French culture, and they were scheduled for the day before my arrival - so by the time I landed, there was zero impact to transportation, access to monuments and museums or areas of the city to avoid. Anyone traveling for the rest of the year should factor this into your planning…but it wasn’t a real issue for me.
For my long birthday weekend, I wanted to try a new hotel in Paris - so I looked around at the Mariott properties as I would be using points for my stay. I came across this boutique property in the 16th arrondissement, just east of the Eiffel Tower across the Seine and close to the Trocadero metro stop. There were several reasons that I loved this hotel - not only was I able to get a reasonable points redemption through Marriott Bonvoy, but they also accepted my suite upgrade to the fantastic Ming Suite - complete with Eiffel tower views from the bathroom, no less! The second great thing was the hotel has Paris’ oldest Champagne bar, with over 230 labels in its cellar. It was a great end to an evening on the town to return to the jade green jewel box of a dining room to sample some of their excellent vintages. The third reason was the Louis Vuitton elevator - which was TINY by any standard but very stylish. There are only 45 rooms, so the hotel felt intimate at all times and the staff was really excellent and they were very thoughtful to send up a bottle of Champagne for my bday. Merci!
Paris - Old Haunts and New Experiences
One of the great pleasures of traveling is the disorientation of a new city, the exploring new (at least to you!) sights and the mini-adventures embedded in a new culture, language and currency. Then there are times when that is too exhausting, and you just want to return to a place you know intimately, to eat the same meal or see the same painting as many years ago. Café de Flore, for all its overexposure and tabloid history, is one such place. Immediately upon landing in Paris on an overnight flight not quite long enough to sleep, I checked into my room, dropped my bag and took the metro to Cafe de Flore. With enough high school French to order without embarrassing myself, I got settled into one of the tables in the sunroom for my go-to French lunch - an omelet with cheese and ham, a simple green salad, and a few (!!) glasses of Sancerre. Yes, CDF is super touristy, but enough French folks were lingering over espressos to give it an air of authenticity. Steeped in literary and philosophical history, the cafe was a regular haunt of Picasso, Zhou Enlai and James Baldwin. As always, the people-watching was on point! I spent a few hours recovering from my jet lag and planning the rest of my first day in Paris.
Notre Dame, Louvre and Tuileries
A short walk across the Seine from CDF is the cultural heart of the city, with Notre Dame, the Louvre Museum and the Tuileries gardens all majestically aligned on the banks of the Seine. I was keenly interested to see the progress on the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral since the devastating fire almost exactly four years ago. The facade is thankfully intact but the sides still show the stone ribs of the barrel vaulting and the exposed roof. Massive cranes are all around the structure and a temporary viewing stand was installed in the courtyard in front of the large portals on the western facade. The Louvre remains an iconic spot - but I was only drawn in to touch base with a few masterpieces and then be on my way. The key to the Louvre - as well as all the other major monuments - is timed tickets or a museum pass that allows you to skip the ticket line. You could waste half of your trip by mistiming ticket lines or not taking advantage of preferred passes that pay for themselves after about 4 or 5 stops. The pyramid courtyard and the Tuileries are gorgeous in any weather, but particularly nice in the first bloom of spring. This was all the sightseeing I needed before heading back to my hotel to freshen up and plan my night out.
On the Île de la Cité, Saint Chappelle contains one of the most stunning series of art anywhere - the stained glass windows of the upper chapel built in the Gothic Rayonnant style. Constructed in the 13th century by King Louis IX, this chapel was reserved for French royalty and was purported to hold the King’s collection of relics, including a piece of the true cross and the crown of thorns from the Passion of Christ. Today, the connection to the divine can be seen just by looking out the window. These photos are all #nofileter
For me, a significant reason to return to Paris was to see the new Pinault Collection, which opened in May 2021. The Pinault Collection encompasses two museums in Venice and one in Paris in the former 18th-century corn exchange, the Bourse De Commerce. Francois Pinault’s (the chairman of the holding company for YSL, Gucci and Alexander McQueen) collection of contemporary art is vast and impressive. The architecture is playfully modern, with Japanese architect Tadao Ando taking charge of the 100M euro renovation. The ceiling is a glass dome covering a concrete rotunda, so the space is flooded with natural light and has a mix of classically French details with a modernist edge. Even the pigeons on the roofline are not real, but rather an art installation by Maurizio Cattelan. The circular staircase in a cylindrical building leads to more gallery space, expansive views of the building and a fantastic restaurant at the top.
Some overarching themes of the collection include exploitative colonization, juxtaposing the 19th-century frescoes entitled “Triumphal France” in all of its imperial glory with artwork by Guyanese artist Frank Bowling entitled Texas Louise. Inspired by JMW Turner’s landscapes, Bowling overlays a map that encourages dialogue on postcolonial and geopolitical subjects. Other themes of Light / dark, human/non-human, life/death (Yi’s cocoons about to give life / Pieron’s display of deadly plants) and the decay of the world, through sites such as Chornobyl, as well as the effects of the current climate crisis, all feature heavily in the works shown. This new museum is a top art destination globally in my mind…don’t miss it!
Named for the grain storage in the former bourse building, Les Halles aux Grains is the creation of brothers Michael & Sebastian Bras, which is situated on the top floor of the Pinault Collection. Spring seasonality ruled here with my white asparagus starter, grilled hake with spring veggies and a deconstructed carrot cake for dessert. This was as swanky as museum dining gets, with incredible views over Les Halles. Book 30 days in advance; it’s delicious!
On the recommendation of my good friend Alex (and their super Instagram), I went to Restaurant Semilla - Spanish for seed - for dinner to check out their inventive cuisine. Tucked in the 6th arrondissement on a small street right next door to other favorites Fish La Boissonnerie and sandwich shop Cosi, Semilla is a really convivial neighborhood place that serves fantastic food. I did the tasting menu with a great wine paring and was blown away by how good and (reasonably) affordable the meal was. Super friendly staff explained every dish ingredient and why the wine paring was a good match. Excellent spot for a date, dinner alone or grabbing a seat at the small, but fun bar.
One highlight of my trip was visiting Joel Robuchon in Saint Germain. Part open kitchen, part theater - this one Michelin-star restaurant is definitely an experience not to miss. Don’t even look at the menu and go with the degustation menu and ask them to pair it with some wine…then let the magic happen. Everyone has a front row seat, as you sit around an open kitchen at a bar. There is a back room with tables but don’t sit there - the action is upfront. I packed a suit and was glad that I came a bit dressed up. The tasting menu was a greatest hits of tuna carpaccio with caviar, fois gras, seabass, a take on gyoza dumplings, lamb chops and I think I counted three desserts in all. Off menu items would appear and I got to try a small batch olive oil that is their ‘house’ brand. Service was outstanding, with the always smiling Benjamin looking after me. The bar was a mix of folks from China, Argentina, retired Parisiennes - all of us got to talking as each plate came out in dramatic fashion. This is a great place to strike up a conversation with your neighbor as there’s always something new and exciting to see and eat. Each dish was insta worthy and the mashed potatoes are as good as they are famous. A splurge but totally worth it.
Right on the next street from Semilla in the 6tharrondissement is a terrific place for a nightcap in the City of Light. Prescription has all the elements for a sophisticated club -the model-perfect DJ spinning St. Barths vibe in the corner, low pink lighting that flatters everybody and an inventive drink menu. I went with the Plymouth gin and rosewater tonic - an outstanding drink. Snag a seat at the downstairs bar and soak it the ambiance. Tres chic!
