Guide
The Paris City Guide to grand hotels, great tables and neighbourhood favourites
Chez Ginette, a classic corner café located in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris
The most beautiful city in the world is also, right now, one of its most alive – Notre Dame luminous, the Grand Palais restored, and new restaurants opening faster than you can book them. This is the insider’s guide to Paris: the art, the food, the parks, the best luxury hotels in Paris – and everything in between
“She’s a city for all the senses, for artists and writers and musicians and dreamers, for fantasies, for long walks and wine and lovers and yes, for mysteries.”
– *Quote from MJ Rose, author of “The Book of Lost Fragrances”
Luxury, fashion, gastronomy, architecture, culture, craftsmanship, creativity, art and sport, especially since the Paris Olympics… Paris has it all. The epicentre of the French art de vivre, Paris maybe the greatest museum city in the world but it’s no museum piece. It is a living, breathing work of art, which should be savoured slowly.
The Icons
Notre Dame
The soul of France, the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral is now majestically resurrected to its full glory after five years of meticulous restoration since the devastating fire of 2019. Thousands of artisans chiselled Lutetian limestone into swooping arches; hewed oak trees into beams and moulded lead into ornamental roofing with the ultimate goal of creating a vision of the divine world. Today, its interior is luminous. Entry is free. Book a time online to streamline access. You can also skip lines by attending a service.
Grand Palais
The Grand Palais Beaux Arts museum-exhibition space, originally built for the 1900 World’s Fair, is once again at the centre of Parisian cultural life after a five-year renovation project. With the largest glass roof in Europe, the nave is the site of haute couture shows, the Paris Biennale, book fairs, festivals and even a spectacular indoor ice-skating rink in December and January. Its elegant galleries also host some of the city’s grandest exhibitions. “Cezanne and Us”, dedicated to the modernist’s artistic legacy, will run through 17 January 2027. There’s also a science museum, The Grand Café Brasserie and The Réséda Café by Michelin-starred chef Thierry Marx, plus… this being Paris… three bookstores.
Must Do
Really, the only thing you must do in Paris is to promenade. The French have a word for it, flâner, which basically means to wander without a destination but with the intent of savouring the sights – and what sights they are. The beautifully proportioned Haussmann buildings, the Art Nouveau metro stations, the café terraces filled with bon vivants, the bijou boutiques, the sun dappled squares, the voluptuous sculptures, the markets overflowing with seasonal produce, the flower stalls fragrant with peonies and lilies. They are all there to tantalise our senses.
Indeed, Thomas Jefferson summed it up perfectly. “A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life.”
Art & Culture
Musee de l’Orangerie
Originally conceived by Emperor Napoleon III as a greenhouse to provide winter shelter for the orange trees decorating the Tuileries Palace gardens, the Orangerie became a museum after World War I when Claude Monet donated his large Water Lilies series to the State as a symbol of peace. You can still admire the eight panels in two oval rooms that form the infinity symbol. In 2026, on the 100th anniversary of his death, the Museum is also hosting a remarkable temporary exhibition, “Monet, Painting Time” which explores his fascination with capturing transient moments with artworks donated from the Musée d’Orsay and Musée Marmottan Monet.
musee-orangerie.fr
Fondation Cartier
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain has recently opened its new flagship contemporary art museum opposite the Louvre. Preserving the historic Haussmann-era 19th century facade with its colonnaded arcades, renowned French architect Jean Nouvel has created a radically malleable space inside where the floors and walls are movable to cater to the flexible spatial needs of today’s conceptual artists. Addressing themes rarely dealt with in museums, Fondation Cartier’s programming is eclectic and multidisciplinary, encouraging collaborations between artists, scientists, philosophers, musicians and architects. Multi-starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic also has a new restaurant and bar here.
Wine & Dine
Septime
This trailblazing neo-bistro, with the soul of haute cuisine and the spirit of a house party, is still one of the most sought after restaurants in Paris. Launched in 2011 by the late chef Bertrand Grébaut in the bourgeois, bohemian 11th arrondissement, Septime offers a daily changing set menu of flavour-packed, vegetable-forward dishes in an airy industrial space with exposed metal beams and glass partitions reminiscent of the artisan ateliers that once inhabited this neighbourhood east of the Bastille. Reservations are open every day at 10am for the following three weeks.
Le Bon Georges
With its chalkboard menus, well-worn wooden tables, blue and white wicker chairs and blue awnings, Le Bon Georges is the quintessential corner bistro that attracts food and wine loving locals and tourists in equal measure. Come here for perfect pâté en croûte, egg mayonnaise, steak frites, chocolate mousse and crème brulée. French meats, sustainable small boat fishing and seasonal vegetables from French market gardeners ensure the highest quality while the 2000 bottle wine list covers gems from Bordeaux to Burgundy and everything in between. The waiters move like lightning, the atmosphere is boisterous and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.
Natural Beauty
Paris has more than 500 parks, gardens and public green spaces, many of which are planted with a gorgeous array of seasonal flowers.
The Jardin du Luxembourg (6th arr) is a children’s paradise with a puppet theatre, Eiffel Tower climbing frame, old-fashioned carousel, and wooden boats to sail on the pond, but there are also quiet nooks with gorgeous sculptures and lots of green metal chairs to relax on beside vibrant flower gardens.
The Jardin du Palais Royal (1st arr) has double rows of lime and chestnut trees framing fountains and flower gardens surrounded by gallery arcades shading boutiques and cafes.
The Jardin des Tuileries (1st arr), between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, has tree-shaded gravel paths, classic statues, and ponds surrounded by green metal chairs.
The Jardin des Plantes (5th arr) features a historic botanical garden and greenhouses and the National Museum of Natural History.
Larger parks on the edge of the city include the Bois de Boulogne (in the west) with cycling paths, large lake, children’s amusement park and the Fondation Louis Vuitton art museum; Bois de Vincennes (in the east) with lakes, the Paris Zoo and the Parc Floral; and the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont (in the north) with a lake, rolling lawns, and a temple on a cliff.
Staying Here
Le Pavillon de la Reine
Set in a garden off the historic Place des Vosges in the Marais, the ivy-clad Pavillon de la Reine might be the most serene luxury hotel in all of Paris. There are just 56 striking, individually designed rooms in the 17th century building. Dine in its warm-hued, one-Michelin-starred Anne restaurant, or better yet, when the weather is warm, savour lunch or sip champagne in the pretty courtyard.
Hotel Particulier Montmartre
Once home to members of the Hermès and Rothschild families, the flamboyant five-suite Hotel Particulier is located in a neoclassical mansion hidden down a cobblestone laneway in Montmartre. The bistronomy restaurant is delightful but the real attraction amongst Parisian insiders is the saucy hidden cocktail bar with its dreamlike wallpaper and magical garden.
Getting Around
Paris is eminently walkable. Indeed, it’s one of the best ways to explore the City of Light. There are also 1,000 kilometres of bike paths and Vélib’ Métropole offers 24-hour self-service mechanical and electric bike rental stations. The subway system (called the Metro) has 16 colour-coded lines that criss-cross the city. The Batobus hop-on hop-off Seine river service offers a scenic way to discover Paris’ iconic monuments as you cross the heart of the city.
Related: An Expert’s Guide to Paris
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