Buzzy restaurants

Robert et Louise for Steak, Chez Paul in Bastille for that classic French meal, Chez Janou for Southern inspired food from Provence and great chocolate mousse, Paris' famous Jewish Falafel 5 minutes away at rue des Rosiers

Cool bars

My Fave - Candelaria secret bar behind the tacos restaurant on rue St Onge in the Haut Marais plus the whole of the Bastille night scene on your doorstep

Cozy cafés

Cafe Hugo on Place des Vosges or the Famous, Ma Bourgogne, Merci concept store Cafe or Grazia for their great Pizza

Retail therapy

Diptyque candles and perfumes, the whole of the rue Francs Bourgeois

Bit of culture

Musee Victor Hugo, Musee Picasso, Centre Pompidou 15min walk

Walks in the park

Place des Vosges 2 minutes away or stroll by the Seine a bit further

Spot of exercise

Jogging along he plant filled Promeande Plantee or by the Seine

Day tripping

Champagne region, Loire Valley, 2 hours to the South of France by fast train

An influx of new art galleries paired with arrivals on neighboring St Claude, and firmly anchored by the established, larger dealers (Thaddaeus Ropac, Emmanuel Perrotin, Yvon Lambert) a few streets away has made what was already a cool quartier, almost toxically trendy. Le Progrés, the café which used to be the preferred place for all the local artists, art dealers and fashionistas, while still retaining a portion of its deliberately scruffy clientele has been somewhat overshadowed by a new bastion of chic, the Café Charlot. Aside from the impossibly attractive patrons, the place is genuinely cozy and appealing and offers basic but solidly decent food, particularly the hamburgers. And most importantly, in a city whose restaurants tend to keep somewhat, shall we say, ‘arbitrary’ hours, Café Charlot is open ALL THE TIME. From 7am to 2am daily. The kitchen even serves dinner until midnight. Check out the new galleries, innovative design and clothing shops, and then head over to Café Charlot. Pick one of the low tables with the comfy armchairs, bring a book, doesn’t matter which one- you won’t be reading it, like Karl over his fan you’ll be surreptitiously peering over it, to check out one of the best impromptu fashion shows in town. Trés cool, trust me.