Paris

The formal gardens between the Concorde and the Louvre, and the stretch of our morning run we would happily do again.

The vast square at the bottom of the Champs-Élysées, on both our morning run and the evening walk down to the tower.

The colonnaded garden Emily walks through, around the corner from Place de Valois — and quiet in a way the rest of the 1st is not.

Savoir's office square from Emily in Paris, and one of the quietest corners in the middle of the city.

One of our favourite coffee shops in Paris, under the arcades of the Palais-Royal garden.

A small specialty coffee bar on Rue Villédo. Saved for coffee, a pastry and a light breakfast.

The restaurant under the Louvre’s arcades looking straight out at the pyramid. On our Emily in Paris list rather than in our own memory.

The Michelin-starred room in the Palais-Royal arcades, Guy Martin’s, and one of the Emily in Paris addresses. Saved, not eaten at.

A classic bistro by Les Halles, saved off a Clerkenwell Boy recommendation.

No-nonsense French cooking in the old Les Halles market district. Our note reads "no nonsense french" — a recommendation we have been sitting on since 2022.

A bistro on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, saved on the 2022 list and still unvisited.

The restaurant attached to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, with a terrace onto the Tuileries. On the list since 2022.

A ramen counter dressed as a Tokyo fish market, tucked off Rue de Richelieu. Our note calls it a "hidden ramen spot".

An outdoor drinking spot on Rue Coquillière, saved for a table on the pavement rather than for the room.

The reason most people come to the 1st, and the halfway point of the 5km riverside run we did straight out of our hotel.

The oldest and most famous kitchen shop in Paris, by Les Halles — copper pans stacked to the ceiling.

The restored art nouveau department store by the Pont Neuf, and one of the Emily in Paris locations.

Our favourite little street in Paris, and one of the best foodie streets we have ever visited. A short cobbled run of shops that are almost all one of two families.

The cute yellow-fronted bakery on Rue du Nil, and the perfect foodie place to start the day.

The Rue du Nil roastery and café — your coffee fix on the street, sourcing and roasting with an emphasis on sustainability.

The oldest pastry shop in Paris, on Rue Montorgueil since 1730. Our note records exactly that and nothing more.

The lamination bakery on Avenue de l’Opéra — trompe-l’œil fruit and croissants people queue an hour for.

The Michelin-starred restaurant that made Rue du Nil what it is. Sophisticated small plates in an intimate, rustic room.

Marchand’s answer to gourmet cravings on the fly: Reubens, smash burgers and lobster rolls. Our note just says "salt beef sandwich".

A Montorgueil institution saved purely for the chairs outside — our note says "people watch outside chairs".

Thai food on Rue Montorgueil, saved off a recommendation we recorded only as "Rixo?".

The Big Mamma group’s pizzeria on Rue Réaumur — cheap, enormous and permanently queued.

A small room in the covered Passage des Panoramas. Saved with a one-word note: "romantic?".

A Lyonnais bouchon in the 2nd, on our list off a Clerkenwell Boy recommendation.

A full-dress Parisian brasserie by the Galerie Vivienne. Expensive, and on the list for one thing: the French onion soup.

The boucherie, poissonnerie, crèmerie and greengrocer that fill the rest of Rue du Nil. Where the picnic actually comes from.

Bean-to-bar chocolate on Rue du Nil, from single-origin darks to flavoured bars. Essential if you have a sweet tooth.

The central island, and the place to find a kerbside Parisian café for a wine-filled lunch watching the world go by.

A gorgeous lunchtime spot on the Île Saint-Louis with a view across to the Cité. Sit outside, order wine.

A corner café on the Île Saint-Louis. Our note is a seating instruction rather than a review: "seat by the window".

The cathedral on the Cité. Our own writing only ever names it as the point you could extend the morning run to — which is honestly how we would still do it.

Macarons and pastry from one of the two names everyone knows. Multiple sites; this is the Rue de Bretagne one, by the market.

A tiny blue former cobbler’s shop turned coffee bar on Rue du Pont aux Choux. Saved off The Boy Who Bakes.

Coffee and granola on Rue de Turbigo — saved as a breakfast rather than a caffeine stop.

Coffee and a cookie on Rue de Turenne, on the 2022 list off a friend’s recommendation.

A coffee shop on Rue Dupetit-Thouars, added to the list in 2025 for the next trip.

On Rue des Archives, saved for the cookies.

A 2025 addition on Rue Portefoin, saved off a recommendation.

Saved in 2026 on a David Lebovitz recommendation, for an apple turnover that apparently looks amazing.

The oldest covered market in Paris and a foodie’s playground. We repeatedly returned to it, which is the highest compliment we give anywhere.

Mouthwatering sandwiches, made in front of you at a theatrical pace, in and around the Marché des Enfants Rouges.

Modern Italian with an RnB and hip-hop playlist. Come for a trendy, young room and a spicy margarita.

Italian on Rue de Poitou with a speakeasy, Sotto, attached. Saved off a recommendation from friends.

A Provençal bistro near Place des Vosges, on the list for one thing: the enormous shared pot of chocolate mousse.

The famously old-school, famously expensive roast chicken and foie gras room on Rue du Vertbois.

Buckwheat galettes and cider on Rue Vieille-du-Temple. Saved with a one-word note: "galette".

Baguettes buttered and filled with cheese and charcuterie, on Rue Charlot. A 2025 addition to the list.

Vegan cooking on Rue Chapon, saved on the 2022 list.

A small Haut-Marais hotel with its own coffee shop, saved off a food podcast as a place to stay.

A tasting counter inside the Marché des Enfants Rouges — perfect during the day for a tipple and a meaty nibble.

A cosy, cosmopolitan cocktail bar on Rue Charlot, and one of the two Marais bars on our own favourites list.

A corner wine bar on Rue Commines. Our note is three exclamation marks long, which is how the 2022 list marked the wine bars we most wanted.

A taqueria at the front with a speakeasy cocktail bar hidden behind it. Exactly as our note puts it: "tacos but speakeasy at the back".

A wine bar on Rue de Picardie, saved on the 2022 list.

A wine bar on Rue Vieille-du-Temple, in the middle of the Marais’ best walking.

A wine bar on Rue des Gravilliers. Our note is unusually direct about where it sits in the queue: "need to go".

A cocktail bar on Boulevard du Temple with no menu — you say what you like and they build it.

Lingerie on Rue Vieille-du-Temple, saved in 2022 and noted as the pricier of the two on our list.

The Covent Garden of Paris, and one of the two neighbourhoods we would actually choose to stay in.

The oldest planned square in Paris, arcaded on all four sides, and the place to catch the city’s street performers.

A tearoom on Rue des Rosiers known for enormous meringue-topped tarts, and for the queue outside it.

Cookies on Rue des Écouffes, saved on the 2022 list.

The old Jewish quarter’s main street, and a long run of Middle Eastern and falafel places down near the river.

The famous falafel window on Rue des Rosiers. Our note is two words and two exclamation marks: "falafel (queues!!)".

A grand old bistro by the Hôtel de Ville, now in the Ducasse stable. Expensive, and on the list since 2022.

Steak and chips inside a baguette, on Rue des Archives. That is the entire pitch and the entire note.

A rooftop bar on top of the BHV on Rue de la Verrerie, saved for the view over the Marais rooftops.

The student quarter, and the other neighbourhood we would choose to stay in — cafés, bars and restaurants with life around them.

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Emily’s square: her apartment, Gabriel’s restaurant and her boulangerie all on one quiet corner of the 5th.

The bakery on Place de l’Estrapade where Emily regularly gets her croissants.

A coffee shop on Rue Valette, below the Panthéon, saved on the 2022 list.

Gabriel’s restaurant in Emily in Paris — an Italian place under a different name in real life, on Place de l’Estrapade.

Steak on Rue du Pot de Fer, one of two steak places we saved on the same day in 2022.

The domed monument at the top of the hill. Our own writing names it as the place to finish the run if you are fitter than we were.

The English-language bookshop facing Notre-Dame across the river, and one of the Emily in Paris locations.

A buzzy area for food and shopping, with a literary past it will not let you forget.

Saved on the map not as a destination but as an instruction: a street for a café au lait.

The love-lock bridge between the Institut de France and the Louvre. The locks were cut off years ago; the view was always the better part.

The big formal park between Saint-Germain and the Latin Quarter, and the best free afternoon in the 6th.

The famous sourdough bakery on Rue du Cherche-Midi. We got there, and they had sold out — which tells you to go earlier than we did.

The famous café on Boulevard Saint-Germain — a celebrity haunt, and, in our own words, very expensive.

The other famous Saint-Germain café, on the square by the church. Same caveat as its neighbour: high society, high prices.

A traditional French dining room on Rue des Grands Augustins. We would recommend it just for the frog leg lollipops.

The third of the Boulevard Saint-Germain institutions, and the one that is actually a brasserie. On our list since 2022.

The heavily flowered corner on Rue de Buci that half of Instagram has photographed. Saved for brunch.

Our favourite spot in Paris in the evening: a buzzy, intimate cheese and wine bar just off the river on Rue Dauphine.

A terrace bar on Rue Mazarine, added to the list in 2023.

The old Paris Mint on the Quai de Conti, now part museum and part exhibition space. One of the Emily in Paris buildings.

The place to go if you want to experience a Parisian department store — and La Grande Épicerie next door if you want the food hall.

Chapon’s Left Bank shop, saved for one thing: the chocolate mousse, served from a trolley by the scoop.

A French lingerie label with several Paris shops. This is the Rue de Sèvres one, by Le Bon Marché.

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Do not climb it. Watch it. We wrote a whole article arguing this and we still believe every word.

The lawn at the tower’s feet, and the single best thing we did in Paris: a picnic and a bottle of wine, waiting for the sparkle.

A thin artificial island in the Seine downstream of the tower, with a small Statue of Liberty at the end. Saved as a straight, flat run.

A pâtisserie counter on Avenue de la Motte-Picquet, saved off The Boy Who Bakes. There is a second one over in the 11th.

The impressionists, in a converted railway station on the river. Our own advice is that an afternoon here beats an afternoon queueing for the tower.

The only skyscraper in Paris, with an observation deck. The joke is that it has the best view in the city because it is the one place you cannot see it from.

Saved for the millefeuille. Several branches across the city; this is the Boulevard Pasteur one.

A small hotel and bar on Rue Fondary in the 15th, saved on the 2022 list.

The Soho of Paris: a notorious red-light district that also happens to have exceptional dining. Worth a night or two of your trip.

A SoPi bakery on Rue Condorcet, saved off The Boy Who Bakes. The babka is what people queue for.

Coffee on Rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, on the 2022 list.

A unique countertop dining experience that Marchand’s team themselves call "sexy-trash". We love it.

The four-floor Big Mamma flagship on Rue de Douai. Our own note is honest: it did not look as good to us as the group’s other rooms, in Paris or in London.

A bistro on Rue Saint-Georges, saved in 2024 for the size of the wine list.

American barbecue on Rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, saved off The Boy Who Bakes.

A speakeasy cocktail bar on Rue de Douai, behind the Pink Mamma building. One of our own favourites list.

A late bar on Rue Pierre Fontaine, added to the list in 2023.

The cabaret. It speaks for itself — but book well in advance if you want a night to remember.

A cabaret on Rue Pierre Fontaine, and one of the Emily in Paris locations.

Hilly, artistic and genuinely nice to wander, with the best free view in the city at the top of it.

The prettiest street in Paris, and a must if you are anywhere near Montmartre — cobbles, a hill behind it and La Maison Rose at the corner.

The pink house on Rue de l’Abreuvoir. Cute to see — though we probably would not eat here.

Our favourite patisserie in Paris, on Rue des Martyrs. The éclairs and the apple and cinnamon pastry are a must.

Levantine-French pastry in miniature on Rue des Abbesses, saved off The Boy Who Bakes. Two locations.

French classics in a rustic dining room on Rue de Clignancourt. The steak frites with a trio of sauces was mouth-wateringly good.

A small bistro on Rue Lepic, saved in 2022 with a single-word note: "omelette?".

The white basilica on the highest point in Paris. The steps in front are where to eat your pastries and look at the whole city.

A bakery on Rue de Châteaudun, saved in 2024 for one specific thing: the croissant cookie.

A restaurant inside the Palais Garnier itself, saved in 2023 for the promise of musicians performing while you eat.

The enormous, cheap, beautiful 1896 canteen off the Grands Boulevards. Saved off a Clerkenwell Boy recommendation for the steak and chips.

On Rue Joubert, behind the big department stores. On the 2022 list.

A rooftop bar on the ninth floor of Printemps, saved on the 2022 list for the view rather than the drinks.

The opera house, and one of the Emily in Paris locations. You can tour it in the daytime without a ticket to anything.

The domed department store on Boulevard Haussmann. Go for the rooftop terrace, which is free and puts the Eiffel Tower in the picture.

A scenic stretch of water with bars and cafés along it, iron footbridges over it, and one of the Emily in Paris locations on it.

One of our favourites: order the pistachio chocolate escargot and grab a coffee from the hatch.

One of the coffee shops that helped start the Paris specialty scene, by the canal. Multiple locations now.

Burgers and fries on Rue des Vinaigriers, saved on the 2022 list.

A crêperie on Rue de Lancry near the canal, saved off Emily in Paris.

A wine bar on Rue Jean Poulmarch that we would not want anyone to overlook.

A more affordable part of Paris where, apparently, the actual Parisians live. The prison is long gone; the demonstrations at the roundabout are not.

The pastel-painted terrace near Gare de Lyon that everybody photographs. Saved in 2025 as, simply, a pretty street.

On Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, and the one place on our list flagged in capitals as PASTRY. Our note says: best baguette.

Coffee and pastries on Rue Oberkampf. Saved in 2022 with "need to go" attached, and we still have not.

The 11th branch of the pâtisserie, saved in 2025 for a maple tart on a David Lebovitz recommendation.

The most recent addition to the whole list, saved in 2026 on a David Lebovitz recommendation.

A coffee bar on Rue Amelot, added to the list in 2025.

Coffee on Rue Popincourt, added in 2025.

The Oberkampf branch of the roastery we first met on Rue du Nil.

On Boulevard Voltaire, saved for the banana bread.

A large open-air food market along the boulevard, and much less touristy than the covered ones. Roast chickens, cheese, vegetables.

The Rue de Charonne restaurant that put this stretch of the 11th on everyone’s map. Added to our list in 2024, still unvisited.

Septime’s seafood room next door, and the one you can get into: no bookings, so turn up and wait.

A corner bistro on Rue Saint-Maur, saved on the same 2024 sweep as Septime and Clamato.

A classic 11th bistro on the street it is named after. On our list for the soufflé.

A surprise-menu counter restaurant on Rue Oberkampf, saved in 2024 and noted as good value.

The Big Mamma group’s Oberkampf room, on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir.

Pizza, pasta and cocktails on Rue Keller. Several branches across the city; this is the one in the 11th.

A former horse butcher’s on Rue de la Roquette, now a sandwich counter. Saved off The Boy Who Bakes.

Steak and chips to take away, on Rue Oberkampf. On the 2022 list.

A small restaurant on Rue Saint-Hubert, added to the list in 2025.

The third of the Septime family: a tiny wine shop and bar on Rue Basfroi where you stand up and drink well.

A wine bar that also makes its own ice cream, which is the entire reason it is starred on our map.

On Rue Oberkampf, saved on the 2022 list.

An immersive digital art space in an old foundry on Rue Saint-Maur, and one of the Emily in Paris locations.

The enormous, hilly, tree-covered cemetery in the east. Free, and one of the strangest good walks in the city.

A private museum of antique fairground rides in Bercy, and one of the Emily in Paris locations. You can ride some of them.

Homeware on Avenue Parmentier, saved in 2024.

On Rue de la Villette. Saved in 2025 because someone we trust called it the best meal of their year.

A wine bar saved in 2024, up on Rue de Meaux.

Chapon’s Belleville shop, saved in 2025 for the pot of chocolate mousse.

Touted as the most beautiful bridge in the world, and on the walk between Rue du Nil and the Champ de Mars.

The macaron house, in its Rue Royale salon by the Madeleine. Several branches; this is the one to see.

A specialty roaster on Boulevard Haussmann, and one of the few good coffee stops in this part of the 8th.

A restaurant and late bar on Avenue Matignon, saved on the 2022 list.

A chic nightclub off the Champs-Élysées with a strict entrance policy. On our own favourites list, with that caveat attached.

A club with a roof garden looking out over the city, right by the Arc de Triomphe.

The terrace across the river from the Eiffel Tower, and the classic postcard view of it. One of the Emily in Paris locations.

An expensive art deco dining room in the Palais de Tokyo with a terrace looking straight at the Eiffel Tower. Our note records that Macron has eaten here.

Italian in the Palais de Tokyo, next door to Monsieur Bleu. Saved for the interiors as much as the food.

Seafood on the Trocadéro terrace, with the same tower view as its neighbours. On the 2022 list.

The 16th branch of the flower-covered brasserie, saved for the croque monsieur.

The Passy branch of the lingerie label, on Rue Guichard.