COFFEE — For conversations that need somewhere to sit
Ten Belles — 10 rue de la Grange aux Belles, Paris 10e
Diane’s favourite café near Canal Saint-Martin. Her order: an iced cow’s-milk latte and a scone.Dreamin’ Man — 140 rue Amelot, Paris 11e
Another Diane favourite.The Coffee, Haut-Marais — 40 rue des Gravilliers, Paris 3e
Dorleta’s favourite coffee shop. Order the Vanilla Matcha, cold normally, hot when Paris starts feeling like autumn. This is almost certainly the branch from the interview itinerary.Look for coffee places around Palais Royal, Paris 1er, and chose a different one each time. Diana’s tip.
Le Fumoir — 6 Rue de l’Amiral de Coligny, Paris 1er. Good for people watching and the location is really strategic because you’re close to the Marais, and you’re also not far from Saint-Germain.
Maison de Victor Hugo — 6 Places des Vosges, Paris 4. Armand’s off-the-top-of-his-head café choice. Museum cafés are allowed to be good, apparently.
Café Destours — 18 Rue du Chemin Vert, Paris 11e. A recent opening and one of Armand’s café recommendations.
EAT — Tables worth leaving the house for
Pontochoux — 18 rue du Pont aux Choux, Paris 3e
Dorleta’s favourite restaurant, for Japanese curry.Junk Saint-Germain — 4 rue de l’Ancienne Comédie, Paris 6e
According to Ludovico, it “isn’t bad”—which may be the most Ludovico recommendation possible.Master Poulet — 149 rue de Paris, Montreuil
MÁS ALLÁ’s favourite cheap meal: an entire roast chicken for approximately €7. Montreuil belongs here because, in his words, he never really drew a line between it and Paris.La Boule Rouge — 1 Rue de la Boule Rouge, Paris 9e
A place where to have a dinner date and eat “incredibly well”, according to Diana.
Sugaar — 5 Rue Gozlin, Paris 6e. Diana is a huge fan of their prawns!
Les Acolytes — 195 Rue de Saint Maur, Paris 10e. Where we recorded his interview, and where I had my first breakfast alone in Paris in October 2023 while staying at Armand’s place.
DRINK — One more, then home
Buttes Snack Bar — 10 rue Pradier, Paris 19e
Diane’s natural-wine address. Preferably accompanied by tarama.Serpent à Plume — 24 place des Vosges, Paris 3e
MÁS ALLÁ’s favourite Paris bar.Balto — 15 Rue Mazarine, Paris 6e
Ludovico simply answered “Balto.” Valentina recommends this place too for a date you are not entirely sure is a date.Le Mazarin - 42 Rue Dauphine, Paris 6e.
A place inside Diana’s comfort zone. Valentina recommends this also for romantic ambiguity.
Chez Jeannette — 47 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, Paris 10e. For drinks. Also Armand’s ideal sunny Sunday lunch spot, which gives it considerably more weight than a random bar recommendation.
Bistro Saint Dominique — 131 Rue St Dominique, Paris 7e. For sitting somewhere for three hours and doing absolutely nothing.
For sitting somewhere for three hours and doing absolutely nothing
NIGHT — After the sensible people have left
Colonia — 18 Rue de Beaujolais, Paris 1er
One of the places Yasmina associates most strongly with Gregorio: a night upstairs above a perfume shop, full of strangers and the feeling that Paris had suddenly become interesting. Gregorio remembers the name immediately.Hôtel Costes — 239 rue Saint-Honoré, Paris 1er
Part of Gregorio’s current version of a perfect night: people he doesn’t know yet, preferably interesting ones, and somewhere he can feel completely free.Doctor Love — location changes.
One of Gregorio’s three reliable answers for a night that won’t disappoint. The essential criterion: somewhere gay, somewhere he can flirt.La Fête — 3 Place de Clichy, Paris 8e
Another Gregorio night address, given without hesitation.Rasputin — 58 rue Bassano, Paris 8e
Gregorio’s third answer for a dependable Paris night.Plan (or don’t) your night at Anahi — 49 Rue Volta, Paris 3e, Tekès — 4 bis Rue Saint-Sauveur, Paris 2e, or Safado — 3 Rue de Tracy, Paris 2e. Vibes and some live singing, recommended by Diana.
ART & CULTURE — Things worth looking at properly
Galerie Maxime Flatry — 33 Rue Guénégaud, Paris 6e. A gallery focused on 20th-century furniture and decorative arts. I discovered Maxime because I am deeply obsessed with beds, and he had exactly the kind of pieces that make a bed feel less like furniture and more like an object worth studying. I’m recommending this.
Regards — 18 Rue Dauphine, Paris 6e. The owner John is so good at putting together the coolest vernissages.
Dover Street Market Paris — 35–37 rue des Francs-Bourgeois. Full stop. Follow them on Instagram and go to all the events you can. You don’t need to buy anything. I usually don’t.
Joseph Arzoumanov — This is cheating because Joseph is a person, not a place, but I’m putting him here anyway. Go Google him, I really recommend getting familiar with his work. Consider this less of an address and more of a rabbit hole.
The Louvre — A Valentina pick, the museum that feels most made for her. Because there is everything, and because you can walk around for ten hours without exhausting it.
BOOKS — Places to disappear for an afternoon
Librairie sans titre — 143 avenue Parmentier, Paris 10e
Her principal bookshop.Violette and Co — 52 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, Paris 11e
For feminist essays.Le Monte-en-l’air — 71 rue de Ménilmontant / 2 rue de la Mare, Paris 20e
Books, coffee and somewhere to stay awhile.Yvon Lambert — 14 rue des Filles du Calvaire, Paris 3e
For art books and editions.Ofr. — 20 rue Dupetit-Thouars, Paris 3e
Recommended with the qualification that Diane is irritated by its Instagram hype.Librairie Gallimard — 15 Bd. Raspail, Paris 7e. One of the places Armand goes when the urge to walk into a bookstore and buy ten books at random becomes impossible to resist.
L’Ecume des Pages — 174 Bd. Saint Germain, Paris 6e. Another of Armand’s favourite bookshops.
SHOPS — Objects you didn’t know you needed
Maison Hotel, they don’t have a physical store in Paris but Diana once found a tiny, tiny multi-brand boutique in the Marais that carries a lot of Maison Hotel pieces. Good luck.
OUTSIDE — When Paris becomes bearable
Canal Saint-Martin — recommended by Diane for sitting, reading, writing, drawing or getting ice cream with a friend.
The Marais or Canal Saint-Martin — Eugenia’s preferred direction for walking alone when overwhelmed.
Rue Mouffetard — Ludovico’s chosen Paris street.
Montreuil — MÁS ALLÁ’s Paris-with-more-room: music, art, cheaper groceries and fewer strange looks.
The 13th arrondissement of Paris — recommended by yours truly. I’ve been there quite a bit over the past year and think it’s so underrated, but now one of my closest friends has just moved there, so I have a new excuse to go. They did steal my bike at Place d’Italie though, so not fun.
SLEEP — A bed somewhere else
Yet to be tested.
OTHER — Places that refuse categorisation
