The Louvre by all accounts is one of the biggest art museums on Earth. Whether by the number of visitors, the size of the complex or the actual amount of artworks contained therein, it consistently ranks as the first or second in the world. Yet despite this size, the Louvre is known almost exclusively for the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa. Of the 15,000 visitors who pass through its halls each day, most zip through the main Louvre galleries from one of these famous expatriate ladies to the other, with scarcely a pause in between. Needless to say, they’re missing out on some of the most unforgettable art they’ve never seen. Here are the most intriguing overlooked Louvre masterpieces.
Sleeping Hermaphroditus
The mattress upon which it lies was sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1620, carved from white marble with such masterful finesse that any viewer would find themselves resisting the urge to give it a test poke. The figure itself was carved by an unknown artist in the second century AD and pulled from the ground in 1608 near the Baths of Diocletian, Rome. This older part generates most of the intrigue surrounding the work. Having the appearance of a sensuous female nude when viewed from behind, this is what most passersby see of Hermaphroditus. Take the time to stop and investigate from the front, and you will receive quite a surprise. Perhaps most surprising of all is that the mattress was commissioned by Cardinal Scipio Borghese, a Catholic Church bigwig at the time, homoerotic art collector and challenger of the idea that history was as small minded as we imagine it.
Location: Denon Wing, Ground Floor
Palmyra Busts
These exquisite funerary busts from the Levant in the second century give us both the likenesses and often detailed life stories of the figures they memorialize, forming some of the earliest portraiture humanity has. The fact that the town of origin, Palmyra, was recently held by the art-destroying insurgent group ISIS adds to the preciousness of the pieces stored safely in the Louvre. It’s ironic the works that so incense militants bore civilians so.
Location: Sully Wing, Ground Floor
St. Mary Magdalene
Depicting the intriguing figure of Christianity and Dan Brown fame, Gregor Erhart’s wooden figure Saint Mary Magdalene recasts the often overlooked fallen-woman archetype as an ascetic mystic, post-salvation, living in a cave, clothed only by her hair. It’s a rarity among female nudes, religious images and 16th-century art.
Location: Denon Wing, Lower Ground Floor
Une Odalisque
With a literal English title of Harem Girl, Une Odalisque, painted by Jean-August-Dominique Ingres, scandalized France when it was unveiled in 1812. Not only because it was a nude that took a modern, rather than historical, subject (the past was considered a far more tasteful time to be nude) but also because the figure was considered a departure from anatomical realism. Indeed, the figure does have a few spinal vertebrae too many. Whether a careless mistake or a deliberate distortion, one thing was certain: abstraction would be the way of the future.
Location: Denon Wing, First Floor
The Wedding at Cana
With the unfortunate fate of being stored in the same room as the Mona Lisa, Paolo Veronese’s The Wedding at Cana, in which Jesus Christ at a wedding party in Cana, Galilee, performs his first miracle by turning water into wine, is fabulous art. The painting, crafted with exceptional skill, is curiously convoluted. More than 100 human figures feature (130 to be exact), and each is unique, with many being radically different. Costumes of antiquity sit next to anachronistic Italian fashion of the artist’s own time. Among the party-goers, several dogs, a cat and even a parakeet are to be found. The profane and the profound sit side by side, getting drunk together. This is a painting begging for a long pause and thorough examination, and yet it hangs barely noticed in the most-visited room in the most-visited museum in the Western world.
Location: Denon Wing, First Floor
View of an Interior, or The Slippers
For a museum housing some 5,500 examples of Western culture’s proudest accomplishments, society’s runner-up gender is shamefully underrepresented at the Louvre, with just 21 female artists featured. Samuel Van Hoogstraten’s View of an Interior represents one of many male comments on female sexuality in which the woman is, quite literally in this case, absent. In an empty household hall, two slippers lie abandoned on the floor, a broom rests against a wall, and a book sits closed on a table next to a freshly extinguished candle. To you, a casual museum stroller on your way to the gift shop, it could almost look like a simple still life. To a viewer in the 17th century, the message would have been obvious: these elements, seemingly discarded around the room at random, are not there by mistake. The broom symbolizes neglected household duties; the closed book, neglected scripture; the slippers, indoor shoes, lying abandoned in the middle of the floor: nakedness. Female sexuality once again brings about the fall of civilization. Perhaps Cardinal Borghese was an exception…
Location: Sully Wing, Second Floor
Samuel van Hoogstraten, View of an Interior | Courtesy
Fayum Portraits
Dating from the Coptic Period in Egypt, the Fayum Portraits, naturalistic likenesses of individual subjects painted onto wooden boards and attached to mummies, bear a striking Greco-Roman, rather than typically Egyptian, influence. Egypt’s arid climate means that these paintings have been remarkably well preserved, giving us the opportunity for a face-to-face encounter with human beings in the first few centuries of the Common Era.
Location: Denon Wing, Lower Ground Floor
Phoenician Sarcophagi
With their origins in the fifth century BC, Phoenician Sarcophagi were principally influenced by Ancient Egyptian funerary art, but they also have notable Greek sculptural influences, resulting in a strange juxtaposition of two familiar and disparate styles, making these an early example of multiculturalism in art.
Location: Sully Wing, Ground Floor
Portrait of Jean II le Bon
Jean II, the Good, was king from 1350 until 1364. A reign that saw numerous events of distant history such as the loss of nearly half of France’s population to the black death and the creation of the Franc, Jean II’s portrait is remarkable for being the oldest example of individual portraiture in France, and possibly all of Western Europe.
Location: Richelieu Wing, Second Floor
Charles V’s Gold Scepter
Although the Louvre is principally known for classic works of painting and artifacts from the ancient world, the 14th-century artifact of King Charles’ Gold Scepter is a rare gem among the Louvre’s jewelry collection. As one of the few relics of the French monarchs of the Middle Ages that wasn’t melted down or lost to time, it’s a rare artifact of pre-revolutionary France and one that lies in a section where tourists seldom stop.
Location: Denon Wing, First Floor
The architecture of Paris is glorious. From the impressive Louvre Pyramid to the innovative Eiffel Tower, every street offers a spectacle of innovation. But there’s one treasure that most tourists don’t even notice: the smallest house in Paris.
Small but exceptional Parisian architecture
The smallest building in Paris is tucked away unsuspectedly at number 39 rue du Château d’Eau. This is despite what you might be told on the popular Seine river cruises when you glide past this similarly tiny house located at 13 Quai Voltaire in the 7th arrondissement.
Measuring a meagre 1,10 metres wide and five metres high, the smallest house in Paris is actually even smaller than 13 Quai Voltaire. In fact, it’s so tiny that most tourists don’t even notice it exists as a separate building as they stroll through the city.
If tourists do give it a second glance, the building seems to be nothing more than a natural connection between two neighbouring six-floor houses. However, there’s a wealth of mysterious secrets hidden within the ancient walls of this tiny abode.
A mysterious heritage embroiled in a dispute
Despite the quaint appearance and adorable miniature design of Paris‘s smallest building, the origin of this property is said to have been embroiled in a heated dispute between the local neighbours.
The space between the two buildings, located opposite the Town Hall of the 10th district and alongside the Marché Saint-Martin, used to be a narrow passageway open to public use. The house, as it happens, was purposely built right upon this passageway after a dispute between two families but it formed part of a clever, if not risky, plan.
A curious tactic to solve ownership arguments
The house was built at the place of a bustling passage between the streets rue du Château d’Eau and rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin and everyone wanted to claim a share of this very important piece of land.
After a heated argument about who should own the rights of access to the passageway, one of the parties decided to end the argument by simply filling the gap with a new property. If there was no more passageway, then there would be nothing left to argue about. There would simply be no winners and no losers.
Of course, today, this brazing approach would fire up more anger than it hoped to resolve but back then, it clearly worked as it’s stayed up ever since.
Fighting to prove its status
While the house wasn’t knocked down, despite the uproar its impromptu construction naturally caused, the property wasn’t recognised as such until after a little protesting. For a long time, it was seen simply as an obstruction that blocked this once very convenient passageway through Paris.
Eventually, though, the building was officially recognised with its own number in the street and proudly sports the address it won to this day as 39 rue du Château d’Eau.
But for the most part, it was never viewed as more than a tiny shop unit on the ground floor, originally belonging to a shoemaker with a room above, since it connected with the first-floor building at number 41. Only in recent years has it started to be appreciated as an independent structure.
From an old shoemaker’s room to a baby’s abode
The shoe repair shop reigned its busy commerce until the start of the 19th century, at which point, it transformed into a shop selling baby clothes.
A newspaper article at the end of the 19th century describes in greater detail the peculiar design of this miniature property, which seems to explain the inspiration behind its re-transformation.
It explains that the room was mostly used to house a sleeping baby. But, since the room’s space was so limited – just 1,10 metres wide and five metres high – the cot apparently took up the entire space.
Whether this intriguing legend of a whole house for just one baby is an urban myth or not, it would have been a very cosy – and less quarrelsome – space to grow up.
In the heat of the summer in 1890, Vincent van Gogh stumbled into his boarding house in rural Auvers-sur-Oise, outside of suburban Paris. He was bleeding, clutching his torso. He made it upstairs to his spartan room, took to his bed, and died two days later.
Only 37 years old, he had shot himself in the chest, ultimately succumbing not to the initial wound, but to the resulting infection from the lodged bullet. His suicide was a surprise to some, having spent the previous months madly spitting out canvas after canvas of the bucolic countryside. He was buried, the day after he died, in the village public cemetery.
Van Gogh’s grave is as modest as his reputation was at the time, befitting an artist who had sold only one painting during his too-brief life. But his influence as a transformative modernist was more widely known and admired in Impressionist circles in Paris, and his burial was attended not only by his devoted brother Theo and villagers who had grown fond of him, but by a small cohort of the Parisian art community as well—including painters Lucien Pissarro, Charles Laval and Émile Bernard, and the well-known art dealer Julien Tanguy.
Six months later, Theo—who is thought to have been suffering from syphilis—died at the age of 33. He was buried in Utrecht, about 50 miles from where the brothers were born in Zundert, Netherlands. His body stayed in Utrecht until 1914, when the family had it exhumed and transported to join his brother, and they were reunited.
Many of van Gogh’s paintings from his time in Auvers are as bold and dramatic as any of his greatest works. Wheat and corn fields, farm cottages, expressive blue skies—all of the scenes that surround the quiet country cemetery where he’s laid to rest with his dear brother Theo, Vincent’s champion in life and art, by his side.
Know Before You Go
Auvers-sur-Oise is about 20 miles north of Paris. The cemetery is just north of the town center, a 10 minute walk from Gare d'Auvers, the inn / boarding house where Van Gogh spent the last few months of his life.
The cemetery is open to the public, and can be visited every day during daylight hours.
ALMOST HIDDEN AWAY INSIDE A glass cabinet in one of the more obscure hallways of the Musée de l’Armée in Paris is a small taxidermy horse, a crack running down its shoulder like a fault line. These are the remains of Vizir, Napoleon Bonaparte’s grey Arabian stallion that accompanied the deposed emperor to Elba.
Vizir was hardly Napoleon’s only horse. According to the Musée de l’Armée, over the 14 years of Napoleon’s reign he used 130 horses (here’s a rambling list of them). And the stallion wasn’t Napoleon’s most famous horse either, that would go to Marengo, a charger who served and was captured at Waterloo, his skeleton still a British trophy at the Imperial War Museum in London.
But Vizir was the last horse to keep Napoleon company out in exile, and now serves as the only taxidermy reminder of all his fellow steeds employed by Napoleon in his rise and fall from power.
Painting of Le Vizir by Pierre Martinet (via Musées de France)
Napoleon preferred small, spry horses, rather than the thoroughbreds favored by his officers, although not because of his stature (his low height is mostly a myth anyway). Rather, he just wasn’t a terribly great horseman. Not having grown up wealthy in Corsica, he didn’t start riding until his military career. Yet later he would pose on horseback in his most famous portraits, such as the famous 1803 painting of “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” by Jacques-Louis David (believed to depict Marengo) where man and horse rear up on a stormy, mountainous landscape, his red cape flowing like the horse’s mane. The paintings suggest a fierce pride in both his power and that of the animals he rode.
As for Vizir, he was a friendship gift from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. As far as it’s known, Vizir is the only one of Napoleon’s horses to end up in taxidermy, and he spent some time in a museum in Manchester before arriving at the Louvre in 1868, being forgotten in the attic for a time, and then transported to the Musée de l’Armée after the War of 1870.
Painting of Le Vizir by Pierre Martinet (via Musées de France)Napoleon preferred small, spry horses, rather than the thoroughbreds favored by his officers, although not because of his stature (his low height is mostly a myth anyway). Rather, he just wasn’t a terribly great horseman. Not having grown up wealthy in Corsica, he didn’t start riding until his military career. Yet later he would pose on horseback in his most famous portraits, such as the famous 1803 painting of “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” by Jacques-Louis David (believed to depict Marengo) where man and horse rear up on a stormy, mountainous landscape, his red cape flowing like the horse’s mane. The paintings suggest a fierce pride in both his power and that of the animals he rode.
As for Vizir, he was a friendship gift from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. As far as it’s known, Vizir is the only one of Napoleon’s horses to end up in taxidermy, and he spent some time in a museum in Manchester before arriving at the Louvre in 1868, being forgotten in the attic for a time, and then transported to the Musée de l’Armée after the War of 1870.
This was, of course, a few decades after Vizir’s death, so how were they sure it was him? A brand on the horse’s haunches bears an “N” topped with a crown.
Archive photograph of “le Vizir” with Napoleon’s dog.
The Musée de l’Armée offers a careful bit of doubt in their take on the story — stating “si c’est bien lui,” “if it’s indeed him” — but from most accounts the monogrammed horse was long ago the last equine companion of Napoleon. He’s shrunk down a bit from botched restorations, and the taxidermy dog who accompanied Napoleon on Saint Helena and once stood alongside Vizir in the museum now seems to have been removed from display.
The Musée de l’Armée offers a careful bit of doubt in their take on the story — stating “si c’est bien lui,” “if it’s indeed him” — but from most accounts the monogrammed horse was long ago the last equine companion of Napoleon. He’s shrunk down a bit from botched restorations, and the taxidermy dog who accompanied Napoleon on Saint Helena and once stood alongside Vizir in the museum now seems to have been removed from display.
Yet even in his shoddy state, his fur worn down in places to the tanned skin, his glass case unglamorously positioned by a museum restroom, Vizir is just a few minutes walk from the grand tomb of Napoleon himself at les Invalides. Even in death, Vizir remains the closest final animal companion of the once-emperor.
Vizir in the hallway of the Musée de l’Armée
Vizir in the hallway of the Musée de l’Armée
Paris may boast some of the world’s most splendid luxury hotels but it also has some wonderful bargains. Pleasant budget hotels are scattered through all the best areas, and with a general overhaul of much of Paris’s hotel offering, many have been recently renovated or even created, so it’s no longer a question of sagging beds and dubious wallpaper, but original designs and pristine bathrooms.
Even among more expensive hotels, many have several categories – and prices – of bedroom, largely based on size. As to prices, unlike the huge internet discounts sometimes found for expensive places, many of the best budget hotels find they don’t need to discount much, if at all.
When dining in Paris it pays to eat like a local and keep gourmet extravagances for occasions. The sheer range of restaurants is astonishing and everyone has a favourite inexpensive bistro or café-brasserie to pop into for a steak or a salad. The past 15 years has seen the rise of the bistronomique: gourmet bistros, with accomplished, updated bistro cooking for reasonable prices by chefs often trained at top establishments.
Hôtel Regyn's Montmartre
Solar Hôtel
The view from the Familia Hôtel
Hôtel Jeanne d’Arc
Mama Shelter
Hôtel Arvor Saint-Georges
Hotel Joyce
Hôtel Michelet Odéon
Breizh Cafe
Au Zaganin
Jeanne B
Chez Omar
L'Encrier
Le Bistro des Dames
L'Ecurie
Bistrot du Peintre
Michi
When dining in Paris it pays to eat like a local and keep gourmet extravagances for occasions. The sheer range of restaurants is astonishing and everyone has a favourite inexpensive bistro or café-brasserie to pop into for a steak or a salad. The past 15 years has seen the rise of the bistronomique: gourmet bistros, with accomplished, updated bistro cooking for reasonable prices by chefs often trained at top establishments.
Most restaurants have good-value lunch menus and it’s perfectly acceptable to order just two courses or to share a dessert. Paris tap water is free and perfectly drinkable (ask for a carafe d’eau), bread is always provided free, and service is always included in the bill, so it’s not necessary to tip (and most French don’t) unless you really want to.
Prices are for a double room in low season.
Hôtel Regyn's Montmartre 8/10
A great location if you want to leap straight out of bed and into the heart of the Montmartre action. Here the picturesque tourist Montmartre of cottages, artists' studios and steep staircases meandering up the hill meets hip Parisians' Montmartre, with the excellent food shops and lively bars of rue des Abbesses, like Le Sancerre and the Caves des Abbesses. The style is unpretentious and very Parisian behind its white stucco facade. The Montmartre-themed murals of the vineyard and place des Abbesses in the reception and living room are rather kitsch but all part of the charm. The compact yet cheerful rooms have all been attractively refurbished with classic French toile de jouy print fabric on the walls, and pristine white bathrooms that just about squeeze in all you need – some even have small baths.
Price: from £64, excluding breakfast (€8 extra)
Address: 18 place des Abbesses, 75018 Paris
A great location if you want to leap straight out of bed and into the heart of the Montmartre action. Here the picturesque tourist Montmartre of cottages, artists' studios and steep staircases meandering up the hill meets hip Parisians' Montmartre, with the excellent food shops and lively bars of rue des Abbesses, like Le Sancerre and the Caves des Abbesses. The style is unpretentious and very Parisian behind its white stucco facade. The Montmartre-themed murals of the vineyard and place des Abbesses in the reception and living room are rather kitsch but all part of the charm. The compact yet cheerful rooms have all been attractively refurbished with classic French toile de jouy print fabric on the walls, and pristine white bathrooms that just about squeeze in all you need – some even have small baths.
Price: from £64, excluding breakfast (€8 extra)
Address: 18 place des Abbesses, 75018 Paris
Hôtel Regyn's Montmartre
Solar Hôtel 6/10
In a residential part of Montparnasse that is agreeable if you want to experience real Parisians' Paris, with the rue Daguerre food shopping street just around the corner. Owner Franck Laval is ever-present and ready to explain his mission when not taking other hoteliers around to convert them. Young, friendly staff are all committed to the cause. There are internet computers for guests to use downstairs and bikes for guests to borrow. Once you get used to the slightly startling blue paintwork and blue carpets, the bedrooms prove simple but well thought out, with high-quality beds with white duvets and small desk; all have private bathroom with shower. You're encouraged to sort your own waste in the bins on the landing. Organic breakfast included in the price includes locally sourced apple juice rather than imported orange and excellent bread from nearby baker Moisan.
Price: from £65, including breakfast.
Address: 22 rue Boulard, 75014 Paris
In a residential part of Montparnasse that is agreeable if you want to experience real Parisians' Paris, with the rue Daguerre food shopping street just around the corner. Owner Franck Laval is ever-present and ready to explain his mission when not taking other hoteliers around to convert them. Young, friendly staff are all committed to the cause. There are internet computers for guests to use downstairs and bikes for guests to borrow. Once you get used to the slightly startling blue paintwork and blue carpets, the bedrooms prove simple but well thought out, with high-quality beds with white duvets and small desk; all have private bathroom with shower. You're encouraged to sort your own waste in the bins on the landing. Organic breakfast included in the price includes locally sourced apple juice rather than imported orange and excellent bread from nearby baker Moisan.
Price: from £65, including breakfast.
Address: 22 rue Boulard, 75014 Paris
Solar Hôtel
Familia Hôtel 7/10
Familia Hôtel is a long-standing budget classic offering a taste of traditional Left Bank Paris and a great central location. It's a short walk to St-Germain-des-Prés and Notre-Dame or across the river – via Ile St-Louis – to the Marais and Bastille. In a classic 1860s Haussmannian building with its golden stone facade and wrought-iron balconies, the Familia is not for those after cutting-edge design, but the cosy, traditional charm of a hotel that has been run by the same family for several generations. There are 30 air-conditioned rooms with carved cherrywood bedheads and wardrobes. Some have exposed stone walls, others have toile de jouy fabrics, and many have a sepia view of a Paris landmark painted over the bed. For breakfast, fresh croissants and crusty baguette for continental breakfast served in the cosy Victorian-style parlour.
Price: from £70, excluding breakfast
Address: 11 rue des Ecoles, 75005 Paris
Familia Hôtel is a long-standing budget classic offering a taste of traditional Left Bank Paris and a great central location. It's a short walk to St-Germain-des-Prés and Notre-Dame or across the river – via Ile St-Louis – to the Marais and Bastille. In a classic 1860s Haussmannian building with its golden stone facade and wrought-iron balconies, the Familia is not for those after cutting-edge design, but the cosy, traditional charm of a hotel that has been run by the same family for several generations. There are 30 air-conditioned rooms with carved cherrywood bedheads and wardrobes. Some have exposed stone walls, others have toile de jouy fabrics, and many have a sepia view of a Paris landmark painted over the bed. For breakfast, fresh croissants and crusty baguette for continental breakfast served in the cosy Victorian-style parlour.
Price: from £70, excluding breakfast
Address: 11 rue des Ecoles, 75005 Paris
The view from the Familia Hôtel
Hôtel Jeanne d’Arc 8/10
This hotel has an excellent Marais location, very central for numerous sights, yet tucked down a small street behind the place du Marché Ste-Catherine so that you 'd never find it if you didn't know if was there. Reception staff are informal and welcoming, and chambermaids appear to have been here for decades. The rooms have nearly all been redecorated recently with painted furniture, taffeta curtains, colour-washed walls and smart new bathrooms. A few have not and remain rustic and floral, with bathrooms that could one day star in a 70s pyschedelic revival. Most are good sized and several sleep three or four, which are popular with families, and there are also cots available. A simple breakfast is served downstairs.
Price: from £80, excluding breakfast (€8)
Address: 3 rue de Jarente, 75004
This hotel has an excellent Marais location, very central for numerous sights, yet tucked down a small street behind the place du Marché Ste-Catherine so that you 'd never find it if you didn't know if was there. Reception staff are informal and welcoming, and chambermaids appear to have been here for decades. The rooms have nearly all been redecorated recently with painted furniture, taffeta curtains, colour-washed walls and smart new bathrooms. A few have not and remain rustic and floral, with bathrooms that could one day star in a 70s pyschedelic revival. Most are good sized and several sleep three or four, which are popular with families, and there are also cots available. A simple breakfast is served downstairs.
Price: from £80, excluding breakfast (€8)
Address: 3 rue de Jarente, 75004
Hôtel Jeanne d’Arc
Mama Shelter 7/10
With interiors by Philippe Starck, location in an unlikely part of town, and buzzing bar and restaurant, Mama Shelter launched a new concept of hip design on a budget. This outpost has streetwise style, with lots of exposed raw and waxed concrete and graffitied blackboard ceilings, though what really makes this hotel is the buzzy open-plan ground floor that is all at once laidback lounge, cocktail bar, restaurant, club and concept store. For all its budget ethos, Mama pays plenty of attention to service: you can check in by machine if you wish, but there are also young enthusiastic staff at front desk, and concierges who can provide information as well as posting suggestions for events and exhibitions on the frosted mirrors on each landing. The buzzy restaurant serves French regional cuisine revisited by illustrious chef Alain Senderens, an excellent breakfast, plus a very popular brunch on Sunday.
Price: from £90, excluding breakfast (€16)
Address: 109 rue de Bagnolet, 75020
With interiors by Philippe Starck, location in an unlikely part of town, and buzzing bar and restaurant, Mama Shelter launched a new concept of hip design on a budget. This outpost has streetwise style, with lots of exposed raw and waxed concrete and graffitied blackboard ceilings, though what really makes this hotel is the buzzy open-plan ground floor that is all at once laidback lounge, cocktail bar, restaurant, club and concept store. For all its budget ethos, Mama pays plenty of attention to service: you can check in by machine if you wish, but there are also young enthusiastic staff at front desk, and concierges who can provide information as well as posting suggestions for events and exhibitions on the frosted mirrors on each landing. The buzzy restaurant serves French regional cuisine revisited by illustrious chef Alain Senderens, an excellent breakfast, plus a very popular brunch on Sunday.
Price: from £90, excluding breakfast (€16)
Address: 109 rue de Bagnolet, 75020
Mama Shelter
Hôtel Arvor Saint-Georges 9/10
This is a hotel that gets the home from home atmosphere just right, with its mixture of stylish and casual, a relaxed bar-cum-salon where you can browse art books or play table football, vases of fresh flowers, and curvy Bookworm shelves of paperbacks to borrow in the corridors – owner Nadine Flammarion is a member of the famous publishing family. Bedrooms are airy and pared back: think bright white with one contrasting wall (apple green, sludge brown, cherry red, etc), personalised with eclectic lights, vintage chests of drawers or dressing tables found at the fleamarket and original photos. Most have good sized bathrooms with a tub and classy Fragonard bath products.
Price: from £90, excluding breakfast (€14)
Address: 8 rue Laferrière, 75009
This is a hotel that gets the home from home atmosphere just right, with its mixture of stylish and casual, a relaxed bar-cum-salon where you can browse art books or play table football, vases of fresh flowers, and curvy Bookworm shelves of paperbacks to borrow in the corridors – owner Nadine Flammarion is a member of the famous publishing family. Bedrooms are airy and pared back: think bright white with one contrasting wall (apple green, sludge brown, cherry red, etc), personalised with eclectic lights, vintage chests of drawers or dressing tables found at the fleamarket and original photos. Most have good sized bathrooms with a tub and classy Fragonard bath products.
Price: from £90, excluding breakfast (€14)
Address: 8 rue Laferrière, 75009
Hôtel Arvor Saint-Georges
Hôtel Joyce 7/10
Architect Philippe Maidenberg has been gradually making his mark on Paris hotels, combining all you need in the way of air conditioning and i-pod docks with quirky details. The reception desk is made of stacked-up Eiffel Towers and fibre optics sparkle in the parquet. The 44 rooms wittily rework Haussmannian style so that they are contemporary yet distinctly Parisian. Buffet breakfast served in the lovely glazed conservatory/lounge; much of the produce is organic. The hotel is not licensed but you can help yourself to free coffee, tea and soft drinks all day.
Price: from £95, including breakfast
Address: 29 rue La Bruyère, 75009
Architect Philippe Maidenberg has been gradually making his mark on Paris hotels, combining all you need in the way of air conditioning and i-pod docks with quirky details. The reception desk is made of stacked-up Eiffel Towers and fibre optics sparkle in the parquet. The 44 rooms wittily rework Haussmannian style so that they are contemporary yet distinctly Parisian. Buffet breakfast served in the lovely glazed conservatory/lounge; much of the produce is organic. The hotel is not licensed but you can help yourself to free coffee, tea and soft drinks all day.
Price: from £95, including breakfast
Address: 29 rue La Bruyère, 75009
Hotel Joyce
Hôtel Michelet Odéon 8/10
Curiously some of Paris's best-value hotels can be found in prime locations, the Michelet Odéon is situated on one of the city's most beautiful squares, overlooking the lovely 18th-century Théâtre de l'Odéon. Behind the period facade, the interior is fresh and contemporary, with sophisticated finishes and warm colours. Rooms were all redone in 2008 with natural wood furniture, accent colours, amusing tiger-stripe carpets and well-lit pristine modern bathrooms. A good buffet breakfast is served in a bright open plan room on the ground floor, though it is relatively pricey compared to the rooms.
Price: from £96, excluding breakfast (from €10)
Address: 9 place de l’Odéon, 75006
Curiously some of Paris's best-value hotels can be found in prime locations, the Michelet Odéon is situated on one of the city's most beautiful squares, overlooking the lovely 18th-century Théâtre de l'Odéon. Behind the period facade, the interior is fresh and contemporary, with sophisticated finishes and warm colours. Rooms were all redone in 2008 with natural wood furniture, accent colours, amusing tiger-stripe carpets and well-lit pristine modern bathrooms. A good buffet breakfast is served in a bright open plan room on the ground floor, though it is relatively pricey compared to the rooms.
Price: from £96, excluding breakfast (from €10)
Address: 9 place de l’Odéon, 75006
Hôtel Michelet Odéon
Where to eat for £20 or less
Prices are per person for two courses in the evening and excluding wine unless stated otherwise.
Breizh Cafe
Breizh Cafe
This is the place that made the pancake gourmet, and although not particularly budget as crêperies go, it’s streets ahead of the competition in terms of quality. While crêperies are often dismissed as restaurants for children, here the setting is distressed beach hut and the clientele fashionable Marais. The choice of savoury galettes and sweet crêpes ranges from classic complète (egg, cheese and ham) to imaginative creations.
Address: 109 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 75003
Contact: 0033 1 42 72 13 77; breizhcafe.com
Getting there: Metro St Paul
Opening times: Wed-Sun, 11.30am-11pm
Price: pancakes from around €6
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French, vegetarian
Reservations: recommended
This is the place that made the pancake gourmet, and although not particularly budget as crêperies go, it’s streets ahead of the competition in terms of quality. While crêperies are often dismissed as restaurants for children, here the setting is distressed beach hut and the clientele fashionable Marais. The choice of savoury galettes and sweet crêpes ranges from classic complète (egg, cheese and ham) to imaginative creations.
Address: 109 rue Vieille-du-Temple, 75003
Contact: 0033 1 42 72 13 77; breizhcafe.com
Getting there: Metro St Paul
Opening times: Wed-Sun, 11.30am-11pm
Price: pancakes from around €6
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French, vegetarian
Reservations: recommended
Au Zaganin
Au Zaganin
Just off avenue Trudaine in arty-bourgeois SoPi (South Pigalle), Au Zaganin was once a seedy dive that has developed a local following after being resuscitated in a neo-40s ambience of banquettes, mosaic floor and changing art shows. The excellent value three-course menu (until 9pm) impresses with real cooking, in dishes like red mullet on a ratatouille-style bed of peppers and aubergine, veal kidneys in mustard sauce, and flambéed crêpes suzette. The short but well selected wine list focuses on organic wines. Au Zaganin is particularly popular for brunch at weekends, which means service then can be rather rushed.
Address: 81 rue de Rochechouart, 75009
Contact: 0033 1 48 78 12 70; auzaganin.com
Getting there: Metro Anvers
Opening times: Tue-Fri, midday-2.30pm, 7pm-10pm; Sat, 11am-3.30pm, 7pm-10pm; Sun, 11am-3.30pm
Price: set-price menus from €19.50 for brunch, €15 for lunch, €19.50 for dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French
Reservations: not necessary
Just off avenue Trudaine in arty-bourgeois SoPi (South Pigalle), Au Zaganin was once a seedy dive that has developed a local following after being resuscitated in a neo-40s ambience of banquettes, mosaic floor and changing art shows. The excellent value three-course menu (until 9pm) impresses with real cooking, in dishes like red mullet on a ratatouille-style bed of peppers and aubergine, veal kidneys in mustard sauce, and flambéed crêpes suzette. The short but well selected wine list focuses on organic wines. Au Zaganin is particularly popular for brunch at weekends, which means service then can be rather rushed.
Address: 81 rue de Rochechouart, 75009
Contact: 0033 1 48 78 12 70; auzaganin.com
Getting there: Metro Anvers
Opening times: Tue-Fri, midday-2.30pm, 7pm-10pm; Sat, 11am-3.30pm, 7pm-10pm; Sun, 11am-3.30pm
Price: set-price menus from €19.50 for brunch, €15 for lunch, €19.50 for dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French
Reservations: not necessary
Jeanne B
Jeanne B
This is the second of the casual all-day, eaterie-delis opened by the owners of venerable bistro Astier. It's a happy arrival on the street that winds up Montmartre hill, with a lovely welcome from young chef Cyril Boulet, who mans the counter. Spit-roast Challans chicken is the house classic, but you can also go modern and gourmet with a verrine of snails or a luxury lobster sandwich, along with roast lamb and assorted pies from a blackboard choice that changes every week. It has a deli counter and grocery section at the front, where you can take away charcuterie, cheese and homemade desserts and madeleines.
Address: 61 rue Lepic, 75018
Contact: 0033 1 42 51 17 53; jeanne-b-comestibles.com
Getting there: Metro Abbesses
Opening times: daily, 9.30am-10.30pm
Price: set-price menus from €15 for lunch, €23 for dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French, quick bites
Reservations: not necessary
This is the second of the casual all-day, eaterie-delis opened by the owners of venerable bistro Astier. It's a happy arrival on the street that winds up Montmartre hill, with a lovely welcome from young chef Cyril Boulet, who mans the counter. Spit-roast Challans chicken is the house classic, but you can also go modern and gourmet with a verrine of snails or a luxury lobster sandwich, along with roast lamb and assorted pies from a blackboard choice that changes every week. It has a deli counter and grocery section at the front, where you can take away charcuterie, cheese and homemade desserts and madeleines.
Address: 61 rue Lepic, 75018
Contact: 0033 1 42 51 17 53; jeanne-b-comestibles.com
Getting there: Metro Abbesses
Opening times: daily, 9.30am-10.30pm
Price: set-price menus from €15 for lunch, €23 for dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French, quick bites
Reservations: not necessary
Chez Omar
Chez Omar
I've been coming to Chez Omar ever since I arrived in Paris. It's a favourite of mine for its friendly waiters, vintage bistro setting, cheerfully eclectic diners – Marais gallerists, fashionistas, gay couples, families – and, of course, the couscous. There are no elaborate tagines here, just well-prepared couscous, with a choice of mechoui, grilled lamb kebabs, merguez sausage or vegetarian. I usually go for the kebabs, with a big vat of stewed vegetables, harissa if you want, and a platter of couscous grain. Finish with Oriental pastries, or strawberries and cream, and mint tea. They don't take reservations, so arrive early for dinner if you don't want to queue in the street.
Address: 47 rue de Bretagne, 75003
Contact: 0033 1 42 72 36 26 (no website)
Getting there: Metro St-Sébastien-Froissart
Opening times: Mon-Sat, midday-2.30pm, 7pm-11.30pm; Sun, 7pm-11.30pm
Price: couscous from €12
Payment type: credit cards not accepted
Cuisine: North African
Reservations: not possible
I've been coming to Chez Omar ever since I arrived in Paris. It's a favourite of mine for its friendly waiters, vintage bistro setting, cheerfully eclectic diners – Marais gallerists, fashionistas, gay couples, families – and, of course, the couscous. There are no elaborate tagines here, just well-prepared couscous, with a choice of mechoui, grilled lamb kebabs, merguez sausage or vegetarian. I usually go for the kebabs, with a big vat of stewed vegetables, harissa if you want, and a platter of couscous grain. Finish with Oriental pastries, or strawberries and cream, and mint tea. They don't take reservations, so arrive early for dinner if you don't want to queue in the street.
Address: 47 rue de Bretagne, 75003
Contact: 0033 1 42 72 36 26 (no website)
Getting there: Metro St-Sébastien-Froissart
Opening times: Mon-Sat, midday-2.30pm, 7pm-11.30pm; Sun, 7pm-11.30pm
Price: couscous from €12
Payment type: credit cards not accepted
Cuisine: North African
Reservations: not possible
L'Encrier
L'Encrier
Tucked just behind the Promenade Plantée viaduct walk in the historic furniture makers' district of the Faubourg St-Antoine, the friendly, cooperative-run L'Encrier has been one of Paris's best-kept, budget secrets for 20 years. An essentially local crowd and a few in-the-know visitors squeeze in around its simple wooden tables, drawn by the remarkable-value menus and attractive beamed setting. The kitchen, visible behind the white counter, sends out trustworthy, no-nonsense French cuisine with southwestern touches, such as pear with roquefort, duck confit and goose magret, and virtually everyone ends with the excellent chocolate profiteroles.
Address: 55 rue Traversière, 75012
Contact: 0033 1 44 68 08 16; restaurant-encrier-paris.fr
Getting there: Metro Ledru-Rollin
Opening times: Mon-Sat, midday-2.30pm, 7.30pm-11pm
Price: set-price menu from €15 for lunch, €18 for dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French
Reservations: recommended
Tucked just behind the Promenade Plantée viaduct walk in the historic furniture makers' district of the Faubourg St-Antoine, the friendly, cooperative-run L'Encrier has been one of Paris's best-kept, budget secrets for 20 years. An essentially local crowd and a few in-the-know visitors squeeze in around its simple wooden tables, drawn by the remarkable-value menus and attractive beamed setting. The kitchen, visible behind the white counter, sends out trustworthy, no-nonsense French cuisine with southwestern touches, such as pear with roquefort, duck confit and goose magret, and virtually everyone ends with the excellent chocolate profiteroles.
Address: 55 rue Traversière, 75012
Contact: 0033 1 44 68 08 16; restaurant-encrier-paris.fr
Getting there: Metro Ledru-Rollin
Opening times: Mon-Sat, midday-2.30pm, 7.30pm-11pm
Price: set-price menu from €15 for lunch, €18 for dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French
Reservations: recommended
Le Bistro des Dames
Le Bistro des Dames
A clutter of paintings and posters, and the treat of a hidden, overgrown tropical garden courtyard at the rear, are all part of the aura at this bistro adjoining the quirkily bohemian Hôtel Eldorado in burgeoning Batignolles. A local arty set pops in for the laid-back, friendly atmosphere, home cooking and wines from small producers. The speciality is slow-cooked stews, perhaps tender pork cheeks or lamb navarin with seasonal veg, although you'll also find a fish of the day, big main-course salads, and good desserts. In keeping with the mood, service is leisurely.
Address: 18 rue des Dames, 75017
Contact: 0033 1 45 22 13 42; eldoradohotel.fr
Getting there: Metro Place de Clichy
Opening times: Mon-Fri, noon-3pm, 7pm-2am; Sat, Sun, noon-2am (last service for food 11.30pm)
Price: set-price menu from €21 for lunch and dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French
Reservations: not possible
A clutter of paintings and posters, and the treat of a hidden, overgrown tropical garden courtyard at the rear, are all part of the aura at this bistro adjoining the quirkily bohemian Hôtel Eldorado in burgeoning Batignolles. A local arty set pops in for the laid-back, friendly atmosphere, home cooking and wines from small producers. The speciality is slow-cooked stews, perhaps tender pork cheeks or lamb navarin with seasonal veg, although you'll also find a fish of the day, big main-course salads, and good desserts. In keeping with the mood, service is leisurely.
Address: 18 rue des Dames, 75017
Contact: 0033 1 45 22 13 42; eldoradohotel.fr
Getting there: Metro Place de Clichy
Opening times: Mon-Fri, noon-3pm, 7pm-2am; Sat, Sun, noon-2am (last service for food 11.30pm)
Price: set-price menu from €21 for lunch and dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French
Reservations: not possible
L'Ecurie
L'Ecurie
Just the answer when you're after a juicy steak, bossy service and lots of atmosphere. The ground floor was once stables (spot the hay rack along one wall), and although there are a few tables outside in summer, it's best in winter, when you descend the perilous staircase into ancient vaulted cellars. Feast in flickering candlelight on the good-value, three-course menu, with chargrilled steaks and homemade chips. Despite being in a touristed part of town, L'Ecurie caters to as many Parisians as visitors from out of town. It's near the Sorbonne and Lycée Henri IV, so very popular with celebrating students.
Address: 2 rue Leplace, 75005
Contact: 0033 1 46 33 68 49
Getting there: Metro Maubert-Mutualité
Opening times: Mon-Sat, midday-2pm, 7pm-11pm
Price: set-price menu from €17 for lunch and dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French
Reservations: not necessary
Just the answer when you're after a juicy steak, bossy service and lots of atmosphere. The ground floor was once stables (spot the hay rack along one wall), and although there are a few tables outside in summer, it's best in winter, when you descend the perilous staircase into ancient vaulted cellars. Feast in flickering candlelight on the good-value, three-course menu, with chargrilled steaks and homemade chips. Despite being in a touristed part of town, L'Ecurie caters to as many Parisians as visitors from out of town. It's near the Sorbonne and Lycée Henri IV, so very popular with celebrating students.
Address: 2 rue Leplace, 75005
Contact: 0033 1 46 33 68 49
Getting there: Metro Maubert-Mutualité
Opening times: Mon-Sat, midday-2pm, 7pm-11pm
Price: set-price menu from €17 for lunch and dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French
Reservations: not necessary
Bistrot du Peintre
Bistrot du Peintre
This listed, art nouveau café-bistro has a gorgeous 1902 décor of sinuous woodwork and tiled, allegorical figures of spring and summer. It is much loved by a laidback Bastille crowd for its satisfying, inexpensive cuisine. The choice goes from utterly trad snails or oeuf meurette (egg poached in red wine), steak tartare and some southwestern French touches – my daughter's a fan of the confit de canard – to inventive salads and creative tomato Tatin with red pepper sorbet, so there's sure to be something to suit different tastes. All-day service is very useful when you’re on holiday. Try to be seated on the more atmospheric ground floor rather than upstairs.
Address: 116 avenue Ledru-Rollin, 75011
Contact: 0033 1 47 00 34 39; bistrotdupeintre.com
Getting there: Metro Ledru-Rollin
Opening times: daily, 7am-2am (food served midday-midnight)
Price: lunch and dinner around €23
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French, quick bites
Reservations: not necessary
This listed, art nouveau café-bistro has a gorgeous 1902 décor of sinuous woodwork and tiled, allegorical figures of spring and summer. It is much loved by a laidback Bastille crowd for its satisfying, inexpensive cuisine. The choice goes from utterly trad snails or oeuf meurette (egg poached in red wine), steak tartare and some southwestern French touches – my daughter's a fan of the confit de canard – to inventive salads and creative tomato Tatin with red pepper sorbet, so there's sure to be something to suit different tastes. All-day service is very useful when you’re on holiday. Try to be seated on the more atmospheric ground floor rather than upstairs.
Address: 116 avenue Ledru-Rollin, 75011
Contact: 0033 1 47 00 34 39; bistrotdupeintre.com
Getting there: Metro Ledru-Rollin
Opening times: daily, 7am-2am (food served midday-midnight)
Price: lunch and dinner around €23
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: French, quick bites
Reservations: not necessary
Michi
Michi
Located in the heart of Paris's Little Japan, Michi is a tiny, canteen-like hole in the wall, indicated only by a fish and the word sushi on the facade. It was recommended by a Japanese friend, for some of the best, authentic, and least expensive, sushi and sashimi along rue Sainte-Anne. If you're lucky, bag one of the half-a-dozen places along the counter where you can watch the chef at work, otherwise you'll be squashed into the tiny cellar. There are good-value formules, but go à la carte if you want rarer offerings such as sea urchin and eel.
Address: 58 bis rue Sainte-Anne, 75002
Contact: 0033 1 40 20 49 93
Getting there: Metro Pyramides
Opening times: Tue-Sun, midday-2pm, 7.30pm-10.30pm
Price: set-price menus from €14 for lunch, €23 for dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: Japanese, Seafood
Reservations: recommended
Located in the heart of Paris's Little Japan, Michi is a tiny, canteen-like hole in the wall, indicated only by a fish and the word sushi on the facade. It was recommended by a Japanese friend, for some of the best, authentic, and least expensive, sushi and sashimi along rue Sainte-Anne. If you're lucky, bag one of the half-a-dozen places along the counter where you can watch the chef at work, otherwise you'll be squashed into the tiny cellar. There are good-value formules, but go à la carte if you want rarer offerings such as sea urchin and eel.
Address: 58 bis rue Sainte-Anne, 75002
Contact: 0033 1 40 20 49 93
Getting there: Metro Pyramides
Opening times: Tue-Sun, midday-2pm, 7.30pm-10.30pm
Price: set-price menus from €14 for lunch, €23 for dinner
Payment type: credit cards accepted
Cuisine: Japanese, Seafood
Reservations: recommended
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