France

Paris

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YOYO is situated in Palais Tokyo cellars, in the place of a former movie theatre of the Cinematheque Francaise. This beautiful somber space hosts Fashion Week parties, catwalks, 3D films shows as well as concerts. People come here to dance to the best musicians and DJs, such as Germans M-nus and Tresor, or Circoloco or Concrete teams. Its huge bar, perfect sound, 10-meter LED screen and the state-of-the-art lights system make it the best looking modern club in the neighborhood.

YOYO

Pinacothèque is the only private museum of visual arts with constantly changing exhibitions. The curators organize each display to show the background of an artist, what they liked and where they took inspiration from during their work. The gallery is quite small, but because it has a permanent collection and temporary onces, changing twice a year, it represents painters of all times, schools and genres as well as photography, sculpture and art objects. For this reason it doesn't have the traditional division in terms of centuries, countries or styles, which makes in even more interesting: the paintings could be grouped according to the theme, color or the similar associations they invoke. Originally the gallery occupied just one building on Madeleine square, but later another space was rented in a cool mansion on the beginning of the 20th century, on the corner of Seze and Vignon streets, and it's also worth a visit. Be ready to see both places full of people: the Pinacothèque has earned a huge popularity thanks to its marvellous exhibitions.

Pinacothèque de Paris

Le Baron Rouge is simply a perfect bar. Come here at the weekend, after shopping for fresh food at the Aligre market, as all the locals do. The bar offers great wines that can be bought to go if you come with your own bottle, meat plates, but most importantly, fresh oysters that they serve on Saturdays and Sundays. The place is tiny and always full, which makes the atmosphere even better. The ideal way to feel like a true Parisian is to order wine with a dozen of oysters, manage to find a spot at one of the barrels and enjoy the moment.

Le Baron Rouge

In X arrondissement, next to A.P.C, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, there is a new multibrand store Centre Commercial. Despite the name, its phylosophy is quite peaceful: making fashion ecological and ethical and supporting small producers around the world. Sebastien Kopp, one of co-creators of this concept store and designer of Veja sneakers with a conscience, that are also sold here, doesn't seek financial success. His main focus are his clients who share his concern for the future of our planet. Their branch Centre Commercial Kids (22 rue Yves Toudic) is a place to go if you are a young parent and want to buy some eco attire for your baby.

Centre Commercial

At the foothill of Sacre-Coeur there is a place selling all elegant and timeless things of a well-known French brand A.P.C., but a season too late and for half the price. Sales hunters head here the first thing after coming to Paris, and noone leaves empty-handed. The shop hides on a small Andre del Sartre lane just next to the worst part of Montmartre, full of sex-shops and shadowy characters. But A.P.C. Surplus is worth the unpleasant walk. Besides, if you spend all your money here, you can go to the nearby Basilica for absolution of all your sins for free.

A.P.C Surplus

If you're looking for a club that would look like Blue Parrot from Roman Polanski's Frantic, Chez Moune is the place. This underground club is the favourite spot of the Parisian Boheme. It was started by the famous Madame Moune and used to a female-only venue called Cabaret Lesbienne. Now it is no longer the case, with parties rocking until dawn. It's popular for its Fashion Week afterparties and among hipster crowds. The music is eclectic, inclining more towards electro rock. Sometimes bands like CocoRosie, LCD Soundsystem or Anoraak play here after their concerts. The entrance to Chez Moune is free so the queues are long.

Chez Moune

A store from a Belgian designer brand Dries Van Noten, "the King of Prints", is a must-visit while shopping in Paris. Dries Van Noten has himself transformed this 17th-century building into an elegant dwelling for his art collection. This homely and stylishly arranged place on Malaquais embankment has a magic and breathtaking atmosphere. Van Noten likes to mix various textiles, genres and cultural references, and this house too smoothly combines fashion with decorative art.

Dries Van Noten

Designed by Parisian It-boy Ora Ito, the hotel was inspired by Kubrick's Space Oddyssey. Its 29 rooms look like spaceship cabins, which makes it rather hard to remember you are in the centre of Paris surrounded by Les Halles and Etienne-Marcel shopping meccas. Each room is individually decorated with wood, felt and corkwood and boasts clean lines and soft curves. A night here would cost €209-279. The hotel bar offers great cocktails for €10-12 each.

Hotel O

The first gay friendly hotel in Paris, Jules & Jim was opened a couple of years ago in the heart of Le Marais neighborhood and is never empty. The hotel boasts 23 luxurious and extra comfortable rooms located across a separate building and two small houses. The rooms overlook either the roofs of Paris or a lovely inner courtyard decorated with a pretty vertical garden. The price includes such facilities as aircon, iPod docking station and free Wi-Fi and varies from €180 for the smallest room in the low season up to €550 for a Duplex Apartment. The lower floor has a nice bar, a breakfast room, a library and a lobby which is a modern photo gallery at the same time.

Hotel Jules & Jim

The best way to start your day is a yummy breakfast with good coffee in a nice place. This meal is sacred for Parisians and they treat it seriously. A typical one would be – coffee or tea, fresh juice, pastry or baguette with butter or jam or yogurt with granola. Breakfast ends noon sharp when it's time for lunch. We give you the list for a perfect start of your day.

Top Places for Breakfast in Paris

Eiffel Tower, Montmartre or Montparnasse don't actually have the monopoly of the best Paris panorama. Sometimes you can watch the city in its glory in a totally unexpected place in the company of friends not endless tourists and clicks of their cameras.

With a View: Paris in its Best

Every Parisian has an immediate answer to the question of which bank of the Seine is better, the left or the right one. Each one has their personal favourite, without exceptions, and even though both sides of the river are just beautiful, the two parties will never come to an agreement. Take a walk around the left one and decide which team are you in – the Left Bank or the Right Bank!

A Day on the Left Bank

Half of Paris buildings seem to be hotels, but figuring out where to stay and book a room sometimes looks like a mission impossible to complete. Some are too posh and expensive while others are too low-quality. However, there are a few cool boutique hotels and private apartments, which tempt you to stay indoors and don’t cost like hell. Our accommodation guide reveals those secret places.

Paris: Where to Stay

This itinerary is for those who brought kids on the trip and want them to remember something different than endless boring shops, cafes where there's nothing for them to eat or dull museums. Paris has places exciting for all ages.

Kids in Paris: a  Day with Children

It is a known fact that Marais is a great place for shopping, but going there and hoping that you will simply run into all the best shops is simply naive, because some of them can easily be walked by without noticing. This route contains all the hot spots that cannot be missed while shopping in Marais.

Paris

Routes

Places of Paris