If it’s your first time going to Paris and you will be there for only just one day, then this article isn’t for you.
For one, I would discourage you from doing it. Like most cultural cities, Paris is like a fine wine that needs to breathe, be sniffed, sipped, digested, and processed. Yes, if planned properly, it would be possible to hit 4-5 main landmark sites during that one day. But what would that accomplish, really? Seeing something in person that you have seen a million times in photos? Ruining your favorite shoes while running to and fro? Wishing you could just sit down and yet feeling guilty every sad second that you do?
But sometimes, you don’t have a choice and can only visit Paris for just one day.
For me, experiencing any city is about walking around, eating, drinking, talking, and feeling. Yes of course culture can enter the picture. But for me, that culture is not about combing through crowds of people to steal a glance of the Mona Lisa. It’s about getting to know the actual culture of people, what they do, what they wear, and how they annoy the crap out of you.
Here is how I spend my day if I can have only one day in Paris.
Le St Régis, 4th
6 Rue Jean du Bellay
Start the day off with a proper breakie at Café St Regis. Located on Ile St Louis, it is perfectly situated on a sunny corner with views of the Seine and the Saint Louis bridge. Enjoy some hearty favorites such as Eggs Florentine, French toast, waffles with berries, and a full breakfast of eggs and bacon.
Courtesy of Le St Régis
Angelina, 1st
226 rue de Rivoli
Named after the daughter Austrian confectioner Rumpelmayer, who first opened its doors in 1903, Angelina is an elegant tea room known for its refined pastries. Visited by such Paris icons Coco Chanel and Proust, the Belle Epoque décor is a quiet spot where you can dip your macarons into your hot choccolate and enjoy the silence.
Courtesy of Angelina
Galerie Perrotin, 4th
76 rue to Turrenne
A trip to Paris would be remiss without a quick nip over to one of Paris’ most on-the-mark contemporary art gallery, Galerie Perrotin. Founded by Emmanual Perrotin in 1990 when he was only 21 years old, this gallery has never stopped feeling fresh and has since opened other spaces in Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Seoul. Perrotin continues to work closely with his roster of clients since starting out over 25 years ago.
Courtesy of Marika Brose
Merci, 3rd
3 Boulevard Beaumarchais
Paris’ largest general store, at a cool 1,500 sqft, is housed in a former wallpaper factory in the upper end of the Marais. Offering an assortment of interior design, apparel, gifts, flowers, two cafés and one restaurant, it’s the perfect place to browse for things you thought you never needed, but now desperately want.
Courtesy of Merci
La Maison Champs Elysées, 8th
8 rue Jean Goujon
If you like black and white, then you simply must go to to La Maison Champs Elysées. Designed with the collaboration of maximal-minimalist Martin Margiela, it is the former location of La Maison des Centraliens, home where students of l’École Centrale would meet. As its name suggests, it is but a stone’s throw from the Champs Elysées and is also a major hub-spot for those fashion people during fashion week.
Courtesy of Merci
Le Bar Du Marché, 6th
75 Rue de Seine
I used to live around the corner from Le Bar du Marché, it was my go-to for a quick verre de rosé in between sewing a dress or sketching a croquis. But this is not the only reason why I still worship it. On the corner of Rue Buci and Rue de Seine, an epic corner for people watching especially if you happen to be there during fashion week, this Saint Germain staple used to be the watering hole of the likes of Picasso and Hemingway.
Courtesy of Marika Brose
Chez Janou, 4th
2 Rue Roger Verlomme
The party is always going on at Chez Janou. The dinner party, that is. A small yet bustling bistrot in the heart of the Marais, once you walk in you feel like you’ve walked in on some large family dinner soirée. The food is delicious, typical French fare with things like moules gratinées, magret de canard, rabbit legs, and entrecôte bistrot. But the pièce de resistance is the Bowl of Mousse au Chocolate that they pass around with a large ladle for you to lap it onto you place. Sweet dreams.
Courtesy of Chez Janou
