An elegant hole in the wall is the Abri (shelter) restaurant, which used to be a sandwich shop and has kept a lovely unfinished washed-stone look, the kind of place you ask, from the outside, “Is this it or are they still working on it?” There’s no name on the entrance. The chef is Katsuaki [...]
For creative dishes in a relaxed, modern environment, Chamarré is the place to be. Its spacious interior is based around an elegant water-and-wood theme, with curvy, comfortable furniture in shades of slate and violet, blown-glass centerpieces resembling jellyfish and dreamy droplet chandeliers. But this isn’t “Enchantment under the Sea”—the decor is subtle enough to merely evoke [...]
The hideous ’70s era upper structure of the Forum des Halles is being pulled down, soon to be replaced by a futuristic “canopy” the size of a football field. From the computer drawings it looks pretty cool – I just hope it’s not really that color yellow or it’s going to look, well, weird. Weird [...]
When looking for Paris restaurants, it’s not often that you find one that’s hip and sleek, and has a killer view of the Eiffel Tower. Rarer still is that such a restaurant would bother to open for only six months. Yet that’s the idea behind 180, a pop-up bar and restaurant situated squarely adjacent to [...]
A building transformed into a giant paint pot might seem surprising, but it is only one of several curiosities on the quixotic Quai d’Austerlitz. Take the lines 5 or 6 of the Metro as they fly across the Seine and you can’t help but notice the giant luminous blobs of paint oozing down the sides [...]
“Also available in white”
The Northern Marais continues to affirm its status as Paris’ hippest neighbourhood with the arrival of The Broken Arm , a brand new concept store combining a bright cafe with a cutting edge boutique stocking a carefully curated selection of fashion, accessories and books. Founded by Anaïs Lafarge, Guillaume Steinmetz and Romain Juste – who are [...]
La Miroiterie, probably the oldest art squat (or “squart”) in Paris, may soon close down. It started in 1999. From my admittedly American standpoint, I find the squatters’ resistance to city support (and regulation), in order to keep it going, to be childish and utopian. Should artists be allowed to live there sans rent in [...]
“You can’t escape the past in Paris, and yet what’s so wonderful about it is that the past and present intermingle so intangibly that it doesn’t seem to burden.” –Allen Ginsberg
If you want to understand Paris fashion—from couture to street style—head over to the Museum of Decorative Arts. Every new exhibition claims to be a Paris must-see but their “Fashioning Fashion” is unique. Here, in one hundred outfits, you can see how history’s best-dressed Europeans actually looked. Amazingly, every piece is also in perfect condition. The show [...]
