carlota

we are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary and are travelling to Paris in 10 days...we are going to be staying at the Intercontinental.
Please help with restaurants one more special and romantic and 2 more normal ones (if one of the 3 is with a view, the better)
Shopping tips: were can I go to buy things for the house and clothes (I'm in my early 30's)
Also, where can I eat the best croassant??
thank you all!!!

kerouac

Officially, the best croissant (and the best baguette) in Paris is in some unassuming boulangerie near Porte de la Chapelle in the 18th arrondissement. The best bakery in Paris is selected every year by a distinguised committee and becomes the official supplier to the Elysée Palace (the President's residence) for that year.

However, I am quite sure that you will find an acceptable croissant without looking that hard.

Guenmai

Do a search first...all of those questions have been answered many times over. And you're too general. Happy Travels!

Underhill

Since you're staying at the Intercontinental, head down to Le Meurice for your anniversary dinner.

The best places for household things are the big department stores: Galeries Lafayette, Au Printemps, and Le Bon Marché. However, just along the rue St-Honoré, not far from your hotel, is a little shop filled with kitchen and such things. There's a good selection of porcelain cook- and tableware. The shop is quite near the Place du Marché St-Honoré, where you will find Le Pain Quotidien, a fine bakery cum café with excellent croissants and much more.

GiuliaPiraino

bm

carlota

thanks! in other posts There seems to be so much info it's hard to find what i'm looking for..
what I want is nice places but not the 3stars michelin type (specially for the price) I don't mind one that is a bit better than the others, but I want to have a decent meal, nice place, nice service and not overpriced...is it possible??
where can we eat with the best view apart from the restaurant in the eiffel tower??
any other shopping tips?
thank you again!!

kerouac

Many people would say that one of the finest views is at "Le Georges" on top of the Pompidou center -- great views of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacré Coeur and Notre Dame.

GiuliaPiraino

Regarding the best bread, croissants etc. This is an article I clipped out of Budget Travel:

Believe it or not, the humble baguette was headed for extinction not long ago. In the 1960s, boulangeries scrapped old-style methods in favor of industrialized baking, and the bread lost its flavor.
But the French came to their senses by 1998. It's now against the law for a boulangerie to make bread by machine (it must be mixed and baked on-site) and good loaves are once again on the rise. In Paris, there's even a Grand Prix de la Baguette to name the best of the year.
At most boulangeries, the least expensive baguette (often referred to as ordinaire and costing less than a euro) will not reflect the full talents of the baker. Spring for a baguette traditionelle or any of the house's other special loaves.

Here are five places to get the very best:

A block west of the Jardin du Luxembourg, Bread & Roses is well-known for its celeb clientele. (Among the frequent customers are actress Catherine Deneuve and designer Inès de la Fressange.) But the nearly two-year-old organic boulangerie is also making a name for itself with its Puissance Dix baguette ($2). Literally translated, the name means "the power of 10," a reference to the 10 flours--including chestnut, buckwheat, corn, and rye--incorporated into the dough. 7 rue de Fleurus, 6th arr., 011-33/1-42-22-06-06. Métro: Notre-Dame-des-Champs.
In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, Le Quartier du Pain turns out eight different kinds of baguette--some flavored with olives, herbs, or bacon--six days a week (closed Sundays). In 1997, master baker Frédéric Lalos--just 26 at the time--was named one of the best bakers in France. Before Lalos mixes sunflower, flax, and sesame seeds into the dough for his Baguette Céréale ($2), he toasts them, to bring out maximum flavor. 74 rue Saint-Charles, 15th arr., 011-33/1-45-78-87-23. Métro: Charles-Michels.
At Le Moulin de la Vierge, a boulangerie housed in a mill built in 1356, Basile Kamir bakes his baguettes in an antique wood-burning oven out back. In 1975, when he bought the place, Kamir introduced his clients to sourdough, a leavening agent now used in an organic wheat baguette called the Flute Bio ($1.75). It's the perfect foil for the artisanal fig, raspberry, and clementine jams from Burgundy ($6.25) that are also sold on the premises. 105 rue Vercingétorix, 14th arr., 011-33/1-45-43-09-84. Métro: Pernety.
Anis Bouabsa took over Au Duc de la Chapelle in 2005, and at 27, he's already placed in the Grand Prix de la Baguette. One taste of his Baguette Tzara ($1.25) is an indication why. He doesn't use a levain (sourdough starter), so there's a sweet rather than sour taste, and his dough is kneaded entirely by hand. The result: bread that's light, airy, and moist, with a crust that tastes faintly of caramel. 32-34 rue Tristan Tzara, 18th arr., 011-33/1-40-38-18-98. Métro: Marx Dormoy.
The whole-wheat La Monge baguette ($1.25) is the most popular loaf at Eric Kayser, a chain of boulangeries with eight locations in Paris, including the original on rue Monge. The baguette takes 12 hours to produce and uses a secret blend of flours. The La Monge can be found on some of Paris's top tables, including upscale bistro Dominique Bouchet. 8 rue Monge, 5th arr., 011-33/1-44-07-01-42. Métro: Maubert-Mutualité.

MelJ

I can attest to the fabulous offerings at Le Quartier du Pain in the 15th, since we stay just across the street from it when in Paris (once, when our place wasn't ready, we stayed in a lovely little place just above it--oh, the smells!!!)

Our favorite is the almond pastry (the French name escapes me right now). Can't wait to get back in November to experience it again!!!

ira

Hi C,

For an outstanding dining experience w/o mortgaging your home, I suggest lunch at Taillevent.

www.taillevent.com

For dinner with a view, try Les Ombres at the Branley Museum.

www.lesombres-restaurant.com/

Happy Anniversary.

luvparee

We loved the Cafe L'Homme at Trocadero. Dining on their terrace is perhaps one of the best seats in town! We thought the food was wonderful! I'm going to guess about $90 to $100 US per person with an aperitif, wine, dinner, dessert, and coffee. Once you have your table, it's yours for the night and sitting at the foot of the Eiffel as she sparkles (every hour on the hour for 10 minutes from probably 9P on) is magical!

Try BHV for house stuff or Galleries Lafayette or Printemps. You can do a google search for addresses. Flamant on rue Jacob/rue de Furstemberg is like Crate & Barrel/Pottery Barn, only better.

Any particular type of house stuff? Bedding, tabletop, accessories? We might be able to help more if we had an idea what you're looking for.

As far as clothes, if you're in your early 30's, try the Marais area.

Enjoy!

joy/luvparee

kerouac

There are 2 sub-categories of bakeries. There are those who cook what are called 'néons' (fluorescent tubes!) -- that the preformed forzen dough that just needs to be stuck in the oven. And the most miserable level, which can only call itself a "dépôt de pain," doesn't even bake on site and receives the cooked baguettes ready for sale. That's what most of the minor supermarkets do. They sell baguettes that have been delivered.

cathies

We are just back from Paris (sigh!) and I noticed this time that there appeared to be some major differences in sandwich baguettes, that's probably not the correct name but you'll get my drift. Some looked horrible - soft, doughy, pale insipid looking bread. The baguettes we sought out were delightful crusty, flavour filled bread. So crusty sometimes that I had to turn them upside down to eat as I kept cutting the roof of my mouth!! So yummy though.

Can't help with restaurants as we were on a budget!!

Happy anniversary!

oakglen

You have chosen an area favored by international businessmen; most everyone you meet will be 20 plus years older. Le Castiglione and L'Ardoise will have a younger clientele, and you should try the three course, all souffle meal at Souffle. All are on Mont Thabor.

carlota

what about having dinner in one of the boats I've been reading about (bateaus)??

StCirq

I wouldn't recommend dinner on the Seine cruises. Mediocre food at best. Better to take a nighttime cruise, then go somewhere nearby for some good food.

carlota

ok, are there different types of boats? which is the best one? at what time is it better? where can I book it?? (through the concierge??)

SuzieC

Isn't the Cafe de la Paix downstairs from your hotel?

I ate there. I loved the people watching there. (At the next table was a ballerina "of a certain age" arguing with what I imagined was her agent about getting her more work.)

StCirq

The Café de la Paix is indeed on the ground floor of the Continental on Opéra. I love that place, too. Perfect for afternoon tea (expensive, but you can linger forever if you want to).

For Seine cruises, I like the Vedettes du Pont Neuf, though as someone posted here recently, the difference between the lines isn't all that great (with the exception of les Yachts de Paris, which might only offer dinner cruises - I haven't taken that one), so you might just pick the closest one. You can go online and print out a discount coupon for any one of them. Yes, the hotel can arrange it for you, or you can just show up.

coxbox

just got back.. second Les Ombres.. for food and outstanding view of the Eiffel Tower.. incredible.. make sure to go late enough when its dark..check out chowhounds.com for food insight..

have a great time..