Hi all,

My wife and I are finally here in Paris! We are staying at st.germain qtr and wonder if someone can give us a few pointers on some of the 'can't miss' eating places around those areas (bistro, cafe, restaurants).

You comments are much appreciated.

Peter

First off, I'm jealous

Ok, if you walk along the Seine across from Notre Dame, walking in the direction away from the back of the Cathedral, there are some nice restuarants along there. Rotisserie du Beaujolais (Quaie de Tournelle) is one I enjoyed, known for their chicken. There is also Montecello (sp?) which has a nice view of Notre Dame. Nearby is Chez Henry - Moulin a Vent (Fosse Bernard, traditional french), Chez Rene (14 blvd St Germain, once again traditional french) and more into the 6th is Le Petit Zinc (11 Rue St. Benoit, www.petit-zinc.com, seafood and more).

If you walk in the other direction on this street there is Les Bouquinistes, upscale resto.

I also like Ile St Louis area, the Brasserie there is good, one of my regular spots was(now new ownership?) Reine Blanche, and I've also eaten at Le Caveau de L'Ile, another nice spot with a vaulted celing in the basement.

I've also eaten at Le Vieux Bistro, which is on the street running along the West facade of Notre Dame.

On Ile de la Cite, I went to the cafe in front of the Justice buildings (as you head towards Notre Dame cathedral) for breakfast.

Hope this helps.

I second Les Bouquinistes! This is for s special meal but they have a very reasonable prix pix lunch. Do splurge!

Hi pp,

What's your address in Paris?

Hi,

We are staying at Hotel du college de france @ 7 rue Thenard.

Any suggestion for great breakfast/lunch/dinner around is greatly appreaciated.

Peter

Peter,

Your hotel is right across the street from Pre Verre, where the food is an interesting, Asian-influenced fusion style. The fixed price menus at both lunch and dinner are a good value.

Your hotel is also very close to Brasserie Balzar, at 49 rue des Ecoles. It's a traditional brasserie that's been around forever (and doesn't seem to have changed too much since it was acquired by the Flo group a few years back).

You will no doubt head over to St. Sulpice, which will be close to wherever you are staying, and in this area there are any number of great little restaurants/bistros-let me suggest that from St. Sulpice you go around to the left side (looking at the front-then turn left into the side street of RUE GHISARDE. There are any number of excellent bistros on this street-a true bistro street as it were-and I would suggest for one, the well-priced "L'Enfance des Lards"-they have they own house-made specials chalked up each day on the blackboard, with great house- made desserts as well. The good thing about this street is that there is an excellent mix of locals and tourists who frequent the eating establishments there (unlike say, the very touristy Rue de la Huchette, by Notre Dame, which seems to be nothing but crammed with tourists and touristy restaurants-not my kind of area at all).

Others in the area of St. Germain that I like (so many for you to choose!)

Chez Leon de Bruxelles-right on the Blvd. St. Germaine-this is an excellent Belgian chain restaurant for mussels and frites, and it is PACKED every night with Parisians-if you want to be around locals, this is where to go-but there is generally a wait. To treat myself, a few weeks ago? when I was in Paris (seems like 5 years ago, I swear) I had the first Belgian waffle (gaufre) that I have had in a long time, and oh, was it good! Fresh-made hot waffle, served with a pot of yummy hot Belgian chocolate sauce to pour over it, and a little pot of whipped creme-I so did not need to scarf that up-but it was too good not to-very reasonably priced "formule" for moules, frites, biere and dessert-something like 19-22 Euros.

Some others I would suggest-on Rue des Dragons (an excellent shopping street, btw) Restaurant Phenicia-Tunisian/Moroccan cuisine-if you like couscous, and North African cuisine, this is a good choice

Polidor:-Rue Monsieur-le- Prince, metro Odeon. Traditional bistro, open since the mid-1800's, great food and atmosphere-many famous names through the last century or so have passed through here

Restaurant des Beaux Artes-Rue Bonaparte-this is the restaurant right by the Ecole des Beaux Artes-but go around 7:30, particularly on the weekends, as it is VERY popular with the local artist crowd-my artist friend and I tried to get in here on a Friday night around 8:30 and we were unable to (and she a graduate of the Ecole no less!) -the place was packed-the food is again, simple bistro fare, fresh fish, and other specials of the day, but this place is known to be a people watching place-and it is very enjoyable just to have a drink and do just that

Bonjour! My husband and I just got back from Paris a few weeks ago and are wishing to be back already! A few places we really loved:

1) Very close to you is Atelier Maitre Albert (5th) - 1, Rue Maitre-Albert (interects with Quai De La Tournelle). Basically staight across from the back side of Notre Dame. We love this restaurant and returned on this recent trip praying that they had the salad with roast chicken livers on the menu (hooray they did and I never thought I liked chicken liver until I had this salad!). This is a Guy Savoy bistro (as is Les Bouquinistes that a previous poster mentioned which is also very good but I personally prefer Maitre Albert). It focuses on rotisserie and upscale "comfort food". Everything is black and orange decor which is perfect for October!

2)For seafood, La Mediterranee (Pl de L'Odeon) close to the Luxembourg gardens is tops. The dover sole is one of their specialties and just melts in your mouth! Lunch here is nice and more reasonably priced.

3) Le Christine (R Christine) - this is great restuarant - guess I would call it classic french. My husband and I just happened across this place and ate our first dinner on our first trip to Paris here - it was everything I had imagined a small, romantic and charming Parisian restuarant to be! Terrific food.

R. Christine intersects with Rue des Grands Augustins which in general, seemed to be the "foodie" street in that area. We had stayed a few blocks over at Villa d'Estrees (Git Le Couer) and found ourselves wandering over to Grands Augustins for many terrific meals (Ze Kitchen Galerie was good but a bit too modern for me, Les Bouqinistes was good, didn't try Jacques Cagna but there were great looking restaurants every few steps I swear!)

Not sure if you're wanting any recommendations further in the 4th (Marais) but a few gems are Les Jumeaux. I LOVED this place but it is technically in the 11th (on the border of 4th on Rue Amelot which is a small street parallel to the big street BD Beaumarchais)and L'Osteria (Rue de Sevigne) close to St. Paul Metro but this last one is hard to get into or even find for that matter!

Last but not least, one of my favorite meals if the weather is decent is sitting in Luxembourg gardens with a selection of wonderful stinky french cheeses, bread, and wine while watching people (especially kids pushing boats in the big fountain)!

Have a great time!

What a coincidence!
That is one of the places my husband and I are checking into for our trip in April. I was concerned however that they do not have non-smoking rooms.
Do you like the place? Is it convenient to metros etc?

If you have time, go to the Marais and get a kebob on Rue de Roisiers. They're really good and great for a quick lunch!

On rue de Cambon in the 1st my boyfriend and I loved Chez Flottes. The cheese potatoes are fabulous! This is close to the Place Vendome!

Mmmm...so many of my favorites on this thread. Girlspy mentions Rue Guisarde (beside St. Sulpice). There is another little restaurant there called Bistrot de Opio. Their special is lamb skewers hanging from a rack, served with various mustards. Very good.

For a more casual meal (or lunch) try the little street next to the church of Saint-Severin, 5th near Notre Dame and Petit Pont. All the restaurants have open spits in the windows with roasting beef, chickens, lamb, duck, etc. It's practically impossible to leave the street without eating! Visit the church, too. It's quite beautiful. The whole area around Petit Pont is full of good restaurants.

Hi pp,

You will get 15% off the bill if you reserve your table at Balzar at www.flobrasseries.com/resa/en/.

If you go to www.mappy.com and look up the Rue Guisarde you will see 3 streets the run perpendicular to it. They all have restaurants.

We like the Bistrot de la Grille Saint Germain at 1 rue Guisarde.

There is a very good Italian restaurant, Vesuvio, on rue Gozlin, opposite the Eglise St Germaine des Pres.

My wife very much likes the Vagenende 142 Boulevard St. Germain, about 1 km from your hotel.

I like the Choucroute Alsacienne at Brasserie Lipp 151 Bld St.Germain.

Alors! Thanks, JeanneB, Girlspy notes that she misspelled "Rue Guisarde" in her post- (a problem when you are using 3 languages in one trip-none of them English!)

Another vote for Brasserie Balzar, we were in Paris last month and ate there twice, we really enjoyed it.

We also enjoyed Aus du Falaffel on Rue de Rosiers in the Marais. You can pick one up at the window or sit down inside. It was a great, inexpensive lunch, and we really enjoyed walking around that neighborhood. We walked there from near where you are staying, and it was a pretty quick trip.

I have just booked Hotel du College for the Feb. school break and will be staying there for 4 nights. Can you tell me something about the rooms and the location? I am booking a room with my wife and I and 2 kids ages 10 and 17 because they are one of the few hotels that can accommodate that for a price less than 150 Eur. The last time I stayed in Paris was at the Hotel Bonaparte and was very happy with the hotel and location. I wanted a similar location and found this hotel to be within budget. How far walking time is it to the Louvre and D'Orsay? Is there a nice place to have a quick breakfast? I know they offer it in the hotel but I think the kids would enjoy a nice place outside. Is it a nice hotel? Can you provide any details on the rooms and the accommodations? Any information will be apreciated

Hi FD,

If you enter your addresses at www.mappy.com and change "express" tp "pedestrian" you can get walking directions, times, etc.

I enjoyed Fish on rue Seine not too far from the St. Germain metro stop. I also like Relais de la Entrecote on rue St. Benoit (they serve one meal - steak with a wonderful sauce and frites).

Ira, as you know I took your advice and stayed at Hotel Bonaparte and loved the area and will be going back with the family. When I was in Paris on business in May, we met up a local gentleman who had a golden retriever dog and we spent the evening at one of the outdoor cafes having some some drinks with him. We told him about a disco around the corner from the hotel that we knew to be very exclusive. He said tomorrow he will take us there. I cannot remember the name but it had a red painted front. The next evening, we met at the same outdoor cafe, and sure enough when we went with him to the night club, he met the doorman and turned to us and said come on in. When we walked in with our new friend kisses on both cheeks greeted him by all he saw. What a great night that was. Great times and great dancing, all in the Latin Quarter. Now I am going back with the family to stay in Paris for 2 nights and then on to Chamonix to ski and then back to Paris for 2 more nights. I cannot wait. I hope the Hotel du College will provide the same fun I had when I was there last.

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