Wining & Dining in Paris now available!

Wining and Dining in Paris was created for those of you who want to truly experience the extraordinary food and wine Paris has to offer. We’ve included Paris’s best restaurants, wine bars, wine shops, cafes, bistros, champagne bars and food markets – and even a few cooking classes! – all arranged by arrondissement to make your wining and dining decisions a snap.

A brief section introduces readers to the Parisian restaurant scene, French wines by region, and select culinary and wine terms. The rest of the book is arranged by district (arrondissement) for ease of use, and each arrondissement section will offer a map followed by top restaurant picks (not just high-end gourmet, but also great meals at more moderate prices), wine bars, cafes, and wine shops (including organic wine shops).

• 139 restaurants, wine bars, wine shops and more
• 43 maps, lots of beautiful illustrations
• Essential French phrases
• Tips on budget dining, historic restaurants, types of eating
establishments, and mealtimes
• Ten Simple Rules of Dining Out in Paris
• A region-by-region look at French wine

From the author of Eating & Drinking in Paris: French Menu Translator and Restaurant Guide and Open Road's Best of Paris.

The Musée Picasso (Picasso Museum) in Paris will finally reopen.

The Musée Picasso (Picasso Museum) in Paris is finally set to reopen. The museum will reopen in June 2014 after a renovation that took five years and cost 52 million euros.  The museum has the largest collection of the works of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (not to mention works by Renoir, Cézanne, Degas and Matisse). The renovation allows the museum to showcase more of the 5,000 works by the artist. Don't miss it the next time you visit Paris. 

Info: 3^rd/Métro St-Sébastien or St-Paul. 5 rue de Thorigny (in the Marais).  

Bercy Village in Paris: Off-the-Beaten-Track Shopping and Dining

Bercy Village: A French village in the heart of Paris. This off-the-beaten-track "village" is located in the 12th arrondissement. Small wine warehouses from the late 19th century have been converted into stylish shops and restaurants. A great place to get away from touristy Paris. In the 12th arrondissement. Near the Seine River and adjoining the Park Bercy. Take the métro to Cour Saint-Émilion on line 14.

Exploring Quirky Paris

Exploring Quirky Paris

Paris has some of the world’s best-known sights. It also has some of the oddest. So here are your choices, broken down into categories: Crap, Dead Stuff, Medicine and Animals. Enjoy!.

Crap:

Les Egouts (The Sewers)

Why would you want to visit the sewers of Paris? Many do, despite the smell (especially bad in summer). You can visit the huge underground passages in the bowels of the city (no pun intended), a museum, and view a film. Info: 7th/Métro Alma-Marceau. Pont de l’Alma (opposite 93 quai d’Orsay). Tel. 01/53.68.27.81. Open 11am-4pm (May-Sep until 5pm). Closed Thu, Fri and part of Jan. Admission: €4.20, €3.40 ages 6-16, under 5 free. See Eiffel Tower Area Map.

Dead Stuff:

Les Catacombes

Grim, strange and claustrophobic. Beginning in the late 1700s, six million people were deposited in what used to be stone quarries. It gets even creepier. The bones are arranged in patterns. Not for everyone. Info: 14th/Métro Denfert-Rochereau. 1 place Denfert-Rochereau. Tel. 01/43.22.47.63. Open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. Closed Mon. Admission: €8, under 13 free. See Montparnasse Map.

Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse

(Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal)

Catherine Labouré was a young nun when she claimed that the Virgin Mary, dressed in a white silk dress, visited her (four times in 1827) to deliver a design for a holy medal. Go figure! Catherine’s body is here in a glass cage. The spot where the Virgin Mary is said to have sat during her visits is a place of veneration. You can buy a rosary or medal in the courtyard (they actually have a machine that dispenses these souvenirs). Another glass cage holds the body of St. Louise de Marillac (one of the founders of the Daughters of Charity). St. Louise is still wearing her habit. Info: 7th/Métro Sèvres-Babylone. 140 rue du Bac. Open daily 7:45am-1pm and 2:30pm-7pm (Tue 7:45am-7pm). Admission: Free.

Around the corner is La Congrégation de la Mission (Congregation of the Mission). Here, the waxed corpse of St. Vincent de Paul (known for his charity) is found in an ornate glass-and-silver casket above the main altar. If you like this sort of macabre stuff, you can climb the stairs and get a close-up view of his body. Info: 7th/Métro Sèvres-Babylone. 95 rue de Sèvres. Open daily. Admission: Free. See Eiffel Tower Area Map.

Medicine:

Musée d’Histoire de la Médecine (Museum of Medical History)

Yikes! You can see implements used for skull drilling in this 100-year-old museum dedicated to medical history. The implements used to perform Napoléon’s autopsy are here, too. Info: 6th/Métro Odéon. 12 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine. In the René Descartes University (second floor). Tel. 01/76.53.16.93. Open Sep-July 15 2pm-5:30pm except Thu and Sun, July 15-Aug 2pm-5pm except Sat and Sun. Admission: €3.50. See Left Bank Map.

Musée d'Anatomie Delmas-Orfila-Rouvière (Anatomy Museum)

Formaldehyde jars with Siamese twins and deformed body parts, wax models of anuses and skinned faces, and the mummified bodies of a whole family are some of the horrid exhibits that greet you in the eighth-floor lobby of this university. Fun! Info: 6th/Métro St-Germain-des-Prés. 45 rue des Sts-Pères. (in the René Descartes Université). Tel. 01/42.86.20.47 (by appointment only). Open hours vary, usually Tue and Thu 2pm-5pm. Admission: Free. See Left Bank Map.

Musée de l’Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

(Museum of Public Assistance and Hospitals).

Interested in exhibits on infanticide or “historic” blood-covered uniforms? If so, this museum is right up your alley! The 17th-century mansion used to be a pharmacy. Info: 5th/Métro Maubert-Mutualité. 47 quai de la Tournelle. Tel. 01/40.27.50.05. Open Tue, Wed, Fri, and first Sun of each month 10am-6pm. Closed Aug. Admission: €6, under 13 free. See Left Bank Map.

Animals:

For the truly adventurous, you can head out of Paris to one of these sights:

Musée Fragonard d’Alfort (Veterinary Museum)

Ugh! Animal skeletons, skinned cats, a camel’s stomach and a partially flayed 200-year-old horse and its rider are just some of the rather grim exhibits at this veterinary school’s museum. Info: Métro Alfort - École Vétérinaire (line 8). In the suburb of Maisons-Alfort/Métro Alfort-École Vétérinaire. Located in the National Veterinary School. E-mail musee@vet-alfort.fr to confirm that the museum will be open). Open Wed and Thu 2pm-6pm and Sat and Sun 1pm-6pm. Closed Aug. Admission: €7, under 26 free. www.musee-vet-alfort.fr.

Cimetière des Chiens (Dog Cemetery)

The French love their dogs (and cats) so much that they have an entire cemetery with some elaborate memorials to countless poodles and even Rin Tin Tin. How totally French! Info: In the Asnières-sur-Siene suburb/Métro Mairie de Clichy (line 13). A 15-minute walk from métro on rue Martre, left at end of the bridge Pont de Clichy. Located along the river. 4 Pont de Clichy. Tel. 01/40.86.21.11. Open Mar 16-Oct 15 10am-6pm, Oct 16-Mar 15 10am-4:30pm. Closed Mon. Admission: €3.50, under 6 free.

For more on exploring Paris, check out Open Road's Best of Paris.

Paris Restaurants: L'Ange 20

Here is the first in a series of new restaurants in Paris that will be featured in the new edition of Eating & Drinking in Paris (to be released Spring 2013).

L’Ange 20

Don't miss this small, intimate restaurant in the heart of the Marais near the Centre Pompidou. Friendly, efficient, and attentive service. You can watch the chef in the open kitchen. Lively mix of tourists and Parisians enjoying reasonably priced meals. Try the excellent agneau façon sept heures (lamb cooked for seven hours). Unbelievable what the chef turns out in this small kitchen. Info: 4th/Métro Rambuteau. 8 rue Geoffroy L’Angevin (off of rue Beaubourg). Tel. 01/40.27.93.67. No lunch. Closed Mon.

www.lange20.com.  

The best view in Paris (Montparnasse Tower).

For the best view in Paris, head to the Tour Montparnasse (Montparnasse Tower). This unfortunate 1970s black glass tower that dominates its Left Bank neighbors has an observation deck. Take the elevator to the 56th floor and then steps to the roof. The elevator ride to the top takes just 38 seconds (Europe's fastest).

There was such outrage after this tower was built that an ordinance was passed prohibiting further towers in the city center. The best thing about the great view is that you can’t see this tower! Info: 15^th/Métro Montparnasse-Bienvenüe. Open daily Apr-Sep 9:30am-11:30pm, Oct-Mar 9:30am-10:30pm. Last ascension a half-hour before closing. Admission: €13.

Photo of the week

Vernazza (pictured here) is one of the Cinque Terre, five beautiful towns perched on dramatic cliffs above the sea. For dining tips in Vernazza and the Cinque Terre, check out Eating & Drinking in Italy.