From Place To Space: Paris Travel Tips

Salut from Paris, friends! I am still in the ever inspiring French capital where I visited the Maison & Objet design show yesterday. Today and tomorrow I will be discovering new places and spaces in the City of Light to share with you. In the meantime, I want to give you a few Paris travel tips from my last trip to the City of Lights.

I will keep it rather short with text but rich with photography as I think Paris is a predominately visual city that tells more through its sights than words could ever describe! 

So here we go with a few tips for your next trip to Paris:

Printemps Department Store: The historical department store Printemps is located just next to the famous Galeries Lafayette and is a real secret tip - this is probably the best photo location in the city! Printemps consists of two big buildings and one of those, the building hosting the homes & beauty section, has a huge rooftop terrace and café on the 9th floor. It is free, rather quiet as hardly any tourist knows it and it offer the most superbe 360 degrees view of Paris with the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Sacré-Coeur and many more sights. You will not regret a stop-over there! Plus you can enjoy a cup of coffee or even a lunch break on a sunny day.

Café Pinson: For a healthy lunch break or coffee and cake moment, opt for the cute Café Pinson. It offer a full range of organic, vegetarian and gluten-free food and beverages with a cute and cosy interior design. There are two cafés in Paris, one in the 3rd and another one in the 10th arrondissement.

Bob's Food Etc.: Another fabulous hot spot in the 3rd arrondissement for good, organic food - very yummy and very popular, so feel free to squeeze in on the large, communal tables. 

Bistrot Vivienne: This charming Parisian bistro is located in the luxurious Galerie Vivienne close to the Parisian 'Bourse' - it is the epitome of a French café with chic guests and dapper garçons. 

Nord Marais: Another hip locations in the 3rd arrondissement! This restaurant offers good food and a great atmosphere - vintage furniture fills up a bright space with a little library - after all, we're in Paris. We drink a glass of red wine, eat a Croque Monsieur and we spice everything up with literature!

Grand Palais: Not only impressive as an architectural oeuvre, but also home to some of the best exhibitions in town, the Grand Palais should always be on the agenda of a Paris trip. The queue will be not as long as at the Louvre (especially if you buy the tickets online in advance) and you will enjoy great art - I visited the Depardon exhibit which is on until February 10th, 2014.

La Gâité Lyrique: The 'Space for Digital Cultures' in the 3rd arrondissement is one of my favorite discoveries from my last trip. This historical Parisian building hosts a very modern space for digital fans - mutual workspaces, a tiny photography studio, an open library. All this is topped off by an exhibition space that currently features 'The Happy Show' by the Austrian artist Stefan Sagmeister. The New York based artist detects the DNA of happiness through various installations - many of those requiring the active participation of the visitors. So fun!

I hope I could give you a few new travel tips for your next trip to Paris. I will share more over the next weeks so make sure you come back or drop me a line if you have any specific questions.

À bientôt!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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