- Paris
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France
For all the vegetarian food lovers: A speciality veggie restaurant in the heart of Paris is 'Le Potager du Marais' on 22, Rue Rambuteau.
And if you are a chocoholic do try the spicy chocolate tart!
Shakespeare and Co. is the English language bookshop in the Latin Quarter, recently featured in the film Before Sunset. The shop sells rare books and offers a bed to aspiring writers and practising bohemians in return for a little work.
Former owners Sylvia Beach, publisher of Joyce’s Ulysses, and Marxist fleamarket devotee George Whitman may have passed on, but the shop still offers a window onto the Paris of the Modernists and the Beats.
On Sundays at three Paris’ Anglophone community gathers for tea, cake and bookish gossip.
The best cocktail bar in the city is between the Pantheon and the Luxembourg Gardens.
Cosy, intimate and friendly this place has it all. The back street location and unassuming frontage makes it a true local hangout – strictly for those in the know.
It opens and shuts late so is perfect for long nights when you don’t want to face a noisy dancefloor.
And with more than three hundred cocktails on the list you’re sure not to get bored.
Go to The Black Dog (Rue des Lombards) and try some of the best steaks in town in this metal bar run by Argentinians.
Hotel Chopin in the grands boulevards district is a real find. Truly French , but great location at a reasonable price.
An unusual walk in Paris: The Promenade Plantee (metro Bastille).
This is a disused viaduct that has been converted to a lovely elevated walkway, with wonderful views and beautiful planting.
You can then descend to ground level and walk back, browsing in the crafts workshops that are housed in the arches of the viaduct.
When returning from Paris with cheese, sneak the relevant bag into a different coach from the one you are travelling in, and let someone else take the blame for the delicious aromas....
Go to the Arts and Crafts Museum (le Musée des Arts et Métiers), 60 rue Réaumur, Paris 3e. You will find scientific instruments, mechanics, transport, etc. It is pleasantly old-fashioned and fascinating!
Josselin in the Gare Montparnasse make the best crepes, they're lipsmackingly to die for, every flavour, filling and taste in the world.
The Caves de la Huchette is a fab hot jazz/ceroc dancing spot.
Whenever I go away for a weekend break I make sure I go to bed an hour early each day of the preceeding week. It means I don't get back feeling like I need a holiday!
Pizza Pino restaurants offer great Italian food. There are several branches and it is a fantastic way to get some great food and save some money for shopping!
Take a morning train and get the metro to Bastille. Shop for lunch at the huge open air market, bus, metro or walk to Ile de la Cite and eat your picnic in the gardens round Notre Dame.
Walk along the Seine, looking at the bouquinistes and take in an exhibition: Louvre, Musee d'Orsay or Grand Palais.
Up to Montmartre for the view, moulees plus a glass of white wine in the Place du tertre by the light of the setting sun, and a short stroll back to the Gare du Nord.
For good, solid French home cooking try "Le Vieux Bistro" on the Ile de la Cité, a charmingly rustic brasserie. Uncomplicated, charming and as central as it gets!
14, rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame
Paris 75004 France
Be extra vigilant for thieves on the Paris Metro.
I was pick pocketed. I was wearing a bum bag. On walking up the escalator, the youth stopped to pick up the item he dropped. I was jostled from behind by the commuters who could not avoid the flow and knocked into me.
Before I exited the station, the commuter called me "Monsier, you dropped this?" It was my London Oyster Card. The thief had rifled into my bag without me knowing and grabbed the oyster card instead of the other valuables.
Serve them right for picking on me.
Best thing to do in Paris: enjoy an evening aperitif in the bar at the top of Tour Montparnase and watch the sun set over the Seine.
Have a second while the city's lights come up - very romantic. Not only that, it's one of the few places in Paris where you're protected from a view of Tour Montparnase.
Afterwards enjoy dinner in one of the several Alsatian bistros in the area.
The Brasserie du Gard Du Nord is the best place to prepare for a Sunday afternon journey back from Paris.
All the classics, fantastic surroundings, plate of oysters and a chilled bottle of something lets you drowse contentedly all the way back to Londres!
Ninety-seater Theatre de la Huchette (Metro Mont St Michel) shows Ionesco classics every night, as it has done since 1957.
Discover the old world delights of the Mariage Frères tea shop in Paris, rue du Bourg-Tibourg (4th arrondissement).
Some many teas stored in tin boxes on wooden shelves served to you by gloved hands. And if you don't want to take any home, you can still try their teas, cakes etc. or buy gorgeous teapots and kitchenware.
Take a trip/ picnic into the country from Paris to the beautiful Foret de Marly (where Louis XIV used to hunt) on the 'petit train' from Gare Saint Lazare to Saint Nom La Breteche in less than an hour.
The station is in the middle of the forest. Much of the forest is now closed to traffic, which enables pleasant walking and cycling away from the hubbub.
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