How to say this: you don’t find these hotels anymore and Hotel Esmeralda will undoubtedly sooner or later fall into the hands of savvy promoters who will turn this most authentic and simple 12 bedroom hotel, all with views over Notre Dame into a boutique hotel with stratospheric prices. However, for the time being, just enjoy it: rush to this gem of a hotel with its cats and wallpapers coming out of a bygone era. Share this secret address with everyone you love. As with all great passions, it won’t last, so savour every moment of your stay.

www.hotel-esmeralda.fr/
4 rue Saint Julien Le Pauvre 75005 Paris
+331 43 54 19 20
Google map: bit.ly/p5i8v6

* Agnes is our Been there local for Paris. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/paris-local-agnes-poirier.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/AgnesPoirier

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If you’re familiar with Paris, no need to tell you about how pharmacies are so different here, compared, say, to London. French pharmacies are like beauty parlours where you can get your subscription of antibiotics of course but also the best beauty, baby, diet, vitamin, and herb products. We call it para-pharmacy. Of course, this can prove pricey. So think no more and head straight to rue du four in the St Germain-des-Près area. Pharmacy Fouhety is the cheapest in Paris and it stocks every brand and product you may dream of. Be prepared, the whole world meets here and queues are long but it’s all worth it.

26, Rue du Four (Corner of rue Bonaparte and rue du Four), Paris 6th.
Google map: bit.ly/pCcgXe

* Agnes is our Been there local for Paris. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/paris-local-agnes-poirier.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/AgnesPoirier

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Say what you want about Italian ice creams, and God knows they are divine, the real apex for me is called Berthillon. And you’ll find their glaces in the St Louis island of Paris. Each boule (scoop) is small and pricey but there is no word to describe the ecstasy of their gianduja with orange peel, verbena sorbet and raspberry à la rose. You can enjoy Berthillon ice cream at the salon de thé or just in cornets from their stands.

www.berthillon.fr
29-31 rue saint Louis en l'ile, 75004 Paris
+33(0)143543161
Google map: bit.ly/q2vrr2

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Here is one of France’s best chocolatiers and I know one thing or two about eating chocolate. Patrick Roger makes little milk and black rochers to die for and his 100% cocoa tablettes in their elegant green magnet boxes are like jewels. Roger also experiments with spices and you will find his chocolate with basil a real discovery.

www.patrickroger.com
108 boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006 Paris
+33(0)1 43 29 38 42
Google map: bit.ly/qfcRfI

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Just walked hours from Le Louvre to the Arc of Triumph and looking for some respite far from the maddening crowd? Look no further. All you need is a love for Japan and its wondrous wagashi pastries. Toraya, a stone throw from Concorde square, is this very quiet and authentic Japanese salon de thé where you’ll be able to taste green tea-hot chocolate and restore your natural zen.

www.toraya-group.co.jp/paris/paris/index.html
10, Rue St-Florentin, 75001 Paris
+33 (0)1 42 60 13 00
Open from 10.30am to 7pm Monday-Saturday
Google map: bit.ly/njUFlR

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Tourists may be queuing up in front of Ladurée for its famous macarons but Parisians often shlep to the bucolic and authentic Daumesnil quartier to get the best Mille-Feuille in Paris, at Vandermeersch’s. A Mille-Feuille (literally, thousand leaves) is a landmark of French patisserie. Its « leaves » must be light and crispy and its cream delicately perfumed with vanilla and a touch of rum.

278 Avenue Daumnesil, Paris 12th
+33 (0)1 43 47 21 66
Google map: bit.ly/kxdncA

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The Album bookshop is a temple dedicated to the art of Bande dessinée, an extremely successful art form in the Francophone world, which has no equivalent in Britain or the USA. In Anglophone countries, comic strips are considered a mere entertainment mainly targeted at children. The expression graphic novel had to be coined to appeal to a more mature readership. In France, Belgium and Switzerland, dozens of young authors’ names and unique visual signatures catch people’s eyes whenever they pass a bookshop. Asterix alone has sold 326 million albums since its creation in 1961 and has been translated in 107 languages and dialects.

84, Boulevard St Germain, 75005 Paris, France
+33 1 43 25 25 68
www.album.fr
Google map: bit.ly/iRGyVd

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You won’t have to pass an exam to get a room at Hôtel des Grandes Ecoles, just make sure to book in advance. This hotel, ensconced in an impasse with a garden, right in the heart of the Latin quarter, opposite where Hemingway lived in the Twenties, has affordable and lovely hotel rooms, some with Toile de Jouy wallpaper which will no doubt colour your dreams. Room from 118€. It is not cheap but worth the investment!

www.hotel-grandes-ecoles.com
75, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, Paris 5th
+33 (0)1 43 26 79 23
Google map: bit.ly/jyFjFw

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This superb Belle Epoque building with painted frescoes in the heart of Les Lilas, a little village North-East of Paris (métro Mairie des Lilas), is also an art house cinema. Parisians in the know flock to Les Lilas to see films, in style.

www.theatredugardechasse.fr/
181 bis, rue de Paris, Les Lilas 93260
+33(0)1 43 60 41 89

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Baker Pascal Barillon won this year the prestigious Best Baguette Award for his baguette 'tradition'. He got a score of 19.5/20. He is also known for his patisserie creations such as L’Abbesse, a chocolate mousse and orange peel on a truffle paste. Now, run!

6, rue des Abesses, Paris (18th) 75018
Google map: bit.ly/ldezGo

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Here is an authentic local café with formica tables and a tasty menu du jour. If you’re a football fan, you’ll be able to discuss with the sportive owner. This café sits on a very poetic corner of Paris, it is precisely where Rue de la Fidélité becomes Rue du Paradis. I often wondered if the Haussmanian city planners did it on purpose.

Corner of rue de Paradis and rue du Faubourg St Denis, Paris (10th)

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Ever wondered where Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg got their dancing shoes from? The supplier of ballet companies throughout the world, Repetto is an artisan chausseur worth the detour. One piece of advice: wait for the sales!

www.repetto.fr/boutique/
51, rue du Four, 75006 Paris
+33(0)1 45 44 98 65
Google map: bit.ly/jSYCHH

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Open from 7am to midnight, the 30 metre long swimming pool rue Pontoise is built like an art-déco ship with individual cabin for every swimmer. From 8pm onwards, the pool is lit from within while music blares out ...

www.clubquartierlatin.com/
19, rue de Pontoise, 75005, Paris (5th)
+33(0)155427788
Google map: bit.ly/jTOGkS

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A little bijou of a museum. Sheltered in a magnificent 18th century hôtel particulier in the Marais, right near the Pompidou Centre, Le Musée de la Chasse boasts wonderful stuffed animals such as a white polar bear standing on its feet ...

www.chassenature.org/site_musee/musee-home.html
62 Rue des Archives, 75003 Paris (4th)
+33(0)153019240
Google map: bit.ly/lW16ow

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