3 top restaurants, 2 walks & my 2 favorite squares:

Europe slowly reopened to tourism on June 15 by lifting many internal borders. Thus, I think it is high time for some tips for fine dining and walks in Paris.

Since I set foot on this place many years ago, France’s capital has been my favorite city. And it still is, despite lots of other ones visited afterwards! I strongly believe that it does not exist a more beautiful place in terms of urban architecture. As a frequent visitor to Paris ever since, I am always on the lookout for hot spot restaurants and walks. And this was not different on my latest stay here over last New Year’s Eve.

Before going into details as to where to dine in style and where to go for a walk in Paris, I would like to let you know briefly about two of my preferred squares in this stunning city.

2 favorites squares

1. Place des Vosges

Place des Vosges in the Marais neighborhood is – IMHO – the absolutely most beautiful square in Paris! No other place can rival its serene harmony exuded thanks to its perfect symmetry. You can best experience it on a typical foggy day in Paris, which is so often the case in the winter half year.

Quite the opposite, I visited it on a lovely day, when I was last here together with my husband and my son. Believe it or not, it felt much more peaceful and contemplative on the occasion of a previous visit when the sun was not out …

2. Place Vendôme

Another of my dearest squares in Paris is Place Vendôme, located two blocks north of the Tuileries. It is like the Place des Vosges regularly constructed. And this in the form of a rectangle that looks like an octagon thanks to cut-off corners.

While it originally was a very important spot politically seen, it became the home of luxury in newer times. The Ritz Hotel and famous dress designers settled here, but unfortunately most of the latter have gone. A thing I dislike here is the traffic, it would be much more placid without it …

But now to three great discoveries when it comes to fine dining.

3 gourmet restaurants

As usual, when planning the stay, I had been looking for dining-spots that are rather new and run by younger, inventive chefs. As we visited the city on strike, we had to make one short-term amendment. One of the restaurants originally chosen was too far away from our hotel to reach it by foot. Therefore, we settled for one that was close to our accommodation, a Japanese place called AO Izakaya.

1. Restaurant Alliance

This was the highest-rated dining-spot of our last stay in Paris and at the same time my favorite among the restaurants visited at this occasion. It was awarded one Michelin star and 16 Gault Millau points.

You find it on Paris’ left bank, on a quiet street between the river Seine and Boulevard Saint-Germain. Two young restaurateurs opened it end of 2015 , Japanese-born chef Toshitaka Omiya and restaurant director Shawn Joyeux. They had got to know each other on their last place of work, the one star Michelin restaurant Agapé.

The place is rather small, I would guess that there are less than thirty seats. The furnishing is contemporary and minimalist, the color palette ranges from white to gray with touches of gold. There are delicate chandeliers and super comfy chairs, the open kitchen is behind glass. Overall, it is a very uncluttered place where nothing diverts the guests’ attention from the food.

As to that, Japanese influenced French cuisine is on offer, which is clearly at the cutting edge of gastronomy! With regard to menus, you can choose between three menus: Harmonie with seven courses for 185 €, Instant with five courses for 150 € and Alliance with six courses for 120 €. While you learn about the individual courses in the former two menus, the later menu is a chef’s choice.

Our party of three went for the surprise menu and we were more than delighted with it. After snacks in three courses we got an amuse-bouche, three starters, a main course and three desserts. Out of the sampled food, I especially liked the following courses: the first starter, a vegetarian dish with potatoes,

the main dish (chicken and its supplements)

and the third dessert, some kind of meringue.

Yet all the dishes we had were superb. It was indeed a memorable meal, served by the most perfect staff!

2. Restaurant Contraste

Contraste is the new second restaurant of Stéphane Manigold, a financier, who aims at making high-end cuisine more accessible. His first dining-spot, Substance, opened about a year ago, seems to be a full success. I would not be surprised at all if he repeats this performance with Contraste, too.

The restaurant is set in a quiet street in the Madeline neighborhood.

It impresses instantly when walking through the door with its décor, which is daring. The spot lives up to its name with a mix of ancient and contemporary. There are comfortable leather chairs and benches in light brown, green marble tables, mirrors on stuccoed and gold-adorned walls, classic chandeliers as well as some red touches.

There is yet another contrast and this is the fact that here two young chefs with a different background are at work, Kevin de Porre and Erwan Ledru. And I think that their debut is promising. And it already was awarded 13 points Gault Millau! They compose dishes that surprise at every bite, with subtle and unusual combinations of flavors and textures. This was the case with the first starter, egg with beetroot and smoked eel,

or the dessert featuring smoked chocolate from Vietnam, seaweed and Kasha (buckwheat).

Apropos dessert, the pre dessert was a feast for the eyes and the palate as well, chocolate balls filled with chestnut and kumquat arranged on exactly the same ingredients!

You can either eat a la carte or opt for the menu Contraste, which our party of five did. This allows you to sample four dishes from the a la carte menu (chosen by the chef) plus an array of snacks to start the meal. And this to a reasonable price of 79 €! And last but not least the service is also great, young, relaxed and fluid.

3. Restaurant AO Izakaya

We had to cancel a booking at another place due to the strikes in Paris at the time. Notwithstanding it being a stopgap for us, we enjoyed our dinner here!

If you wonder about its name, “AO” means blue in Japanese and “Izakaya” is an informal restaurant in Japan. And of course, here you get Japanese fare, classics are served with a French twist.

AO Izakaya is a fairly new dining-spot and located in the Madeleine neighborhood, just steps form the legendary Olympia concert hall. Its furnishings are contemporary, with lots of wood in a graphic and geometrical décor and in blue, on two floors and with a long chef’s counter at the entrance.

The chef is Japanese born and not really one of those younger chefs. While he had been working many years in France in restaurants not especially known for Japanese fare, I assume he realized with AO Izakaya his dream of cooking his version of Japanese cuisine. The tasting menu (Omakase), only available in the evening, is prized at 69€, which I find quite reasonable for what you get. You receive an amuse-bouche, three starters, a fish dish, a meat dish and a dessert. All the dishes we got were full of taste, nicely presented and more refined than expected. And the server we had was very friendly and informative. I liked all the courses, yet standouts were the salmon carpaccio flavored with yuzu

and the escalope of foie gras fried in teriyaki sauce on a bed of sweet potato.

After letting you know my two favorite squares in Paris along with my latest fine dining recommendations, I want to inform you about two opportunities to go for a walk in my favorite city in the world.

2 walkways

1. Coulée Verte (Green Course) René-Dumont

This foothpath running along a disused railway from Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes is 4.7 km (2.9 mi) long and was inaugurated in 1993. It is a great thing to stroll along this green belt where you find a great variety of garden styles and plants. In addition, it allows you to get to know a less touristy Parisian area, the 12^tharrondissement with historical but also modern buildings.

2. Walkway along the river Seine (former Georges-Pompidou expressway)

In spring 2017, a 3.2 km (2 mi) stretch along the right river Seine bank was unveiled as walkway. From this point of time, you were able to stroll from the Tuileries all the way to the Bastille. And this along a road which used to be one of Paris’s busiest, the Georges-Pompidou expressway. It is full of al fresco seating areas, green space and children’s play areas. In contrast to the above-mentioned footpath, it is located in central Paris, in the 1^st arrondissement, giving the chance to admire historic sights and sweeping views lining the banks of the Seine.

My Paris Google Map 2020 with all attractions

And once again, I created a map with Google My Maps to contain all fine dining and walks I mentioned here plus two more. One the one hand, the hotel my family had chosen for this stay, Hotel Dress Code.

This is a perfectly located boutique hotel in the Madeleine neighborhood, inspired by French fashion. On the other hand, you find on this map Café Carette, a pleasant place to have a coffee or tea and small bites at my favorite square in Paris, Place des Vosges.

As always this comes along with short descriptions of all the attractions complete with pictures to illustrate them in more detail.

Date of visit: January 2020

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