I just returned from an impromptu girls trip to Paris, and while May is always a wildly busy month, Paris is forever a good idea.
I'm lucky to have a group of friends who love art, dancing, vintage treasures, French fashion, and wandering the streets of Paris for hours as much as I do. But one of the highlights of this crew is that we all equally appreciate a beautiful room for a cocktail, will happily wind through Saint-Germain in search of the perfect pain au chocolat, and firmly believe Camembert is an essential food group. So when the restaurant list comes through, I never check reviews or scour Instagram photos. I simply show up hungry and trust the experience.
Café Charlot in the Marais is the perfect casual Paris scene: spritzes, salade niçoise, charcuterie, and excellent people watching. Its sister restaurant, La Palette in Saint-Germain, became our nightly final-glass stop.
For dinner, Le Voltaire was as chic-meets-classic French as it gets. Endive with Roquefort, steak au poivre, perfectly cooked sole, and those impossibly thin frites you can't stop stealing from the table.
Photo by: Loulou
Loulou, beside the Louvre, gave us one of the best Italian meals I've had anywhere. A simple pistachio pesto pasta, a vodka rigatoni with an unexpected spicy kick, and because it was Erin's birthday, nearly every dessert on the menu, including the Citron givré, a lemon frozen dessert I'm still thinking about.
And every trip seems to end the same way: Sunday dinner at La Fontaine de Mars for their famous roast chicken, always after ordering the steamed fennel with herbs.
We also always make a point to find beautiful rooms for classic cocktails. This year, it was the bar at Hôtel de Crillon, where I was reminded that a Vesper may be one of the world's most perfect drinks, especially with their buttery Castelvetrano olives alongside it.
Matisse exhibition
A few not-to-miss spots: the Matisse and Hilma af Klint exhibition at the Grand Palais is visually breathtaking if you're there before summer ends. Merci is always worth a stop for Sabre butter knives, French fashion, and charming home finds. Bon Marché remains the most beautiful department store in the world, with La Samaritaine close behind.
Vintage shopping in the Marais is unavoidable in the best way, and I always love stopping into Sessùn. And a visit to the Fondation Louis Vuitton is worth it for the Frank Gehry architecture alone, though the Calder exhibit made it even better.
Paris, until next time.
