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Fish La Boissonnerie

Fish La Boissonnerie

En route to a different restaurant, we encountered Fish’s welcoming mosaic storefront and charming interior and decided to give it a try. Also, we were curious about the second-floor kitchen. It turns out the food is sent down to the dining room in a dumbwaiter. Climb the narrow, windy wooden staircase to the WC and […]

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Maison de la Photographie

Maison Européenne de la Photographie

Contemporary photography shows well in this early-18th century Marais mansion. If you only have an hour to spare, view Jane Evelyn Atwood’s Photographs 1976-2010, which features powerful series of prostitutes, women in prison and victims of landmines. 5/7 rue de Fourcy, Paris http://www.mep-fr.org/

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Utrillo's La Maison Bernot

Baby Got Back

  At Musée de l’Orangerie, when you’ve had enough of Monet’s sprawling water lilies, make sure you pop downstairs and see Maurice Utrillo’s work. Utrillo was a Montmartre-born painter who specialized in cityscapes. In 1904 at the age of 21, Utrillo began drawing and painting what he saw in Paris’ streets.  By 1910, his work […]

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Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Location, location, location. At least a million deceased Parisians (and Jim Morrison) enjoy hilltop city views, cobbled lanes and cast iron signposts. Like most gentrified neighborhoods, this city of the dead had problems attracting residents due to its undesirable (remote) geography. Paris city officials embarked on a marketing strategy and relocated prominent corpses from other […]

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Rainy Montmartre

Sacré-Coeur

  Like an aging movie star, Sacré-Coeur is stunning in appearance but best viewed from afar. Way afar. It’s taken me six visits to Paris to finally visit this site and now I know why. I’m not complaining about the view; even on a rainy day, I’ll happily gaze at Paris from any angle. It’s […]

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Notre-Dame

Cathédrale de Notre-Dame: The Other Side

The flying buttress-ful east side, as seen from my morning run (Early! Note the deserted Square Jean XXII.). Construction on this striking Gothic structure began in 1160 and was completed in 1345. During the 13th and 14th centuries, it beget six popes before Denis and Rheims gained steam and began churning them out. In 1804, […]

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Outside Notre Dame

Just You, Just Me

  Captured outside Notre-Dame during my morning run. Apparently, this French couple is not bothered by the hundreds of early-bird tourists.

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Shakespeare and Company

Shakespeare & Company

Depending on how much of a purist you are, this institution has been a legendary literary gathering spot since either 1919 or 1951. It’s part English-language bookstore and part sanctuary for expat writers, artists and bohemians, many of whom bunk upstairs and volunteer in the shop. Sylvia Beach, an American expat, founded the original Shakespeare […]

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Pozzetto Gelato Caffe

Pozzetto

€10 for two cones of gelato and worth every penny! This tiny shop in the Marais serves up flavors (parfums) such as Fior di Latte, Crema del Pozzetto and Pistacchio du Roi de Sicile. Does it really matter what each one is? Just order one. You’ll love it. 39, rue du Roi de Sicile, Paris, […]

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Petit Palais Courtyard

Petit Palais

  This palatial palace, across from the Grand Palace, houses the Musée des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris. The collection is a bit of a hodgepodge and includes decorative arts, paintings and sculptures spanning ancient Greek and Roman times to the twentieth century. Pieces by Monet, Courbet, Delacroix, Rodin, Pisssarro and other greats […]

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