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See The Best Of The City In Just One Day.
We all have our own fantasies of the perfect Parisian day. Does there for instance, really seem any better way to lead an
adult life than to scribble a few iconoclastic insights into the human condition over a cafe au lait at Cafe de Flore (172
boulevard Saint-Germain, 5e, T: 454 8 55 62), then dash off to an early screening of Robert Bresson's Pickpocket, before
spending what little is left of the night listening to jazz , and then seducing either Arthur Koestler or Simone de
Beauvoir, according to taste?
Okay, so the golden age of the existentialists has now been exposed by the revisionists. Sartre was simply a satyr who got
lucky, and de Beauvoir was a manipulative minx who couldn't hold her drink and who made up most of her memoirs. But the
point is that nothing can shake our faith in Paris. Our perfect day there will always differ, but, right now, we'd start
it breakfast at Le Refectoire, followed by a stroll round the Marais. Make sure you take a look at the Ecole de
Danse (41 rue de Temple, 3e, T 4272 1542, located inside a wondrous courtyard. If you are getting hungry, take tea at
Georges, for the view, if not for the fussy food. Devote the afternoon to Jean Nouvel, the most wxciting contemporary
French architect, then briefly visit a re-energised Louvre, before having dinner at Robert et Louise (64 rue Vieille du
Temple, 3e, T 4278 55 89). |
