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Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Best of Paris
"We'll always have Paris," goes Humphrey Bogart's line in Casablanca, and to a certain extent, the quote applies to all who visit the City of Light. Landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, and the Champs-Élysées occupy key real estate in our collective unconscious. But Paris is no Belle Epoque theme park, despite the Disney-esque lines outside the famous sights. Behind the city's "old Europe" facade of majestic buildings and elegant traditions lies an extremely modern, multiethnic city that is wired, both literally and figuratively, into the new global culture—one that still has some of the best art, food, wine, and shopping on the planet.
Attractions & Activities Wedged between the Seine and the rue du Rivoli, the Louvre is the world's most famous museum. And while it's always seen throngs of crowds, its visitor numbers have only increased since it became the setting for key scenes in the blockbuster book and film The Da Vinci Code. There's much else to see here, though, besides the works that figure in the story, and a bit of advance planning can keep you from getting frustrated during your visit. To avoid the long lines streaming into the central glass pyramid, try the underpublicized Porte des Lions entrance, in the Denon wing. Or buy a Paris Museum Pass, which gives you direct access via the Passage Richelieu, a restricted—and usually queueless—group entrance (intermusees.com). Lines are shortest very early in the day or after 3:30, and are virtually nonexistent during evening hours, when the lighting transforms the pyramid into an elegant objet (33-1-40-20-53-17; louvre.fr). Paris's icon, the Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair as a temporary structure celebrating what was then the cutting edge of industrial engineering. Beloved though it is today, earlier Parisians disliked it so much that they wanted to pull it down. (To the good fortune of romantics everywhere, its nearly thousand-foot height was found to be so invaluable for early radio transmissions that it survived). In the structure's latest incarnation, tens of thousands of lights sparkle for ten minutes each hour after sundown; this, plus the decrease in the size of crowds after dark, make the evening hours the best time to visit (33-1-44-11-23-23; tour-eiffel.fr). Notre-Dame Cathedral, the oldest and most famous church in Paris, has recently had its exterior restored so that its famed gargoyles and Gothic details are shown off to their best advantage. A visit is also a good excuse to explore Île de la Cité and Île St-Louis, Paris's twin islands in the Seine, sandwiched between the Louvre and the Latin Quarter. This is where Paris was founded more than 2,000 years ago, and today the islands' side streets hint at what the medieval city was like before its nineteenth-century overhaul. Book ended by the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées is one of the world's most celebrated boulevards. Masterminded in the seventeenth century by famed designer André Le Nôtre (who also devised the gardens of Versailles), the Champs, as Parisians call it, has always been a favorite promenade. Once flanked with fashionable residences, the street now has shops and offices as its main tenants. To the north of the Seine, the Right Bank is square one for high-fashion shopping, with big designer emporiums lining the avenue Montaigne and fashion-forward boutiques constantly infusing new blood into the long string of smaller shops along the rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, on the western side, and the rue St-Honoré, farther east. The window displays at John Galliano, supervised by the master himself, set a cheeky tone (384-386 rue St-Honoré; 33-1-55-35-40-40). Alber Elbaz, the designer for Lanvin, has taken up the challenge, dressing his own windows with wild and crazy themes (22 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré; 33-1-44-71-31-73). For sheer beauty and sophistication, though, nothing beats the vitrines next door at Hermès (24 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré; 33-1-40-17-47-17). Farther on, the Collette concept store bustles with the global hipoisie, drawn to its state-of-the-art gadgetry and daring fashion (213 rue St-Honoré; 33-1-55-35-33-90). Lodging Perhaps it's not surprising in a city with a global reputation for style, sophistication, and luxury, but an impressive eight hotels in Paris rank on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List of the very best places to stay. Among them: the Four Seasons Hotel George V, more trophy wife than grande dame, off the Champs-Élysées; the Hyatt Regency Paris-Madeleine, in a converted Haussmann-era structure near its namesake classical church; the Hôtel Le Bristol, occupying a former palace on the shopping mecca of the rue du Faubourg St-Honoré; the Hôtel Meurice, near the Louvre, with views of the neighboring Tuileries gardens; the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, recently remodeled in Louis XV, Regency, and Art Deco styles, on the avenue Montaigne; the Hôtel de Crillon, a Louis XV–era palace on the Place de la Concorde; the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme, a contemporary hotel on the rue de la Paix; and The Ritz, a veritable cultural institution and the former home of Coco Chanel, on the Place Vendôme. Paris is arguably the birthplace of the boutique hotel. One of the latest, from the Costes brothers (early practitioners of the form), is the Costes K, which has a smallish indoor pool (rare among Parisian hotels) and a clientele that would look equally at home in Los Angeles. On the rue d'Artois, off the Champs-Élysées, the Hôtel le A's small rooms are all white with a bit of beige, gray, or black. But walls painted with bold abstractions and the lobby's floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with gorgeous art books temper the sterility and lend an almost homey feel. The Hôtel Lancaster, on the rue Berri, meets modernism halfway, adding some stylish Asian touches to a more traditional decor. A former Best Western in the sleepy sixteenth arrondissement, Sezz is a stylemonger's address, with walls faced in gorgeous rough-cut fossil-studded slate. On the Left Bank, many modest properties have been renovated with taste and charm, and you can find them in the same neighborhoods as new boutique hotels, for half the price or less. A spacious, well-furnished lounge and guest rooms decorated in old-fashioned French style make the Hôtel Ferrandi a peer of others in its rank—except for the room rate. And it's off the beaten tourist path, on a tony street full of charm and convenient to the rest of the quarter. Food lovers will relish the rue Clerc market, near the Hôtel du Champ de Mars in a quiet neighborhood not far from the Eiffel Tower. The public areas are a bit tight and the rooms aren't spacious, but they are tastefully decorated. Dining The Cristal Room is one of Paris's hot reservations, and not only for the must-see decor. The food is delicious and inventive, and the menu is organized around a few seasonal ingredients prepared several ways (11 Place des États-Unis; 33-1-40-22-11-10; entrées, $30–$95). At L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, you sit on a high stool at a bar and eat exquisite small dishes. This is not the place for a long, convivial group meal but for pure gastronomy (5 rue de Montalembert; 33-1-42-22-56-56; tapas, $15–$35). Le Petit Pontoise is homey and delightful, with a savvy wine list (9 rue de Pontoise; 33-143-29-25-20; entrées, $17–$35). In the heart of the student quarter, Pré Verre has wonderful tasty surprises at ho-hum-brasserie prices (8 rue Thénard; 33-1-43-54-59-47; entrées, $22). A short walk from the Place de la Bastille, Le Square Trousseau is a good choice on a summer night, when you can sit outside and get a little rowdy. The restaurant has classic fin de siècle decor and prides itself on unusual wines from small vineyards and offbeat regions (1 rue Antoine-Vollon; 33-1-43-43-06-00; entrées, $30–$35). Chez Prune, just off the quai de Valmy, is the perfect perch for people watching (36 rue Beaurepaire; 33-1-42-41-30-47; entrées, $11–$12). The young Parisian set flocks to 404 not for the couscous dishes, which happen to be delicious, but for the raucous belly dancing that heats up around midnight. It's also an emblem of cross-Channel trendiness (69 rue des Gravilliers; 33-1-42-74-57-81; entrées, $12–$35). If you choose to make the lively brunch scene at the Place du Marché St-Honoré, the most novel choice is certainly Rouge Saint Honore (formerly known as Rouge Tomate). The menu is dedicated to the tomato, which appears in many colors (not just rouge) and many guises—sweet and savory, raw and cooked—and in sauces, soups, and molds (34 Place du Marché St-Honoré; 33-1-42-61-16-09; entrées, $16–$20). Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
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