How to Make the Most of Your Paris Trip with American Express Travel®

Frenchie

An award-winning restaurant, the aptly named Frenchie showcases local and seasonal produce using contemporary techniques. Designed with a hint of industrial chic, with glimpses of bare brick walls and overhead piping, the dining space still feels quite intimate. The kitchen is helmed by a “carte blanche” concept, which allows the creation of culinary art, unrestricted. For this, guests can enjoy a menu of five courses that can be paired with wine (frenchie-ruedunil.com).

Le Restaurant OKUDA

Situated in the 8th arrondissement, on Rue de La Trémoille, Le Restaurant OKUDA is the creation of Michelin star chef Toru Okuda. Japanese-inspired, the cuisine is served in the “omakase” tradition of the chef’s choice. The menu changes daily, but you can expect to enjoy tasting menus that begin with amuse-bouches, followed by starters, sushi variations, a meat stew, and ending with a delicate fruit dessert and a choice of tea (okuda.fr).

Maison Vérot

This place has always known how to combine tradition and modernity. Maison Verot Delicatessen is a charcuterie distinguished by its constant search for excellence and service. Along with a rigorous offering, up-to-date recipes, and artisan methods, this brand has known how to make its name resonate as a symbol of high quality (maisonverot.fr).

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Pierre Hermé

Explore a world of tastes, pleasures, and sensations. Go for their delicious macarons and elegant seasonal patisseries. Discover why Pierre Hermé owes his international reputation to his characteristic macarons and why they have been an infinite field of creative exploration to achieve the best flavor. Don't miss the opportunity to savor their desserts inspired by ingredients from Japan (pierreherme.com).

Jean Imbert au Plaza Athénée 

For an indulgent night out, visit the gilded interiors of the award-winning Jean Imbert au Plaza Athénée. The Chef takes diners on a time-hopping tour through French cuisine, employing recipes as much as 250 years old but constantly providing an of-the-moment twist. For a taste of the secrets behind the success, book a visit to the Cabinet des Conspirateurs (dorchestercollection.com).

Tour D’Argent

Eat feeling right at home—if your home is a centuries-old tower, that is. The mirror-ceilinged dining room at Tour D’Argent is refined yet welcoming and open to the kitchen. One of the standout traditional French dishes is the seasonal duckling paired with eggplant caviar, Greek yogurt, and drizzled with Corinthian molasses (tourdargent.com).

Allard (Ducasse Restaurant)

Decades of traditional home cooking, distilled in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. For over 80 years, Allard has carried on the spirit of the French bistro – and of namesake cook Martha Allard’s Burgundian peasant recipes. Stop by for seasonal classics, or make time for a mainstay like frog legs, duck confit, or a sweet rum savarin for dessert (restaurant-allard.fr).

La Crêperie

This quaint little creperie serves crepes and galettes hot off the griddle in sweet or savory flavor combinations. Ham, cheese and fried egg galettes are a staple, as well as the classic Nutella and banana. The shop also does daily specials that feature different flavors, such as smoked salmon with Boursin cheese and lemon.

Bontemps Pâtisserie

Delight yourself with the exquisite pastries and the combination of flavors in this beautiful place that represents Parisian charm. Bontemps is a renowned patisserie, run by its owners and with a tea room in its courtyard. The presentation of their desserts is charming and impeccable. Don't miss the famous and recommended Sunday brunch (bontemps.paris).

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Poilâne Bakery

A traditional boulangerie that knows how to combine history with quality. Its value lies in applying an ancient slow fermentation technique to make its renowned bread. Poilâne Bread Bakery also offers vintage grain cookies, bakery croissants, and an amazing apple rotation—chausson aux pommes (poilane.com).

Coutume Café

Coutume Café is trendy and it knows it. Although the decor puts on hipster airs, with unfinished walls and industrial-style tables, there are no pretensions surrounding their coffee offerings—these baristas know what they’re doing. Whether you want your cup of joe cold-brewed, vacuum-brewed, AeroPress or regular, this is the place to go (coutumecafe.com).

Les Catacombes de Paris

Venture down into Paris’s macabre history with a visit to the catacombs. Twenty meters underground, visitors will discover an ossuary containing the remains of several million Parisians. The bones fill old quarries in grand artistic and structural arrangements. In a maze of galleries, the circuit is dotted with plaques carrying poetry and religious passages to encourage visitors to reflect on the nature of mortality (catacombes.paris).

Skip-the-Line Louvre Highlights Guided Tour

With its extensive collection and labyrinthine layout as a former palace, The Louvre can
be tricky to navigate. This 1.5-hour guided tour can help you make the most of a visit to
the famed museum, with anecdotes and art history to help you enjoy famed pieces like
the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. Enjoy your visit in full with self-
guided wandering after your tour, and add on a visit to the fashion exhibits and period
rooms in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the Louvre’s west wing (madparis.fr/en).

Perfume Creation Workshop at Candora

Visit the Candora perfume boutique near Île Saint-Louis and learn about the art of scent
from masters of customized fragrance. You’ll learn about the history and science of
perfume, familiarize yourself with a variety of smells, and craft your signature scent
profile, which you’ll take home in a 50ml batch.

Jardin du Luxembourg

Thrill your inner child by renting one of the tiny vintage sailboats that bob in the Grand Bassin, in the center of this massive Baroque park. No sitting on the grass here, and sandal-wearers may not love the gravel, but everyone loves the discreet alleys, riotous flowerbeds, and garlands of ivy that seem to kiss the water of the Medici Fountain (parisjetaime.com).

Marin Montagut

Marin Montagut designs porcelain objects that celebrate the French art de vivre. The artist works on each of his dinnerware models, drawing inspiration from French tableware of the past. The tableware, of a rare finesse, is made of enameled porcelain. Each model is handmade, resulting in unique pieces (marinmontagut.com).

Cooking Class at Galeries Lafayette Gourmet, by Ferrandi

Learn French culinary techniques to take home with you in this cooking class with the Ferrandi school of culinary arts, presented in partnership with Get Your Guide. Venture to the famed Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann department store and let an expert chef guide you through making salty and sweet delicacies. Try your hand at dishes like magret de canard, ratatouille, and béarnaise or tartar of sea bream, gazpacho, and vanilla oil.

Le Bon Marché 

Zola fans will recognize the world’s first department store, opened in 1852, as the inspiration for The Ladies’ Paradise. Shopping fans will recognize it as the most spacious and calm of the world’s fashion capital’s major grands magasins (lebonmarche.com). Don’t miss the adjoining food hall, La Grande Epicerie (lagrandeepicerie.com), complete with a pastry counter, a cheese monger, and formidable wine cellar.

The Pinault Collection at la Bourse de Commerce

Under the glass-and-steel dome of the Bourse de Commerce, the Pinault Collection takes on an unearthly quality. Peruse more than six decades of art, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, and installations. The exhibitions and events offer an original perspective on a group of contemporary artworks that François Pinault has put together over the last 50 years as a collector and patron of the arts. (pinaultcollection.com).

Crazy Horse

High art meets risqué fun at Crazy Horse Paris, the cabaret that has been bringing glamour, divas, and delectable artistry since 1951, from among the couture houses of the Parisian Golden Triangle. Blending art, music, dance, and fashion, the current production Totally Crazy!  opens with a number in which the dancers don tall, furry hats and step in crisp unison as a sexy send-up of the Queen’s Guard. On selected dates, you can catch a rotating lineup of femme icons-in-residence, from drag queens to pinups to pop stars and more (lecrazyhorseparis.com).

Bar du Bristol : After Dark

Step into the disco-ball-spattered enclave of Bristol After Dark, the effervescent, violet-toned bash that takes over the centennial Bristol Paris when the moon is high and the dancers come out to play. Find your rhythm to a mix of Italo-disco, ’80s pop, and top-of-the-charts current hits in an ambiance where Studio 54 club culture meets Parisian splendor. When it’s time to rest your feet, refresh yourself with the custom cocktail of the month from the Oetker Hotels Cocktail Club (oetkerhotels.com).

Bar Joséphine 

Magnificent Art Deco frescoes adorn the walls and the ceiling of beautiful Bar Joséphine, evoking the finest glories of the Belle Époque. Celebrated in literature and song, the Lutetia Hotel’s legendary bar has been fully renovated, making for a quiet spot for a daytime rendez-vous, and a jazz club with a memorable francophile menu to enjoy after dark. Sushi and sashimi, and mocktails and cocktails, add a contemporary twist (hotellutetia.com).