A Particularly Ralph Paris City Guide
Just in time for the Olympics, here’s a list of some of our favorite places to eat, see, and shop in the City of Lights.A Particularly Ralph Paris City Guide
Just in time for the Olympics, here’s a list of some of our favorite places to eat, see, and shop in the City of Lights.
As the City of Lights prepares for the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics exactly 100 years since it last hosted the Games, its reign as the most visited city in the world seems safer than ever. Paris is a place that seems frozen in amber yet constantly arriving at new ways of looking at itself. Its wide avenues, Haussmann buildings, and grand traditions have long served as the backdrop to a vibrant, aesthetic-stoked charm whose motto might be, “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” Which, if not in French, might be something Ralph himself might say to describe what classic means.
For those aiming to join the great wave of fans from all over the globe—and need guidance about how to avoid them at times—we’ve compiled a list of our favorite haunts, the kinds of places that are stylish and charming—or what otherwise be described as “very Ralph.” We also rang up a handful of editors, writers, artists, and travelers for some on-the-ground expertise about their own personal favorites. Consider this your eat, drink, shop, view, and wander guide. If you make plans now, you might find yourself a the front of the race.
A bar that needs no introduction, except to say that it’s every bit as good as your imagination may lead you to believe. While the walls covered in Hemingway memorabilia and newspaper-print cocktail menus are perhaps a bit overkill, the warm and clubby cocktail bar in the Ritz hotel remains a timeless spot for romanticizing old-world Paris over a drink.
Intimate and ethereal, the circular rooms of the Orangerie—so named for its former life as a winter greenhouse for the orange trees of the Tuileries—are adorned in sweeping Monet tableaus. The painter himself worked with architect Camille Lefèvre to arrange the two-room, eight-panel installation, with skylights allowing for softly diffused natural-light viewing. Their combined effect is transporting, and while it’s one of the smallest of the city’s most famed museums, it’s also one of the most enchanting.
A warmly-lit, intricately detailed, steeped-in-history brasserie in Montparnasse, this restaurant and bar has been standing proud since 1847. Between the wars, it received a modern face lift in the Art Deco style of the era, and remains one of many Parisian icons of the aesthetic. Take a seat at the bar, and you might notice a small and simple nameplate in front of one of the stools, honoring its former regular occupant during his Paris days: “E. Hemingway.” The fare is classic French and reliable, if perhaps a bit overpriced — but the true charm here is more to do with the environs than the menu: red leather banquettes, live piano music, a wonderful terrace, and opulent Deco design covering every corner.
A recent profile in The New York Times spotlighted the new goings-on at this very old dining destination, once owned by designer Pierre Cardin. The three-story 130-year-old restaurant fell somewhat out of fashion after decades of catering to a fashionable clientele of artists, designers, models, politicians, and royals—but as of this year, it has a new operator and new ambitions to revive its glamorous cultural prominence. Its outrageously opulent décor is a maximalist expression of Art Nouveau, resplendent with sculptural brass, velvet upholstery, decorative wood paneling, and soft, warm lighting, immediately transporting you back to the Paris of the late 1800s, when Maxim’s first opened its doors.
Madame de la Maison
“Madame de la Maison is my go-to for French antiques and linens—all expertly sourced by Ajiri Aki, one of the most joyful, generous hosts in Paris. Her reasonably priced, lovingly chosen selection encourages you to live by her philosophy: don’t save the good stuff for a special occasion.”
Duvelleroy
“My friend Fanny Boucher recently collaborated with Duvelleroy on a set of custom fans to keep us cool at a summer party for Bangla Begum, her line of "bijoux bizarres," or weird jewelry. Their black "Takeaway" fan—made in cotton and sycamore, with an adjustable cord for easy carrying—is the perfect alternative to air conditioning.”
A century-old dining institution with excellent modern French fare, a charming terrace, and Art Deco architectural detail par excellence: decorative wrought iron banisters, handsome wood paneling, sweeping staircases, stunning chandeliers, and more. Not to mention its literary bona fides—Drouant is the home of two famed French literary awards, the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Renaudot. Since 1903 and 1926, respectively, the 10 jurors for each award gather for lunch at a Drouant table to decide on the year’s esteemed winners. It’s an excellent choice for a Parisian power lunch or a languorous dinner in historic surroundings.
Built in 1925 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this modernist masterpiece of a house is today both a functioning museum and the home of the Fondation Le Corbusier. It’s worth the journey to this quiet corner of the 16th to tour one of Le Corbusier’s most iconic creations, designed and built with Pierre Jeanneret, his cousin, and furnished with some of the very first examples of the now-iconic tubular steel chairs made in collaboration with Charlotte Perriand. An added benefit: Thanks perhaps to its more remote location and cultural niche, Villa La Roche is one of the most serene and pleasantly uncrowded exhibition experiences you’re likely to find in Paris.
This two-screen piece of Parisian cinematic history has been showing films in the bohemian Latin Quarter since 1938. The theater and its handsome Art Deco facade—which is worth the visit in and of itself—was a mainstay of Nouvelle Vague culture and its legendary cineastes like François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Jean-Luc Godard (who used to skip class at the nearby Sorbonne and head to the theater, instead.) The programming is varied and fun, geared mostly towards the classics of French, American, Japanese, and Italian cinema. Catching an Old Hollywood film here with subtitles en français also serves as a good way to brush up on your French.
Harry’s Bar
“There’s so much history oozing in the walls of Harry’s, it’s hard to imagine what the university pennants have seen over the decades. From Gershwin composing An American in Paris in the basement, to Hemingway’s antics, to the creation of the Bloody Mary. Probably the best bar in America, and it just so happens it was an old bar in New York, dismantled and transported across the Atlantic, where it became home to some of the best drinks in the world. A phenomenal spot for a midday break from café society, or a nighttime dive into the drink. Laurent is a phenomenal bartender and keeps things just so.”
Paul Bert
“I don’t often think about my deathbed meal, but when I do … Le Bistrot Paul Bert always pops into my head. The steak au poivre (avec frites, bien sûr) approaches enlightenment on this planet. If you are on a date and are the last people in the restaurant as the waiters are stacking the chairs on tables, you know you’ve had a good night (and one to come).”
It wouldn’t be a trip to Paris without a stop at Ralph’s. Walk just past the Ralph’s Coffee and the main entrance of our French outpost to find an American-in-Paris restaurant as only Ralph could do. In the courtyard, weathered teak benches and elegant wrought iron are scattered with vintage and modern upholsteries. Listen closely and you’ll hear the gentle sound of a fountain, used to water horses pulling carriages in times gone by. Inside the dining room, you’ll find white tablecloths set amid countryside oil paintings, iron sconces, vintage horse tack, and a massive fireplace. And on the menu: American favorites including Maine lobster and steak from the Double RL Ranch.
If there exists a Platonic ideal of the neighborhood Parisian café, this may be it. Simple but stylish, bustling but not too hectic, cozy and comforting, Le Pure Café is a stalwart of the city’s café culture. And as such, it is a worthy stop should you find yourself in its slice of the 11th arrondissement, whether you’re just ducking in for a croissant and espresso while perched at the double-sided bar alongside the morning regulars, taking a seat and perusing the handwritten chalkboard menu for a meal, or just settling in for drinks while relaxing on the corner terrace.
At his offbeat antique shop in Saint-Germain, Pierre Farman has assembled all manner of interesting vintage wares from the world of aviation: silver cast plane models, engine parts and instruments repurposed as décor, framed artworks, and more, with a combined effect that feels, somehow, very Ralph. You may not have thought you needed a full-size, bright silver plane propeller for your living room wall, or an altimeter housed in a display case for your desktop, but you will by the time you walk out.
Sennelier Art Shop
“As a very bad drawer, I love going to art shops and losing myself in there, posing as an artist. Sennelier on the Quai Voltaire is the best place to do that. It’s full of objects, of course, but the place in itself is a piece of art. The wood, the stairs, the shop window, the green ... Everything is pleasant. But the best part might be the silence. Those quiet places are becoming so rare.”
Musée du Quai Branly
“I try to visit a museum or gallery each weekend. Musée du Quai Branly is probably my favorite and the one I end up going most. Going there is such an experience. There are ton and tons of tribal art pieces, from all over the world, and from all ages. It’s both very touching and very impressive. The dark decorum of the museum makes it even more special. Perfect on a Sunday afternoon. And the Tour Eiffel is near, if that’s ever your thing.”
This French take on a record bar boasts excellent music, small plates, cocktails on tap, lively natural wines by the glass, and a stylish crowd. Grab one of the tall tables in the handsome interior with an industrial-meets-midcentury-modern feeling, order a few plates to share, the first of a few rounds of drinks, and enjoy both the buzzing crowd and whatever music is spinning from the sizable vinyl collection on the wall. Be prepared to wait—it’s a hot spot, and they don’t take reservations—but at least you’ll be waiting in fashionable company.
If you’re in need of some good old-fashioned print, head to Ofr., the Paris fashion-and-design crowd’s favorite bookstore. The small, jam-packed shop trades in indie publications, coffee-table tomes, and magazines of all kinds from the worlds of art, architecture, fashion, design, and photography. Its taste-making curation, exhibitions, and publishing events have made it a legendary fixture of the city’s independent creative scene since its opening nearly 30 years ago.
La Tour d’Argent
“Within the last year and a half, Paris’ landmark restaurant La Tour d’Argent reopened after a top-to-bottom overhaul by the Paris-based architect Franklin Azzi. Overseen by the restaurant’s third-generation owner and president André Terrail, the renovation not only came with a refreshed dining room, which sits on the building’s seventh floor, but also an all-day lounge and bar on the ground floor, Le Toit de la Tour rooftop terrace bar, and now a private pied-à-terre on the fifth floor called L’Appartement. The 1,200-square-foot apartment, a space once occupied by Terrail’s grandmother Augusta Burdel, mixes the family’s French and Finnish heritage beautifully—there’s Scandinavian furnishings, an in-room sauna (with a window!), Haussmannian ceilings and parquet floors, and an unparalleled view of Notre Dame. Even if someone can’t splurge on the full meal, it’s worth visiting for a coffee and pastry, an after-dinner drink or cocktails, and light snacks perched on high.”
A favorite of the fashion crowd, this pocket-sized café has a charm unlike any other coffee spot, or anywhere, in town. A steady buzz of artists, designers, writers, photographers, and other well-dressed and interesting people make up the regular crowd that routinely spills onto the sidewalk benches, while inside the sparse but beautiful interior you’ll hear a cassette deck in the corner softly playing folk music including, of corse, Neil Young. Behind the counter, proprietor Yuchiro Sugiyama, who operated a café in Tokyo before setting up shop in Paris, serves delicate flat whites, rich and nutty hojicha tea, and an expertly-brewed selection of pour-over coffees with beans from April and Prolog in Copenhagen. Don’t leave without ordering one of the outstanding baked goods, like matcha coconut pyramids and blood orange-frosted madelines, which can be a welcome break from the ubiquitous boulangerie fare you’ll find everywhere else. Their footprint is growing, too — the Dreamin' Man team has just opened the doors of a second location on Rue Coquillière by the Bourse de Commerce, with more space and all of the same charm.
You might recognize this handsome new spot’s chef, Mory Sacko, from Polo’s recent Holiday campaign, for which he modeled alongside his stylish family. Now, he’s behind the helm of this elegant and just-opened restaurant, housed in a stunning hôtel particulier in the 8th arrondissement—the former home, in fact, of the Marquis de Lafayette, the nobleman, officer, and hero of both the American and French Revolutions. The environs are warm and intimate with an old-world elegance, but the food is not overly precious, with a cross-continental menu reminiscent of an upscale brasserie, mixing French gastronomy with African cuisine and American influences.
Musée Albert-Kahn
“Just by the Bois de Boulogne lies one of my favorite museums in Paris: calm, discreet, inspiring, and maybe a little weird. Albert Kahn used his banking fortune at the turn of the century to have photographers document all the world’s peoples, cities, and monuments: a personal Google Street View he called his "Archive of the Planet," whose 72,000 color autochromes stretch from provincial France to the Levant and the Far East. His global tastes also extended to botany, and in Kahn’s beautiful jardin à scenes you can wander from an English ornamental garden to a dense Alpine forest and right into a miniature Japanese village. In 2022, the great Japanese architect Kengo Kuma designed a new main pavilion for this utopian museum, which is now both a historic and contemporary landmark.”
