4 Days in Paris

Just a few of my favorite eats & recommendations from my most recent trip

My wife and I recently went to Paris for about 4 days for our 1 year wedding anniversary. Both of us have been to Paris before and did a lot of the more “touristy” activities on previous trips. While those activities are great and important to do/see at least once in your life, the pressure was off for this trip. We wanted to relax, enjoy the city and, of course, eat as much delicious food as possible.

Where to stay: We really wanted to stay near Le Marais and prices for hotels can typically be more expensive in that area. We stayed at the Renaissance Paris Republique Hotel and were very happy with our stay. It was walking distance to great cafes, bakeries and a lot of great shopping. We quickly realized how bad traffic can be in Paris so we ended up taking the subway to most places instead of ubers/taxis. There were subway stations right near the hotel and it was very easy to use, especially coming from NYC and using the subway here.

Where to eat: Here are all the places we ate at during our trip!

• Crêperie le Petit Josselin - my wife loves crepes and this spot was highly recommended. This area has a creperie every 5 feet basically and they all look delicious. We went with one savory crepe and one sweet one with Nutella, both were delicious.

• L'Avenue - This spot is definitely on the more expensive side but the food is pretty good. Tons of luxury shopping nearby and it’s close to Champs-Élysées so it’s a nice spot to stop and eat outside on a nice day.

• Le Bistrot d'Henri - This is the definition of a classic French bistro. Basically everyone in the restaurant was ordering the Beef Bourguignon so we did the same and it was delicious. The staff was so nice as well.

• La Renommée - Overall outstanding meal from the food to the service/ambiance. We went here for our anniversary dinner and thought everything was amazing. We ordered the escargot as an appetizer and then got the steak, mashed potatoes and rabbit pasta for our mains. Everything was delicious however the MUST orders for us were the rabbit pasta and the mashed potatoes. We also got chocolate mousse for dessert and it was so good. Neither one of us love chocolate desserts but our waiter highly recommended it and we ate every bite.

  

• Kodawari Ramen (Tsukiji) - this is some of the best ramen I’ve had outside of Japan. They have two locations, one is more meat focused and one is more fish focused. We went to the fish location and it literally feels like you’re in a fish market in Japan. Definitely a more informal dining experience, however, the ramen was really really delicious and packed with flavor.

• Chez Alain Miam Miam - This sandwich spot went viral on the internet so there is typically a long line. You pick a meat, cheese and vegetables and then press the panini until it’s crispy on the outside with melpted cheese. Overall, a really great sandwich, however we slightly preferred the next sandwich I'll talk about and it happens to be right next door.

• Caractère de Cochon - This place can also have a wait at times, however, we went on a Thursday afternoon and there was no one there. These sandwiches are so simple but SO GOOD. The bread is absolute perfection and we asked the staff for recommendations on which meat and cheese to choose for each sandwich. Both were unbelievable.

  

• Bistrot Paul Bert - This spot was highly recommended by many people specifically for the steak au poivre. We both ordered the steak because neither one of us wanted to share it and I’m so happy we did. The steak was cooked perfected and the sauce was so addicting. Heavy peppery kick to it but I couldn’t get enough of it. The fries were also delicious and perfect for scraping up all of that sauce. Get some red wine with the meal and some souffle for dessert and enjoy

  

• Kubri - We wanted to switch it up a bit and Kubri was a great option. It’s a Lebanese restaurant and we enjoyed every single dish we got, I don’t think you can go wrong here.

• Pink Mama - My wife has been wanting to try this spot and we were in the area and decided to try our luck. We did get a table for lunch, however, we were pretty underwhelmed with the meal. The famous truffle pasta was good but everything else was very average. I can’t say we would come back here.

• Du Pain et des Idées - Overall, really delicious pastries here. The escargot croissant with chocolate and pistachio in it was so, so good. All of the other pastries we tried were also delicious but slightly underwhelmed by their plain croissant.

  

• La Maison d'Isabelle - Known as the “best croissant in Paris” and it certainly lived up to the hype. The plain croissant was perfect and definitely the best I've ever had. There will be a line but it does go fast!

• Bachir - Really delicious Lebanese ice cream

• BUDDY BUDDY Nut Butter Coffee Shop - Unique coffee shop serving coffees with nut butters in them.

• Cortado - probably our favorite coffee of the trip

So we planned this trip pretty last minute and we only had 4 days to find the best eats. Here is a list of recommendations that we didn’t have time to hit or weren’t able to get a reservation last minute.

• Dumbo burger

• Jais

• Le Bistro des Augustins

• La Jacobine

• Frenchie Bar a Vins

• La Fontaine de Mars

• Chez Georges

• Parcelles

• Septime

• Chez Julian

• Brasserie Martin

• Clamato

• L’as du fallafel

• Boulangerie Poilane

• Patisserie Stohrer

• Mamiche

Things to do: Once again, we didn’t do many activities this trip since we’ve both been to Paris before. But here are some of the new things we did on this trip and enjoyed.

• La Grande Epicerie de Paris - the most amazing “grocery” store but we stopped here to buy French butter to bring home. They vacuum seal it for you so it’s easy to fly back with it.

• Jardin du Luxembourg - Had a great afternoon wandering around this park

• Basilique du sacré-coeur de Montmartre - beautiful church with amazing views of Paris. Montmarte is a really nice area to explore in general.

• Jardins du Tracadero - Getting some good views of the Eiffel tower is always a must when in Paris.

• Shopping in Le Marais - tons of cool shops and cafes, highly recommend an afternoon in this area

• Notre Dame - Just reopened a few months ago after being under construction after the fire in 2019