This is not a tourist guide. It is what we would tell a close friend who was about to spend quality time in this city and deserved more than a list of famous things to photograph.
Nothing found. Try different words , or browse by category above.
01
Arrival
Keys, codes, WiFi , and how to feel at home within the first hour
The best arrivals are the ones where everything simply works, quietly and without drama.
We'll confirm all access details the week before your arrival. What follows is the sequence that works best.
1
Building entry
Code provided in your pre-arrival message. The door is slightly heavy , push firmly after the code. The lift is original and charming; it takes one person and a bag without complaint.
2
The apartment
You have the keys and fob, safeguard them always and be sure to always take the keys with you. The door auto-locks and locksmiths will be nearly impossible and extremely expensive to engage last minute.
3
WiFi
Network and password on the card in the kitchen. The connection is fibre, very reliable and fast.
4
Your first evening
The nearest boulangerie closes at 7:30pm, it's just downstairs (to the right when you step out of the apartment buidling or cross the street for a slightly more authentic option).
Some of our favorite wine shops: Nicholas is less than 5 minutes on the other side of Blvd Montmarte, Legrand Filles et Fils, is ten minutes on foot and worth the walk.
Do not attempt a big supermarket run on the first night. Get bread, get your favorite beverage - tap water is safe to drink in Paris, orient yourself. Everything else can wait for morning.
5
Emergency contacts
Us: stay@arara131.com. We are responsive across time zones but for building emergencies, the numbers are in the welcome manual.
Important note
The apartment is furnished with high-end, bespoke, and some antique pieces. Please treat them as you would in your own home , which is to say, as if they matter. Because they do.
02
Where to Eat
An honest curation , not comprehensive, but curated
The second arrondissement is not Paris's obvious dining destination. That is precisely the advantage. The places below are real , in the sense that Parisians eat there, not just people who've read about them.
In the neighbourhood
Frenchie
Bistro gastronomique
5–6 Rue du Nil · 75002 · 10 min walk
The restaurant that turned Rue du Nil into a destination. Grégory Marchand's original remains the best of the strip , precise cooking, genuinely interesting wine list, compact room that fills instantly. The bar next door takes walk-ins if you failed to plan ahead.
Book at least three weeks ahead. The bar to the right of the entrance is the civilized solution for those who didn't.
17 Rue Notre Dame des Victoires · 75002 · 10 min walk
One Michelin star, zero pretension. The natural wine list is extraordinary , not natural wine in the volatile, funky sense, but genuinely interesting bottles selected by people who know what they're doing. The cuisine is Nordic-influenced and seasonal in the serious way, not the marketing way.
The lunch menu is exceptional value for the quality. The wine list rewards asking for help , they are generous with advice.
Braden Perkins and Laura Adrian built something genuinely singular here , cooking that could only exist in Paris but doesn't try to be Parisian. The tasting menu is long and worth it. The wine bar downstairs does more casual dinners.
The bar menu downstairs is excellent if you want the quality without the ceremony of the dining room.
For the occasion that demands a room Napoleon Bonaparte ate in. Two Michelin stars in a setting that has not changed since 1784 and does not intend to. The painted ceilings are by Moretti. The food is worthy of the surroundings.
Worth going once, for the room as much as the food. Request a booth , the painted panels behind each table have name plaques of notable previous occupants.
Your neighborhood brasserie. Not remarkable in any single dish but consistent, correctly priced, and capable of a good steak frites and a decent Burgundy on any Tuesday evening when you don't want to think about dinner too hard.
Sit inside in winter, on the terrace in summer. The liver is very good. The moules are seasonal , ask before ordering.
03
Cafés & Morning Rituals
The most important meal in Paris is the one standing at the zinc counter
Paris mornings are a practice. They require a specific counter, a specific level of counter pressure, a specific crema. The cafés below have been tested.
Ten Belles
Specialty coffee · Excellent pastry
10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles · 75010 · 25-30 min walk
The benchmark of Paris specialty coffee. Run with the same careful seriousness as a good natural wine bar. The pastries are made by a pastry chef who understands that a kouign-amann should be slightly too good to finish quickly. There is a second location at Châtelet.
Go early when you're ready to enjoy a quiet morning walk. The morning croissants sell out. The iced coffee in summer is worth the walk on its own.
Café de Flore
Historic · Literary · Tourist · Worth it anyway
172 Bd Saint-Germain · 75006 · 35 min walk
Yes, it is full of tourists. Yes, the hot chocolate costs €9. Yes, you should still go once on a rainy Thursday and sit inside and read something difficult and feel entirely justified. Sartre and Beauvoir worked here for years. The red banquettes remain.
Go mid-morning on a weekday in winter. The cafe au lait comes with exactly the right weight of milk.
Stohrer
Patisserie · Oldest in Paris · 1730
51 Rue Montorgueil · 75002 · 10 min walk
Nicolas Stohrer was pastry chef to Louis XV. This shop, which he opened in 1730, is still in operation and still making the rum baba he invented. The painted ceiling in the shop is by Paul Baudry, who also painted the ceiling of the Paris Opéra. Come for the baba. Stay because you can't believe the ceiling.
The baba au rhum here is the original. All others are imitations. This is not a metaphor , Stohrer invented it.
Café Verlet
Old-school coffee roaster · Since 1880
256 Rue Saint-Honoré · 75001 · 15 min walk
A coffee roaster that has been on this street since 1880 and has resisted every trend in coffee, including most of the good ones. The espresso is excellent in the old-world sense , dark, oily, powerful. The room smells of roasted coffee and old wood. There is nowhere to be in a hurry to.
04
Culture
What to see, and how long to spend there
When you live in Paris for a month, the museums become something different , places you can return to on a Wednesday afternoon when the school groups have gone home.
Musée d'Orsay
Essential · Impressionism · 19th Century
1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur · 75007 · 35 min walk
The greatest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist work in the world, housed in a train station that is itself one of the finest rooms in Paris. The advantage of staying a month is that you can return to the Van Goghs, the Cézannes, the late Monets, on your own schedule. The gift shop has reasonable prints. The restaurant on the upper level has an extraordinary painted ceiling.
Thursday evenings until 9:45pm , significantly fewer visitors. The Cézanne and Van Gogh rooms feel entirely different at 8pm on a Thursday.
Palais Royal Gardens
Free · All day · 15 min walk
Place du Palais Royal · 75001
Not a museum but an education. A 17th-century royal garden surrounded by arcaded galleries containing antique shops, a few very good restaurants, a few bad ones, and the arcades where Robespierre once had his suits made. The Buren columns in the courtyard divide opinion; the garden itself does not. Bring a book.
Sunday mornings before 10am: entirely quiet, extraordinary light, the kind of Paris that exists before tourists understand it exists.
Centre Pompidou
Modern Art · Architecture · 25 min walk
Place Georges-Pompidou · 75004
One of the most important collections of modern and contemporary art in the world, in a building that was controversial in 1977 and has become beloved. The view from the top floor, across the rooftops to Sacré-Cœur, is something that needs to be seen slowly. The permanent collection is free for EU residents; check before you go.
Passages Couverts
Walking · History · Rain refuge
Passage des Panoramas · Galerie Vivienne · Passage Jouffroy
The 19th-century covered arcades of the 2nd and 9th arrondissements are some of the strangest, most cinematic spaces in Paris , like stepping inside a Walter Benjamin footnote. Galerie Vivienne is the most beautiful; Passage des Panoramas is the most alive; Passage Jouffroy is the most melancholy. Walk all three in an afternoon. Budget an hour per gallery.
Passage des Panoramas is directly adjacent to the apartment. Galerie Vivienne, ten minutes on foot, has a wine bar (Legrand) that is one of the best in Paris.
Opéra National de Paris
Palais Garnier · Opera · Ballet
Place de l'Opéra · 75009 · 15 min walk
The Palais Garnier is worth visiting even if you have no interest in opera. The grand staircase, the painted ceiling by Chagall, the five-tier auditorium in crimson and gold , it is one of the most extraordinary rooms in Europe. Tickets for the rear stalls are often available and affordable. The building can be visited independently during the day.
05
Markets & Food Shopping
Where to find things worth buying
The apartment has a proper kitchen. Using it requires knowing where to shop. The below covers everything from Tuesday market cheese to the supermarket that doesn't feel like a punishment.
The golden rule
In Paris, the best food comes from the best specialists. The cheese shop knows cheese. The butcher knows the butcher's questions. The supermarket is for emergencies and mineral water.
Rue Montorgueil
Pedestrian market street · 10 min walk
Rue Montorgueil · 75002
The pedestrianised market street that runs from the apartment down to the 1st arrondissement. Fishmonger, butcher, fromagerie, boulangerie, organic produce, wine merchants , everything you need in 300 metres. Open every day including Sunday mornings. The oyster sellers on Saturday mornings are worth arriving early for.
Go Saturday before 10am. The queues at the best stalls are manageable; by noon they are not.
Legrand Filles et Fils
Wine merchant · Est. 1880
1 Rue de la Banque · 75002 · 10 min walk
The most beautiful wine shop in Paris, inside the Galerie Vivienne. Family-owned since 1880, it has a wine bar where you can drink by the glass, and a selection that covers natural, classic, and exceptional without editorial confusion. The staff are knowledgeable and not the kind of knowledgeable that makes you feel ignorant.
Go on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. Saturday it is crowded. Tell them your budget and what you're having for dinner.
Marché des Enfants Rouges
Covered market · Oldest in Paris · Marais
39 Rue de Bretagne · 75003 · 25 min walk
The oldest covered market in Paris (1628) and still the best for eating in. Moroccan food, Japanese obento, French produce, oysters, Créole cooking , a Saturday morning here is one of the better ways to spend two hours and forty euros in this city.
La Fermette
Fromagerie · Rue Montorgueil
86 Rue Montorgueil · 75002 · Tue–Sat 7:30am–8pm · Sun 7:30am–2pm
A family-owned fromagerie that has been on this street for over 20 years — right in the middle of Montorgueil, at the junction with rue Bachaumont. Truffle camembert, aged Comté, a brilliant Brillat-Savarin, and staff who will advise on every stage of ripeness without making you feel ignorant for asking.
Tell them when you plan to eat the cheese. They will pick the wheel at exactly the right stage of ripeness for that day.
Cul de Cochon
Charcuterie · Rue Montorgueil
98 Rue Montorgueil · 75002
The finest charcuterie on the street. Irene's favourite for apéro provisions — terrines, rillettes, saucisson, everything you need for a proper spread at home. For groups of four or more, organise ahead of time.
Buy here, eat at the apartment. This is not fast food — it is the right way to spend a Paris evening.
06
Evenings
Wine bars, cocktails, and the Paris that emerges after dinner
Paris evenings do not hurry. They are structured around the aperitif, the dinner, and the digestif, a rhythm that takes approximately three evenings to internalize and then feels obvious forever - ok, it's not for everyone but indulge while in Paris.
Le Mary Celeste
Cocktail bar · Natural wine · Marais
1 Rue Commines · 75003 · 18 min walk
The bar that made the case for Paris cocktails at the same time as New York. Small, beautifully proportioned, with a rotating cocktail menu that changes seasonally and a natural wine list that makes it equally fine as a wine bar. The small plates are excellent and arrive quickly.
Arrive before 7:30pm to get a seat. After that, standing at the bar is the move , it is a genuinely good bar to stand at.
Experimental Cocktail Club
Cocktail bar · 2ème
37 Rue Saint-Sauveur · 75002 · 10 min walk
The original Paris cocktail bar that changed what the city understood cocktails to be. Ten minutes from the apartment. The bartenders are technically serious; the room is handsomely dark. A reliable destination for a nightcap or a deliberate evening out.
La Garde Robe
Natural wine bar · Affordable · Excellent
41 Rue de l'Arbre Sec · 75001 · 14 min walk
The bar that introduced an entire generation to natural wine. Small, honest, occasionally loud, with a chalkboard list of bottles chosen by people who are obsessed rather than credentialed. The charcuterie plate and a bottle of Jura white is one of the better combinations in Paris.
New Morning
Jazz · Live music
7 Rue des Petites Écuries · 75010 · 20 min walk
Paris's most important jazz club, which has hosted Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, and Wynton Marsalis. The room is not beautiful but the acoustics are good and the calendar is serious. Check the programme for the month before you arrive.
07
Practical Paris
Getting around, staying healthy, and the quiet logistics of Parisian life
Paris rewards logistics mastery. Once you know how it works, you stop fighting the city and start using it.
Metro & transport
The nearest metro is Grands Boulevards (8/9) , three minutes on foot. The Navigo Semaine (weekly pass) is the most efficient card for regular use. Buy at any station window. Taxis from the street: the blue light means available. Never take an unmarked car outside a station.
Pharmacy
Pharmacie Montmartre on Rue Montmartre is 3 minutes away and competent. For 24-hour pharmacy: Pharmacie des Champs-Élysées (84 Avenue des Champs-Élysées) is always open. French pharmacists can prescribe and advise on minor conditions , make use of them.
Doctor
For non-emergency medical care: SOS Médecins (3624) can send a doctor to the apartment. The American Hospital of Paris (Neuilly-sur-Seine) operates an emergency department with English-speaking staff. European Health Insurance Cards are accepted throughout French healthcare.
Laundry
The apartment has a washer. For dry cleaning: the pressing on Rue Réaumur, five minutes away, is reliable and reasonably priced. Turnaround is 48 hours for standard items.
Swimming & sport
Piscine Suzanne Berlioux (Forum des Halles): an Olympic pool beneath a shopping centre , less grim than it sounds. Day passes available. The City of Paris operates excellent municipal pools; bring your own cap (mandatory). The nearest gym: Neoness on Rue du Louvre.
Supermarkets
Monoprix on Rue du Louvre: the upmarket option, good prepared food, decent wine. Franprix on Rue Réaumur for basics. For organic: Naturalia on Rue Montorgueil. Avoid Carrefour City unless truly desperate , the produce is not worth the visit.
Post office & admin
La Poste on Rue du Louvre (open until 7pm weekdays, 12pm Saturday). For international packages, bring your own packing , they don't supply boxes. Bank: most French ATMs have English menus. European cards work everywhere. American cards occasionally require chip+PIN override.
Emergency numbers
Police: 17 · SAMU (ambulance): 15 · Pompiers (fire/rescue): 18 · European emergency: 112. Keep your passport number in your phone. The nearest commissariat (police station) is at 18 Rue aux Ours, 75003.
08
What We Can Arrange
A short list of things guests have asked for, and that we've been able to provide
We are not a concierge service. We are people who have lived in and around Paris long enough to know who to call. If something is below, we have done it before. If it isn't, ask anyway.
Important
Please allow 48–72 hours for arrangements that require coordination. Last-minute requests for same-evening restaurant tables at serious restaurants are occasionally possible, but not reliably so.
✦
Restaurant reservations
Frenchie, Saturne, Grand Véfour , we can request and, for regular guests, secure tables at places that don't normally take calls from strangers.
◎
Private driver
CDG and Orly transfers, day trips to Versailles, Reims, or the Loire. We work with a trusted driver who speaks English and doesn't try to make conversation.
◈
Household services
Mid-stay cleaning, linen change, grocery delivery for arrival , tell us what would help and we'll make it work.
⊕
Cultural access
Skip-the-queue museum passes, private gallery viewings, opera and ballet tickets. Requires advance notice , at least one week for major exhibitions.
◇
Shopping
Details coming soon
○
Private dining in
Details coming soon
The quickest way to reach us for arrangements is stay@arara131.com. We are responsive across time zones and generally faster on email.
