Paris is known to have its own aura in every part. The Latin Quarter is a collection of fairly narrow streets, where bookstores occupy space between cafes very popular among university students. The Champs-Élysées is full of life and energy. Montmartre also retains a village feel outside the city center marked by its artistic history.

After you have gone to the museums and sightseeing, here is where it gets good – wonderful surprises, like bistros run on a family-owned basis, awfully small shops tucked away off narrow cobble streets or down quiet squares with pretty fountains in them; inviting little tea salons offering attractive pastries within their glassed displays.

But Paris charms you around every corner, even behind the scenes at more famous places. One visit may simply ignite a love affair with the city for life.

Let us show you the simple wonders that make Paris, the City of Light, so unique with our guide to top spots in the city.

1. Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is like the face of France, standing tall in Paris. At sunset, the tower illuminates with a sparkling light demonstration for 5 minutes per hour.

The tower has three parts. The first two have restaurants, and the third is an observation deck. Initially, it was meant to be a temporary stop, but now it is one of the most famous places all over the world and demonstrates some unusual architecture. Imagine this way – the Eiffel Tower is to Paris as The Statue of Liberty is to New York or Big Ben in London.

Just to celebrate the 100 years of the French Revolution, this was supposed to be a temporary creation exhibited at the 1889 Universal Exposition and measures no less than 300 feet. At first, people did not like the idea but the “Iron Lady” still stands today. At once, it was turned into a radio-telegraph station, and nowadays is one of the most crowded tourist spots in Paris proving how unexpected can be an integral part of any city’s narrative.

2. Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is a timeless masterpiece of French Gothic architecture, sitting on the Île de la Cité Island. Notre Dame is famous for its beautiful interior, with colorful windows full of sunlight, ancient relics, big bells, and huge organs. However, it had to face challenges, especially during the recent fire nine months ago in April 2019 when everything was destroyed, including amazing artifacts and Charles Hawker’s installed organ. It has been closed for repairs, possessing the status of a beautiful emblem in the center of the River Seine.

Despite adversities, Notre Dame has a rich history marked by destruction during the French Revolution and even damage caused recently, all suffered in a fire that affected its roof and famous spire. Today, it represents a symbol of perseverance and rejuvenation.

3. Sacre-Coeur

Sacre-Coeur is a Catholic basilica and church dedicated to the love symbol – the Sacred Heart of Jesus, standing on Montmartre hill in Paris. It’s the second-highest point in the city besides the Eiffel Tower, located on its observation deck with amazing views.

It was started in 1875 and completed in the year of Sacré-Cœur is not only a religious place; it’s also an icon of culture and politics. There are different activities, including night prayers that both locals and tourists visit.

French people were impressed by the Romano-Byzantine style of the basilica, which was very important back then. Sacré-Cœur is a symbol of bravery and revolution since the Franco-Prussian War in 1870.

4. Pantheon

It is cool to see old-style architecture in the Latin Quarter of Pantheon. Important people such as scientists, writers, and thinkers, for instance, Alexander Dumas, Marie Curie, and Victor Hugo, are resting downstairs.

It was first a church for Saint Genevieve, just like Rome’s Pantheon. A French scientist by the name of Jean Foucault dropped a pendulum from the Pantheon’s dome to deduce how Earth rotates. It is a neat spot to visit, full of history and cool science stuff.

5. Musée Rodin

Musée Rodin in Paris, France, is sort of a sanctuary to one of the world-renowned French artists Auguste Rodin. Inside, you can find his cool sculptures and drawings from the famous like The Thinker, The Gates of Hell, Balzac, and so on.

In 1919, this museum was established and consists of two parts, with the Hotel Biron being one part and Villa des Brillants forming an old home where Rodin used to stay. 1910 was the year that Rodin purchased the fancy mansion. It’s located on the Rue of Varenne in Paris, built between 1727 and 1732. It is here you can see more than 6,000 marble sculptures, terracotta, and bronze pieces, plus over 8,000 photos and drawings.

In addition to Rodin’s artworks, the museum also contains his collection of art and occasionally organizes temporary exhibitions. It was once Rodin’s workshop and it is now fun to visit art in Paris, accompanied by great views.

Also, you can see the greatest sculptures, including The Thinker, Balzac, The Gates of Hell, and Bourgeois de Calais by Rodin, waiting for you in the beautiful rose gardens. The museum also displays Rodin’s collection of paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir. The front garden of the museum contains more sculptures by Rodin, including his work called “The Kiss” and it is a venue for art exhibitions.

6. Musée Picasso

The Hotel Sale is a historic building located in the Marais neighborhood of Paris and seems to be a treasure chest full of art at the Musée Picasso. It’s a unique place that belongs only to the masterpieces of one famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso. You’ll see some of his best-known works there, such as Celestina, Girl Before a Mirror, and The Death of Casagemas.

But it’s not just about Picasso – there is also art by other cool artists like Rousseau, Degas, and Renoir in the museum. There’s also a collection of African art that influenced Picasso. Declared a historical monument in 1968, the museum is located at a renovated Hotel Sale redesigned by Roland Simounet from 1976 to 1985 for a more sophisticated feeling.

In the museum, there are over 5000 works of Picasso. It is not only paintings; there are also sculptures, prints, drawings, ceramics, engravings, and written notebooks. The museum also has the personal belongings of Picasso such as letters and photos. All these goodies were donated by Picasso’s family after his death, so the Musée Picasso is a special place to learn about the creative legacy of this awesome artist.

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That’s the premise of Tianducheng — an unassuming suburb of the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou that also doubles as a large-scale replica of the French capital.

Duplitecture

The buildings in Tianducheng are careful recreations of Parisian sights. Pictured here: Left — Parisian block replica in Tianducheng, China. Right — Parisian block in Paris.

Courtesy Francois Prost

As a Paris resident, he was simultaneously amused and fascinated to learn his hometown had been recreated across the world.

“I was interested in this because I’m French, so I found it very funny to pick up […] some cultural heritage from my country, and recreate it there,” he says.

In Prost’s photos, it’s not always easy to ascertain which Paris is “real.” Pictured here: Left — Eiffel Tower pose in Tianducheng, China. Right — Eiffel Tower pose in Paris.

Courtesy Francois Prost

Wondering what it would be like to live in a town modeled, after one of the most famous cities in the world, he did some research and discovered there are several places in China that have consciously replicated the architectural styles of European countries — a phenomenon known as “duplitecture.”

“I read this and it filtered through my brain somehow,” says Prost.

Further inspiration came from the concept of Stendhal Syndrome, a term coined for when tourists visit a well-known destination and are overwhelmed by incredible works of art. Linked is the concept of “Paris Syndrome” — when expectations of the City of Light don’t match reality.

There are several places in China in which the architectural styles of European countries have been replicated. Pictured here: Left — replica Versailles, Tianducheng, China. Right — Versailles.

Courtesy Francois Prost

Prost could relate to this — he recalls the first time he visited Venice.

“Once I got out of the train station, I felt very strange because lots of the scenery I had seen before,” he says. “I grew up seeing lots of images from Venice.”

The photographer was intrigued by the idea of taking these concepts to another level — what would it be like to visit a “fake” Paris as a Parisian, rendering the familiar unfamiliar?

Reality versus replica

Prost spoke to citizens of Tianducheng to learn what they thought of their town’s link to Paris. Pictured here: Left — Eiffel Tower souvenirs in Tianducheng, China. Right — Eiffel Tower souvenirs in Paris.

Courtesy Francois Prost

Tianducheng is meticulously recreated and in Prost’s photos it’s not always easy to guess which is the “real” version.

“The first thing I saw was the Eiffel Tower and it looked quite impressive,” he recalls.

Prost says a key difference between Tianducheng and Paris is that Paris looks older. Pictured here: Left — lamp post in Tianducheng, China. Right — lamp post in Paris.

Courtesy Francois Prost

The photographer explored Tianducheng, taking hundreds of photographs of recreated locations from different angles. He took the corresponding Paris photos later, back home in France.

He says he admired the attention to detail in Tianducheng’s replica — particularly the Parisian-style streets and avenues.

“For example they respected the number of floors, the fact the ground floor is supposed to be shops and the second floor belongs to the shop. It’s the same in Paris,” he explains.

There were some key differences. “Of course it was very strange because it’s pretty new, so there’s not the oldness that some stones can have in Paris.”

The people and the place

Prost wanted to compare the lives of the people living in these two, duplicate locations. Pictured here: Left — cleaning staff in Tianducheng, China. Right — cleaning staff in Paris.

Courtesy Francois Prost

Prost was particularly fascinated by how Tianducheng wasn’t just a tourist attraction. It’s a real, functioning town, in which people live and work.

“For example in Las Vegas it looks more like an attraction park, with a hotel,” he says.

During his time in Tianducheng, Prost chatted to people to gauge whether residents were affected by their town’s unusual link to Paris.

“From what I saw, people lived there as they would live anywhere else in China,” he says. “It feels like any other little town in China.”

“I wanted to see how the people would live there and compare it to Paris — to see between those two places that are many 15,000 kilometers far away — to see how they would live in the same environment,” he adds.

Snapshots of a city

Prost says his work is just a snapshot of life in Tianducheng. Pictured here: Left — city view in Tianducheng, China. Right — city view in Paris.

Courtesy Francois Prost

Prost spoke to people in the city, from his Airbnb host to cleaning staff, about their view of Tianducheng.

“They liked the place, they liked the Eiffel Tower, they liked the avenues. But I’m not sure it’s a complete choice, I’m not sure they came especially because it’s Parisian,” reflects Prost.

“I think for citizens, I would say they are happy, but they would be happy somewhere else as well.”

Left: Tianducheng’s version of the Versallies Neptune Fountain. Right: The real deal.

Courtesy Francois Prost

Before visiting, Prost wondered if Tianducheng may have adopted Parisian culture — but he says that wasn’t the case.

“What I quite liked in the end is, the place is made by the people living in the place,” says Prost. “To me, what I saw there, was people just living there as they would live anywhere else.”

Prost is aware that his work presents a snapshot of life in Tianduchdong — not the full story. His peek into life in this Parisian replica was brief and fleeting.

“Let’s see maybe in 50 years who is going to live there, maybe it’s going to be a completely different person and they will make the place probably completely different,” says Prost.

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There’s still a chill in the air of northern France and darkness descends before the wine is finished, but after a dark, rainy winter cooped up in tiny apartments, young Parisians can’t wait to get outside.

They sit perched like seabirds on the concrete banks of the canal in the city’s northeastern district, bottles of rosé, beer and bags of snacks clustered at their feet.

On cafe terraces across the city, the hallowed apéritif — apéro for short — ritual is played out in a more upscale fashion in the open air, the acrylic glass cocoons encasing the outside tables stowed till the first nip of late fall.

Long, lazy days

Le Perchoir has a rooftop bar for enjoying a pre-dinner drink in Paris’s best season.

Aude Boissaye/Studio Cui Cui

Coffee with a view

Late sleepers can take heart — the Champagne bar at the top doesn’t open until noon.

Run, walk, listen

A series of sports and cultural events help energize Paris as spring arrives.

THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

As the city shakes off its winter torpor, there’s an annual roster of events designed to capitalize on all that pent-up energy, beginning in early April with the Paris Marathon.

Paris has flipped for jazz since World War I when the master musicians of the 369th Infantry from New York — the Harlem Hellfighters — astounded locals by playing the French national anthem, their way.

Art fest

Many of Paris’ hundreds of museums and galleries roll out ambitious art shows with springtime themes, such as 2017’s Jardins show at the Grand Palais, with works by some 150 artists including Picasso’s “Nu dans un jardin.”

Blooming

Parc Monceau, where spring brings beautiful blossoms, has a special link to African-American history.

Amélie Dupont-Paris Tourist Office

Most visitors have no idea that the City of Light is gray and dreary for, oh, six months of the year. When the sun finally shines, there’s an al afresco exodus to the city’s more than 100 gardens. From pocket parks to five-star marvels like the Tuileries, there are plenty of green spaces ideal for passing a quiet moment.

“I like to sit surrounded by blossoming flowers with my face to the sun, my eyes closed, while I take in the fresh air and the perfumed scents,” she says.

Maybe because it’s mostly unknown, my top garden is a collection of four manicured plots secreted in a back corner of the two mini-palaces that comprise the National Archives on the rue Francs-Bourgeois in the heart of the Marais.

It’s all here: tranquil benches, a bubbling fountain, and a rainbow of seasonal blooms, even a sea of bright yellow daffodils.

Get out of town

The parc de l’Orangerie at Versailles is worth a day trip on its own.

AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Markets

And spring brings a bounty of fresh offerings, with piles of apricots, cherries, rhubarb and berries galore. Strawberries are a specialty all to themselves. (I love the little gariguettes.)

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1. Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris

In between spearheading the hotel’s extravagant displays, Leatham’s client list is vast, from the Kardashians to Oprah Winfrey.

Despite his hectic schedule, lucky guests can score a (free!) two-hour workshop with him, dubbed The Jeff Leatham Experience, resulting in a bouquet with bragging rights. (Nonhotel guests can also partake for 200 euros.)

2. The Kitano Hotel, New York

If you can time your visit for March, odds are good that you can also admire his annual ikebana exhibit at the hotel, which this past year included 23 floral arrangements. (Yes, cherry blossoms were among them.) While The Kitano doesn’t offer any ikebana classes, fear not. The hotel can arrange private classes with Noda himself, who also teaches at the Ikenobo Ikebana Society.

3. The Pulitzer, Amsterdam

Mention the Netherlands, and tulips are one of the first things that spring to mind.

The hotel’s florist, Season Flowers, has also filled the interior with colorful tulips that complement the décor. Don’t worry if you miss prime tulip season, since the impressive displays are changed on a weekly basis and often highlight whatever’s in season. Even better, the hotel offers a flower shop right off of the lobby, so you can fill your room with all the stems you desire.

4. Bellagio, Las Vegas

Rotating exhibits are sure to impress no matter when you visit. Previous themes have covered Japanese spring, Chinese New Year, an underwater paradise, seasons and major holidays. And because this is Vegas, this floral spectacle is free and open to the public 24/7.

5. Claridge’s, London

(Tip: If you want to be the first in the know, the floral team changes the displays in the wee hours on Friday mornings.)

While the creations are always jaw-dropping, they outdo themselves for holidays and events. Upcoming arrangements will be coordinated with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May, which is to be expected. Although how many hotel floral displays will also feature a tennis theme for Wimbledon?

There’s even a McQueens shop in the hotel — never mind if it isn’t a special occasion. Or take a one-day master class at McQueens flower school to really elevate your flower game.

6. The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai

Besides the lobby, keep your eyes open for creative floral displays everywhere, from the restaurants to rooms.

If you’re celebrating a special occasion, you just may find a heart-shaped arrangement and rose petals all over your room. Flowers throughout are a mix of local and imported, coordinated with the seasons as well as India’s many festivals. As an additional touch, all spa guests are welcomed with flower leis.

(Inside tip: You’ll know you’re in the company of VIPs if you spy floral umbrellas at the entrance.)

7. The Dolder Grand, Zurich

Florists go to great lengths throughout the property, which involves refreshing 20 sites every morning. Fastidious duties range from tailoring room arrangements based on the décor and feel to ensuring that there are no mixed flowers in public areas.

While the floral arrangements in the lobby are always grand, the pièce de résistance is the annual eight-foot-tall Easter egg. The 3,000-pound creation takes 24 hours and more than 12,000 carnations to execute, resulting in your childhood dreams realized.

8. Gaylord Opryland Resort, Nashville

In fact, many of the plants bloom year-round, thanks in part to a climate-controlled environment and air exchange system. Leave plenty of time to explore the three separate gardens.

The Garden Conservatory is the oldest, having opened in 1984, and is filled with 10,000 tropical plants. The Cascades Atrium is where you’ll find the most flowering plants, plus a waterfall. The Delta Atrium has a more subtropical feel, along with native Southern species. Get a partial overview of the latter by riding a boat along the quarter-mile-long river.

Be sure to book a garden atrium room if you’d like to gaze at the botanicals every chance you get.

9. Hotel Metropole, Monte Carlo

Instead of sticking to traditional flower arrangements, hotel artistic director Perrine Guyonnet, or Miss Rose as she’s commonly known, incorporates an array of items that work with her vision, whether it’s flower-filled birdcages suspended from the ceiling or a floor-to-ceiling faux wedding cake decorated with layers of flowers.

For example, the current mood is spring, represented by a full-size cherry blossom tree in the lobby. Past moods have included Grace Kelly, Exotic Chic and Over the Rainbow.

10. Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina, Kapolei, Hawaii

She and her team tend to design around seasonal blooms, with an emphasis on local varieties. For example, the whimsical peacock took advantage of seasonal Dendrobium orchids and the low-wind factor.

(Unlike the average hotel, they have to take the wind and other weather into consideration, since the resort has an open-air lobby.)

Beyond arranging flowers, Tagawa and her team also create designs around events and holidays, such as a larger-than-life rooster for the Year of the Rooster. If you’re considering holding a wedding at the hotel and want to take your flowers in a different direction, you’re in luck. For one lucky couple, Tagawa arranged thousands of loose orchid heads on the grass in order to recreate a traditional Hawaiian quilt pattern.

11. Nanjing Green Towers, Nanjing, China

Forget being wowed by flowers and greenery in a hotel lobby. At Nanjing Green Towers, two entire buildings will possess that wow factor when they open in 2018 in the Pukou District.

Designed by Stefano Boeri Architects, the facades will be draped in about 1,100 trees and 2,500 plants and shrubs — a living building, if you will.

But this magnificent feat isn’t just for show.

As Asia’s first vertical forest (the Italian architecture firm has already constructed one in Milan), the plant life will help combat air pollution by absorbing 25 tons of carbon dioxide every year.

The larger tower will house mostly office space, along with a museum and green architecture school.

A 247-room Hyatt hotel complete with rooftop pool will occupy the smaller tower, so you can experience one of the word’s only vertical forests for yourself.

Meredith Rosenberg is a New Jersey-based travel writer for the Travel Channel, Conde Nast Traveler and more.

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Now, after closing its doors for a four-year, €200 million (roughly $234 million) refurbishment, the Lutetia is back, adding to the ranks of fashionable luxury hotels in the French capital, just in time for the peak summer season.

Sensitively renovated under the attentive eye of architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the spirit of the historic building remains intact with desirable contemporary features incorporated into its classic Art Deco interior.

Rooms have been enlarged — the original total of 233 rooms has been cut to 184. There are some highly coveted suites on offer, including two with access to outdoor terraces with spectacular 360 degree views of the City of Light.

Cultural heavyweights

The pool and spa experience oozes luxury.

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images

The Lutetia was a cultural hotspot for much of the 20th century but during the Second World War, it was requisitioned by Nazi forces and housed officers.

Following the liberation of Paris in 1944, under orders of Charles de Gaulle, the hotel hosted victims of Nazi atrocities looking to reunite with their families.

Later, cultural heavyweights including Pablo Picasso and entertainer and French Resistance activist Josephine Baker were frequent visitors.

The Hotel Lutetia has a long and varied history.

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images

The revamped hotel has a range of dining options.

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images

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(CNN) — Want to spend an afternoon following in the footsteps of Beyoncé and Jay Z?

The video — which has had more than 68 million views and counting — has been interpreted as a comment on Western art history and its eradication of people of color. It’s the first video for the couple’s new album, “Everything is Love.”

Thematic trail

The Louvre is offering a Beyonce and Jay-Z themed tour.

YouTube/Beyonce

The thematic trail can be printed off, or followed on your phone via the art museum’s website.

The online guide offers details and context for each artwork, as well as pinpointing exact locations in the museum’s sprawling halls.

But it doesn’t offer specific insight into why the artworks were chosen for the music video. Instead it’s left up to the visitor to reflect on the significance of each piece in the context of “Apes**t.”

The Louvre is the most popular museum in the world.

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Visitors can see artwork featured in the power couple’s video for “Apesh**t.”

YouTube/Beyonce

But the Beyoncé touch will no doubt attract a few more keen to emulate the star.

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Twins Mike and Stéphane Saada told the AFP news agency that they were having to close for financial reasons.

“Don’t hesitate to book now to enjoy a last naked dinner in Paris,” it read. “It’s now or never.”

After opening in November 2017 to great fanfare, the restaurant received rave reviews from customers on Facebook, with an average score of 4.8 out of 5.

Many customers praised both the food and the unique experience after enjoying a naked meal, shielded from passersby by a thick white curtain.

“Great restaurant, futuristic in the audacity of its naturism,” wrote Florian Dupuis last August, “promoting the beautiful values of naturism, tolerance and non judgment, living together, all together, as we are, and in osmosis with nature, all natural.”

Diners at O’Naturel remove their clothes in a cloakroom, where they also leave their mobile phones for privacy reasons, according to AFP.

And while those eating may be naked, the owners are fully clothed as they serve the food.

“Our role is to put people at ease,” said Stéphane in an interview with AFP when the restaurant opened.

“As soon as customers enter the dining room, we accompany them to their table and we reassure them that it’s not like the whole room is looking at them.”

While local custom wasn’t enough to keep O’Naturel afloat, there appears to be growing interest in naturism in France.

A designated nudist zone was launched in the Bois de Vincennes park in August 2017, running for three months before reopening in spring 2018, with the aim of attracting some of the estimated 2.6 million nudists in France.

The event marked the inaugural Parisian Day of Naturism, which the association said it hopes will become an annual event celebrated on the last Sunday in June.

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The cost of exclusivity

It’ll cost a cool €30,000 (about $34,000) for up to four people to experience the Louvre in this unparallelled fashion. Compared to the budget-friendly €15 price tag per person for regular admission, it’s a significant, stupendous expense.

Family Twist’s founder, Magali Dechelette, started offering the private Louvre tour three years ago after a client from Shanghai told her that his ultimate fantasy was to be alone at the Louvre. “He had been to the museum many times before and absolutely loved it and asked if I could make a private visit happen,” says Dechelette. “It took me a few months to work it out, but I managed to pull it off.”

A ticketed “performance”

The evening she created from this conversation unfolds more like a performance than a typical tour: Guests are picked up from their hotel promptly at 6:30 p.m.

A Tesla drives through the streets of Paris, depositing guests at the main entrance of the Louvre, instantly recognizable with its glass and metal I.M. Pei-designed pyramid. This exclusive experience can only take place on the four nights a week the museum closes at 6 p.m. to ensure the crowds of museum-goers have departed.

Dechelette, who has been inside the Louvre more times than she can count and is the host throughout, greets guests and leads them to the medieval section, formerly the dungeon of the 12th-century castle that became the museum in 1793.

There, the group meets its art historian guide, who begins the tour by handing each guest a set of envelopes. Inside each is an image of part of one of the masterpieces on display (the eye of the “Mona Lisa” or the cat in Paolo Veronese’s “The Wedding at Cana”) in the almost 3.9 million square-foot space. For an added element of entertainment, guests are given the challenge of matching the picture with the corresponding work they’ll see at some point on their journey.

The Louvre’s collection includes more than half a million pieces of art, 38,000 of which are exhibited, but this evening, just 90 minutes long, is about savoring a handful of the highlights, such as the ancient Greek statue “Venus di Milo” and Jacques-Louis David’s “The Coronation of Napoleon,” who was the official painter of the namesake emperor.

But there are a few surprises along the way, including the ballerina dancing on the staircase leading up to “The Winged Victory of Samothrace.” The marble Greek statue dating back to the second century BCE is considered one of the most prominent sculptures in existence today.

The grand finale

Like any great performance, there’s a grand finale, and in this case, unsurprisingly, it’s the “Mona Lisa.” Guests can gaze unhurriedly at the world’s most famous woman as the guide explains Leonardo da Vinci’s inspiration behind this important work of art.

And then, on to the after-party it is: Following the visit, it’s a ten-minute stroll to the Pont des Arts bridge to board a private riverboat for an hour-long cruise down the Seine with Champagne, cheese, caviar and Paris twinkling in the background.

Dechelette says that she has booked a handful of private Louvre visits since the first one three years ago. The takers for these have been a diverse mix from around the world including Dallas and Dubai. “They’ve all been to the Louvre already and now want that over-the-top experience there,” she says.

As for her client from Shanghai, he enjoyed his private visit so much, according to Dechelette, that he’s keen on doing it a second time the next time his travels find him in Paris.

Shivani Vora is a New York City-based writer who travels as often as she can, whether that means going on a walking safari in Tanzania, a mother-daughter trip with her ten year-old in Istanbul or surfing in northern Portugal.

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Paris (CNN) — A peal of high-pitched laughter rises sharply above the din of restaurant chatter from a table of three older French women — likely friends, perhaps sisters — who have just shared a moment of mirth over empty, chocolate-stained dessert plates.

A few tables over, a pair of scholarly looking silver-haired gentlemen in tweed blazers, turtlenecks and shiny Oxford shoes, is tucking into plates of sauerkraut and sausage, perhaps discussing philosophy, perhaps catching up on life over their weekly luncheon date.

The bouillon’s origin story

The latest “bouillon” to open in Paris in recent years, Bouillon Chartier Montparnasse is part of a renaissance of the modest eatery in a stunning setting.

Bouillon Chartier Montparnasse

As its name suggests, the bouillon was first invented as a place where working-class locals in Paris could stop and recharge with a restorative meat broth or bouillon.

It’s widely accepted that the first bouillons were created in the mid 19th-century by a Parisian butcher, Pierre-Louis Duval, who repurposed meat scraps into soups and broths and marketed them as “bouillons restaurants.” Here, the word “restaurant” in French is an adjective to mean “restorative.”

Hence, the word, restaurant.

By the beginning of the 20th century, thanks in large part to his entrepreneurial son Alexandre Duval, Paris had about 250 bouillons serving “restorative broths” across the city to working-class citizens with modest income. Dishes were humble but hearty and comforting and, most importantly, cheap as chips.

Eventually, as they became more popular among the city’s moneyed bourgeoisie, the modest bouillon would evolve into more elaborate and less accessible dining establishments like brasseries and bistros and become a relic of the Parisian dining scene.

Fast forward to Paris 2019, a year that tastemakers at the influential French restaurant guide Le Fooding declared the year of “rétrofoodisme,” a cheeky portmanteau on the growing appetite for retro French dishes.

“Until recently, it was impossible to find a good French onion soup or sole meunière,” said Le Fooding founder Alexandre Cammas.

“And whenever something becomes impossible and rare, the more it becomes desirable. Eventually, it’s not surprising that these retro foods would become fashionable again.”

In other words, what’s old has become new again.

Affordable food in a high-brow setting

Eggs mayonnaise at Bouillon Pigalle are a classic starter — and a bargain at just €1.90 (around $2).

Courtesy Bouillon Pigalle

Pass by a bouillon on any given day, and odds are you’ll find long but fast-moving queues of Paris locals and in-the-know tourists who have come in search of a low-cost meal in a high-brow setting. While Bouillon Pigalle was built from the ground up, Bouillons Chartier Montparnasse and Julien are carefully preserved historic landmarks that transport diners back to the early 20th century with their opulent interiors marked by stained glass ceilings, hand-painted tiles, wood carvings and mirrored walls.

Meanwhile, Parisians who are familiar with the concept of a bouillon know to temper their expectations: With appetizers averaging between three and five euros and main dishes averaging ten, this won’t be a gastronomic repast.

In general, the price of a main dish at a standard French restaurant usually hovers around the 20 to 30 euro mark ($22 to $34).

Plates of veal blanquette (veal stew), roast chicken and fries, calf’s sweetbread and pot-au-feu (boiled beef and vegetable soup) are simple, honest and stripped of all pretense. There are no pretty but often useless garnishes placed with surgical tweezer precision.

In fact, a plate of steak with peppercorn sauce may very well arrive with unapologetic splodges of sauce all over the dish’s rim, while a single, sad lonely pickle may roll back and forth beside a slice of terrine.

Nor are there any ironic, cheffy deconstructions or modernized updates to old-fashioned recipes.

And that’s exactly what appeals to young diner Augustin Boone who has come to dine with two friends.

“There are no surprises,” says the 23-year-old. “I know exactly what to expect on my plate.”

There’s a certain comfort in that kind of meal, his friends agree.

Back to basics

Bouillon Pigalle opened in 2017, and locals were immediately interested in its classic French offerings.

Benoit Linero

“This is just the sort of meal I would eat at my grandmother’s,” Boone says of his plate of Andouillette sausage and sautéed mushrooms. “It’s a simple but typical family dish.”

They’re also time-consuming dishes that take hours to cook properly at home — time people just don’t have anymore, adds Yann Hulin, director of operations at Bouillon Chartier Montparnasse.

“People are cooking less and less these days, particularly traditional dishes like pot-au-feu which can take hours to cook. Instead of spending five hours in the kitchen, people would rather eat out,” he says.

“At our restaurants, people come looking for a quick and cheap meal that reminds them of Sunday family dinners.”

Another particularity of bouillons, the restaurants? They’re unique to Paris.

Boone’s friend Maxence Lebeau, 22, is visiting from Lyon and said he never knew what a bouillon was before their visit that day.

“I get the impression it’s a Parisian secret,” he said. “A place where you can eat a cheap, simple, working-class meal in such an exceptional setting.”

Exceptional indeed.

Both Bouillon Chartier Montparnasse and Bouillon Julien are listed as historic monuments and are among the most stunning examples of Art Nouveau decor in the city. Both historic landmarks had also, until recently, been operating as fancier brasseries before being converted back to their original raison d’être, bouillons.

Authentic Paris

Located in one of Paris’ working-class neighborhoods, Bouillon Julien reopened in 2018 after existing for many years as an upper-class brasserie.

Joanna Maclennan

Bouillon Julien opened in 1906 in the working class neighborhood of Faubourg Saint-Denis. Today, the neighborhood remains a dynamic, lively area where Turkish, Pakistani and Syrian eateries co-exist alongside artisan cheesemongers, butchers, colorful fruit and vegetable stands and Bobo (bourgeois-bohemian) Parisians.

Legendary French singer Edith Piaf was a regular at the bouillon, where she would often dine at table No. 24 with her boxer lover Marcel Cerdan. Bouillon Julien accepts advance reservations but the others are walk-ins.

“People come for the ambiance and the prices. There are lots of other beautiful restaurants in Paris, but with high prices to match,” says Pascal Le Bihan, general manager of Bouillon Julien.

“Here, it’s lively, there’s noise, it’s a bit chaotic, and people are sat elbow to elbow. It’s a real Parisian experience that you can’t find anywhere else in France.”

That’s because tables — and by extension guests — are packed tightly against one another in family-style seating arrangements. A solo diner may be seated alongside a trio of friends; couples beside a family of four. A request between strangers to pass the pot of Dijon mustard may lead to friendly encounters, and the hum of wine-fueled conversation is regularly punctuated by unrestrained, merry laughter.

For Cammas, bouillon restaurants serve as living museums frozen in time; caricatures and clichés of French gastronomy akin to Paris postcards of baguettes, wine and cheese.

“Calf’s head is a French specialty, but how many French people eat that every day?” he points out. “Bouillons are a reduced vision of French cuisine today and what the French actually eat every day.”

That may be so, but the historic decor still has the power to awe local Parisians like Christine Schmitt, 56, and her girlfriends.

“It’s not just tourists, there are also real Parisians who go to bouillons as well,” Schmitt says.

“The setting is beautiful, the prices are not at all typical of Paris, you eat well and it’s fun.”

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French mineral water brand Perrier has set up a zip line that takes riders on a “once in a lifetime” ride from the structure, with speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour.

The journey of 800 meters (2,625 feet), which lasts around 60 seconds, begins at the balcony of the tower, located 115 meters (337 feet) up, and ends at military complex École Militaire.

Members of the public can win tickets to ride by entering an online lottery via the Perrier Instagram page. The draw kicked off on May 29 and ends on June 2, with around 260 flights available up until then.

This isn’t the first time the zip line has been assembled at the Parisian monument, it first appeared in 2017 to celebrate the French Open. The attraction has been re-introduced this year in conjunction with the popular tennis tournament once again, as well as the Eiffel Tower’s 130th anniversary.

Measuring 324 meters, the structure was the tallest building in the world when it launched in May 1889 and remains the tallest in Paris.

The post Eiffel Tower zip line lets you take a ride from the second floor appeared first on TripALoud.