A wee trip to Paris, part 2
Chocolat Debauve & Gallais
Sulpice Debauve was a pharmacist-turned-chocolate maker for France's royal family, and he developed a range of chocolate coins for Marie Antoinette - which you can still buy today (Pistoles de Marie Antoinette).
This beautiful old shop has been selling chocolates for 200 years, and features marble columns and wood-panelled walls.
Chocolat Debauve & Gallais
30 Rue des Saints-Peres
Paris
Métro: Saint-Germain des pres
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 9.30am-7pm
Bypass the tourists milling around the bottom of the hill leading up to the Sacre-Coer and walk around to Rue André Del Sarte , where you'll find A.P.C's outlet shop.
Well worth a visit if you're an A.P.C. fan, with 50 per cent discount off last season's collections.
20 Rue André Del SartE
75018 Paris
Métro:Chateau Rouge
Walk past all the other creperies jostling for attention on this street and head straight to Josselin, considered to be the best of its kind in Paris.
It's relatively cheap and the buckwheat galettes are very filling, but you could also go simple and sweet with the house chocolate crepe.
Creperie Josselin
67 Rue du Montparnasse
75014 Paris (14th Arr.)
Tel. 01 43 35 26 68
Another Sarte and de Beauvoir haunt, another way to watch the world go by from plush red leather seating and splendid Art Deco surroundings.
Yes, it's a wee bit touristy, but the Club Sandwich is really good (although not particularly existential).
Cafe de Flore
172 bd. Saint-Germain,
Paris (6th Arr.)
Métro: St-Germain-des-Prés
I hadn't visited this wee gem of a bookshop for many years, so it was lovely to rediscover it and enjoy its rather authentic bohemian atmosphere.
It's always very busy, but there are lots of little nooks for reading (or, uh, napping), as well as a great view of Notre Dame from the upstairs windows.
Shakespeare & Co
37 rue de la Bûcherie
75005 Paris
Tel. 01 43 25 40 93
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 10am-11pm
Sunday 11am-11pm
I usually don't pay much attention to the booksellers and their distinctive dark green boxes lining the Left Bank of the Seine, but I couldn't help lingering on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Sitting alongside crappy print reproductions were some really incredible vintage magazines, although they are priced for tourists. Good for browsing, perhaps, rather than buying.
