Hôtel
des Grandes Ecoles.
75, rue du Cardinal Lemoine. 5th.
01 43 26 79 23. Fax:
01 43 25 28 15. About 95 EUROS. Metro: Cardinal Lemoine.
The hotel has been a classic for years and is full months ahead of time, but it is such a wonderful place that it has to be in our list. There is the neighborhood, the most pleasant in Paris, in between two worlds -Saint Germain and the more popular Gobelins. The hotel, set in a lovely garden, protected by a massive door, feels like Paris in the late 18th century, when it was still possible to be in the city and yet in the country. Umbertp Ecco (The Name of the Rose), scholars, like to stay there. The hotel prides itself in having no television in its rooms.
NEIGHBORHOOD
SURVIVAL KIT (what you need to know):
- La
Chope. A good cafe right on the lovely place de la Contrescarpe.
In the summer, the terrace is open.
It has the sun in the morning.
- Piscine
Jean Taris. One block from the hotel, this swimming pool is one
of the best kept secrets in Paris. It is very quiet and nice. Its large
windows open on a little garden. For 3 EUROS
(2
EUROS
for
kids), it is a great way to get some exercice. 16, rue Thouin. 5th.
- L'Estrapade.
Monsieur Henry prepares excellent classic French food in his small restaurant:
onion soup,
"petit salé aux lentilles", potée d'Auvergne and poule au pot, a recipe which dates back to Henri IV
(16th century).
15, rue de l'Estrapade. 5th. Tel: 01 43 25 72 58. Closed on Tues.
- Dalloyau.
If you walk five minutes toward the Luxembourg garden, you'll find the
best croissants and
wonderful "patisseries" of this excellent place founded in 1802. Even though it now has several locations
thoughout the city, the quality is alway topnotch and the service more than decent.
2, place Edmond Rostand. 6th. Tel: 01 43 29 31 10. Metro: Luxembourg.
On the 9th floor of the Institut du Monde Arabe, designed by architect Jean Nouvel, this restaurants offers one of the most wonderful views of Paris (the other one is from the top of the Pompidou Center, or from the restaurant's more famous neighbor, (La Tour d'Argent). The Lebanese food is also very good. About 35 EUROS
1, rue Fossés Saint-Bernard. 5th.
Tel: 01 53 10 10 16
Walk a little further and you will enter one of the most romantic gardens of Paris, the Jardin des Plantes. Enter the magnificient Grande Galerie de l'Evolution, a French Museum of Natural History, and you'll be dazzled. They often have great exhibitions. Last year's show on meteorites even had a car which had been smashed by the fall of one of these celestial rocks.
36, rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire. 5th. Metro: Jussieu
Tel: 01 40 79 30 00
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