Paris must rank as my city. Think of it: This place is a mammoth diversified collection of urban entities in most of where a sidewalk stroll is never without pleasure and where one is apt to come across a shop that is unique and perhaps unlike any you will ever see elsewhere. I try to soak it all in. Even in the rain or with snow flurries, Paris is for walking, viewing Paris in all its flavors, the museum going, having an expresso or beer and eating....I have no pub that I call my own as there are so many. As for eating, I have my go tos: Café Brasserie Le Danton Bert for petit déjeuner each day, one lunch at Ma Bourgogne with a salad Niçoise (near Picasso Museum) and a special evening at Chez Denise where I order foie de veau à l'anglaise with fries.....Others I have enjoyed include: Les Papilles (good bistro run by my friend Berthrand Bluy), La Cordonnerie, Spring ( run by Chicagian Daniel Rose and was recently classified as best new dining experience in Paris...9.8.15 In NYT, Daniel Rose's new eatery), Frenchie (v good and run by another American Gregory Marchand), Brasserie Balzar (reputation not what it was), La Régalade, Le Chateaubriand (a year or two ago was ranked 'Best in the World'), Chez l'Ami Louis (great foie gras but otherwise très, très cher for the value), Chez l'Ami Jean, Allard (I've been going here since my first time in Paris - try canard aux olives), Au Passage, Chez Georges, Polidor (v old and still OK and pas très cher). Le Garde-Robe (lunch), Au Rond Point....Photos below are: detail of Rembrandt's 'The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by the Angel' and view from the Louvre. ( Use the back arrow to return to this page).
When in Amsterdam, I purchase a pass for Netherlands museums. In Paris, I purchase a Paris Museum Pass, both of which allow me to bypass entrance lines and give me repeated entry to any of the participating museums, particularly the Louvre and Rijks. So, my routine in Amsterdam, is to go to the Rijks for a thorough visit the first day and, on most other days, I go each late afternoon ,say, at 5:15 pm and study selected paintings until the 6:00 pm closing. In Paris, I go to the Louvre nearly each day to see particular art works so that by the end of my visit to Paris, I've studied works in my own sweet time.