Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

Everyone knows the Eiffel tower, the symbol of Paris and of France. In a way, Eiffel Tower (1889) is symbolic of the « iron civilization », characteristic of the second part of 19th century, when Paris regularly organized Industrial Expositions, in which were presented all international technological new trends.

But 45 years before the tower, a very less famous construction – but not less interesting at all – inaugurated the « age of iron »: the church Saint-Eugène Sainte-Cécile, located in the working-class Faubourg Poissonnière.

Built in 20 months only, in ogival style (it’s an example of Gothic Revival in Paris), it is the first church in France with a fully metallic structure (except the 4 main walls, built in masonry), as you can check if you knock one of the numerous slender and coloured columns… The use of metal not only reduced considerably the costs, but also its strength allowed the columns and walls to be thinner, which increases the impression of space and lightness when you get inside, and made unnecessary the use of flying-buttresses, those structural elements typical of Gothic Art, that you can see at Notre-Dame or Saint-Séverin…

Many elements of the decoration (stained glass windows, organ, spiral staircases at the angles…) are also worth a look: they were all presented at the first Paris Expo in 1855, at the time of Haussmann’s Renovations of Paris.

Last but not least, the church is often empty and quiet.

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Eglise Saint-Eugène | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
6, rue Sainte-Cécile | Grands Boulevards | +33148247025
Mon 18:00 – 20:00, Tue – Fri 09:30 – 20:00, Sat 09:00 – 14:00, Sun 09:00 – 13:00 & 18:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

If you go to Paris, you’ll be obliged to visit the Opera district, not the one in Bastille, but the Garnier Opera, the original, just because it is at a footstep from the famous Department Stores, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps.

And, when exhausted by the kilometers you will walk, trying to find the perfect suit or the right skirt, you will end up to get very hungry! Unfortunately, in this area of Paris, there are plenty of restaurants, but often very expensive, and often very bad! I know it, as I worked in the neighborhood for some time.

So, if you want to have a real good lunch from Brittany, or just a snack, you can try this “creperie”, run by the wife of a friend of mine, who of course comes from Brittany !

With 2 menus, starting at 9.50 euros, you will have some really good French pancakes, very tasty and very fresh as your meal is made right in front of you.The salted pancakes are crispy, light and not dry, but the sugared ones are soft and tasty, just as we like them!

You have the choice to be seated or to take away, if you just want a snack. Surely a good place to know if you want to eat good and well cooked pancakes, cheap and in the heart of the shopping district of the City.

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KREP | Snacks, Restaurants (Pancakes) | 2 pancakes & drink € 11
11, rue Lafayette | Grands Boulevards | +33148783987
Mon – Fri 9:00 – 19:30, Sat 11:00 – 19:00

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Image by Pierre BISMUTH

If you visit the Grands Boulevards Quarters, you can start from the Place de la Concorde, and then take the Rue Royale to the Madeleine Church to arrive at the Pinacothèque Museum.

But, just behind Madeleine Church, there is a shopping street called Rue Tronchet, which leads to the Printemps Department store. And, on this street, between “Comptoir des Cotonniers”, classy clothes for women, and “La Carpe”, where you can find anything for your kitchen, there is a shop you have to know if you want to buy wallets, bags or suitcases at a discount. This store is La Maroquinerie Parisienne.

LMP, created in 1947, has the particularity to offer a discount between 10% and 20% depending on the brands, just because the main shop is at the second floor, and there is no lift. But you can already try the first shop on the street level and ask if it is necessary for you to go up. The shop contains more than 20.000 articles and sells the most known French and international brands. It’s a fantastic place to find presents or to change your style. 

I have to be perfectly honest with you, the saleswomen are typical from Paris, that is to say that are sometimes not very nice to people, as they are in hurry. But this little inconvenience is largely compensated by the prices they offer! 

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La Maroquinerie Parisienne | Shopping
30, rue Tronchet | Grands Boulevards | +33147428340
Mon 13:00 – 19:00, Tue – Sat 10:00 – 19:00

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Image by Pierre BISMUTH

This is a very difficult subject to treat on this blog as the opinions on the restaurants of the Place du Marché St-Honoré can really vary depending on the restaurants we talk about. Let’s talk about the good ones, among them you’ll find Razowski, which claims to make the best burgers in the City. And it is probably true. At lunch, it is not really expensive, as you can eat for less than €15, but do not try the double cheese burger, unless your jaws are stretchable.

If you are looking for French cuisine, you have to go to “L’absinthe“, which is the “bistrot” of the 2 Michelin Star chef, Michel Rostang. This restaurant is excellent, and the prices are affordable for this kind of quality. Try the soft shell crab, or the fish and taste the roast potatoes, just unbelievable.

You can also have a brunch in “Le Pain Quotidien”, a spot you can find in several places in Paris, and which I find okay for a brunch even if you can think that it’s expensive for what you eat. 

Finally, you will find a lot of wine bar just around the place ! Cheers !

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Place du Marché St-Honoré | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Various) | Main meal from € 15
Place du Marché St-Honoré | Grands Boulevards
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Pierre BISMUTH

I have already told you about my work and the invitations I received from lots of companies. So last week, I was invited to a marvelous restaurant you have to try if you are in Paris: Alain Senderens.

If you are familiar with this blog, I’m sure you tried his cuisine in the superb Mama Shelter Hotel, as he created the dishes. But here, in La Madeleine, is the historical restaurant, formerly 3 star Michelin Lucas Carton now called after the Chef. Indeed, this restaurant is only 2 star rated but the prices were divided by 3.

Nevertheless, I will not lie to you, this kind of restaurant is very expensive and will cost you at least 120 euros per person, but you’ll never be able to cook what you’ll eat there. For example, I had salmon and vegetable makis as a starter, and another salmon cooked in clay as a main dish, which was just wonderful.

Nevertheless, if you think it is too expensive, especially if you are on vacation, you can have a similar quality in the second restaurant run by Senderens and located just behind the first: it is called Bar Le Passage, and the access is in the Passage de la Madeleine. This place serves a menu for “only” 36 euros and you will be able to find the essence of the art of this reference in the french gastronomy. 

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Alain Senderens | Restaurants (French) | Main Meal € 150
9, place de la Madeleine | Grands Boulevards | +33142652290
12:00 – 14:45 & 19:30 – 23:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Frédéric Moussaïan

Between Palais-Royal and Gare de l’Est, there are about 20 covered passages that testify to a certain era of Parisian history, when upper classes looked for elegant “streets” to walk, to shop and at the same time to be sheltered from bad weather and muddy streets without sidewalks. Mostly built in the early 19th century, these passages were the ancestors of our modern shopping centres.

Passage Brady is one of these, and probably the most exotic. Connecting Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis with Turkish restaurants to Boulevard de Strasbourg, with its theatres and African hairdressers, it’s mostly occupied by cheap Indian and Pakistani restaurants, the firsts of which were founded in the 1970′s by immigrants from Pondicherry, a former French territory in India.

Fragrances of spices and incense escape from exotic food stores and make this lively and colourful place very attractive to visitors, especially on weekdays (on Sundays, only restaurants are open and the rest of the area is less lively).

Going South on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, near the arch (Porte Saint-Denis), you will find another example of such passages. Passage du Prado, an L shape, less exotic and preserved, still has a certain charm, and is a good place if you need cheap clothes, to rent Bollywood DVDs, a cheap haircut or if you want to mix with the local crowd and try Mauritian cuisine in one of the numerous fast-food outlets of the passage.

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Passage Brady (& Prado) | Relaxing, Shopping, Restaurants (Indian) | Haircut € 6
Passage Brady | Grands Boulevards
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris

Image by Adam Roberts

The main argument of Le Syphax is that it serves probably the cheapest drinks in Paris over the longest period of time (the happy hour lasts all evening!), but it is also a bar that has managed to create an agreeable atmosphere of its own.

The spirit of the bar has nothing to do with the neutral clean interior, but comes rather from the groups of students who have adopted the venue as their own. With the average age under 25, and a lack of posturing and posing in the bar, conversations are quick to spark.

I use it as a place to begin an evening, a place to wind down from work and warm up for the next destination, but others may well find that they unwittingly spend the whole evening in the bar.

I hesitate to describe the place as a venue to go to if you want to meet a young Parisien(ne), but it is a place any visitor can go and feel relaxed. And when people are relaxed, making new friends is that much easier!

Le Syphax does also operate as a restaurant during the day, but although the prices are again very reasonable, a combination of daylight and office worker suits quickly strip the bar of its chilled night-time atmosphere.

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Syphax Cafe | Bars | Pint of Beer (18:00 – 02:00) € 3.00
26, Rue de Chateaudun | Grands Boulevards | +33148784645
10:00 – 02:00 daily

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Image by Adam Roberts

Le Truskel is the solution to the sometimes tricky problem of where to go in Paris after midnight. It is not difficult to find bars or clubs that are open late in the city, but with the night scene being rather scattered, it is worth taking the time to find a place that is both festive and wallet friendly. Le Truskel is one of the few venues that won’t try to transport you back to 1985 and charge you 10 Euros for a beer. The entrance is even free!

I sometimes go to the Truskel at the end of a night out whilst at other times it will be because of what they have scheduled. Early in the evening live sport events are shown on big screen TVs, then as the crowds arrive DJs spark up mostly rock and indie tunes.

Up and coming bands play regularly and touring bands often pop-in for surprise after concert acoustic sets or DJ slots. Recent visitors have included Jarvis Cocker, Bloc Party, Pete Doherty and the Cold War Kids (videos available on their MySpace page!). In fact, it’s a venue where you are never sure what you will see – or who you will meet!

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Le Truskel | Bars | Pint of Beer € 6.00
12 Rue Feydeau | Grands Boulevards
Tue – Sat 20:00 – 05:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Paris