Museums
Every visitor to Paris must spend time in its museums. Take in the splendors of the Louvre (admire the Mona Lisa, but remember to visit the Titian across the room), swoon over the Impressionists at the Musee d'Orsay, but don't stop there. The city has a host of smaller museums filled with exquisite treasures.
MUSEE RODIN The Thinker, The Kiss, and a thoroughly romantic building. 77 rue de Varenne.
MUSEE PICASSO Paolo as Harlequin, Portrait of Dora Maar, and Two Women Running on the Beach. 5 rue de Thorigny.
MUSEE CARNAVALET A crash course on the city's history. The French Revolution exhibit shows, heartbreakingly, the toy soldiers the dauphin played with in prison. 23 rue de Sevigne.
Shopping
The Rue du Faubourg-St.-Honore is the classic Parisian shopping street. Treat it like a museum: Visit the couture houses and stop in at number 213, a trendy silver gray boutique called Colette. When it comes to buying, try these affordable shops instead:
CLAUDIE PIERLOT Chic knitwear separates. 28 rue Sentier, with other branches.
MON AMI PIERLOT More playful, lower-priced items from Claudie Pierlot. 3 rue Montmartre.
SURPLUS A.P.C. Casual, modern clothes at a fraction of the prices charged at A.P.C.'s main store around the corner. 45 rue Madame.
BHV, a store specializing in hardware, actually has a good lingerie department — and no intimidating salesladies. 52-64 rue de Rivoli.
More Fun Shopping
LES PUCES DE LA PORTE DE VANVES. A flea market open on Saturday and Sunday mornings, where in-the-know Parisians shop. Savvy hunters can find brass candlesticks, old prints, and antique silver at bargain prices. Haggling is part of the game. Avenue Georges-Lafenestre and rue Marc-Sangnier.
A SIMON, a restaurant-supply store, has cafe cups, escargot dishes, mustard pots, carafes — everything to make you think you're still eating out in Paris when cooking back home. 36 rue Etienne-Marcel.
Weekly Guide
Pariscope is the Parisian's bible. Its easy-to-follow listings will tip you off to concerts, gallery exhibitions, 24-hour restaurants, discos, and much more. There's even a six-page English-language insert. Look for Pariscope on newsstands Wednesday mornings.
Eating
FOR A SPLURGE
Helene Darroze, a restaurant named for its innovative owner-chief, won a Michelin star in March 2000. Upstairs is for haute cuisine; downstairs, at La Table d'Helene, it's Darroze's personal — and wonderful — take on tapas. Two must-tastes: escaoutoun (a polenta-like dish blended with ewe's-milk cheese and black truffles) and baba au rhum doused with vintage Armagnac. 4 rue d'Assas. Call one week in advance for reservations; 01-42-22-00-11.
ON THE CHEAP
L'Avant Gout is a friendly, boisterous neighborhood bistro that draws le tout Paris for its hearty, imaginative cooking and modest prices — $20 buys a three-course meal. And the wine list is superb. 26 rue Bobillot. For reservations call 01-53-80-24-00.
SWEET TREATS
Fauchon is a favorite for heavenly cakes, which you can taste in its elegant tea parlor. Try the tarte au citron or the Carioca, a little cake with a center of melt-in-the-mouth caramel. 26 place de la Madeleine.
TO MARKET
Head out one morning to the funky-chic place d'Aligre (rue d'Aligre; closed Mondays). After touring the covered market, pick up a baguette at Le Pain Moisan, Paris's new temple of breads (5 place d'Aligre), and squeeze into the Baron Rouge (1 rue Theophile Roussel) for a glass of wine with a taste of cheese or a half-dozen oysters.
More Insider Tips
Stroll the cobbled paths of the leafy, hillside Pere Lachaise cemetery to find the tombs of Honore de Balzac, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, and Jim Morrison. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas share a headstone.
Admire the Eiffel Tower from below, but instead of waiting in line to go to the top, take in the views from the observation deck at the department store La Samaritain.
Explore the Marais, a neighborhood with some of the oldest buildings in Paris. When you see a door to a courtyard open, slip in and look around.
In an Emergency
The American Hospital is just outside the city limits, in Nuilly-sur-Seine. Most of the staff speak English.
The French still have doctors who make house calls 24 hours a day, though you may not get one who speaks English. Call 01-47-07-77-77.
To report a lost or stolen passport, go to the American Consulate at 2 rue St. Florentin. It's open 9 A.M. to 3 P.M.; phones are answered until 6 P.M. (01-43-12-48-76).
How to Use the Metro
Forget taxis — travel by Metro. The city's celebrated subway system is easier to use than New York's or London's. Trains run from about 5:30 A.M. to 12:30 A.M. To find your destination via Metro, buy a Plan de Paris par Arrondissement, Parisians' preferred street guide.
Operating secrets: You must turn a handle for the door to open. Keep your ticket with you at all times. There are spot checks on the trains, and if you cannot produce your ticket you will be fined.
Money saver: Buy either a carnet (book of 10) or a Carte Orange, an ID card that gives you unlimited travel for a week or a month.
