Exploring Something New
Bonjour,
We have only 11 days remaining in Paris. Time flies by so quickly. The weather continues to be absolutely beautiful with slightly cooler temps though they are slowly moving upward.
Yesterday, we explored a new area near Montparnasse and the Eiffel Tower. The location was Avenue de Saxe or as this photo playfully says, Sexe. 
It’s off rue de Sevres for those who know Paris. We tried to visit this when Pierre and Laurie were here but couldn’t make it work. The new hotel is a 5-star with a rooftop bar and views of the Tower. I must admit being underwhelmed by the location, the structure, the interior. We asked about going up to the restaurant on top but were told it “might” be open on Monday. Not sure what exactly that meant…maybe for Quatorze or the big holiday. We opted to eat in the Garden Room which is very tiny and contains the swimming pool (!), an arrangement that was quite odd to me. No one was swimming else they might have splashed on our food. Hopefully, the pictures will tell the story.
My guess is that this was a hotel previously and totally redone. There were multiple photo shoots taking place while we were there so must be a popular spot since opening. The food was fine but expensive totaling over 100 euros without dessert.
We spent the next hour just strolling through the area and enjoying the beautiful day.
On the way back to our apartment, we saw this tour guide presumably portraying the phantom of the Opera?? Richard Nahem, is this your competition?
Today, we’re off to a very late start having slept until 8:30! Maybe a pique-nique on the beach for a late Paris lunch if we can find a spot.
Counting down the days,
L & B
July 10, 2025 @ 10:38 am
Love all your posts and have been following you for years!
Advice? My beau and I are going to be in Paris for 5 days in August. “Must do” list?
Merci!
July 10, 2025 @ 12:45 pm
Please tell me what you’re interested in? Restaurants, museums, neighborhoods, shopping?
July 10, 2025 @ 12:04 pm
Thanks, Linda! Enjoy your last few days.
July 10, 2025 @ 1:09 pm
RestAurants, neighborhoods, parks, walking, out of the way interesting streets
July 10, 2025 @ 1:56 pm
Wow, 5 days is so short. If you’re about wanting to see some of the famous landmarks, spend 6 hours using the Hop-on-Hop off bus. There are several different ones but pretty efficient and saves wasting time trying to get around. Use it to see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame (you do not need a ticket!), Les Invalides (Napoleon’s burial site), Champs Elysées, Pantheon etc. They drop you off and you spend as much time as you want and go back to the drop-off spot. They pick you up and carry you to the next place. As to neighborhoods, please visit the Marais (Eglise St.Paul-St. Louis, Hotel de Sully, Place des Vosges, Musee Carnavelet. Also spend a day at Montmartre! Enter at rue Abessess. The best park in our opinion is Jardin du Luxembourg. Best streets are rue Montorgueil, rue Cler, St. Germain. Walk the river between 7 and 9pm and see all the bridges or take a cruise (I’m not much of a fan.)Best museums are Musee de Moyen Age, Rodin, D’Orsay, and Jacques-Marc Andre which has the gorgeous tearoom. If you go to Le Louvre, get a guide. Doing it by yourself is SO difficult and you will waste so much time. Spectacular restaurants (which you should start booking now) are Le Train Bleu, Les Ombres, Cafe Marly, Le Osieu Blanc in the Peninsula hotel. The list goes on and on and on. Very pricey! So I don’t know what your budget is but MOST street cafes offer decent food. However, you can have a bad meal in Paris. Read the reviews. Finding quiet, out-of-the way spots anymore is very difficult. We ate at one today which I highly recommend in La Place des Vosges. It’s called Cafe Mulot and is in the Victor Hugo Museum (Which is free if you eat at the cafe.) Perfectly delightful. People make a huge mistake trying to put too much into one day and do not allow for travel time. Moving around in Paris is HARD but you will be coming at a slower time hopefully. Sorry our travel dates don’t overlap!!!
July 10, 2025 @ 1:24 pm
Love walking and discovering new sites and areas
July 10, 2025 @ 1:25 pm
I e saved all your posts so I’ll check back through them too
July 10, 2025 @ 1:57 pm
If you don’t have my book, Bernie’s Paris, it should still be on Amazon. Worth a read together on the flight over or before!
July 10, 2025 @ 1:51 pm
What wonderful sights you are seeing and memories making. Enjoy and again thank you for sharing your photos and descriptive Paris wanderings. Hot in Huntsville.
July 10, 2025 @ 2:53 pm
Thank you so much! Great ideas!
July 10, 2025 @ 6:33 pm
Katie,
Some more ideas for great streets in Le Marais: rue Charlemagne from rue St. Paul to Francois Miron, then left onto rue de Pont Louis Phillipe and then right on rue des Barres. Very picturesque with a great little hole in the wall place to eat.(L’ebouillante) Ask for Les Bricks on the menu. Also a very nice restaurant, Chez Julienne, but costly. In the Jewish quarter, walk down Rue des Rosiers. Fabulous but avoid on Friday sundown to Saturday because things are closed for the Sabbath.
July 10, 2025 @ 3:12 pm
Linda,
Time flys! I liked the new hotel! Your meal was appealing sorry it wasn’t as good as it looked. Desserts are always pretty there. Thanks for sharing the interesting buildings. The architecture there is so varied. Enjoy your cool weather.
Cindi
July 10, 2025 @ 4:08 pm
That is in the area we’ve been staying in recently. It is a wonderfully calm residential area. Poolside dining does sound interesting! Just eleven more days! Make the most of them before returning to the chaos here.