Bon Marché

I can't promise that the crew filming a French TV series in Chez Dumonet, the pretty 1900s bistro next door to a Chez Vous apartment on rue du Cherche-Midi, will still be there when you visit, but that's the kind of neighborhood this is: camera-toting tourists are at a minimum, while the French themselves come here to capture it on film. Great monuments and museums are easy walks from here, but when the day's sights have been seen, the rich ambiance of a Parisian quartier welcomes you home. (As it does the Prime Minister, whose official residence, L'Hotel Matignon, is surrounded by Paris's largest private garden. The treetops are visible from another Chez Vous apartment.)

Au Bon Marché, the capital's oldest (1852) and most stylish department store is just down the street. Well-dressed, well-heeled Parisians fritter away afternoons selecting designer-fashions, Oriental carpets, pricey antiques, spiffy kid's togs, and finally, elegant carry-out foods. The largest spread of good things to eat available outside of your dreams is in La Grande Epicerie, Bon Marché's enormous food hall. Foie gras, patés, oysters, fruits, vegetables, prepared dishes from sushi to tandoori, hundreds of cheeses, breads, fantasy pastries, wines and champagnes, even soap and Campbell's tomato soup—everything you need for daily maintenance is available here.

But if you want to "cook" a great meal without having to choose recipes or do the shopping, the best (and easiest) way is to head for the year-old KIT. Here you find a seasonal daily menu with all of its raw ingredients nicely packaged in portions, plus step-by-step recipes for putting it together. Follow the simple directions and take all the credit for a complete, imaginative, home-cooked French dinner!

Conran's, the sleek London furniture and housewares shop, has its flagship Paris branch near Bon Marché. Upscale Parisians—who crave all things British—shop here for handsome linens, lighting, stationary, toys, and kitchen and bath accessories.

When only the most famous bread in Paris will serve, the shrine to visit is the family shop of Poilane, now efficiently run by the daughter. Hundreds of fine Paris restaurants proudly proclaim "Ici, pain Poilane!" The large round crusty brown sourdough loaf (pain au levain) is the standard against which French bread is measured. (La Cuisine de Bar, next door, features Poilane bread under tasty toppings and—unusual for Paris—offers these tartines throughout the day.) Don't ignore Poilane's little apple tarts...unless you are allergic to butter!

If butter consumption is starting to distort your perfect figure, you can avoid all cheese shops (such as the fabulous QuatreHomme) and put yourself on a strict regime by doing your food shopping exclusively on Sunday mornings at Le Marché Biologique, one of only two organic roving street markets in Paris. Roasting free-range chickens scent the air; ciders, honey, piles of healthful vegetables, candles and even sturdy beige cotton clothing; it all goes on for blocks. Paris beautifully outdoes Berkeley!

Which brings us to Tea and Tattered Pages, the English-language bookstore/tea salon now run by a former resident of California. Second-hand paperbacks—15,000 of them—fill the small space, barely leaving room for five tables in the back where you and the kids can munch a comforting brownie or apple crumble. Children's books are downstairs. Tea salons are springing up everywhere but the neighborhood's Mamie Gateaux is cuter than most, and locals have taken its old-fashioned British charm to their hearts.

The largest French branch of Europe's biggest bookstore chain, FNAC, is nearby. You can browse the densely packed floors of discounted books all day without buying, but I dare you to leave the store without at least one book on Paris, since their France Travel Section is the best in town.

But even your book on Paris might omit the little-visited Musée Hébert, which displays the soothing paintings of the 19th-century romantic artist, Ernest Hébert. The fine 18th-century home is worth a visit (but now you'll have to wait until 2008, after the museum's complete remodel and expansion). However, the pretty and peaceful 18th-century mansion where August Rodin lived and worked has recently reopened (Dec. 2005), after its own three-year extensive renovation. Le Musée Rodin enlarged is even more inviting than the small original, and it is deservedly popular. Don't miss the sculptor's bold seductive work, or the few pieces by Camille Claudel, his muse. But few folks ever press the buzzer to visit La Fondation Dubuffet. The personal collection of the popular 20th-century French artist, Jean Dubuffet, is a hidden pleasure of Paris: an unexpected garden and museum behind huge closed doors.

(If museums bore your kids to death, take them a few metro stops south to Les Catacombes, the spookiest spot in town. In the 18th century, millions of skeletons were moved here from the city's overflowing graveyards. Neat stacks of skulls and tibias frame dank tunnels in an underground labyrinth. Proceed at your own pace to emerge blocks away from where you descended. Kids love this macabre empire and don't have to be reminded to stick close-by.)

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