My sweet and short guide to Paris

I love Paris. It might be a stereotype thing to say, but it's true. Since I first visited on an obligatory but amazing school trip in 2006, I returned to the city of light every year at least once. I'm not much of a traveller, but Paris stole my hearth and isn't planning on returning it! Last week, I went on my annual Paris trip and I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my favorite spots with you! Hence: this short + sweet guide to Paris!

Food

Joseph et Lucien 43 Rue des Petits Carreaux, 75002 Paris Joseph et Lucien is a small café-restaurant with amazing food. They have only a couple options (3 entrées, 3 main courses, 2 deserts & a cheese plate) but none of them have dissappointed me! Lunch on my first day was so good I returned for dinner the next evening. Joseph & Lucien is right at the Montorgeuil/Saint Denis quartier, so it's a lovely neighbourhoud to walk around if you are looking for food & entertainment! The 2nd arrondissement also is home to a lot of small fashion designers & wholesale fabric shops. You might stumble upon a lot of those! Kim Li 88 Rue Saint Martin, 75004 Paris Kim Li is an asian caterer that also offers the possibilty to eat your meal on the spot. For 8.50 euros you get to pick an entree, main dish, dessert & a drink. The food is really good, to top it off! I love Asian cuisine and this food is worth way more than the owners ask. *nomnomnom They have amazing chinese nougat that made me want even more of it..

Shopping

Rainbow Factory 84 Rue Saint-Martin,75004 Paris At Rainbow Factory, you can buy handbags, backpacks and wallets. Prices range between 5 & 250, so something for everyone's budget. I have a yearly tradition to get my new handbag at their shop. This year I bought this one: Yellow Mellow multiple locations. I visited Forum Des Halles - Niveau Porte Rambuteau, 75001 Paris Yellow Mellow is a really playful & stylish shoe brand. I caved last year for a glittery blue pair and this year I bought two pair. A pair of golden boots and a pair of lace up blue & black shoes.

Culture

Bibliothèque Nationale de France François Mitterand East Entrance facing rue Émile Durkheim (steps) ou avenue de France 75013 Paris This library is a great piece of architecture. It shows a completely different side of Paris. What I love about this building is how nature and architecture is combined in one site. At the time of my visit, there was a fantastic exhibition of Anselm Kiefer on show. I was blown away. If you'd like to visit that too, it's on until Febuari 7th and a must see if you are in the area! Centre Pompidou Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris Home to modern art, Centre Pompidou has a great collection & usually an intersting temporary exhibition. I love the escalator ride up to the top floor, which provides amazing views of the city. Another favorite of mine is their "librarie" aka, museum shop where they also have a large selection of stationary. Musée des Arts Décoratifs 107 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris Located near The Louvre, the collection of Musée des Arts Décoratifs consists of decor & objects. Main focus lays on jewellery, toys and fashion. It usually has really great temporary exhibition on fashion, showing pieces of Alexander McQueen, Dries Van Noten, Marc JacobsxLouis Vuitton and many more in the last couple of years. Musée Galliera: Musée de la mode de la ville de Paris 10 Avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, Rue de Galliera, 75016 Paris Paris' fashion museum. They only have temporary exhibitions, but the ones I've seen are definetely worth it! Musée Bourdelle 18 Rue Antoine Bourdelle, 75015 Paris If you like sculptures and Lord Of The Rings, you might like the work of Antoine Bourdelle. This fin-de-siècle artist makes huge sculptures. His work is on display on different locations in the city, but also in this museum. It also houses the original workspace of the artist.

Fabric shopping

Fabric shops in Paris are endless, but here are some of the shops I managed to visit already. Les Etoffes du Sentier 12, rue des Jeuneurs, 75002 Paris Literally around the corner of the AirBnB I was staying at last week. This shop came highly recommended by Jo & Lisa, so I had to visit it. It's total chaos inside, but if you have time, you can find amazing things! I bought this piece of wool. Tissu Market 18 Rue Du Sentier, 75002 Paris 25 Rue d'Orsel, 75018 Paris I stumbled upon this shop on my way back home from Les Etoffes du Sentier and had to hop in. I saw they had a second shop at Rue d'Orsel, so combined my visit to the Montmartre Fabric District with a visit to the second shop. Their fabric's aren't cheap, but they are beautiful! I bought lining for my wedding dress & shell fabric for the jacket that supposed to go with it at this shop. The lady that helped me out said they will open up a shop in Brussels in 2016. I'm not sure if this is good news or not, when it comes to the contents my wallet!

Other favorite shops

La Droguerie, 9-11 Rue du Jour, 75001 Paris, Metro Les Halles, exit Porte Du Jour or Rambuteau La folie des coupons, Rue d’Orsel 11, Metro Anvers, Abesses, 75018 Paris Tissus Reine, Place St. Pierre 3-5, 75018 Paris Sacré Coupons, 7 Rue Seveste, 75018 Paris Dame Bouton, 46 Rue d'Orsel, 75018 Paris Moline, 2 Rue Livingstone, 75018 Paris

If you plan on visiting Paris, Christine Haynes article in this issue of Seamwork is also a good read. Let me know if you have some favorite adresses too, so I can check those out next time I visit Paris!