Paris_ The Collected Traveler - Barrie Kerper [91]
Agence Opale, a photo agency that specializes in portraits of authors, stocks prints of period photos of literary heroes. (8 rue Charlot / +33 01 40 29 93 33.)
Picquier et Protière sells its Marimekko-style fabrics by the yard but also makes them into cushions and stunning shopping bags with stout leather handles. (10 rue Charlot / +33 01 42 72 39 14.)
Galerie Yvon Lambert has been ahead of the curve since the late sixties, spotting Cy Twombly and Richard Long early on. It represents, among others, Nan Goldin. (108 rue Vieille-du-Temple / +33 01 42 71 09 33.)
Butte-aux-Cailles
The Place de la Commune de Paris commemorates the Butte-aux-Cailles’s role as headquarters for the insurgents in May 1871. Its bloody history is curiously at odds with the graceful, green cast-iron Fontaine Wallace that today stands in the middle of the tiny place.
A brick façade with late Art Nouveau sinuosities disguises the Piscine de la Butte-aux-Cailles, a municipal swimming pool fed by a bubbling artesian well. Roofed in then-innovative reinforced concrete, the pool, surprisingly, was built at the same time as the façade—in 1924. (5 place Paul-Verlaine / +33 01 45 89 60 05.)
At L’Avant-Goût, Christophe Beaufront’s luncheon menu, often featuring a luscious pig’s-cheek stew, has raised the bar for Paris’s néo-bistros. (26 rue Bobillot / +33 01 53 80 24 00.)
Chez Paul’s traditional French cuisine attracts people from all over the city. (22 rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles / +33 01 45 89 22 11.)
Les Abeilles sells dozens of honeys, along with supplies for beekeepers. (21 rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles / +33 01 45 81 43 48.)
Aux Délices de la Butte is the quintessential neighborhood bakery, with cannelés de Bordeaux and baguettes worth seeking out. (48 rue Bobillot / +33 01 45 89 45 55.)
La Cave du Moulin Vieux specializes in wines from small producers. (4 rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles / +33 01 45 80 42 38.)
You don’t have to be Italian to appreciate the salamis and aged Parmigiano-Reggiano at the Bologna-comes-to-Paris grocery Cipolli. (81 rue Bobillot / +33 01 45 88 26 06.)
Les Batignolles
Foursquare yet understated behind its four Doric columns, Sainte-Marie des Batignolles has stood since 1830 at the heart of the village of Batignolles. (77 place du Dr.-Félix-Lobligeois / +33 01 46 27 57 67.)
At L’Endroit, the of-the-moment hangout across from the church, the food tends to be as high design as much of the crowd, and the music crescendoes well into the night. (67 place du Dr.-Félix-Lobligeois / +33 01 42 29 50 00.)
It’s wise to reserve one of the twenty-odd seats at La P’tite Lili, where locals go to chill out. The menu is limited, but the sausages are flavorful, the salads sassy, and the meat and fish excellent. (8 rue des Batignolles / +33 01 45 22 54 22.)
Families sate their pasta passions at Arcimboldo, where they go en masse to share gnocchi and ravioli and wash it all down with Chianti. (7 rue Brochant / +33 01 42 29 37 62.)
The market-fresh food at the Cinnamon Café—tomatoes stuffed with whiting mousseline, apple crumble—is the stuff of memories. (5 rue des Batignolles / +33 01 43 87 64 51.)
Merci Maman carries the sort of handsome, sturdy clothes you see on Paris schoolchildren. (73 place du Dr.-Félix-Lobligeois / +33 01 42 29 11 62.)
The tiny candleholder that will make a table sparkle, the little present worth stashing for next December—such bibelots are the stock-in-trade of La Vie en Rose. (73 place du Dr.-Félix-Lobligeois / +33 01 42 63 70 71.)
The jury’s out on which is better: Christian Rizzotto’s cinnamon ganaches or his rocailles. (14 rue Brochant / +33 01 42 63 18 70.)
The Fromagerie des Moines is particularly strong on Norman cheeses like Camembert and Pont-l’Évêque. (47 rue des Moines / +33 01 46 27 69 24.)
For thirty-three years, L’Atelier de Maïté has specialized in buying, selling, and repairing dolls made between 1860 and 1930. (8 rue Brochant / +33 01