72 Hours in Paris: An Art & Food Itinerary

Check in at Hôtel National Des Arts et Métiers

This small-scale boutique hotel is the place to stay in the Paris. It has a vibey young feel with an on-site restaurant and bar and an outdoor cafe where you’ll always find Parisians smoking and drinking. You know you’ve arrived somewhere cool once you step inside. The location is primo as you're very close to the first arrondissement where the Louvre Museum is located, famous for their display of the Mona Lisa. 

The guest rooms are very well designed with a crisp clean aesthetic and trendy details, making the small city-style hotel rooms feel inviting and intimate. Go ahead and splurge for a room with an outdoor balcony so you can sip on your coffee as you take in vistas of the pretty square and the beautiful Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs across the way. 

If you’re looking for a different vibe for your hotel, the Grand Pigalle Hotel near Sacre Coeur in Montmartre and the Four Seasons George V adjacent to Champs-Élysées, between the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, are also great options. 

Grab a croissant

You never have to look far for flaky baked goods in Paris. The lobby bar at Hôtel National Des Arts et Métiers makes excellent croissants. Order one with your morning tea or coffee and sit outside in the quaint Parisian square overlooking the church. Let yourself savor a slow morning before kicking off a weekend of exploring all the city of lights has to offer. 

Browse the exhibits at the Centre Pompidou

Walk to The Centre Pompidou Modern Art Museum. You can’t miss the industrial exterior that's been intentionally designed to stand out in the neighborhood with all its steel and tubes. Inside, you can take in the world-class modern art collection and exhibitions. Definitely go to the roof for amazing views of Paris.

Visit the Atelier Brâncusi

This sculpture gallery is a minute walk from the Centre Pompidou and is free to visit. Brâncusi’s sculptures are absolutely beautiful and are scattered throughout his workshop. It’s a total feast for the eyes.

Grab a crêpe at Breizh Café outpost in Le Marais

Breizh Café is within walking distance. The classic crepe cafe is a perfect spot for a light lunch and a glass of crisp French white wine. Make reservations to dine at one of the coveted outdoor tables. The inside is packed in typical Parisian style with tables on top of tables – it’s a quintessential Paris experience to eat in a bustling cafe. At a table outside, enjoy the delightful neighborhood and people watching.

Coffee and pastries by the canal

Take the train to the 10th arrondissement, a location which embodies a Brooklyn sort of vibe. Grab your morning coffee at the third-wave coffee shop Ten Belles; the cappuccino is our go-to. While you’re ordering coffee, send whoever you’re traveling with down to the world-renowned Du Pain et des Idées to grab pastries and meet them at the nearby canal. Trust us, the pastries are unbelievable, everything is flaky with tons of butter. You can eat many, many, many pastries before realizing you’re full. 

Shop at Centre Commercial

Right next to the bakery is Centre Commercial, a fantastic boutique. It has a mix of mostly European men's and women's wear designers. It's on the higher end with really cool stuff that feels very local to Paris. 

Toast the day at Le Dauphin

This wine bar is the counterpart to the Le Chateaubriand, a very famous, very pricey Michelin restaurant. If you're looking for something more casual and want great wine, Le Dauphin is a perfect place for a light lunch. Reservations are needed as it’s all bar seating.

Browse the art at Rodin Museum

Rodin Museum features the sculptor’s work inside and outside of the mansion. The grounds are beautiful making it a wonderful place to spend the afternoon walking around and enjoying great art. Don’t miss the stunning sculptures outside in the gardens.

It’s also a short walk from the Musée d'Orsay that displays a stunning collection of Impressionist artists, like Van Gogh, Monet, Manet and Renoir.

Dinner back in the 11th

After dining in the 11th the night before, you’re sure to want to go back and dine at one of the other fantastic restaurants in the area. Whichever one you choose, you won’t be disappointed. We won’t judge if you go back to your favorite! If you’re looking for a first-come, first-serve (no reservations) option, head to Clamato for seafood.

Breakfast at The Broken Arm

The Broken Arm is a darling corner cafe with great coffee and pastries. It's connected to a high-end boutique, so while you may only be able to do some window shopping, it’s fun to meander around. Or, take your coffee to go and walk around the square; Paris is perfect for window shopping. It’s also walking distance from the Paris Picasso Museum.

Browse the shelves at OFR Bookshop

OFR is a cool kid contemporary bookshop with art books, some of which are made in-house and feature photo series of different neighborhoods in Paris. They have a nice selection of both French and English books and magazines. It’s a great place to pick something up to bring home that you can actually read or buy books as gifts for friends. 

Pick up a print at Yvon Lambert Gallery

The Yvon Lambert Gallery is a really special bookstore and destination for art nerds interested in history around modern contemporary art movements in Paris. The gallery was big during the 1960s art movement, showing a lot of New York artists in Paris. It has a very rich history of being one of the first places that American artists were exhibiting in Paris. Cy Twombly, who's one of our founder’s favorite artists, was working with Yvon Lambert at the time. They have incredible old prints and posters from the different exhibitions that they were doing. You can spend hours looking for posters, books and magazines while living vicariously through that time. 

Lunch at Cafe Charlot

Cafe Charlot is a classic cafe where all the seats close together outside. They have amazing french fries – they’re so crispy, salty and oily. You'll probably see some famous people and you'll definitely see a lot of French people smoking.

Take a cooking class at La Cuisine Paris

A fun thing to do while in Paris is to take a French cooking class. La Cuisine Paris, along the Seine river and île de la cité — that has Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame — has a sauces class which is so fun and focused on the foundational sauces from which most French cuisine comes. You’ll learn a lot and appreciate the cuisine you're eating much more when you're trying to make a bechamel sauce and realize it's very difficult. They also have baking classes. A lot of the classes include a shared meal at the end, so you'll cook all together and then eat together for dinner.