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Forget about trying to cram in the big five – the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Pompidou Centre and the Arc de Triomphe – and wander off the beaten path. Take a walking tour of Hemingway’s Paris, board a boat up the Canal Saint Martin or hire a bike. After breakfast in a café, linger in a morning food market, perhaps at rue Montorgueil or rue Cler, and indulge those food fantasies, or shop for clothes, furniture and bric-a-brac at the Marché aux Puces Saint-Ouen. Depending on the weather, you might be tempted to soak up some rays in the Luxembourg Gardens, or sweat it out at the hammam (Turkish Bath) in the Grande Mosquée de Paris. Music-lovers might be interested in hearing the Sunday morning organ recital at St Eustache church (there’s no obligation to go to the church service first). After lunch pick one of the great museums and galleries (the Louvre or the Musée d’Orsay perhaps) and marvel at their riches, but don’t be tempted to try to see everything. Check the listings for what’s on in the way of live music in the evening if something funkier is more to your taste, or succumb to the lure of the Eiffel Tower when it is illuminated after dark. The beautiful people can be relied upon to drink the night away in the bars along rue Oberkampf. For places that serve food late, check out Au Pied de Cochon, which is open all night, or the Café de l’Industrie. Your last shop stop could be to scoop up some goodies at the local patisserie or charcuterie. If you’re catching the Eurostar home, treat yourself with fine food one last time at the Terminus Nord brasserie before boarding.
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