The month of July, if spent in Paris, is an extravagantly exciting experience. It’s a beauty-soaked box of delights, filled with breathtaking art and al fresco music, quai-side walks and bistrot flirtation, oysters and pichets of chilled sauvignon, set in the most attractive urban sprawl ever coaxed into being. The summer sun means you can browse the boulevards in comfort, stopping off at pavement cafés to look chic over croissants and messing about in boats in pristine parks. You can also enjoy the fireworks and frolics of Bastille Day (July 14) and the long lazy afternoons of the Jazz Festival in the Bois de Vincennes, which runs until July 27.
The only downside to this avalanche of gallic pleasure is that the city can be uncomfortably crowded, with tourist bottlenecks forming impenetrable barriers around popular sites. All is not lost though – with a modicum of local knowledge you can have an amazing city trip while shunning the real tourist hot-spots.
Your first move is to sidestep the Louvres. This head-bendingly vast repository of European art will be packed to the rafters with camera-toting grumps, spilling through the statue-lined corridors and fighting for elbow space round the Mona Lisa. Far more rewarding are the legion of small museums devoted to everything from the 1930s to forgeries.
Try the extraordinary Museum of Man (01 44 05 72 72) at the Trocadero, the fascinating French History Museum near the Hôtel de Ville (01 40 27 62 18) or the Picasso Museum (01 42 71 25 21) at St Paul. Also at St Paul is the cute European Photography Museum (01 44 78 75 00), currently showing a phenomenal collection from the photographer Sarah Moon.
It’s wise not to shop on the Champs Elysées – the shops are by and large just flagship stores for global brands and if you’re looking for interesting, boutique-style shopping, there are a million and one better places. Try walking the length of the snooty but beautiful Faubourg St Honoré, checking out funky togs and pretty accessories in the Marais or the cheap-as-chips book and clothes stores which line the sides of the Canal St Martin.
If despite your best intentions you find yourself drawn to the Champs, check it out in the evening when crossing over the road to Avenue George V – stand at a mid-road traffic island and stare down a mile-long stream of red and white lights. Heading down George V and crossing the river you hit the 7th arondissement, home to the most loaded Parisians. While here, try out the Café du Marché (01 47 05 51 27) on rue Cler, a cheap and cheerful joint on a market street which knocks up wonderful daily specials.
While you’re in the area, miss out on taking a trip up the Eiffel Tower. It’s beautiful, yes but the summer queues are laughable. Try the 56th floor views at the Montparnasse Tower (01 45 38 52 56) instead, and afterwards kick back with pressions of cheap beer at the Tournesol (01 43 27 65 72) café on Rue de la Gaîeté or the Smoke Bar (01 43 20 61 73) on Rue Delambre. If you feel like going more upmarket, the Poissonnerie du Dôme (01 43 35 23 95) is just round the corner and offers seafood to die for.
The Luxembourg Gardens are also in this area, and far better to visit than their counterpart at the Tuileries. Both are however guaranteed to be packed, so if you want a bit of space head for the Bois de Boulogne, a vast park just outside the Paris ring road, where you can have some peace with your picnic. Though the bois gets a little dodgy at night, you shouldn’t let that stop you visiting the Ile de Reuilly which sits in the middle of one of the lakes. Here you’ll find Le Châlet des Iles (01 43 07 7707), a strong contender for most romantic eatery in the entire world. Take a trip across in the restaurant’s boat and you’ll arrive at a stunning location with beautiful views over the duck-filled water and a fire-warmed interior for intimate dining.
When you’re done lolling in parks it’s time to hit the culture trail once more. Be careful to avoid the über-crowded Nôtre Dame like the plague. Instead, while you’re in the Latin Quarter take a look round the Eglise St-Julien-le-Pauvre (01 43 54 52 16) a beautiful 12th century church, or the Eglise St-Séverin (01 42 34 93 50). Hitting the river, take a stroll down quays filled with busking saxophonists and scantily-clad sunbathers, crossing over the adorable and spindly Passerelle des Arts which in the evenings fills with candle-lit lovers and guitar-wielding students. If you get peckish on the way, stop in at Galerie 88 (01 42 72 17 58) a battered but brilliant café directly opposite Ile St Louis with some of the best fresh salads and pasta in Paris.
When evening comes, dropkick the ultra-expensive, underwhelming cabaret at the Folies Bergères. Though less titillating, if your French is up to it a stand-up show at Les Blancs Manteaux (01 48 87 15 84 )is far more entertaining. Alternatively, throughout July there’s free open air cinema every night at the Parc de la Villette. If you’re up for clubbing, eschew the traditional offerings of Queen and the Buddha Bar and go party at Batofar, a disco boat moored on quai François-Mauriac (01 56 29 10 00). You can have it large all night in the open air, and take your time recovering the following morning over a champagne brunch at le Fumoir (01 42 92 00 24), a book-lined cocktail bar on Rue de Rivoli.
Paris is an endlessly exciting city and you’ll find it hard not to fall in love with the place. Pack your nicest beret, grab a handful of euros and set your sights on the city of light. As Edith Piaf once so nearly crooned, you won’t regret it…
