When I feel like eating a hamburger I head straight for Café Charlot in the Marais, right across the street from the Marché des Enfants Rouges, on rue de Bretagne. Here it is served with the right kind of bread, a soft sesame seed bun, a perfectly cooked burger (medium-rare by default), with everything it should have inside, and crispy French fries. It’s actually a cheeseburger and it costs €15. For the same price you can also order a delicious, and organic, chicken burger, also served with fries. Among the other gourmet sandwiches are the BLT, the hot sandwich Charlot (cheese, beef and grilled onions served on a french roll) and Café Charlot’s own take on the classic croques: le croque jeune homme and le croque jeune fille.
That’s for the sandwich section, there are also some classic French dishes a la carte such as bavette à l’echalotte or swordfish steak served with green beans. Aside from the food, the service is amicable and fast. If you stand out and like to be noticed you are more likely to be stared at, just as much as you can entertain yourself checking out the very Parisian crowd that itself cries for attention!
Other good places in the neighborhood that I recommend are Rose Bakery (another “trendy” place) and Breizh Café (a refreshing bowl of down-to-earthness!)

Café Charlot
38 Rue de Bretagne
75003 Paris
tel: 01.44.54.03.30
Metro: Filles du Calvaire

7/7
M-Sun: 7am-2am (Food is served all day until 12am)

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Franco-British couple Mr. and Mrs. Rose had a child. They called it Bakery. A Rose Bakery was born in London. Then they decided to move to Paris and they gave birth to a second, and recently a third, Rose Bakery. Rose Bakery is the name of their very successful—hence the new addition to the family—bakery/restaurants. The third Rose Bakery restaurant is in the hands of chef Kaori Endo, a 34 year-old Japanese cook who just published a book of recipes and who will be on T.V for eight cooking shows. At Rose Bakery they use quality ingredients, lots of organic and carefully chosen goods for their savory tarts, quiches, healthy salads (lentil salad, carrot salad, potato salad, baked beans, duck pot-au-feu…) and their delicious desserts (carrot cake, cheesecake, vegan fruit cake, lemon cake, green tea-raspberry cake, banana nut bread, scones, muffins, brownies…) They serve breakfast during the week and brunch on the weekend (eggs, pancakes…). In other words, Rose Bakery is a perfect place for breakfast, lunch, brunch and afternoon tea and pastries. It’s healthy, good, pretty and it is located in two great areas of Paris.

Rose Bakery 3rd arrondissement
30 rue Debelleyme
75003 Paris
tel: 01.49.96.54.01
Metro: Filles du Calvaire

Tu-Sun: 9am-6pm (kitchen closes at 4pm)
Closed on Monday

Rose Bakery 9th arrondissement
46 rue des Martyrs
75009 Paris
tel: 01.42.82.12.80
Metro: Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Pigalle

Tu-Sun: 10am-6.30pm (kitchen closes at 4pm)
Closed on Monday

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Yves Gratas’ jewelry is made out of gold (18 carat), and precious or semi-precious stones such as diamonds, sapphires, amethysts, tourmaline or pearls. He is the only jewelry maker in Paris who uses the mise en couleur de l’or, a technique that consists of extracting the silver and copper from the surface of the gold metal, in order to reveal the true color of the gold. Another one of his trademarks is to mount some of the stones upside down in order to get a rougher and less symmetrical piece of jewelry. His costume jewelry is big in the fashion world, he has worked for Agnès B., François Girbaud and Thierry Mugler. Yves Gratas works from his workshop/boutique on rue Oberkampf and specializes in made-to-order jewelry. His jewelry is timeless, classic, elegant and yet very contemporary.

Yves Gratas 11th arrondissement
9 Rue Oberkampf
75011 Paris
tel: 01.49.29.00.53
Metro: Oberkampf, Filles du Calvaire

M-Sat: 11am-1pm / 2pm-7pm
Closed on Sunday

Yves Gratas 7th arrondissement
92 Rue de Grenelle
75007 Paris
tel: 01.45.44.73.62
Metro: Rue du Bac

Tu-Sat: 11am-1pm / 2pm-7pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday

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In case you were thinking about visiting Paris by bike, during the day or at night, on your own or with a guide, on private tours or with a group, know that there are several companies who provide these services. Here are a few selected ones:

Paris Charms and Secrets
A four-hour visit of Paris on electrical bikes. It will take you to the historical places as well as the mysterious spots with practically no physical effort on your part!

Paris Charms and Secrets
106 Rue Vieille du Temple
75003 Paris
tel: 01.40.29.00.00
Metro: Saint Sébastien - Froissart
Tour departure point:
Place Vendôme
75001 Paris

Paris à vélo c’est sympa
These bike tours will safely and peacefully take you to enchanting and unexpected places.

Paris à vélo c’est sympa
22 Rue Alphonse Baudin
75011 Paris
tel: 01.48.87.60.01
Metro: St Sébastien-Froissart, Richard-Lenoir

M-F: 9.30am-1pm - 2pm-5.30pm
Sat-Sun. 9.30-1pm - 2pm-6pm
Closed on Tuesday

Paris Bike Tour
Offers guided bike tours of the historical and cultural Paris, as well as bike rentals for those who prefer to discover the city at their own pace.

Paris Bike Tour
38 Rue de Saintonge
75003 Paris
tel: 01.42.74.22.14
Metro: Filles du calvaire, République

M-Sun: 9am-7pm

Fat Tire Bike Tours Paris
Fat Bike Tours offers guided tours in English only, in and outside of Paris (Versailles, Monet’s gardens). There’s a Paris-by-night ride for those who want to discover the city of lights in all its twinkle. Fat Bike Tours wants to make sure that while you are comfortably riding their beach cruisers — how stylish of them — you are also having a lot fun. Their moto is: see more, less effort, more fun.

Fat Tire Bike Tours Paris
24 Rue Edgar Faure
75015 Paris
tel: 01.56.58.10.54
tel: 1-866-614-6218 (toll-free from North America to our Paris office)
Metro: Dupleix

M-Sun: 9am-6pm
Closed on December 25

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