Ofr is a bookstore, gallery and lifestyle. Alex and Marie have been running one version or another of this Paris institution for the last 20 years. The shelves are always packed with a new selection of books, magazines and art. 

French Cuisine near Place de la Victoire in Paris

If you like Kobido massages : try Faucheur Paris. Othilie, Margaux and their mom, Aline, have a gift !

Paris, unlike London, Brooklyn and err Chester, isn’t famed for its zoo. That’s because there isn’t anything quite as big here, but if its quality as opposed to size you’re looking for then the zoo in the Jardin des Plantes won’t leave you disappointed. There are about 1800 animals here, a third of which are endangered species, like the Amur leopard, pictured. The reptile house has big snakes and snap-happy crocodiles. There are even kangaroos and some other animals you wouldn’t have thought hardy enough to adapt to the cold chill of the Paris winters. The only drawback is the monkey house, which is a rather forlorn place with depressed-looking chimpanzees and gorillas gazing through shit-stained glass cages.

I love to go to this library and often work there. It is very peaceful and the setting is beautiful. The library is a mine for books about design and architecture.