Jardin du Palis-Royal - 1780  Secret place. Between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, a wonderful french-style garden. In the 1780’s, Philippe IV of Orleans (later named “Philippe Egalité” ) acquired the whole place. Extravagant and overly indebted, he decided to build shops around his gardens and rent them out. Convinced by the idea of having a theatre, the Duke thus decided to build the “Comédie française”.

This is another artistic centre that opened recently, this time housed in a former 19th century music hall that later became an indoor roller coaster attraction (yeah, really). The temporary exhibitions can be hit or miss, but I like hanging out in the free, open-to-all library on the first floor where you can sit in the futurist media pods and flip through the latest arts, culture, music, design and architecture magazines. Their shelves are also filled with a growing endowment of books which seem to be acquired according to the theme of the aforementioned exhibitions. Internet access is available on a dozen or so PCs (or via WiFi on your own machine) and for gamers, there are a few consoles connected to largish plasma screens. The café upstairs, with its classic baroque meets retro-futurist interior, is a sight to behold.

A small market open Tuesday to Saturday in a beautiful hall at 39, rue de Bretagne in the 3rd arrondissement. People come here for lunch as much as for shopping. It is the oldest market in Paris and it takes its name from an orphanage, established in the sixteenth century, who collected the lost children and wore red. Especially the Japanese cookshop and the Cous-Cous are worth going there.

Good coffee spot near Canal de l'Ourcq in the 19th

The only feminist and LGBTQ bookstore in Paris.