Le Verre volé is a cool place where I like to have a deliciously outstanding and friendly lunch. By the way, the no sulfite wines such as “Dard et Ribo” are amazing.
Gilles Poplin is a graphic designer, typeface designer and creative director for press and media groups. He also teaches graphic design and art direction at ESAG, Atelier Met de Penninghen, Paris.
Two wellknown japanese cafeteria, close to the Louvre and the Palais Royal. Gyoza and Lamen served all day long. The one Rue St Anne is more traditionnal, chiefs are cooking in front of you. Often packed, in case there is a long waiting line, go to the one Rue St Honoré, you will eat the same!
I go to the flea market in St Ouen to look for old cameras and expired film. But it’s also a great place to see all the different walks of life from Paris’ extreme social scene. At the top of the ladder you’ve got the aristo-bourgeois crowd acquiring Louis XV furniture at the indoor antiques markets; the thirty-something bobo set paying way over the odds for mid-century designer chairs and formica tables; the banlieusards from the Neuf Trois getting kitted out with the latest sneakers and hoodies along the rue des Rosières; then at the very bottom you’ve got people trying to scratch a living selling second hand food at the Carré des biffes at Porte Montmartre. It’s an eye opener for sure.
Climb your way up the escalators to the 9th floor of the Printemps department store (the Beauté & Maison building) for possibly one of the best panoramic views of Paris. You can see pretty much everything from here and unlike the views from the Eiffel Tower you’re right in the middle of the city and can almost reach out and touch the monuments around you. Go up on a sunny afternoon and take a seat on one of the benches, lay down on the fake grass lawn or have a drink and a snack at the Deli-Ciel café.