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.

Bookstore focused on architecture / landscape / photography / art books

Ofr. is a bookshop and art space in Le Marais. What. A. Place. Stacked full of beautiful magazines, special edition art, design, fashion, photography and architecture books, with a bonus collection of vintage clothing in the back. My perfect shop. 

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.

It's always good to check out what's happening in Fondation Cartier. They have lots of really good exhibitions of modern art, and the gallery itself is very beautiful. Perfect for seeing works you already know as well as discovering new artists and inspirations.