Great place, great food. 

Great selection of design / illustration books

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.

A paradise for a rest : waterfalls, restaurants and bars (crazy parties at the top of the hills in Rosa Bonheur) As soon as the sun is shining people are going there to share a drink or a meal, lying on the grass surrounded by blazing green.

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.