Three au courant – in the know – Australians living and working in the French capital provide an entrée extraordinaire to the city. From soigneé style to souvenirs, they’ve got it covered. Et voilà!
Shay Stafford
Brisbane-born Shay Stafford has been dancing at the famous cabarets of Paris for more than a decade – after three years at the Moulin Rouge, she’s now kicking up her heels six nights a week at the Lido.
The part of Paris I call home is…
Rue Oberkampf in the 11th arrondissement. It’s just north of the Marais and is a lively, colourful neighbourhood.
I came to Paris in…
1997 to audition as a dancer at the Moulin Rouge. After three years there, I decided to change cabarets and moved across to the Lido de Paris on the Champs Élysées. It’s known for its tall dancers and over-the-top costumes. The current production had a costume budget of E3 million ($5.2m). I’ve been at the Lido for eight years, performing two shows a night, six nights a week. And yes, my feet are very tired.
I’ve stayed because…
I fell in love with the city and I met my husband here, fellow Australian and author Bryce Corbett. We met at a Bastille Day party five years ago. He loves Paris as much as I do and we have been enjoying la vie Parisienne together ever since. We now have a one-year old son, Flynn, who seems quite partial to Paris, too.
There is no better start to the day than…
Breakfast on the terrace of Café Charlot (38 Rue de Bretagne) in the achingly hip third arrondissement. They serve thick, old-fashioned hot chocolates and pure butter croissants from nearby La Fougasse (25 Rue de Bretagne, 3e).
Among my favourite restaurants are…
Le Châteaubriand (129 Avenue Parmentier, 11e) for great modern French food, an excellent wine list and charming, good-looking young waiters in long white aprons; La Bocca (59 Rue Montmartre, 2e) for fresh Italian pasta in a soft-lit, groovy setting; and Chez Janou (2 Rue Roger Verlomme, 3e), an oldie but a goodie. It has crept into a couple of guidebooks, so the secret’s out, but it’s a great little French bistro with excellent food and a buzzy atmosphere. Astier (44 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 11e) serves top-quality French fare – classic dishes with modern twists.
If meeting friends or doing business, try…
Café Marly at the Louvre. Sipping a coffee or a chilled glass of Pouilly Fumé while looking out over the pyramid in the Louvre courtyard is hard to beat.
If I were recommending somewhere to stay it would be…
A private apartment rental in the Marais. Hotel rooms in Paris tend to be small and overpriced.
The best bars in town are…
Experimental (37 Rue St-Saveur, 2e), a small but perfectly formed bar that serves fabulous cocktails. Arrive late. Café Etienne Marcel (34 Rue Etienne Marcel, 2e), a great spot for an early evening apéro. Always packed with Paris’s fashionable young set. Le Fumoir (6 Rue de L’Amiral de Coligny, 1e). It’s cosy and comfortable and good for a quiet drink or late supper, with views across to the Louvre.
The shops you need to know about are…
Any of the boutiques on Rue Vieille du Temple and Rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the Marais. There are so many lovely, small designer stores to browse. Favourites are Abou d’abi Bazar, Les Petites and Et Vous.
Galleries not to be missed include…
Musée Rodin. Rodin’s sculptures, including The Thinker and The Kiss, are just beautiful. To see them up close in the gardens of his impressive Parisian home is truly memorable.
Best providores in my neighbourhood are…
The fresh food markets on Boulevard Richard Lenoir in Oberkampf on Tuesday and Friday mornings. For cheese, fresh fish, fruit and flowers, you can’t go wrong. For the best baguette in all of Paris, beat a path to the Comptoir Gana boulangerie (54 Rue Oberkampf, 11e). The bread is to die for. For a patisserie experience you won’t forget in a hurry, be sure to visit La Fougasse – their tarts are works of art.
Hidden treasures around town include…
Anywhere I can escape for a bit of quiet and a splash of nature. Parc Monceau (17e) may not exactly be a secret, but it has lawns you can stretch out on, a wild, English-style garden with big trees and winding paths. Set back off the street, the arcades and gardens of Palais Royal are an oasis of calm in the middle of the city. In summer, there’s nothing better than sitting barefoot under the trees, feeling the spray from the fountains and watching the passing parade.
If you have just a day or two to soak up Paris, you should…
Hop on a bateau mouche for a cruise on the Seine. It will take you past the major monuments like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Louvre. Get lost in the winding backstreets of the Marais, wandering the cobbled rues of Montmartre or setting up in a cafe on the Place des Vosges for coffee-drinking and people-watching. Either that or hole up in Ladurée tea salon, working your way through the selection of mouth-watering macaroons.
Don’t waste your time with…
Restaurants and cafes on the Champs Élysées. They’re overpriced tourist traps. And Berthillon ice-cream – after 12 years here, I still don’t know why people make such a fuss about it. Amorino gelati is so much better.
A walk that gives you a feel for the place is…
From Place des Vosges through the quiet backstreets of the Marais. Then down to the Seine and cross over the Pont Marie – the “lovers’ bridge” – to the Île de St-Louis.
Or just take in the view from…
Café Ile de Flore on the Île de St-Louis. It looks across the Seine to the flying buttresses of Notre Dame. Of course, it’s a view you can much better appreciate with a hot serving of tarte tatin and crème fraîche.
Don’t forget to take home…
A return ticket.
Shay Stafford’s Memoirs Of A Showgirl, written with her husband Bryce Corbett, will be published in Australia by Hachette next year.
Maria Vryzakis
Sydney-born Maria Vryzakis has a vintage clothing boutique in the Marais. She moved to Paris because she loves macaroons and vintage clothing – and she fell in love with a fireman at the Bal des Pompiers (fireman’s ball).
The part of Paris I call home is…
The Haut Marais. It’s the top end of the Marais where my boutique is located. Start in the Marais at St-Paul Métro station – there are plenty of cafes and shops – and continue past small galleries until you arrive at Rue de Bretagne.
I came to Paris in...
2000 for an ex from Canberra.
I’ve stayed because…
I fell in love with the city and then a pompier [fireman].
There is no better start to the day than…
Breakfast at Ladurée (21 Rue Bonaparte, 6e).
Among favourite restaurants are…
Le Baratin (3 Rue Jouye-Rouve, 20e), a great small bistro; Cibus (5 Rue Moliére, 1e), Italian and very intimate; Anahi (49 Rue Volta, 3e), for South American. For French food: Lipp (151 Boulevard St-Germain, 6e), Le Grand Colbert (2 Rue Vivienne, 2e), or Le Boeuf sur le Toit (34 Rue du Colisée, 8e).
If meeting friends or doing business, try…
Tea-house Mariage Frères (30 Rue du Bourg-Tibourg, 4e).
If I were recommending somewhere to stay it would be…
Hôtel Amour (8 Rue de Navarin, 9e) for fun; for top-end, Le Meurice (228 Rue de Rivoli, 1e); for longer stays, rent through Paris Attitude.
The best bars in town are…
La Palette (43 Rue Seine, 6e) and Le Baron Rouge (1 Rue Théophile-Roussel, 12e).
The shops you need to know about are…
Concept store Astier de Villatte (173 Rue St-Honoré, 1e) and Dary’s (362 Rue St-Honoré, 1e) for vintage jewellery, [where] I found an art deco headpiece for my wedding.
Galleries not to be missed include…
Foundation Cartier (261 Boulevard Raspail, 14e), and Musée des Arts Décoratifs (107 Rue de Rivoli, 1e).
Best providores in my neighbourhood are…
Le Marché des Infants Rouge (39 Rue de Bretagne, 3e), where you can also stop for lunch; The Rose Bakery (30 Rue Debelleyme, 3e), and La Fougasse (25 Rue de Bretagne, 3e).
Hidden treasures around town include…
Palais Royal for a stroll, shopping and lunch; Batignolles, a small park with cute restaurants and cafes near by; and Buttes-Chaumont, a big park.
If you have just a day or two to soak up Paris…
Eat a Berthillon sorbet or ice-cream on Île de St-Louis, do Centre Pompidou and see the Grand Palais. Walk in the Tuileries or Jardin du Luxembourg.
Don’t waste your time with…
The Champs Élysées unless you love crowds and want to hang out with zillions of other tourists.
A walk that gives you a feel for the place is…
The one around the Marais or through the Tuileries.
Or just take in the view from…
L’Institut du Monde Arabe (1 Rue des Fossés-St-Bernard, 5e). There’s a good view down the Seine from the top floor – and it’s free.
Don’t forget to take home…
Something from Fauchon or Hédiard, both at Place de la Madeleine.
Sarah de Teliga
An internationally exhibited artist over the past three decades, Sarah de Teliga studied at Sydney’s National Art School in the 1970s. She has lived and painted in Paris since 1991.
The part of Paris I call home is…
The 14th arrondissement. I love it because of all the artists’ studios around Montparnasse and the art shops, bookshops and cinemas that draw a continual flow of people.
I came to Paris in...
1991 because my partner, Robert Grace, won a scholarship to research his doctorate in architecture.
I’ve stayed because…
I forgot to go home!
Among my favourite restaurants is…
For special occasions (or not), Le Châteaubriand (129 Avenue Parmentier, 11e), with its old brasserie decor, thrilling food, ambience and a young and unpretentious chef rethinking classic French cuisine.
If meeting friends or doing business, try...
The verandah at Le Cafe Marly in the Louvre courtyard.
If I were recommending somewhere to stay it would be…
Rent a small apartment.
The best bars in town are…
Le Fumoir (6 Rue de l’Amiral de Coligny, 1e); and for a glamorous aperitif, Le Bar 228 in Le Meurice hotel (228 Rue de Rivoli, 1e) – the best barmen and Philippe Starck interiors.
My favourite shop is…
Sennelier on Quai Voltaire. This creaky, wooden art supplies shop is home to the most sumptuous colours. The staff know what they’re selling.
Galleries not to be missed…
All the private galleries in the Marais. For public galleries: Palais du Tokyo, Centre Pompidou, Musée Rodin and Musée National Picasso.
Best providores in my neighbourhood are…
The main contenders for the perfect macaroon are Ladurée and Pierre Hermé; the winner is Japanese patissier Sadaharu Aoki (35 Rue de Vaugirard, 6e), whose green-tea macaroons are sensational. Celebrity butcher Hugo Desnoyer (45 Rue Boulard, 4e) is excellent. Le Dôme (108 Boulevard du Montparnasse, 14e) for fish. Fromagerie Bartélémy (51 Rue du Grenelle, 7e) for heavenly stinky cheeses. The Naturalia organic shops all over Paris.
Hidden treasures around town include…
The passages – arcades with all sorts of treasures for the tourist to explore. Head to Passage Vivienne for toys, books and tearooms, Passage Brady for Indian restaurants, Passage du Grand Cerf, and Galerie Véro-Dodat.
If you have just a day or two to soak up Paris…
Hire a Vélib’ bicycle or catch a bus: No.69 goes from Bastille to the Eiffel Tower – it is a picturesque route through the heart of Paris.
A walk that gives you a feel for the place is…
From Rue des Francs-Bourgeois to Place des Vosges, through the “secret” door [in the south-west corner of the square – open only during the day] to the Hôtel de Sully courtyard and then onto Rue St-Antoine down to the antiques village St-Paul.
Or just take in the view from…
The top of Centre Pompidou. Go to the roof at Chez Georges and, drink in hand, wait for the light to be low enough to catch the Eiffel Tower’s hourly 10-minute light show.
Don’t forget to take home…
A piece of couture from Martin Grant (10 Rue Charlot, 3e) for timeless women’s clothing that will look wonderful for more than 20 years; or a postcard from the Musée d’Orsay of L’Origine du Monde by Gustave Courbet – the most incredible painting and still completely shocking; or a fresh goat’s cheese and a baguette for on the plane.
Sarah de Teliga has an upcoming exhibition in Sydney, which features recent work created in Paris. October 10-28, Helen Stephens Gallery. Website
Source: Qantas The Australian Way September 2009