Orientation & History
Our neighborhood—le quartier Batignolles—is home to all the niceties of everyday life that make being in Paris a spectacular experience. The quartier is crisscrossed by cobblestone streets lined with cafés, neighborhood restaurants, and merchants of every sort. Batignolles is located in the center of the 17th Arrondissement, nestled between Montmartre, l'Arc de Triomphe and l'Opéra. This is the real Paris!

Batignolles grew from a small village of country houses built by the elites of Paris during the First Empire. When the residents needed a church, King Charles X and Madame la duchesse d'Angoulême personally donated the funds to build the exquisite Église Sainte-Marie des Batignolles. The church, overlooking la Place du Docteur Félix-Lobligeois just three blocks from the apartment, still serves Batignolles residents, both spiritually and as a venue for classical music concerts.

Morning Start
A perfect day begins with a leisurely breakfast of fresh pastries from the boulangerie just across the street. Enjoy your breakfast on the balcony overlooking the street as it comes to life. After breakfast, explore the neighborhood on foot. Small storefronts are filled with bakers, antiques dealers, newstands and florists. The people of Batignolles are warm and friendly. Within a day or two, you'll be the recipient of familiar smiles and greetings of "bonjour."

The Square des Batignolles is perfect for a mid-morning rest. This neighborhood park was part of Napoleon III's plan for beautifying Paris. More than a century later, it is still the largest green space in the 17th Arrondissement. The park, designed in the naturalistic English style, features a koi pond, a rushing stream, flocks of wild birds, and a tremendous array of majestic old trees including a curiosity from the New World—a giant California redwood. Nor are man-made pleasures forgotten. Children will enjoy the antique carousel and playgrounds, while adults can partake in a rousing traditional game of pétanque.

Midday Relaxation
When in Paris, do as the Parisians do! Enjoy a lengthy lunch in one of the many cafés and bistrots in the neighborhood. Your choices are almost endless—classic French, Russian, seafood, Vietnamese, vegetarian—everything is right here. We have included some of our favorite restaurants in our Links page.

Afternoon Exploration
A pretty afternoon is perfectly suited to adventures further afield. Montmartre lies just to the east. This tallest hill in Paris, best known as the home of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, is one of the city's quirkiest neighborhoods. Time seems frozen in the era of Toulouse-Lautrec in the back streets, while the main thoroughfares at the bottom of the hill are crowded with tourists. The neighborhood has countless wonderful cafés and restaurants, as well as artists' studios, bookstores, museums, historic cemetaries, windmills, and Paris' only remaining working vineyard.

Shopping in Paris is like nowhere else in the world and many of the most famous stores are just a short ride away by Métro. The queen of les grands magasins—Les Galeries Lafayette—is just a 15-minute ride away. Its smaller sister, Printemps, is nearby. A few stops further will bring you to la Place Vendôme, home to most of the world's greatest jewelers, including Cartier, Mikimoto, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Chaumet, Piaget and Bulgari. The area around rue Drouot and rue de la Grange Batelière is the site of the famed Drouot auction rooms and dozens of antiques shops. And finally, there is the haute couture district along rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and rue Montaigne.

For less sophisticated, but perhaps even more charming shopping, try the home decor and craftsmen's shops along rue des Batignolles or the incredible food markets along rue de Lévis and rue des Moines. Here you'll find some of Paris' best selection of artisanal cheeses, hand-cut meats, wild honeys and other delicacies.

Paris has famous museums such as the Musée du Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, but there are dozens of lesser-known specialist museums that are well worth a visit. Many of these are quite close to the apartment and are easy to reach by Métro. Le Musée de la Vie Romantique, le Musée de la Parfumerie Fragonard, le Musée Cernuschi, le Musée Jacquemart-André, le Musée de Montmartre, le Musée d'Art Juif, l'Espace Salvador Dali, and le Musée d'Éroticisme all have some of the city's more interesting collections.

Evening Adventures
Assuming you've made your reservation a few weeks in advance, chef Alexandre Mathieu will bring your day to a perfect close with an extraordinary dinner at his nearby restaurant, Le Bistral. Alex is a brilliant young chef, trained in a Michel 3-star kitchen. His style features inventive and surprising preparations of impeccably fresh seasonal foods complemented by selections from a fine wine cellar.

Late Night Carousing
Surprisingly, our neighborhood is just a few blocks from the all-night fun of the area stretching from the Place de Clichy to the Place Pigalle. Here, in the midst of Paris' historic adult playground, you'll find the lights of the Moulin Rouge and hear the echoes of Edith Piaf on every street corner. There are innumberable late-night restaurants, bars, nightclubs and cafés to serve the thousands of eager night owls out on the streets. Only Paris could manage to have a red light district that is somehow balanced with a sense of innocence and tacky, good-natured fun! As you walk back to the apartment and the neighborhood grows remarkably quieter and more intimate, you'll be more amazed than ever that a retreat such as Batignolles could exist shoulder to shoulder with the Paris of legend!