City Guide: Paris on the Eve of the Summer Olympics

Lindsey Tramuta / Vitruoso

Picnic season at the Tuileries Garden.

Sophia van den Hoek

The French capital is getting ready for the games to begin.

A trip to Paris rarely requires a sales pitch, but as the city prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, there are plenty of new reasons to visit. It’s been 100 years since the Games were last held in the capital, and Paris’ pioneering transformation is on full display, from sustainable infrastructure projects to restored cultural jewels such as the Grand Palais, whose nave reopens this summer for fencing and tae kwon do after a nearly four-year renovation (it will open fully in early 2025). Beyond the bike lanes and freshly manicured public squares, the city’s buzzing bar, restaurant, and shopping scenes have never been more compelling. New concepts have merged with freshly refurbished spots in neighborhoods well suited to taking in the Olympic energy.

Mediterranean flavors at Kapara.

Sophia van den Hoek

Eat

The Golden Triangle district is notoriously scene-y and touristy, but chef Frédéric Vardon had the good sense to set up his Le 39V in an intimate cocoon of a space perched on the sixth floor of a Haussmann building off the Champs-Élysées. Opened in 2010, the contemporary French restaurant, with a terroir-driven menu big on quality meats, fish, and seasonal produce, was reimagined in 2021 by the designer Raphael Navot with a celestial theme and an ethereal palette of blues. In its suspended outdoor garden, guests can have a cocktail or a post-meal coffee and get a glimpse – far from the summer crowds – of the Eiffel Tower.

At Kapara near the Tuileries Garden, where the best seat is consistently at the kitchen counter, Mediterranean cooking takes center stage. Chef Zohar Sasson concocts generous dishes such as grilled sea bass served with chickpeas, chard, and a za’atar yogurt sauce; tortellini inspired by sabzi, an Iranian stew; and, for dessert, an olive-oil chocolate mousse sprinkled with fleur de sel. Don’t be surprised if the meal finishes with a round of shots and a bit of dancing with the chef’s team.

Cravan Rive Gauche.

Sophia van den Hoek

Drink

Guests don’t just come to drink creative cocktails at Cravan Rive Gauche (the big sister to owner Franck Audoux’s pocket-size sixteenth-arrondissement bar of the same name), but also for the experience that unfolds across five floors. Belgian designer Ramy Fischler dreamed up three different intimate cocktail bars under one roof, each with its own Dadaist vibe and drinks menu. There’s also a Rizzoli bookshop and an invitation-only rooftop cinema kiosk – quite possibly the world’s smallest movie theater.

Elegant Japanese small plates plus music and mixed drinks: Mesures in the north Marais is the latest in a crop of listening bars inspired by kissa – Japanese cafés that exclusively play music on vinyl.

Marin Montagut.

Sophia van den Hoek

Shop

Multidisciplinary artist Marin Montagut designs whimsical souvenirs, handpainted porcelain dishware, and silk scarves, scented candles, and travel ephemera, all available at his apothecary-style boutique a few blocks from the Luxembourg Garden.

Paris has plenty of housewares shops but little in the way of rustic-chic general stores. The eleventh-arrondissement Landline fills the gap with its selection of ethically made goods, ranging from kitchen essentials, table linens, and art de la table to children’s toys and ready-to-wear, all sourced from within Europe.

Lobby details at SO/ Paris.

Stay

The debut of SO/ Paris’ 162 rooms and suites, along with its fashion-forward restaurant, Bonnie, and Olafur Eliasson’s site-specific mirrored work The Seeing City on the building’s top two floors, gave a needed jolt to a formerly sleepy part of the Marais. The decor plays up retro motifs, and the views, from bar to bedrooms, are some of the city’s best. Virtuoso travelers recieve breakfast daily and a $100 dining credit.

A Parisian Palace hotel with a storied past and unparalleled views of the Eiffel Tower, the Shangri-La Paris is grand in all the best ways. The former home of Prince Roland Bonaparte has 100 rooms and suites, a private garden, and two excellent restaurants, including Shang Palace, the first (and currently the only) Chinese restaurant in France to earn a Michelin star. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 dining credit. 

The Olympic Games and Paris await....

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