In Paris, spring just suddenly happens one day, opening up the City of Love for all the outdoor revelry it’s known to inspire. It’s like a shot of espresso you didn’t know you needed, and it awakens the life within. They’ve made movies about it. The sunlight lingers a little longer on the façades, and the air carries the faint perfume of blossoms. A parade of life and fashion begins. Café terraces fill up with ritual, clinking plates and glinting glasses, while carefree conversations drift along the street. I recently found myself in this sweet window of time, enjoying cinematic experiences, dining en plein air, and surrendering to the Parisian seduction with iconic views all around me.
Rooftops and Reverie
Notre Dame had again been thrilling visitors since its doors opened following a five-year restoration. Its polished limestone gleamed with a renewed luminosity no one alive had ever seen before. The tulips were in full bloom, and the abundant green bouquinistes along the Seine were thriving as if winter had never happened. Beside the cathedral, Square Jean XXIII, where I once rang in a wet, yet joyful New Year, dazzled in the warmth of the midday sun. Paris was suddenly pulsing with life. As I climbed the reconstructed 178-step double-helix staircase through the belfry and big bells en route to the towers, the crowds became incidental. I devoured the cinematic scenery like eye candy.
Paris is food, fashion, art, beauty, and charming historic architecture. Galeries Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement is an elevated sensorial experience that ticks all those boxes inside and out. With Chanel, Dior, Longchamp, you name it, it is a fabulous shopping haven of seductive decadence. Its intricate 1912 Art Nouveau glass dome is dizzyingly gorgeous from every angle, and can be ogled up close from a suspended 30-foot-long glass runway on the third floor. J’adore Belle Époque decadence.
The stunning Parisian grandeur culminates on the eighth-floor rooftop exterior with 360° views of Paris for days. This moment may be best savored with a sauv-blanc or spritz at Galeries Lafayette’s seasonal rooftop restaurant, New Balcon Bistro, a little love letter to Paris tucked behind the velvet ropes. Reservations are advised.
The Parisian skyline was like a sea of iconic, silvery-blue zinc rooftops, a distinctive architectural aesthetic known as the Mansard style. The steep-sloped design dominates Baron Haussmann’s blueprint for the 19th-century design modernization of Paris. In 2024, those rooftops earned their place on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Awestruck and enamored was I, overlooking the stunningly ornate Opéra Garnier and breathing in that panorama of Sacré-Cœur, both of which offer very worthwhile tours. And, yes, the Eiffel Tower is in the picture here too, but have you seen that iron lace beauty close up on a lovely spring morning?
This is Paris.
A Floating Panorama
An evening aboard Ducasse sur Seine offers a unique way to experience Paris’ culinary landscape with majestic views beyond the rooftops. Imagine a floating panorama, gliding effortlessly into the evening along the Seine as the City of Lights flickers on. You’re gliding by landmarks and nightlife along the Seine, seeing the sparkling tower shimmer in the night. Its lights dance upon the water. Few cities are as cohesively interactive as Paris.
The fine-dining atmosphere is elegant inside, and the upper-deck panoramic cabin created a unique multi-course dining experience of authentic Parisian haute cuisine. The inspired Ducasse sur Seine gastronomy cruises were conceived by the 21-Michelin-starred chef, Alain Ducasse. Yes, 21. The menu demands fresh local ingredients and can accommodate a variety of diets. The result is an intimate, multisensory gastronomic journey in an exciting setting like no other. Reservations are required because, of course.
The smooth two-hour sail upon the fully electric vessel began with a silent castoff, giving a sensation of floating on air. The boat was designed by the Chantiers de la Haute Seine engineers to be a fully functional floating restaurant, complete with environmentally sound features. By looking, one might never guess a team of 36 chefs was in a full kitchen below deck, but indeed, everything was prepared on board with Chef Jean-Philippe Berens at the helm down there.
The Michelin Guide restaurant’s manager, Gwenn Raoult, emphasized, ” We never said we couldn’t do it because we’re on a boat. (But) nothing has been sacrificed, not even the sommelier’s shop – an essential element of the French meal.”
The gentle lap of the water was soothing, mingling with the sophisticated lounge playlist. French table service commenced just as smoothly with an amuse-bouche, followed by an array of impeccable presentations. From buttery Caviar Kristal to bright beet royal, to Fromage Blanc Cake and beyond, the menu is designed to be enjoyed in synthesis with the nautical journey, unfolding in a dreamy, fun, and delectable experience.
La Dame de Fer
Behind the tall swaying trees of Champ de Mars, the iron lady towered into the sky one beautiful morning. She’s an iconic, familiar image we are so passively used to, but a real-life encounter with her grandeur, elegance, and intricacies can be genuinely profound. I admired her by the west pillar, watching the smooth precision of the hydraulics and pulleys; part funicular, part lift, and altogether gorgeous. I was fully ready to pop the cork and pull up a chair with a mimosa at Le Jules Verne on Eiffel’s second floor, so I headed toward the dedicated Le Jules Verne lift, and up I went.
With a variety of options to wine and dine, including the champagne bar at the peak, The Eiffel Tower offers a perch in a suspended moment between sky and city at contemporary Jules Verne, 410 feet above Paris. Featuring contemporary and elegant design with panoramic views stretching beyond the iron lattice, the two-star Michelin restaurant offers up a light, unfettered interior design palette, all revealed in a movie moment as soon as the elevator doors slide open.
Once seated, the views served Champ-de-Mars, the Seine, and a slow choreography of the city below, as champagne poured. Under the direction of Chef Frédéric Anton, the dishes are composed and refined. The welcoming servers tended to well-dressed guests, many in town for Roland-Garros tennis matches, with friendly pleasantries.
Boasting seasonal and local ingredients and often dressed in rich sauces, the menu was both sophisticated and playful with definite artisan refinements. Vegetarians would be advised to notify the kitchen in advance. Secretly, I was there to satiate my cravings and curiosity about Le Jules Verne’s Chef Patissier, Kevin Rabateaud, who deservedly shares the spotlight here with his strawberry creation that some call “summer on a spoon.”
What makes dining in Paris so memorable is the atmosphere. Whether perched on a rooftop, walking along the river, nestled by the Eiffel Tower, or drifting along the Seine, each table offers a new perspective on the city; an engaging cinematic one. Paris doesn’t just feed your creative soul, it surrounds you, seduces you, and invites you to linger just a little longer.
