café crème

Ok, so Café Beaubourg is hardly off the beaten track – it stands in a square of sublime artiness, neighbouring the Centre Pompidou – but it has become my favourite place to stop for a coffee in Paris. The shadow cast over Café Beaubourg was the museum’s pretty much justifying but still annoying strike , just when we wanted to see the Pierre Soulage exhibition.

I posted about Café Beaubourg back in July this year, but I couldn’t resist visiting again (in the name of research), so I’ve got better pics to show you just how yum it really is.

Often described as a haunt of the ‘fash pack/jet set/fashionistas’ or whatever you want to such privileged folk, Café Beaubourg is more BCBG than bobo, but don’t worry, there’s no sectioned off, limited view area for ‘civillians’ (thanks for that, Liz Hurley).

cafe-beaubourg-outside

A café crème (€5.50) on the terrace feels divine after a long day wandering around the city and it’s in a prime spot for watching art students, Marais hipsters and chihuahuas going about their day. In the winter, the terrace is covered heated, but if you really want to warm up, dine on the other side of the red velvet drapes and cosy up on a banquette in between concrete columns and bookcases.

Cafe Beaubourg

Café Beaubourg’s logo-emblazoned sugar lumps and cool soundtrack give away that it’s another outlet from that old paragon of ‘good taste’, Hotel Costes, and I was completely in awe of their amazing lightning bolt cups – kleptos, control yourselves!

cafe-beaubourg-coffee

But most importantly, the search for the best croque madame is temporarily over, as Café Beaubourg’s is a traditional béchamel-smothered 2 slicer, complete with fresh bread and butter and a delicious french salad, drizzled with red wine vinaigrette.

In future posts, you will understand my utter contempt for dry and flimsy pain poilane rip-offs, and believe me, there are many of them in gay Paree.

cafe-beaubourg-croque

It’s a lot more than you’d expect to pay at €13, but it was so rich and filling that we could barely eat our dinner that night. The quality of the food is excellent and it’s in a good location if you find yourself feeling weary or with a rumbling tummy in central Paris.

Unlike the notoriously frosty service at Hotel Costes, our waiter at Café Beaubourg was efficient, polite and even helpful when we asked him about the museum closure, despite having to rush around managing the whole terrace on his own.

Café Beaubourg, 43 Rue St-Merri, 75004 Paris, France

Nearby: Centre Pompidou, Fontaine Stravinski, le Marais, la Seine,

Metro: Rambuteau or Hôtel-de-Ville

Christmas time in London is always magical, with ice skating at Somerset House, German markets in Hyde Park and Covent Garden’s piazza all lit up, but after what feels like a lifetime since the last summer beach holiday, I’m just dying to get away for a few days.

Next month I’m going to Paris (my ‘third home’) for a few nights and now is the time when I obsessively search for the prettiest hotels in the area I want to stay in and then trawl the net for the best deals. For most people may sound like a pain worse than death, not a secret indulgence, so if you’re planning a winter city break, I’ve done some of the leg work and picked out one of the best affordable boutique hotels in Paris.

A while ago, I went to Paris with my mum and as we planned a night at the Opéra Bastille and particularly love the Marais, we booked to stay three nights the affordable design hotel Le Quartier Bastille Le Faubourg in the 12e arondissement.

le quartier reception

The hotel is sleek and contemporary with retro features like curved leather seats, fringing and glass orbs in the reception/lounge. When you arrive, you’re hit with the kind of seductive, wood and musk aroma that you’d expect from Hôtel Costes.

Neutral tones with bold statement colours are the order for the bedrooms and they have cool design touches like perspex chairs, a flatscreen TV and a very touchable fibre optic light feature. The beds are so comfortable that you just can’t wait to curl up in the crisp, cotton linen and catch some zzzs after a long day walking in the city. They also place delicious Granny Smith apples on your pillows each morning to help you get your five a day amid the steak and fromage overload.

le quartier hotel

The best feature of the hotel is its beautiful outside terrace with wooden decking and red tables, beautiful plants and flowers and gardening can watering features. Paris is full of secret courtyards and Paris fashionistas flock to them for brunch or drink with a bit of secluded people-watching.

le quartier hotel

We didn’t have breakfast at the hotel, but we found an adorable bakery on the Rue du Faubourg St-Antoine where you could sit and have a café crème and pastries.

Le Quartier are a small hotel group that used to own a property near République and now also run Le Quartier Bercy-Square on the nearby Boulevard de Reuilly. The staff were friendly, talkative and speak excellent English and there are plenty of coffee table books and magazines like Madame Figaro if you feel like practising you French reading.

Rates start at 110 Euros a night for a double classic room in November and December, but check around the web for the best deals (we paid 95 Euros per night when we stayed).

Le Quartier Bastille Le Faubourg is best suited to second-timers or Paris regulars who are familiar with getting around on the metro. The location doesn’t have the grandeur of the Louvre area or the Left Bank, but you get a boutique hotel with individual design touches without the sky-high prices of more central hotels. It’s one of the best places to sleep in style and still have enough Euros left for a late-night aperitif.

Le Quartier Bastille Le Faubourg, 9 Rue De Reuilly, 75012 Paris

Bon café @ Beaubourg

Boutique Budget Hotel at the Bastille