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Record Paris: Top Places for a Top Weekend

Beatrice Lessi

There are endless top places in Paris, so every time you visit you can get to know a new one, have another spectacular meal and visit another record-breaking event. This time I saw the most expensive car in the world, the most spectacular cappuccino , the most popular statues by Rodin, and the craziest restaurant among the top 50 in the world. So here’s my list – maybe you’ll get inspired for your next Paris weekend!

The Most Expensive Car in the World

Retro Mobile is a famous event for vintage cars. Its auction, this year, estabilished a new record: the most expensive car ever sold. It is a Ferrari 355S Spider Scaglietti, made in 1957, that fetched 32.1 m Euro . What makes it so special? Its beauty, perfect state, and above all its history. I was so fascinated by it, that I bought a whole book about it – write to me if you want to know which races, pilots and victories have been part of this car’s past.

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The security guard is checking my behaviour in front of the most expensive car in the world – I am trying to behave! Biker jacket and bag by Comma.

The Most Spectacular Cappuccino in Paris

To my knowledge, there isn’t a more impressive cappuccino than the one you can experience in a boutique hotel in Place del Vosges that is a real gem of Paris: Le Pavillon de la Reine. The interior design is sleek and modern, yet warm because of the mix of old and new. The cappuccino is as Royal as it gets: served in the most pompous cup.

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Luxurious, frothy, fit for a Princess: a gem in the heart of Paris

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Under the antique arches of Place des Vosges

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The exterior of boutique Hotel Le Pavillon de la Reine

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Statues at the entrance. Cachemire twin-set: Caren Pfleger. Backpack: Gucci. Boots: Miu Miu

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One of the breakfast rooms: the library

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Orchids and foliage

The Most Popular Statues by Rodin

I had never been at the Musee Rodina delicious small museum packed with an incredible amount of statues that clearly show how hard Rodin trained at his job all his life, and how intense his passion for art was. Two of the statues are real internet stars, and iconic images: The Kissand The Thinker

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Intense and romantic: the Kiss, by Rodin

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Endlessly copied and reproduced: The Thinker. At the Musee Rodin- Bracelets by Swarovski, cachemire poncho Caren Pfleger

The Hottest Restaurant in Paris

A former stonemason and gardener, Inaki Aizpitarte is one of the top talents in the new, so-called movement of bistronomie (high gastronomy in reasonably priced bistros). His restaurant, Le Chateaubriand, is n. 21 in the San Pellegrino Guide of the world’s best restaurants. Aizpitarte’s colourful history and manners have seen him portrayed as a radical and rock ’n’ roll chef – an image that has helped give him an international profile and made Le Chateaubriand one of the hottest restaurants in Paris. The whole staff, indeed, doesn’t behave like you would expect in such a high-profile venue. In the evening I visited, the waitress was wearing leather shorts and some piercings, and sat near my husband to take the order. She proposed us a surprise menu, which we immediately accepted. An incredible amount of fast-walking young people kept coming to the table and serving us a great variety of contrasting flavours and dishes. The food was amazing – the wine, apparenty, more disputable (I don’t drink, so I can’t judge). Easy, fun atmosphere and absolute top quality: a very refreshing change in the world of cooking.

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Fun, relaxing, top-notch: Le Chateaubriand restaurant in Paris. Photo: foodsnobblog.wordpress.com

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Inaki Aizpirarte. Photo: allstarchefclassic.com

 

 

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