Passages - MUST SEE NUMBER 19# Paris’s nineteenth-century arcades are gradually being restored to their former glory and are fertile hunting ground for curious and one-off buys.

Puces de St-Ouen - MUST SEE Number 20 - Its easy to lose track of an entire weekend morning browsing the acres of fine antiques, covetable curios and general bric-a-brac at St-Ouen, the mother of Paris’s flea markets.

The St-Ouen market, sometimes called the Clignancourt market, is located just outside the northern edge of the 18 arrondissement, in the suburb of St-Ouen.  Its officially open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 9am to 6:30pm - although this can vary depending on the weather, and many stands are closed on Monday.  Its poular name of les puces de St-Ouen, or the “St-Ouen flea market,” dates from the days when secondhand mattresses, clothes, and other infested junk was sold here in a free-for-all zone outside the city walls.  Nowadays, however, it’s predominantly a proper - and very expensive - antiques market, selling mainly furniture, but also old zinc cafe counters, telephones, traffic lights, posters, jukeboxes and so on.

The closest metro stop is Port-de-Clignancourt (line 4), from where it’s a five-minute walk up the busy avenue de la Porte-de-Clignancourt.  For a slower but quieter approach, you can go to the Porte de St-Ouen stop (line 13) and walk north along the avenue de la Porte de St-Ouen, turning right after the peripherique flyover, and continuing along rue du Dr Barbinski for about ten minutes until it meets rue Jean-Henri-Fabre.

In Saint Germain des Pres of Paris, a few steps from the Luxembourg Gardens and the Place Saint Sulpice, the hotel des Academies et des Arts is a twenty-rooms charm hotel full of character.

Totally renovated in 2007 by the architect Vincent Bastie, the hotel des Academies et des Arts propose you a warm and elegant surrounding in Paris.

Once you have crossed the doors of our hotel, you penetrate into a unique universe.

You will be surprised by the presence of numerous small permanent dwellers, created with subtlety and humour by both artists Jerome Mesnager (painter) and Sophie de Watrigant (sculptor). They seem to have taken place to the slightest hidden nooks…

In the spacious reception area, next to the library, around the chimney, we offer all our guests a quality, traditional and personalized fine service : bar, concierge, Special tours bookings (culture, gastronomy, shopping…). We can also organise golf courses, Turkish baths. We have a cinema room at your disposal where you can watch movies of artists.

Our Continental breakfast is served from 7.15 am until noon. You will enjoy it either in your room or in one of the different atmospheres of our lobby (in the library, the small bistrot or the Art Video room). It consists off a tea selection from Palais des Thes, coffee espresso Illy, bread and pasteries Lenotre, fresh orange juice, fresh fruit salad, yogurt, Echire butter.

Address:
15, rue de la Grande Chaumière
75006 PARIS

Facilities and Services of the Hotel
Breakfast : buffet breakfast
Air conditioning
Internet access
Free wireless connection in public areas
Lift
Laundry service
Lounge

Address 3 rue Mansart

Phone tel: (01) 48 74 48 88 (info)

Transport underground rail: Blanche or Pigalle

Price Range $$

Once owned by the family of actress Jeanne Moreau, the ‘Golden Bell’ has vaudeville charm with its photos of stars, a roaring open fire in winter, and a wonderful house special of steak tartare.