By  Amy Barnard and Amy Thomas

At first appearances it would seem impossible to keep fit in Paris—there are so many exquisite, edible temptations on every street. My own street features seven (yes, you read that right, seven) boulangeries/patisseries and a chocolaterie. Thanks a bunch. But as the saying goes, it’s all swings and roundabouts. There are patisseries every 10 paces, but there are also many apartment buildings that don’t have elevators. Living on the fourth floor of a building without one has gone a long way to reduce my need for a gym membership.

The real key to staying fit in Paris is learning to look at the issue from a different angle. Yes, there are sweet and savory treats everywhere, and as a visitor they’re especially tempting, but moderation is the heart of it. You’ll notice that these goodies are often much smaller in size than they are in the US or UK. They’re gooier too, meaning messier to eat, meaning you can’t eat them on the go. Instead you take your time and realize there’s really no need for another. Everyone’s a winner!

But if you feel you simply must do a little detoxing, the following places will help you.

Try a juice bar—especially Bob’s Juice Bar and owner Marc Grossman’s newer offshoot, Bob’s Kitchen. The “bio bagel” lunch at Le Garde-Robe, not far from the Louvre, is also an easy option.

Le Grenier de Notre Dame is Paris’s oldest veggie restaurant, and Le Potager du Marais is a very popular choice. Saveurs Végét’Halles doesn’t have loads of ambience, but it has a thorough veg menu.

And don’t forget all the amazing outdoor markets—including two organic (bio, en français) options, Raspail and Batignolles, though every quartier has its own local produce markets once, if not twice, a week. These are really inspirational, with heaps of fruits and vegetables that just beg to be bought and experimented on.

Eating well is only half of keeping fit, of course. You also have to keep moving, and in Paris there’s nothing easier. One of the top ways is to walk, especially along the Seine. With the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Grand Palais and other landmarks to feast your eyes on, it’s possible to clock in some serious mileage without even realizing it. The Bois de Boulogne, Bois de Vincennes and Parc des Buttes Chaumont (including that killer hill) also offer beautiful paths to follow.

There’s also the metro. Contradiction? Maybe. On the one hand, you can easily walk around central Paris if time is on your side. If not, hop on the metro, where the long connections at some stations will have you walking farther than you realize. Then be sure to use the stairs rather than the escalator for changing lines.

Another tip: Vélibs. Praise them. There are dozens of stations scattered around the city; and biking is a truly Parisian way to see the city, look cool and work your legs all at once. The 24-7 rentals are just 1 euro per bike (plus supplemental costs, depending how long you ride), and you can pick it up and drop it off wherever is most convenient for you.

If you need the communal vibe, the Centre de Yoga du Marais is a popular expat option, with classes seven days a week. On the left bank you can work up a sweat in style at the swish Rasa, which offers a range of different yoga styles. Élément also offers yoga, but its real draw is Pilates. Mat and machine classes, private and group, for beginners and aficionados, are offered in clean, modern facilities.

Plenty of pools and gyms in Paris offer one-day passes. At the Club Quartier Latin, in the 5th Arrondissement, you can swim laps, play squash or practice tai chi. The massive Vit’Halles, centrally located at Les Halles, and the 22 branches of Club Med Gym are other outlets that have passes.

Le Garde-Robe
41, rue de l'Arbre Sec, in the 1st Arrondissement.
01 49 26 90 60.

Le Grenier de Notre Dame
18, rue de la Bûcherie, in the 5th.
01 43 29 98 29.

Marché Batignolles
Blvd des Batignolles, from rue des Batignolles to rue Boursault, in the 17th.
Sat, 9–2.

Editor's note: After getting healthy, why not indulge in our chocolate and pastry do-it-yourself walking tour?

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By Amy Barnard

Think of the Marais, and hundreds of hip boutiques spring to mind, leaving you feeling like a little girl in a sweetshop, dizzy on sugar, unsure where to start. While that’s certainly one impression you might have of the neighborhood, there’s another, older facet to the area. Centered here is a strong Jewish community, with a rich and tragic history, that has recently been revived.

A medieval scholar of Jewish communities first called the area ha-ir hagedolah (Hebrew for “that great city”), in the 13th century, just before all Jews were expelled. They didn’t return until the 19th century, when they again settled in the Marais. Rue des Rosiers was and is the hub around the square known as the Pletzl (Yiddish for “little square”), where there are now many Orthodox bookshops and Jewish bakeries.

If you look above the doorway opposite the bakery with the sculpture while standing in the Pletzl, you will see one of the first signs of tragedy. The plaque is dedicated to two families that lived there, who were deported to the death camps between 1942 and 1944, including children aged 12, 2, and 1 month.

Walk farther along rue des Rosiers and turn to the right, along rue Pavée. At No. 10 stands an Art Nouveau–style Orthodox synagogue, Agudath Hakehilot. First built in 1914 by Hector Guimard (the architect of the Art Nouveau–style metro stations), it was blasted by the Nazis on Yom Kippur in 1940 and has since been rebuilt in the same style. You can visit the synagogue, but because it is Orthodox, large mixed groups are not considered appropriate.

Crossing the rue de Rivoli toward the Seine, you’ll find the Mémorial de la Shoah museum on rue Geoffroy l’Asnier, dedicated to the French Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The museum starts with the Wall of Names, which lists the name of each Jewish victim deported from France, in alphabetical order and by year of deportation. If the memorial were no more than that wall, it would still be a very strong statement. It leaves you feeling very cold. The permanent exhibition in the basement is extensive, and unrelenting, filled with personal stories. One thing that is really brought home by this museum is just how active a role the Vichy government played during the time of the deportations. The room dedicated to the “Jew files” compiled by the Nazis and Vichy policemen on each French Jewish family and individual is one example. Seeing the names in faded ink made my stomach turn over more than once.

Back in the Pletzl, the atmosphere is now vibrant, and the cafés are buzzing, especially around l’As du Fallafel. A contemporary Israeli restaurant with a young clientele, it serves the best falafel you’ll find outside the Mediterranean.

INFO

Agudath Hakehilot
10, rue Pavée, in the 4th.

Editor's note: For a guided tour of Jewish Paris, consult one of our partners, Rachel Kaplan or Richard Nahem.

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By Amy Barnard

Parc des Buttes Chaumont, from the south.

Chances are, if you’ve been to Paris once or twice already, you’ve already seen it from on high—the Sacré-Coeur steps, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the bell towers of Notre-Dame. All offer virtuoso vistas of the ville. So why a piece on Paris from heights when you’ve probably done it already? And isn’t that a bit, well, touristy?

Don’t fret. We’re heading deep into the northern wilderness—Belleville, to be exact. This vibrant quartier has dibs on two of the best parks in the city. Parc de Belleville is a real little jewel. Situated on a hill, Belleville is simply a public park—no frills, no statues. What it does have going for it is, of course, the view, which extends all the way to the Eiffel Tower, on the other side of the city, and beyond. The view is certainly equal to Montmartre, but with the blessed absence of souvenir peddlers and jostling elbows. I spent most of the Fête de la Musique here soaking up the sunshine and the sights.

Parc de Belleville.

The other jewel in Belleville’s crown is the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, which has a feel very similar to London’s Hampstead Heath. Wander around the lake at the bottom, past the waterfall, and make your way up to the pavilion by the bridge. Climb higher (it's pretty steep) onto the circular walkway and breathe in, avoiding bounding dogs and Parisian joggers. (I swear, despite rumors to the contrary, that they do exist, and this is where most of them are furtively practicing this apparently un-French activity.) It's not always possible to see the landmarks from up here, but you will be rewarded with a different angle of the Parisian skyline.

From here we head downhill, in a straight(ish) line, past the Bastille, and hop over to the left bank, to the Institut du Monde Arabe and its panoramic rooftop restaurant, Zyriab. The view here is also beautiful, especially of the Seine and the rear of Notre-Dame, which appears to hover over the Île de la Cité protectively, like a chicken nesting on eggs. Be aware, however, that the restaurant has a strict policy on dining hours. When I tried to wrangle just a coffee during lunch (noon to 3 p.m.), I was strongly rebuffed—despite the restaurant's emptiness and my best wheedling French. Still, the scenery, if not the service, is spectacular.

Parc de Belleville
47, rue des Couronnes, in the 20th Arrondissement.
Metro: Couronnes, Belleville or Pyrénées.

Parc des Buttes Chaumont
Rue Botzaris, rue Manin and rue de Crimée, in the 19th.
Metro: Buttes Chaumont, Laumière or Botzaris.

Zyriab by Noura
Institut du Monde Arab, 9th floor.
1, rue des Fosses-St. Bernard, in the 5th.
01 55 42 55 42.
Tues–Sat, 11 a.m.–11:30 p.m. (with reservation).
Sun: lunch only. Closed Mon.

For more great spots where you can enjoy Parisian scenery, read our guide Special Places to Take It All In. To read about day and weekend trips, click here.

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By Amy Barnard

It’s not only the weather in Paris that’s taken cues from Eastern Europe at the moment—dance circles are abuzz over the centenary of legendary Russian choreographer and dancer Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (Russian Ballet). The company debuted in Paris in 1910 amid a frenzy of press. Later ballets such as 1917's Scheherazade made him and costar Vaslav Nijinsky celebrities. The performances were so inventive for their time, and so different from French ballet; they captured the public’s imagination with timeless and spicy tales of love, jealousy, betrayal and general skulduggery.

Several Parisian institutions are paying homage this season. Now, I’m mad about dance but generally not a ballet fan. Dying swans bore me and I find myself wishing they’d hurry up and get on with it. I make an exception for the Ballets Russes, however, since they’re so vibrant and engaging.

The Opéra Garnier is holding an exhibition devoted to the Ballets Russes, including models of sets and costumes, through May 23. I thought I'd focus on this one, since there's a certain cachet to seeing the objects under the roof of the house where many of the ballets were performed. The exhibition is heavy on illustrations, and with good reason—there are costume designs by Matisse and Picasso! It’s interesting to see the shift in style displayed in the collection, from the first performances in the early 1900s through the late 1920s, from Art Nouveau to the beginnings of Cubism, which the company helped promote.

Look out for a telegram discussing artistic changes to be made to a performance, as well as Stravinsky’s notebook, with rough drafts of various scores for the ballets. Also notable are the photos of Nijinsky, for the way he has been captured inhabiting the roles of the faun and Krishna.

And, of course, there are the original costumes for Scheherazade, designed by Leon Bakst, the ones that almost single-handedly sparked the craze for orientalism in fashion and interior design—a trend that continued through the 1920s and inspired the designer Paul Poiret and many others. To see these costumes is to encounter an important piece of fashion history.

As with many museum shows in Paris, there’s no English information, but the individual tags contain the important names and dates, which are very hard to lose in translation.

Bonus: the Centre National de la Danse is also hosting an exhibition and a program of events devoted to the Ballets Russes, through April 10.

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By Amy Barnard

The Institut du Monde Arabe (Institute of the Arab World), in the 5th Arrondissement, is at once a museum, a library and a cultural center. I had been to concerts here once or twice before but hadn’t toured the museum.

I had come down to pick up the program for their current belly-dance shows (more on this later) and decided, while I was there, to check it out for your benefit and see their current exhibition, "Arts de l’Islam." The show starts with artifacts found across Central Asia and the Middle East from the pre-Islamic period, including many Greek-influenced objects and some beautiful mosaics from Roman Tunisia. It then moves into pottery styles, carpet and jewelry, though the stars of the museum collection are the illuminated manuscripts and calligraphy. It also includes medical and astronomical instruments, illustrating just how much more advanced in these areas the Arab world was in the pre-Renaissance period.

The exhibition is very worthwhile (especially if it would be your first experience with Arab art), as it is unusually broad. Normally such exhibitions are on a specific area—Ottoman Turkey, say, or Persia. Here I noticed pottery from North Africa, drawings from Mogul India, Turkish pieces and, possibly my favorite form, Persian miniatures. These tiny drawings are exquisite, worked in mind-boggling detail and controversial: they portray human forms, traditionally verboten in Islamic art (here’s not the place for the details on how they got away with it). The show also includes more calligraphy and beautiful geometric designs.

As with a lot of museums in Paris, there isn’t any written info in English . . . audio guide to the rescue! (5 euros.)

The Institut is holding a series of belly-dance shows until April—a great move, since Middle East cultural centers often shy away from this entertainment, which doesn’t help its image. If you’re feeling inspired, there are belly-dance drop-in classes available in Paris. No need to sign up. Just pay for your hour-and-a-half class at Centre de Danse du Marais or Centre Momboye when you get there.

Upcoming Belly-Dance Shows at IMA

Feb 13  Flowers . . . until the end of the earth 
Paola Ruggeri and Gul Hacer Torok

Mar 2  Oriental Cabaret 
Isabelle Delle Castelle and troupe

Apr 17  Oriental Lights 
Annaba Company

Tickets range from 19 to 26 euros and can be purchased online or at the ticket office at the Institut.

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By Amy Barnard

The Museum of Letters and Manuscripts
8, rue de Nesle, in the 6th Arrondissement.
Wed, 1–9 p.m; Tues and Thurs–Sun, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Closed Mon. Annual closure: Nov 1–Dec 10.*

I have a confession—I hate emails. As a way of doing business they're tolerable, a necessary evil. Second confession—I write letters. Just tell me you aren’t twice as thrilled to open an envelope addressed to you from a friend or lover as you are to open something in your inbox. Perhaps this is why I love the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts as much as I do.

Still, even if you’re not similarly inclined, there’s much at this tiny museum to amaze: more than 2,000 documents, by some pretty big names. Einstein’s brainwaves on the theory of relativity are recorded in scribbled notes to a friend. Baudelaire bitches about money. Catherine de Médicis writes to her housekeepers. (I half expected to find a line reading, "Leave the final seasoning to me.") A telegram from the Titanic reveals the utterly business-oriented arrangements of an upper-class marriage of the day.

The whole of the upper floor is devoted to Napoleon: letters in the man’s own hand detailing battle maneuvers to his generals, political edicts and such. But the letters of his I would most want to read, to Josephine, are not on display here. Call it voyeurism if you want, but I prefer to file it under "journalistic curiosity."

N.B. All information provided is in French only, though there are English leaflets available at the desk.

*Check the website before your visit; the museum is closing for part of spring 2010 in order to move to a new location on boulevard St.-Germain.

Fragonard Museum and Perfumery
On rue Scribe: 9, rue Scribe, in the 9th. 01 47 42 04 56.
Mon–Sat, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sun and holidays, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
On blvd des Capucines: 39, blvd des Capucines, in the 2nd.
01 42 60 37 14. Mon–Sat, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

The Fragonard perfume house is also home to two small museums that explore the processes of perfume making and display collections of antique perfume flacons.These free museums (one on rue Scribe and the other on boulevard des Capucines) are a lovely way to spend half an hour or so. If you have time for only one of them, I’d recommend the larger rue Scribe location, with its beautiful 18th-century rooms, ornate moldings and gilt.

The different antique methods of extracting scent from flowers and herbs are documented, and there are different machines and contraptions, scales, vials and other apparatuses, all of which invite comparisons with alchemy. I always find myself amazed at this type of thing, thinking, What accident led to this discovery?

Also wonderful are the perfume bottles on display, including examples from some of the earliest civilizations up through the 1950s. There’s English Wedgwood from the 18th century, tiny travel toilette sets and miniature bottles designed to be pinned to clothing—so mind-bogglingly tiny it’s a marvel that anything could ever have been decanted into them. There’s also a small collection of "comedy" porcelain perfume bottles in human form with various holes . . . Well, you see where this is going.

There’s also an interactive element, a sensory guessing game where you can sniff pomades and try to identify the raw scent—orange or rosemary, for example. I pinched a little rose pomade from the pot to wear as perfume. A week later, my scarf still smells of it.

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By Amy Barnard

Edith Piaf

Born in Belleville, Paris, the singer who became known as the Little Sparrow had an early life most would consider not exactly rosy. More or less abandoned by her parents as an infant, she was discovered as a musician in 1935.

Her popularity in France skyrocketed, though she was not popular at first in the US; Americans found her too dismal.

It’s true that for American audiences of the time—accustomed as they were to Busby Berkeley–style musicals and upbeat music—Piaf must have seemed very dreary. To some people, she still does. To me, Piaf is wonderful in very small doses.

Whatever your tastes, her work is the epitome of French music of this period—cabaret or the intensely French chanson.

Her most famous tracks include “La Vie en rose,” penned in 1945 and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Her last hit was in 1961, two years before she died, the appropriately titled “Non, je ne regrette rien.”

Her fame was secured during a series of concerts she gave in the late 1950s and early ’60s at the Olympia music hall (still going strong as one of Paris’s top venues for national and international artists).

These concerts were made into recordings that have never gone out of print. Now they’re even on iTunes. Which means they are available as a great primer on Piaf. Alternatively, there’s a free download available here.

Another way to sample her music is through the acclaimed 2007 movie about her life, La Vie en rose, directed by Olivier Dahan.

Serge Gainsbourg

Gainsbourg is the creator of the legendary “Je t’aime moi non plus,” the steamy song featuring sounds of a female orgasm. It was widely banned (yes, even in France) in 1969.

Definitely no looker himself, he gained a reputation as a great lover, thanks to his relationships with both Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin.

Constantly experimental, he moved from chanson through jazz and into pop in the 1960s.

Gainsbourg had a real love of puns, and his lyrics were always chock-full of double entendre. “Les Sucettes” (The Lollipops) got him into real trouble when he had it recorded by a young female artist—she had thought it an innocent song about enjoying sweets, but most people saw through to his real intention.

In 2005 the album Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited was released by Virgin Records. It’s a collection of specially recorded English-language cover versions of Gainsbourg's songs, laid down by artists such as Franz Ferdinand, Portishead, Placebo and Michael Stipe.

Author’s Note: Gainsbourg’s supercool actress/musician daughter Charlotte has just released an album with Beck. Check it out here. I’m running out to buy it now.

Georges Brassens

A poet and songwriter, Brassens wrote lyrics that are very difficult to translate, though it has been done many times and in many languages. His anarchist songs were occasionally banned, especially “Le Gorille”—a song ostensibly about a gorilla sodomizing a judge, but in essence a comment on the difference in attitude when the scenario is the other way around.

Try “Les Amoureux des bancs publiques,” about young lovers kissing on park benches and upsetting the uptight.

I also recommend “La Mauvaise Reputation”: “Mais les braves gens n’aiment pas qu’on le suive un autre route qu’eux” (But the brave people don’t like the one that follows a different road than they do).

Brassens is most noted for his lyrics rather than his music (he usually accompanied himself on acoustic guitar). He’s a great incentive to improve your French—I’m working on it.

Johnny Hallyday

Hallyday is France’s answer to Presley. An absolute icon in France, he started singing rock and roll in French in the 1960s. He’s been dubbed “the biggest rock star you’ve never heard of” by English-speaking listeners.

His last three albums, released in 2007, 2008 and 2009—“Le Coeur d’un homme,” “Ça ne finira jamais” and “Tour 66”—all reached the number-one spot in France.

Or you can try his 1960 recording “Hello Johnny,” for the Elvis-style sound that launched his career. Listen to free samples here. 

Françoise Hardy

Undisputed mistress of 1960s French ye-ye pop and style. Her first record, Oh, oh cheri, was created by Johnny Hallyday’s writing duo and came out in 1962. Her own B-side, “Tous les garçons et les filles,” became another hit.

Some of my favorite tracks include “Mon amie la rose,” “Le Temps de l’amour” and “Le Premier Bonheur du jour.” Listen here.

Yann Tiersen

Tiersen is best known outside France for composing the sound track to Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film Amélie. It's low-key, atmospheric stuff.

Tiersen focuses on piano, accordion and violin. He’s best suited to small cabaret-style gigs, where his music can be fully appreciated, as it can get lost in a festival setting.

Try his 1998 album Le Phare, which brought him into the spotlight in France, or the more recent L’Absent (2001), or Les Retrouvailles (2005). Click here for a sampling.

AIR (Amour, Imagination, Rêve/Love, Imagination, Dream)

For this French electronica/ambient duo, the second album, Moon Safari (1998), was a huge success in Europe—I had all the singles—and Sexy Boy and Kelly Watch the Stars are still great! I’d recommend these two to start with.

They composed the sound track for The Virgin Suicides and were featured on the sound track for the film Marie Antoinette as well. AIR also recorded a hugely popular DJ mix album, Late Night Tales, for the Late Night Tales series in 2006.

Their latest album, Love 2, was released last year. You can sample it on their MySpace page.

Nouvelle Vague

Nouvelle Vague is a French cover band that takes old New Wave classics and redoes them in a bossa nova style. Their three albums are the eponymous Nouvelle Vague (2004), Bande à Part (2006) and 3 (2009). Covered songs include “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve),” by the Buzzcocks, and “Killing Moon,” by Echo and the Bunnymen. It makes great background chill-out music.

Yelle

This French electro/electropop singer shot to fame on MySpace with a song mocking a member of a Parisian hip-hop group.

Her first single, “Je veux te voir,” was a big hit and led to her debut album, Pop-up, in 2007. She had other hits from this album, “Ce Jeu” and “A Cause des garçons.”

She’s currently rumored to be working on new material—check her out on MySpace.

Editor’s Note: If you are a lover of old-time French chanson, you can listen to it on your computer as you work and pretend you are in the Paris of the 1930s!

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By Amy Barnard | January 15, 2010

O’Kari Hammam
22, rue Dussoubs, in the 2nd Arrondissement.
01 42 36 94 66. Email: contact@o-kari.com.
All female, by appointment only.

Tucked down a small alley off rue Réaumur, through a courtyard with a code, lies O’Kari, a small Arabian oasis in central Paris. Stepping through the sliding door, I was warmly greeted at reception by Karima, behind whom were displayed stacks of soaps—Alep soap, black soap (made from olive oil and eucalyptus), all handmade by Karima and to be used in the spa treatments. Sounded good to me.

Led into the changing room, I received an enormous fluffy robe that had been gently warmed, along with a little paper G-string to wear for the hammam and treatments. I made myself comfortable on the sofa in the refreshment room for a few minutes while waiting for my beautician. Served with a little glass of mint tea and dates, I took a look around. This room was very tastefully decorated in white, with black-and-white portrait photos from the Maghreb (North Africa), whereas the open-plan changing room was done in warm earth colors. Yet there didn’t appear to be a space for the hammam tradition of having somewhere to lie down and take a little snooze afterward—if you don’t need a nap, you haven’t done the hammam properly!

Here there’s a French-Arab mentality when it comes to nudity: when Leslie, my beautician, arrived, my robe was taken immediately and I was led through the spa in the paper G-string. The treatments also take place in full view of other patrons. For those used to Western spas and who have not used a hammam before, this is just something to be aware of. Leslie talked me through how it works, and I went into the steam and started to unwind. The room was tiled with a slight vaulted effect and contained a small fountain and taps with cold water, along with an authentic silver metal bowl for dousing yourself with cold water when required.

After a while I was led out in order to be covered in thick black soap—this mixture works wonderfully to deep cleanse and prepare the skin for exfoliation—and sent back into the steam. I was really beginning to relax by now, to the extent that I can remember no more about the steam room, other than to tell you it was at a thoughtfully pitched temperature, very misty but not too hot, and lightly scented with eucalyptus.

A little later I was led to a slightly heated slab and lay down for a very thorough and professional exfoliation from Leslie, who worked her way down to the soles of my feet with a pumice stone and even paid attention to my cuticles—mini-manicure/pedicure included!

After that came a lathering with Alep soap, which is wonderfully rehydrating; my hair was washed and scalp and shoulders lightly massaged. The Alep soap did a really good job of deep cleansing my skin (along with the steam), though I felt I did need just a little lotion on my face after.

It was a beautifully relaxing experience, and the spa does succeed in taking many of the best aspects of the hammam and fusing them with those of a Western spa. O’Kari is exactly that: it is neither a traditional hammam nor a Western spa, which is often a more private experience. It is a wonderful mélange.

By Amy Barnard

De Byzance à Istanbul
Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais
Through January 25

“De Byzance à Istanbul” is an ambitious exhibition chronicling the many faces of this incredible port city, from prehistoric to Roman civilization, from Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire. I was especially interested to see what they would come up with; having lived there myself, I have a strong attachment to the city.

Luckily, I was not at all disappointed. In the first room of the exhibition I spotted several items I had seen in situ, such as Byzantine floor mosaics, which have been perfectly transplanted to Paris. There are several Byzantine treasures on display, but the one that most caught my attention was something I’d never seen before. At the end of the room there’s a detailed sketch of a fort with notes in Italian—done by a Venetian spy.

As you walk upstairs to the Ottoman room, you encounter an innovative video, possibly my favorite part of the exhibition. A curved installation on the ceiling with projections gives you re-creations of the intricate paintings on the domes of Istanbul. It’s so beautifully done, so realistic, you could almost be there.

The Ottoman section is fantastic, with lots of exhibits taken straight from the sultan’s Topkapi Palace—the jewel-encrusted daily items are the stuff of legend. If I had one criticism, it would be that I felt there was too much space given at the end to the artifacts uncovered during the extension of the Istanbul metro. One prehistoric pottery shard looks much like another to the untrained eye . . .

Also see: “At the Court of the Great Turk: Kaftans from Topkapi Palace,” at the Louvre (through January 18). Yes, yes another Turkish exhibition—I’m biased, perhaps, but Paris is holding a Turkish cultural season until March. What could be better than to see the art of two great cultures in one place?

And while you’re at the Grand Palais, don’t miss “Renoir in the 20th Century” (through January 4).

“We Want Miles”
Cité de la Musique
Through January 17

Jazz giant Miles Davis is the subject of an extensive exhibition covering everything from his early work to his later funk incarnations. It’s a jazz lover/Miles enthusiast’s paradise. There’s plenty to listen to, obviously. The exhibition provides headphones at the entrance to use in the ‘‘plug and play’’ outlets, where you can hear other samples from the extensive collection and, later, interviews with the man himself. There’s plenty of memorabilia—keep your eyes peeled for the poem about the little boy by Miles in a music magazine. The sample of the sound track from Ascenseur pour l’Echafaud (Elevator to the Scaffold), starring Jeanne Moreau, is perfectly moody and atmospheric.

The exhibition is not very clearly structured or labeled, so make sure you look into every little nook and cranny and open closed doors, or you’ll miss half of it.

Also see: “Fellini,” at the Jeu de Paume (through January 17). Still shots from some of Fellini’s most treasured movies, including, of course, La Dolce Vita. The exhibition focuses on uncovering Fellini’s methods and processes in realizing his art form.

By Amy Barnard

Au Nain Bleu (Blue Dwarf) is a little wonderland. Spread over two storefronts, across the road from l’Église de la Madeleine in the 8th Arrondissement, it’s decorated like a circus tent and has the air of an Aladdin’s cave. I’m greeted upon entrance by pedal cars and even an airplane, complete with Biggles goggles. WANT. And this is me at 26.

Here they specialize in old-fashioned handcrafted toys as well as more modern items. Russian dolls, toy soldiers and all kinds of wooden puzzles and blocks—they’re all here. Craft kits also abound. There’s everything from bracelet making to nuclear fusion kits (more or less).

Little kitchen reproductions (which include a sketched grocery list) come in a variety of styles and are beautifully carved in wood, not molded in garish plastic. Little baskets of utensils are also available.

There’s a wide range of costumes, too—perfect additions to any self-respecting dress-up box. Quite a way’s from the ubiquitous fairy and princess dresses is the boys' department. There are the obvious pirate outfits and military uniforms, but my personal favorites are the Zorro and the Musketeers costumes. Excuse me, where can I find a size 38?

If dolls are more what you’re after, Au Nain Bleu stocks some baby dolls and their accessories as well as heirloom china dolls. Superb marionettes hang overhead along with many other types of puppets, and they even have full-size Punch and Judy–style red-and-white-striped puppet theatres for your own productions. These are toys meant to last more than one child, no matter how hard they’re loved.

The helpful staff also speak perfect English and are accustomed to international orders, though do check their shipping times if you’re planning for this year’s holidays.

L’Arche de Noé (Noah’s Ark), on the Île St.-Louis, is a lovely little nook with a slightly younger feel. It also stocks dress-up clothes for very small boys and girls, along with baby puppets and soft toys. Beautiful wooden alphabet blocks are on offer, as are books, crafts and board games for slightly older children.

Also check out Le Bonhomme de Bois, not far from Au Nain Bleu, for more inventive wooden toys for a variety of ages. Their website has a great virtual tour, accessible from this page.

INFO

L'Arche de Noé
70, rue St.-Louis-en-l'Île, in the 4th. 01 46 34 61 60.