11th Arrondissement, Paris, France
I have never experienced Paris as an adult. As a teenager, I went a few times with my family and have great memories of visiting all of the tourist attractions, eating escargot and huge scoops of ice cream. As you could imagine, I was super excited to spend 4 days eating and drinking through Paris with my boyfriend, living like a Parisian.
We stayed at an Airbnb in the 11th Arrondissement- a neighborhood I absolutely adore. There's a great mix of food, shopping, and nightlife. If you want to avoid tourists, this is a great neighborhood as it's kind of off the beaten path. We were just 3 blocks away from Rue Oberkamph, which was my favorite street in the neighborhood. There's everything, from bakeries to cocktail bars to chic clothing boutiques.
Rue Oberkamph
We were so exhausted our first night in Paris from the flight, so for dinner we just hit up all of the food shops on Oberkamph and had a picnic at our apartment. We got brie from a fromagerie, a baguette from a boulangerie, fruit from a fruit stand, and red wine from a wine shop. This is my favorite way to eat!
mini tarts from Chambelland
My friend Jenn (huge foodie & pastry enthusiast!) was also in Paris at the time, so we met up for a croissant date. She introduced me to THE BEST croissants in Paris from Ble Sucre, which also happened to be in my neighborhood. They're extremely fresh (served warm!), crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside with amazing buttery flavor (the butter in Paris is just sooo good!). We went to Ble Sucre 4 times... it's THAT good.
Croissants from Ble Sucre
Ble Sucre is closed on Mondays, so we had to get our croissant fix somewhere else. We stopped in Pierre Herme to get some chocolate treats (they also have the most beautiful macarons!) and spotted a gorgeous croissant. It had a rose water glaze with freeze dried raspberries, and inside a raspberry & litchi jelly.
Pierre Herme's fancy croissant
There are farmer's markets all over Paris, but in the 11th there is the Bastille Market which takes place on Sundays. It is HUGE (bigger than any market in San Francisco), and filled with all sorts of vendors: produce, cheese, meats, seafood, baked goods, flowers, everything! I was blown away by the selection and how cheap everything was. I got 20 figs for less than 2 euros... HEAVEN!
Bastille Market
We took all of the goodies we bought at the market and had a picnic along La Seine. The perfect lunch!
Okay, so you can't go to Paris without having CREPES! We ate at two creperies in our neighborhood: Bretons and West Country Girl. Both had amazing savory & sweet crepes. My favorite savory crepe was Bretons vegetarian one with tomatoes, mushrooms, goat cheese, herbs, and pumpkin seeds in a crispy buckwheat cake, and my favorite sweet was a caramel apple one at West Country Girl.
Buckwheat crepe from Bretons
Now, for the DRINKS. Most nights we bought bottles of wine (you can get amazing wines for less than 20 euros), but to mix it up a little we went to a couple cocktail & beer bars.
On Rue Oberkamph, there is a trendy cocktail bar called Bespoke. They had delicious cocktails and delicious bites. We had an Old Fasioned and a cocktail on their menu that was basically a Mezcal Negroni.
Bespoke Cocktail Bar
If you're a beer lover, you must visit Les Trois 8. It's a small bar that specializes in craft French beers. I personally prefer US beers, but it was great to try beers that aren't available at home. And WARNING, their "pints" are HUGE- almost too big for me to hold with one hand. Order the "half pints".
Les Trois 8 beer bar
And for the Tiki fans out there, Dirty Dick is the bar for you. Located in the 9th, it's a small tiki bar with delicious (and strong!) drinks, very friendly bartenders, and a relaxed vibe. I know, the name of the bar is weird- apparently the building was a brothel back in the day, so I guess it works! We had a few of the classics like the Mai Tai and Painkiller, and also tried one of their originals. All fantastic cocktails!
Mai Tai at Dirty Dick
Merci, Paris for all of the amazing food & drinks!!
