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They take their bread seriously in Paris so it’ll come as no surprise to learn that every March there’s a contest to find the  best baguette in Paris - Concours pour la Meilleure Baguette de Paris.

This year the proud winner was Arnaud Delmontel - apparently it took a while for him to accept the good news, when he first heard the announcement he thought it was a prank. But it was true and he can look forward to a bumper year. In the same way movie producers expect a boost in ticket sales following a win at the Oscars Arnaud is highly likely to see lots of new customers lining up outside his boulangerie.

The icing on the cake, the creamy butter on his baguette is that the winner gets to provide bread to the President at the Elysees Palace for a whole year.

Try one yourself, see if you can taste the difference. Monsieur Delmontel owns two boulangeries one on rue des Martyrs the other on rue Damrémont, both in the 18th arrondissement.

Bonne Baguette!

Boutique hotel in Paris? Five star hotel, luxury hotel in Paris. Here’s a selection of independents hotels in Paris you may not have come across.

On the roof of the neo-classical Palais de Tokyo you can spend the night in a designer pod with the best view in Paris. The Everland hotel is described as a kind of ultra-modern tree-house on one of Paris’s best-placed rooftops, it has a panoramic view of the Seine and the Eiffel tower. The lone capsule — with bedroom, bathroom and lounge area including a record player with a selection of vinyl and a well-stocked mini-bar — is serviced like any other luxury hotel. With only one room, this is Paris’s smallest hotel, but also its most sought-after – it will only last until December 31 2008.

Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais

Furnished in the style of a private townhouse in the time of  Mozart, this “bonne adresse” on the edge of Paris’s chic Marais district is cosy and atmospheric, but also good value. The bedrooms and bathrooms have an air of Louis XVI, with chandeliers and elaborate heavy curtains. The hotel’s location is a definite plus point -  you’re in a warren of bars, restaurants, chocolatiers and stylish shopping only a short walk from Places des Vosges, the Picasso museum and the Jewish delis of rue des Rosiers. On the same road as the hotel, are some of the Marais’s favourite cafes, including the literary bar, La Belle Hortense, and opposite it, the typical Paris bar, Au Petit Fer à Cheval.

Windsor Home

This smart Parisien hotel in the 16th arrondissement is ia quirky but chic hideway with a B&B feel. With only eight rooms, decorated like the home of a true Parisian dandy, it feels more like staying with posh friends. Good value and not far from the Eiffel tower, it’s a good starting point for exploring western Paris.

 Hôtel Mayet

A colourful, chilled-out, family-friendly and nicely-priced small townhouse hotel on the Left Bank. Modern art murals decorate the entrance hall while modern white, grey and red colour schemes dominate the simple upstairs and attic rooms. On a quiet street south of the Invalides and L’Ecole Militaire, it’s perfect for visitors who like long Paris walks — you can easily head into the Latin Quarter or up to the Eiffel Tower, the river and beyond.

Hotel Daniel

For a more expensive weekend break near Paris’s priciest shopping streets, le Daniel is a boutique hotel in a quiet street behind the Champs Elysées.  Like all Parisien hotels in picturesque buildings, some rooms are small, but the décor more than compensates. If you tire of the crowds of the Champs Elysées or the designer boutiques of rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré, it’s a pleasant walk to Parc Monceau.

Hôtel Arvor Saint Georges

A cosy house near Montmartre and Pigalle, with rooms winding up a staircase to a rooftop view. Its mix of white minimalistic bedrooms and funky downstairs décor makes you feel more like you’re in a Parisian bourgeois-boheme flat-share than a hotel. Be sure to ask for one of the recently renovated rooms – particularly with a good view over the patio and backyard.

Alcôve & Agapes guest bedrooms

To stay in the guest-room of a genuine Paris flat, browse through the options on offer from the company Alcôve & Agapes which acts as an intermediary. Possibilities include staying in the homes of hosts across Paris from the Ile Saint-Louis to Montmartre, from modern apartments to 19th-century mansions, or even an artist’s studio in Saint-Germain. The French chambre d’hôtes system that’s so common across the French countryside also works well in the capital.

Hôtel Beaumarchais

Hôtel Beaumarchais is a cheap and cheerful option for young people on a budget, or those travelling in a group and sharing a room. With incredibly bright carpets and décor with oddities like plastic bathroom furniture, it provides a basic but chilled-out Paris base on the edge of the hip Oberkampf district with its bars and clubs.

Hôtel Bourg Tibourg

Hôtel Bourg Tibourg, Paris True romance … Hôtel Bourg Tibourg A gem in the Marais, not far from Paris’s city hall, Hôtel Bourg Tibourg is a calm hideaway on a quiet street with décor that can only be described as modern oriental baroque. The little sister of Paris’s vastly expensive Costes hotel, this is a romantic option for a cheaper but nonetheless opulent weekend break. There are good bars and cafes within staggering distance, yet it’s quiet. Again, be warned: it’s a historic building, so the rooms are small, but perfectly designed.

Hotel du Nord

Tucked away in a quiet street near the Gare du Nord, this is a simple, down-to-earth and incredibly good value Parisian house, that’s very proud of its local neighbourhood feel. With homemade jams served at breakfast, it feels more like a cheap but cosy B&B than a hotel. They have 10 bikes available to guests free of charge. There are 22 bedrooms and one suite. But for a brighter, lighter room ask for one high up or facing the street.

One of the best times to visit Paris is in the off-season -
there are ferwer tourists in the city, fewer tourists means less time spent waiting in the lines, easier access to monuments and museums, and less hassled and therefore friendlier Parisians.

On the financial front you’re more likely to get good prices/rates because hotels need guests and one sure fire way to attract them is low prices.

You feel less like a local than a tourist because you get to do what Parisians do.
- Winter time in Paris is less cold than many places in the world. The average winter temperature is 7°C (about 45°F), and it’s less rainy than people often think. Plus Paris is one of these great cities where, even if the weather isn’t so nice, the monuments and facades look amazing. The grey colour of the sky gives to the city, a historical aspect even deeper than what it actually is. It makes you feel “special” in a special city.
- Some French food is only available during winter time. Take oysters for example, there is a phrase saying that you can only eat oysters on months ending with “er”, so September, October, November, December and no January or February etc. What a pity not to eat these huge delicious seafood trays.
- Winter sales happen on January; right after you spent all your money on Christmas’s gifts. It stays about 5 weeks, depending on the French department you are in. You wouldn’t want to miss the Galeries Lafayette facades, it’s a national event every year.
- Christmas markets (Marchés de Noel) are so cut. You will find them in various cities in France, some are expected, like the one in Strasbourg, and some are more intimate and still very attractive.

Oh la la! It’s one of the few occasions when the French have brazenly imitated the British. Starting January 1, many French museums and monuments will test a new admission policy: They’ll be free.

But don’t expect to waltz up to the Louvre with an empty wallet — at least not initially; most of the eligible attractions are small (and yet it’s a start). In Paris, the free museums will include Cluny’s medieval goodies and Guimet’s Asian art, where admission is usually $10 a pop. Those aren’t normally on the first-time visitor’s wish list, but they will please true fans of antiquities. And in a lesser concession, the esteemed Musée d’Orsay, stuffed with impressionist wonders, and the Centre Pompidou, famous for modern art, will now be open free of charge for one evening a week to visitors aged 18 to 25.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to spread culture to the general public. After six months, the French government will decide whether to continue or expand the plan.

London long ago made free admission a priority, and the gift continues to reward the public. It’s estimated that some 30 million additional visits were made after the government eliminated admission fees starting in 2001 at major attractions like the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, and a great many more.

Juliette Binoche
Actress

I have a special relationship with Paris because it belongs to my history and my memories. It is like a map of my heart. I was born in Paris, I lived in the suburbs as a child and I came back to do my studies when I was 15. When I was 19, I lived in 11 different places in the city. I had a suitcase which was my apartment. Each time I go to a part of the city, an event comes back to me as a memory, as a smell or as a sensation.

I remember seeing the rose windows inside Notre Dame. My mother asked me when I was six years old how I felt about seeing those and I said: ‘It’s the most beautiful gift you could have given me.’

We didn’t have a lot of money and my mother took my sister and me to the Louvre every Sunday because it was free. As a teenager I remember going to see movies. For me, Paris was the city of movies and I went to see a lot of Fellini films. I was only 14 and I was discovering movies and love. Those memories are imprinted on me.

Once, before I had decided whether to be in Les enfants du siècle, in which I played the writer George Sand, I was driving home through the 16th arrondissement. I had to stop at a red light and I saw rue George Sand. It was a sign I had to do the film. I had never seen this street before but the city made me change mind.

Paris has a very particular beauty because of all those megalomaniac kings and emperors and their need to have their names on places. When I see the Arc de Triomphe, even though it’s very Parisian, I feel ashamed because I hate what Napoleon did. And I’m amazed there’s no monument for the Algerians. Why does it all need to be about conquests? What about honouring the people we hurt?

Paris can be a stressful place because there’s not enough green for me and I don’t feel the seasons enough. But it always feels like home. I don’t feel French, but when I’m here I feel like I belong, because I know the city very well. I feel like I can answer back, and I can be myself because I know the rules.

Stephen Clarke
Writer

The new thing about Paris that I really love are these Vélib’ bikes. I’ve been living in the city for 14 years and it is like a breath of fresh air in Parisian life. You pay €1 and you can pick up a Vélib’ anywhere in Paris. The funny thing is, it has matured quickly and the whole system has become very Parisian.

At the bike stand where you hire them you have these mini-riots where the experienced people shove to the front of the queue and get impatient if tourists try to rent one. It has become very Darwinian, and Paris is a very Darwinian place.

It has also become very stylish - these Vélib’ people look down on your normal bike riders and rollerbladers. People dress really smart and Vélib’ about. It is a very popular way of chatting people up.

I find Paris endlessly fascinating. It is a city of extreme pleasures and extreme frustration. It is also a very crowded city, which is why Parisians have the sharpest elbows and tongues in the world. I always say if you’re living in the sea, it is best to mutate into a shark, so after living here for so long, I’ve mutated into a shark. Once you get into that shameless individualism you have a wonderful life. I drift through life now. I see a table in the sun and head for it and sit down and ignore any reserved sign. Paris does that to you.

Here is a secret.

When you next visit Paris try to find this little known entrance to the Louvre rather than enduring the crowds at the Pyramid . You reach the Lion’s Gate ( Porte des Lions ) via the Tuilleries on the Seine side of the museum. It’s closed on Fridays but open on all other days and queues are rare. Once inside a modern staircase will take you directly to the Grande Gallerie and the Italian collections.

Remember the good old days backpacking across Europe? As the need for increased security makes flying less pleasant and lines grow longer train travel is making a come back. Eurails’s flexible passes allow grown up travellers to travel Europe the civilised way. www.eurail.com

Rungis is the largest fresh products market in the world: vegetables, seafood, all types of meat and cheese. Long ago it was located in the centre of Paris, in the famous Les Halles. However at the end of the 1960’s thanks to traffic, pollution and old fashioned design it was transferred out to the southern suburbs, making it easier for vendors to deliver their products. Little known fact: every day several tons of unsold products are sent to the incinerator, the resulting energy heats the market of Rungis, as well as the airport of Orly.

Sunday morning in Paris often means a visit to the flea market - sorry to bring up bloodsucking parasites in a luxury hotel blog but the Parisian flea markets are a real attraction for visitors seeking authenticity and real bargains to boot. For the French going to the “marchés” is a real institution and it’s a must-do on Sundays. So go easy on the vin rouge on Saturday night, drink a double espresso shortly after rising and pick one near where you’re staying - there’s at least one in each arrondissement.
Marche des Enfants Rouges (39 rue de Bretagne
75003 Paris
Metro station: Filles du Calvaire

Marche Monge

Place Monge

75005 Paris

Metro station: Place Monge

Marche Raspail

At the corner of rue Cherche-Midi and Rennes

75007 Paris

Metro station: Rennes

Marche d’Aligre

Place d’Aligre

75012 Paris

Metro station: Ledru Rollin

Marche de la Bastille

Place de la Bastille

75012 Paris

Metro station: Bastille