24 HOURS IN PARIS

24 Hours in Paris

Sharing some of our top picks from the Type 7 Guide to Paris for short stays in the French Capital.

Though the Type 7 Guide to Paris comprises hundreds of locations, a select few bear the “24 Hours in Paris” stamp, denoting particularly unmissable stops that we can recommend you hone your choices to if your stay in the city is more limited than you’d hoped. Below are a select few from that shortlist, each of which made a lasting impression on us among the many corners of the city we enjoyed the privilege of visiting while producing our guide.

MUSÉE D’ORSAY

Originally a late 19th century train station, d’Orsay quickly proved much too small for its original function, so it closed within just a few decades. Only its incredible beauty saved it from demolition. In 1986, it was finally re-opened as an art museum after an interior redesign by Italian architect Gae Aulenti. Today it boasts some of the best impressionist art in the world, and plenty more besides.

CAFÉ CHARLOT

Café Charlot is the ultimate scene spot in the Marais, opening in 2007 in a former bakery opposite the Marché des Enfants Rouges. Immediately recognisable thanks to its sun-soaked red awnings and bistro tiles, with all-day service that lures fashion folk and locals for brunch, espresso or their cult cheeseburger. During any Paris Fashion Week the spill-over turns the terrace into a prime people-watching pit stop for late-night cocktails and Sunday brunches.

MERCI

Housed in three storeys of a former fabric warehouse, Merci is an emporium in the truest sense. It was opened in 2009 by Marie-France and Bernard Cohen and since then, it’s taken department style shopping to the next level. Head past the courtyard’s Instagram-famous red car and step into a series of ever-changing sets – the front atrium is rebuilt a staggering ten times a year – leaving Merci feeling a bit like a monthly magazine you can walk through. If concept stores earned Michelin stars, Merci would hold three for its focus on taste, storytelling and social impact; the profits generated are directed to schools and women’s projects in Madagascar, meaning it’s as socially conscious a space as it is chic.

INVALIDES

Originally a retirement community and hospital for veterans of the French armed forces, Invalides today is an enormous complex of museums and monuments to French military history. The Musée de l’Armée takes up the lion’s share of the space, with several long exhibition halls dedicated to military history and equipment spanning the Middle Ages right through to the 20th century. Most impressive is the central cathedral however, and the tomb of Napoleon situated behind it. The French emperor lies in a large quartzite sarcophagus directly beneath the enormous gilded dome in a recessed marble rotunda, watched over by ornate sculptures and reliefs representing his many achievements.

MESURES

Pitching itself as a “kissa”, the renowned Japanese listening venues focusing on hi-fi audio, Mesures meets the mark, bringing together a varied playlist selection and themed evenings alongside meticulous cocktails and a small food offering. Despite its unassuming appearance, it has steadily earned a reputation as one of the few spots in Europe to truly achieve a level of quality that kissas are known for. Unsurprisingly, the ambiance leans on the music, with the small tables chatting in lower registers to not disrupt the atmosphere, and the lighting is cosy enough that you might just forget you had anywhere else to be.

HÔTEL DE CRILLON

A stately building on the very edge of the storied place de la Concorde, Hôtel de Crillon stands proudly as one of Paris’s most prestigious palaces. Inhabiting an 18th century neoclassical hôtel particulier originally built by architect to the king Ange-Jacques Gabriel when designing the urban place where most key French history events took place, the Crillon offers everything the perfect Parisian stay would require, all in extremely refined style. Its suites are rivalling unparalleled luxury, and the plush and gilded bar Les Ambassadeurs is a more than welcomed answer to a distinguished evening in the capital.