If you’ve been wondering what to do in Paris, other than the big tourist attractions, this half-day itinerary includes a hidden-gem seafood restaurant, a park with a poet, a crow and a fox, some vintage shopping, a small museum and a unique photo spot for pictures with an Eiffel Tower backdrop.
I have become completely obsessed with what I refer to as the fringe arrondissements in Paris. Areas where there aren’t as many, if any, big tourist attractions or tourists. I am mainly referring to arrondissements 12 through 20, but 10 and 11 can sometimes be considered on the fringes as well. This entire itinerary takes place in the 16th arrondissement. There are some touristy spots in this arrondissement, like the famous Eiffel Tower viewing platform called Trocadero, but the majority of the arrondissement usually falls under the radar. There are several museums in this arrondissement that may not make it onto everyone’s list of “must-sees”, although they should, like the Marmottan, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, or the Louis Vuitton Museum. These are all great museums especially if you’ve been to Paris before and have seen all the big sights already. For this post though, I’m including one of my favorite little museums, the Balzac. This museum is really cool because it is in the original house that Balzac lived in. It has been preserved so well, that you can easily get a sense of what the writers everyday life looked like while he was creating his most famous work.
Important note: this itinerary won’t work for a Sunday or Monday, as most of the places listed are closed those days. You can also start with lunch or you can end with lunch, it works either way. Just keep in mind the restaurant takes their last lunch seating at 2:30. For the below itinerary I’m going to start with lunch first!
Tucked away on a little side street in the 16th arrondissement is a seafood restaurant called Sables. The restaurant opened in 2022 by a young man named Hippolyte, or Hippo for short.
He takes his business very seriously and makes sure that the food is always fresh and the menu items are creative and delicious. I thought my dishes were exceptional. I loved the interior design and the artwork on the walls, it definitely draws you in and makes you want to be there.
Menu items include things like Saint-Jacques scallops with risotto, lobster carpaccio, linguine with clams, moules gratinée (baked mussels), Ceviche, and tuna steak with green pepper sauce and matchstick fries. Everything was so amazing!
After lunch, get some walking in by heading over to Jardin du Ranelagh. This is a lovely park with flowers and trees and children from the neighborhood running around playing. One of my favorite things about this park is a really unique bronze statue of the French poet, Jean de La Fontaine. He is standing with a crow and a fox, characters from his adaptation of the famous fable The Fox and the Crow.
After a stroll through the park head to Passy Brocante to find some hidden treasures. I love this store! I found some really cool old wine openers here.
From here it’s only a seven minute walk to Avenue de Camoëns where you can snap some great photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background. This spot isn’t exactly a secret, but there’s usually not many people here. There are different positions and angles where you can get the Eiffel Tower in further away or closer up, depending on where you stand.
Less than a half mile from here is the Balzac Museum, where the famous writer lived. His early drafts of La Comédie Humaine, aka The Human Comedy, are laid out on the walls, showing his creative process. This is a fun little museum that offers some great views of the Eiffel Tower. There is a lovely garden area where people sometimes come and sit for a picnic lunch. The Maison de Balzac is free to visit.
To begin this day from the 5th or 6th arrondissement, you can take Metro 10 toward Bologne, no transfers, get off at Église d’Auteuil and from there Sables is about a 5 min walk.
Or, from Le Marais you can catch the metro line 9 at Oberkampf towards Pont de Sèvres and exit the train at Jasmin, from there it’s about a 5 min walk.
📍Sables
35 Bis Rue Jean de la Fontaine,
75016, Paris
Hours: (Closed Sun & Mon)
Tues-Sat: 12:00-2:30 & 7:30 – 11:00PM
📍Jardin du Ranelagh
1 Avenue Prudhon,
75016, Paris
📍Passy Brocante
5 Impasse des Carrières, 75016, Paris
Hours: (Closed Sun & Mon)
Tues – Sat: 11:00 – 7:00PM
📍Avenue de Camöens
75016, Paris
📍Balzac Museum
47 Rue Raynouard, 75016, Paris
Hours: (Closed Mondays)
Tues – Sat 10:00-6:00PM
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One Response
The Balzac Museum would be an inspiration. As for the restaurant, there would be coin flips to win a loveseat spot at the table. 🙂