Le Ju’ – KEVIN CRAIG

Day 7!

I need to backtrack here for a moment before moving forward. On Day 6 of our trip, we jump-started our 4-day Paris Museum Pass when we went to the Panthéon. Look into this pass if you’re going to Paris. It could potentially save you a lot of money. It really depends on how aggressively you visit the museums included in the pass. They offer 2, 4, or 6 day passes. You can visit any and all museums covered under the pass umbrella in the allotted time of the pass. You can buy these passes in advance, but the day you start to use it the countdown begins. This means you really have to schedule to make sure all your museum days are lumped together in 2 or 4 or 6 days. This is not to be confused with the Paris City Pass, which we did NOT use. I’ve included the links to both here. It’s up to you to do your research and decide if either is a good fit for you. The City Pass covers other attractions outside the museum umbrella.

Back to Day 7. We began this day with a walk to our favourite breakfast place, Le Ju’. We spent a few of our Paris mornings on the patio of Le Ju’. They have a great and affordable breakfast menu. It’s in the Marais.

After Le Ju’ we went to the nearby Centre Pompidou. So glad we finally visited this museum, because apparently it is closing for a few years after next year’s Olympics. It is due for a major overhaul.

This was one of my favourite museums. In 2014 when my friend Nina and I made our way here, we arrived just as they were closing. Missed it! Not this time. We were here at opening time.

The Pompidou serves up some of the very best views of Paris. Before you even get inside the museum proper, you’re seeing the city!

The Pompidou is the modern art and avant garde museum of Paris. Around every corner is a new exhilarating surprise.

If you’re looking for avant garde, at the edge kind of stuff, the Centre Pompidou is the place to go. So many amazing installations!

We had a lot of fun here, exploring all the rooms. It’s spread out over a large area and each room brings a whole new fascination. I can’t help but wonder how they could improve on this…and the closure of the Pompidou is slated to be for FIVE YEARS! From 2025 to 2030, it’ll be off the itinerary. Keep that in mind for your future trips.

Art…it’s so subjective, ain’t it? I absolutely love this piece. It is one of three pieces in a captivating triptych by artist Joan Miró. Bleu I, II, III. Created in 1961.

We went from one end of the spectrum to the other on this day’s museum crawl. From Modern Art to a Museum of the Middle Ages. From Light into darkness. Next on the list was the Cluny Museum.

The Cluny has a great collection from the middle ages. The building itself was erected in the late 1400s, so there’s that! Perhaps the most famous exhibit in the Cluny is The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. From the 1500s, these are a beautiful set of tapestries beautifully displayed in a hushed dark room in the Cluny. You can feel the reverence while sitting among them. They are definitely the MUST SEE of the Cluny. Click here to read their fascinating history: Wiki

The Lady and the Unicorn seemed an apt nickname to call this group of tapestries, I suppose. They all have a lady and they all have a unicorn…

After the Cluny, and prior to the Rodin, we wanted to try a restaurant recommended by our favourite PARIS Youtubers LES FRENCHIES! I’ll just say it now, if you’re planning a trip to PARIS…Les Frenchies on Youtube are a MUST! Go watch their videos. All of their videos!

Colleen and Antoine highly recommended La Jacobine. That was all we needed to give it a try!

La Jacobine can be found in a quaint yet busy little alley, right next to Le Procope, the oldest cafe in Paris.

I share some of the menu here because I know there’s always someone wondering, ‘but what do they serve? What are the prices like?’ This is the menu as it was in September, 2023.

Our first taste of absinthe in Paris this visit was at La Jacobine! It did not come with the pomp and circumstance of the fountains and such, but it was, nevertheless, delicious!

In Paris, is it merely Onion Soup? Yes, yes it is…

After a marvelous lupper at La Jacobine (thank you, Antoine & Colleen!), we were off to see THE THINKER!

Le Musée Rodin is exquisite! When I visited in 2014, they were hosting an incredible Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit. It was a highlight of my 2014 trip.

This year, it was back to focusing on Auguste Rodin. This is a must see museum filled with some of the most beautiful sculptures ever created. It’s a little out of the way from things, but close to the tower. It’s in the 7th, which is one of my least favourite arrondissements…far from the happenings at the centre of Paris. Worth the trip to see Rodin’s mastery, though.

Upon entering the courtyard, you will begin to see the wonder! This collection of somersaulting statues gives you an idea…

And just lying around willy nilly, of course…

Perhaps Rodin’s most famous work is THE THINKER…this is the one people come to see. It is only after they see this one they know of, that they see ALL the incredible works throughout the property and realize that Rodin is so much more than just this one iconic sculpture.

The sculpture that has come to represent all of humankind in the years since its creation…

That was it for Day 7. We enjoyed a walk home along the Seine, taking in many of the city’s sights along the way back to the Marais. Don’t forget to stroll when you’re in Paris. It’s a wonderful walking city!

LINK TO PREVIOUS DAY.

LINK TO NEXT DAY.

This was the first morning we woke up in Paris. Our plan was to take it easy and explore. We did have an agenda, though.

Visit Hôtel de Ville to see the Olympic rings
Go to Le Ju’ in the Marais for breakfast
Find Passages
Galeries Lafayette for the rooftop terrace
Free Carnavalet Museum in the Marais
le Relais de l’Entrecôte for supper

Michael wanted to visit the Olympic Rings displayed at Hôtel de Ville and it was in the same neighbourhood as the restaurant we wanted to check out. Le Ju’ ended up being our go to breakfast place throughout our trip. On Instagram, I knew it as the place with the rainbow umbrellas. In person, we found it charming, affordable and with great staff. And COFFEE BY THE BOWL!

The peekaboo is very quick to come out in him!

Do yourself a favour and Google Map Le Ju’. You’ll like starting your day there!

It’s the place with the rainbow umbrellas!

After breakfast, the plan was to walk to Galeries Lafayette and take advantage of their rooftop terrace for views and the Paris sign.

It was on our way there that we found our first Passages. I’ve been intrigued with them, but I don’t remember ever seeing one. We found two on our way to GL. They were directly across the street from each other.

These passages are very boutique…with lovely stores inside. Even the famous Hotel Chopin can be found in one such passage.

Next up was Galeries Lafayette.

Everything is SO big in Paris. I always feel dwarfed by the hugeness of things. Galeries Lafayette is no exception.

And the views from the rooftop of GL were stunning. So glad we visited!

The Palais Garnier…the Opera, which we would be visiting later in our visit.

It was now time for the FREE Musée Carnavalet in the Marais!

The courtyard entrance to the **Musée Carnavalet**.

This museum is dedicated to the history of Paris itself. It can be found in TWO neighbouring mansions that are now combined into one large building the (Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau). The buildings have been around since the 16th century. Imagine walking about inside a building built in the 1500s. That alone is worth the visit.

The exhibits in this museum were exceptional. It’s truly worth the price of the ticket. It’s incomprehensible that the price is ZERO.

The first hallway you enter is filled with signage saved from the streets of old Paris.

The rooms themselves are absolutely stunning, not to mention the artworks on display. I’ll just share a few photos here to give you an idea. It truly is a MUST SEE museum. There’s a garden with a restaurant as well, should you be so inclined.

After the Carnavalet, we were headed to Saint-Germain-des-Prés. This is one of Paris’s most iconic neighbourhoods. One could just walk around for a few minutes and they’d find several of the famous cafes of the 1920s Lost Generation. Yes, they’re still in operation today. Here’s a sampling of the ones we passed by…all within a block of one another and all iconic.

Perhaps the most iconic of all, Les Deux Magots.

But we went in a different direction for our second supper in Paris. Also iconic, though not with as much history as the others, is le Relais de l’Entrecôte. I don’t even know why I love this restaurant so much. Normally, you could not pay me to eat steak. Something about the frenetic charm of this place gets to me. It shares my love for all things quirky.

le Relais de l’Entrecôte, with hints of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi wafting around, mingled with the aroma of fresh cut fries and medium done steak. Be prepared for something a little different.

This restaurant opens around 6:45pm, but don’t be one of those people who show up after 6:00pm…because you will find A LINE. The line will eventually go around the block and yet it still doesn’t seem to deter guests from queuing up.

There is only one thing on the menu. Fries and Steak. When you’re seated, they’ll ask how you want your steak done and what you would like to drink. They’ll write this information on your paper tablecloth.

Before this restaurant, I’ve been sworn off steak for life. I’m so adamant about it, I’m nervous to admit I eat it here. This sauce is magic.

Such a great meal. Such a fun place.

That was the end of our second day in Paris. But in Paris walking home is, in itself, an event. There was still a lot to see before our heads hit the pillow.