Smelling the croissants in Paris

Paris is a lucid dream wrapped in a pocket of reality, garnished by endless amounts of dog litter. I’ve trod these dirty pavements before, but the city always gives me something new.

The best way to experience the city is on foot, nose first. Set out in a direction, destination optional, detours welcome. Because the best moments aren’t on postcards, they’re hidden in narrow alleys, within the smell of freshly-baked croissants.

Down the stairs at Rue Foyatier.

Montmartre is a trap, sure, but a beautiful one. Dodge the stampede of tourist zombies following someone holding up an umbrella, into an alley of unknown pleasures.

Tourists? Oh yes. Montmartre has seen a surge of visitors after the 2001 movie Amélie, and one of the more besieged locations is Café des Deux Moulins on Rue Lepic where the main characters worked. As a café goes it’s pretty standard issue, but since I’m a movie buff I have go there.

The area cools down a bit at night, and lamp-lit streets are once again filled with wonder. On the way home I actually pass the actor Dominique Pinon in the same area, who starred as Joseph in the movie.

Hanging around at Café des Deux Moulins.

When you grow tired of the Montmartre cliché, abandon the Eiffel tower’s twisted gravity and go to areas such as Marais and the Latin Quarter, where the restaurants are better and tourists are (sometimes) fewer. Just keep a clear distance to the Louvre, and you will be fine. Order a café crème, let it cool in your cup while people flow past like water over rocks.

But whatever you do, don’t skip breakfast. A petit dejeuner does not get any better than when it’s served on a sunny outdoor table in Paris. Forget smelling the roses, I’m here to smell the croissants.