Sébastien Hue’s favourite places in Paris

If you’re a Diamond member, there’s a high chance you’ve crossed paths with Sébastien. Here, the Paris native shares his recommendations for members visiting the French capital, from under-the-radar museums to where to buy stylish menswear.

Best museums in Paris

The Louvre, Musée D’Orsay and the Pompidou Centre are must-visits, but I always recommend adding hôtel particuliers to your itinerary – they’re the small museums that are located in the old townhouses where the nobility or bourgeoisie lived. 

It’s interesting to see these small museums because, firstly, they show what life looked like at a very different period. Secondly, you see beautiful art within its context and its purpose. And you can also admire incredible furniture, not behind a window like at the Louvre, but where it belongs.

Musée Nissim de Camondo 

One museum I’d recommend is Musée Nissim de Camondo in the 8th arrondissement – it’s very small but has incredible furniture. Count Moïse de Camondo was a powerful French banker who donated his hôtel particulier to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. It was re-opened as a museum and interestingly, the furniture is all kept in the same position as it was when its original owners were living there. It’s also near a park called Parc Monceau that I’d recommend a stroll through.

Please note that the museum will close for renovation work from 5 August.

Monet in Paris

The Musée Marmottan Monet is an official Monet museum focusing on impressionist painters, and it’s also located in a beautiful townhouse. I also love Musée de L'Orangerie which is very close to the Louvre – there are some wonderful Monet paintings there too.

Fondation Louis Vuitton

This is a world-class museum. Every exhibition that I've seen there – and I think I've seen four or five of them – has been absolutely incredible. What's interesting is a lot of these temporary exhibitions feature works not usually seen by the public, because they're part of private collections. It's a private museum owned by LVMH and you get access to amazing artwork. 

Best shopping in Paris

Antique shopping in Paris

There’s a place I really like to go antique shopping called Les Puces . I think you’d called it a flea market – though that probably has a bit of a negative connotation. It’s an iconic Parisian antique market. Take a taxi there, don’t take public transport. 

There are several different smaller markets within it. My favourite is called Paul Bert because they offer slightly more upscale antiques. The other markets next door are also very nice to discover rare and unique pieces. It goes all the way from finding something nice to decorate your desk to buying objects as large as a chest of drawers, so there’s a range of items you can discover there.

Le Bon Marché

Bon marché means “a good deal”, but it’s absolutely not a good deal at this department store – it’s quite expensive. That being said, Le Bon Marché is incredible and housed in a charming historical building on the Left Bank. It has been open since the mid-19th century and it’s now owned by LVMH, but it deals in all kinds of brands. 

For men’s shopping, there’s an entire dedicated basement. Attached to the department store, there’s a very fancy food hall with rare products from France and around the world – that’s called the La Grande Épicerie de Paris .

Where to eat in Paris

La Fontaine de Mars

A three-minute walk from where I went to school, there’s a small restaurant called La Fontaine de Mars . It’s very close to the Eiffel Tower, so it's conveniently located if you’re looking to see the sights. 

Everything that comes to mind when you think of French food, you can find it there. Even President Obama dined there when he was in France for a state visit. It's very tiny, but I recommended it to one of my Cathay Pacific colleagues the other day and he absolutely loved it.

L’ami Jean

For another restaurant that is slightly more upscale, there's L'ami Jean . The name means “my friend Jean”. Their rice pudding is to die for and their other dishes are also excellent. You can book in advance, which is a nice option to have when you travel.

Gare au Gorille

I went to another restaurant recently called Gare au Gorille , which can be loosely translated into “beware of the monkey”. It offers market cuisine, very simple but delicious food – it’s more on the northwest side of Paris.

Where to drink in Paris

Le Bar Kléber

One thing that is always worth it, though not completely authentic, is to go to one of the hotel bars of the Parisian “palaces”: hotels like the Ritz, Hôtel de Crillon or Hôtel Plaza Athénée. The bar at the Peninsula, Le Bar Kléber , is absolutely stunning with impressive wood panelling and mirrors. It’s an intimate setting with top-notch service. 

Fabula at Musée Carnavalet

Every summer a chef takes over Musée Carnavalet’s courtyard restaurant, Fabula , and it’s always a fantastic experience. This year, Thomas Chisholm from ChoCho is up. Plus, their award-winning mixologist is known for his plant-inspired cocktails. It’s a great place for a drink and a bite. 

Cave de Chaillot

In Paris, you have a lot of wine stores, obviously, but a lot of them are part of a chain. When you chat with salespeople in those shops, you always have the feeling that it's not their own selection. 

But it’s different at Cave de Chaillot , a wine shop owned by someone I went to university with. I chatted with their salesperson and you could tell that they were also part of the wine selection process, and there were reasons why they were selling this wine and not others. A bonus is they speak English.

Best hotels in Paris

Paris is home, so I’ve never actually stayed in a hotel there. However, some friends visiting from Hong Kong and the US have had fantastic experiences in a few places. There's a hotel called Le Pavilion de la Reine , which is next to a lovely square called Place des Vosges. There’s another called J.K. Place, a very low-key but pretty hotel. I've been to the lobby there and had a drink, and there's a charming courtyard. 

It's also worth looking into Hotel Costes . The family that owns it also owns many restaurants, but they have this divine hotel and it’s the only one in Paris. It’s very near the Place Vendome, so it's also a good place to stay if you want to shop. 

Keep an eye out for more articles and guides curated for Diamond members.