{"id":89,"date":"2009-04-17T09:07:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-17T14:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/paris-vacation-top-10-museum-restaurants\/"},"modified":"2016-12-17T12:04:33","modified_gmt":"2016-12-17T18:04:33","slug":"paris-vacation-top-10-museum-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/paris-vacation-top-10-museum-restaurants\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris vacation: Top 10 museum restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Paris<\/a> By Anthony Grant<\/em><\/p>\n

Museums are great — and probably an almost mandatory part of any Paris vacation<\/a><\/strong> — but I have to confess that sometimes my favorite part is the gift shop. It\u2019s like you get all the museum\u2019s greatest hits in one little space, and you can buy them, too. The same principle applies to museum restaurants. Granted, you\u2019re not going to find Michelin-starred cuisine at the places on my list, but so what? It\u2019s absolument fabuleux<\/em> to spend a few hours taking in cultural treats and then eat some too — even a humble caf\u00e9-style restaurant takes things to the next level in Paris. Check these out:<\/p>\n

1. Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay<\/a> restaurant<\/strong>. Probably my favorite. In an ornately gilded room squarely located on the museum\u2019s middle level, you\u2019ll find a great menu du jour and service that is just charming. Don\u2019t forget the museum is closed on Mondays.<\/p>\n

2. Mus\u00e9e des Arts Decoratif<\/a>: Le Saut du Loup.<\/strong> This is the very non-traditional restaurant of a museum that is located in a wing of the Louvre but is officially separate from it. Translated, it\u2019s \u201cthe wolf\u2019s jump,\u201d and the space is chic and sober. Expect creative cookin\u2019 and save room for the \u201cConfusion of Meaning\u201d dessert: a marvelous m\u00e9lange of rose and pistachio ice creams, citronelle and raspberry sorbets and Chantilly whipped cream.<\/p>\n

3. Mus\u00e9e des Arts et M\u00e9tiers<\/a>: Caf\u00e9 des Techniques.<\/strong>The Mus\u00e9e des Arts et M\u00e9tiers is Paris\u2019 museum of science and industry, an off-the-radar museum that\u2019s nevertheless worth a visit during your Paris vacation. The heart of it is a deconsecrated cathedral in which vintage airplanes are suspended from the Gothic ceiling. As if that wasn\u2019t cool enough, there\u2019s a great restaurant with a focus on steamed cuisine (a nod to industrial history) and a killer brunch, which in warm weather you can have out on a huge enclosed courtyard. Open Tues.-Sun 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., 51 rue R\u00e9amur.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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4. Centre Pompidou<\/a>: Restaurant Georges.<\/strong> The inside-out Pompidou Center is one of the most popular attractions in Paris. On the roof level you\u2019ll find this 30-foot-high space, speckled with undulating organic forms hammered out of aluminum. The menu is French-meets-Japanese and remember, it\u2019s closed Tuesdays.<\/p>\n

5. Mus\u00e9e du Quai Branly<\/a>: Les Ombres.<\/strong> This is Paris\u2019 newest big museum, dedicated to world anthropology and ethnology. You\u2019ll need reservations for its rooftop restaurant, which means \u201cthe shadows.\u201d The Eiffel Tower views are remarkable, and the menu is both exotic and pricey.<\/p>\n

6. Palais de Tokyo<\/a>: Tokyo Eat.<\/strong> The Palais de Tokyo, near the Eiffel Tower, houses a city museum of modern art, and Tokyo Eat is its big trendy restaurant.<\/p>\n

7. Mus\u00e9e Picasso<\/a><\/strong>. The tea salon at the Picasso museum is housed in a sprawling 17th-century mansion and is the place to go for salads, quiche, grilled salmon, fruit tarts and the like.<\/p>\n

8. Mus\u00e9e Jacquemart-Andr\u00e9<\/a> caf\u00e9.<\/strong> A 19th-century banker\u2019s mansion is now the repository of a priceless repository of Italian Renaissance and French 18th-century art. Its caf\u00e9 has wall tapestries, a ceiling painted by Tiepolo, and rockin\u2019 salads.<\/p>\n

9. Museum of Jewish Art and History<\/a> tea salon.<\/strong> This museum is in the heart of the Marais, in another sprawling 17th-century mansion. Behind the gift shop there\u2019s a charming little tearoom; grab a fresh baked good or potato ladke and enjoy it there or in the museum\u2019s grassy private courtyard.<\/p>\n

10. Mus\u00e9e de la Chasse et de la Nature<\/a>.<\/strong> The Museum of the Hunt is housed in the turreted Hotel de Cu\u00e9n\u00e9gaud, built in 1654. Walking in is like entering the most luxurious hunting lodge you could imagine, right in the center of Paris. The restaurant here is, technically speaking, private, but give them a shout (tel. 01.53.01.92.40) ahead of time and who knows\u2026<\/p>\n

Related Orbitz resources:
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