Have a city staycation: experience Paris in West London

These days, going on an actual holiday requires a second mortgage, a third job?or a fourth credit card. Luckily, you can find nearly every kind of great getaway?right here in London. Let us take you on a trip without leaving the city.?

I love Paris, but can a Londoner on a budget still?indulge a passion for fine French food, wine and?art? With a Gallic shrug, I?ll say oui: perhaps.

I start at the?Institut Fran?ais?s caf?,?Le Bistrot,?in French expat-populated South Kensington?for the mandatory black coffee and croissants.?To make the experience really authentic, I even?have an embarrassingly halting conversation with?the waiter in French.

Next stop, a free exhibition of watercolours by?British artists of Parisian scenes at the?Wallace?Collection?(until Sep 15). While gazing at the Pont?Neuf and the Ile de la Cit? as painted by the likes of?Turner, I soon forget the London streets outside.

Round the corner,?La Fromagerie?in Moxon?Street, an?establishment?offering the finest?French cheese and?wine, provides some?powerful and pungent?sustenance. Then to?the secondhand book?market under?Waterloo Bridge?(daily noon to 7pm) ? not as picturesque as the?bouquinistes that line the Seine, but you might find?a slim volume of Flaubert for your pocket.

Time for cake, and to patisserie?Maison Bertaux?in Greek Street, founded in 1871 ? their sweet tart?au fraise alone is evocative of the City of Light.

Paris invented cabaret, so it?s off to?Madame?Jojo?s?Cabaret Roulette?(second Wednesday of?the month, ?15) for hilarious pastiche and saucy?French striptease, before I head chez moi. The?five-star French-style?Sofitel?in St James is?appealing, but at around ?400 a night it?s steeper?than Mont Ventoux. Bonne nuit, Paris. Je t?aime.?But the thing is? I?ve found someone new.?Daisy Bowie-Sell

Paris in London: The Cost

Travel??4.50.
Lunch at La Fromagerie??18.
Cost to your dignity of trying to speak French?to Parisians whose English is better than yours?Exorbitant.

Paris not your bag? Go to Las Vegas in London instead.

Tags: Book Marker, books, daisy bowie-sell, french, Institut Francais, La Fromagerie, Le Bistro, london bridge, maison bertaux, Moxton Street, Paris, south kensington, wallace collection

Source: http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2013/07/27/have-a-city-staycation-experience-paris-in-west-london/

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