Visiting Paris for just two short days, associate editor Sara Cation hit up only the hot spots, but still learned that one brief visit to the City of Light is all it takes to experience la vie en rose. 


Image courtesy of Hotel Duret

Hotel Duret
Located in the ritzy 16th arrondissement, this spacious four-star hotel is within walking distance to almost everything: four minutes to Avenue Foch (one of the most expensive residential streets in the world), 10 minutes to the Arc de Triomphe, 15 minutes to the Champs-Élysées and 30 minutes to the Eiffel Tower.

Image courtesy of Marc Bertrand

Laduree
If you love macarons (who doesn't?), you must try a crispy-smooth bite at Laduree, which has been perfecting its recipe for more than 150 years. While locations are everywhere, including the airport, only the flagship on Champs-Élysées boasts a gilded interior design.
Photography by Shoshan

Shakespeare and company
Book lovers, rejoice! Stuffed floor to ceiling with great reads and historically hosting the likes of James Joyce, Henry Miller and Allen Ginsberg, it's no wonder this tiny secondhand bookstore in the Latin Quarter has become an institution for the English-speaking literary community. Image courtesy of pierrefrey.com

Pierre Frey
A titan of textiles with a range that includes prints by French fashion mainstay Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, the original Toile de Jouy and intricate reproductions of the very fabrics Marie Antoinette loved, the Pierre Frey showroom is a decor landmark that no aficionado should miss.
Image courtesy of L'Occitane

Spa L'Occitane
Lauded for its decadent spa and skin care line infused with ingredients harvested in verdant Provence, L'Occitane is a beautician's bounty (how lucky we can find it here!), and its Parisian spa, the pièce de résistance for perfect skin.