A Perfect Morning in Paris, and the World’s Greatest Pastry

An East Paris version of an ideal Paris morning

There are countless ways to have a perfect morning in Paris. Here’s one of them.

Take Bowie outside. Realize it’s actually sunny for the first time in forever and your to-do list isn’t actually urgent. After months of clouds and gray and cold, a morning outside seems like a novelty. Start walking toward one of your favorite coffee shops (Back in Black) and then realize, hey, isn’t there a high line nearby? Search Google for said high-line. Ugh, Google, no it’s not La petite ceinture (although you bookmark that for later). Try again and find the right one (Coulée Verte René-Dumont) and then proceed to wander through the 11ème (11th arrondissement) on your way there. The streets look like a movie set, with the wet pavements and blue sky.

I’d heard about this high line, also called the Promenade Plantée, pretty much since I moved here. It was the original inspiration for the NYC High Line. I’ve seen it from taxis and from walking to Bercy arena for the Olympics, but after almost a year of living here, I still hadn’t walked it. It became one of those things that I thought about when I couldn’t go but completely forgot about when I actually had free time.

Now I can say it’s as lovely as it sounds. Clean, small, interesting plants, cool street art, and a new vantage point to see French architecture. Even in February there were flowers starting to bloom. Bowie loved sniffing around and meeting the other dogs. We probably walked about 20 minutes east of Bastille before deciding to head home.

To continue the perfect morning, once you’ve had your fill of walking above the traffic amid beautiful plants and architecture, turn around and head back towards Bastille.

If it’s a Sunday or a Thursday, go straight to the Marché Bastille to wander the stalls, stop for oysters and wine, and then pick up some bread, cheese, produce, and poulet rôti for lunch.

If it’s any other day, go to Ten Belles Bread for a coffee (café filtre pour moi) and the world’s greatest pastry. This is not the pastry for you if you’re looking for traditional pastries. If you’re a purist, if you’re looking for the world’s best croissant or pain au chocolat, wait for other recommendations. But if you want the pastry that brings the most joy, a combination of sweet and salty, butter and cinnamon…this is it.

The roulé à la cannelle at Ten Belles Bread. Pure butter croissant dough turned into a cinnamon roll, topped with flaky sea salt. The greatest pastry in Paris.

Afterwards, the day is yours. You’ve already won.