Vineyard vistas
Shakespeare and Co., townhouses in the 20th, L’escale, Tenuta Selvadolce, best French artisanal butter, MORE
WORK • Friday Routine
Bard’s life
SYLVIA WHITMAN • bookshop owner • Shakespeare and Company
Neighborhood you live & work in: 5th arr
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I always start the day with a walk along the glistening Seine with Djuna the gorgeous bookshop dog. I need this escape as I live above the bookshop! Before opening our doors, the team takes 15 minutes to talk about the day’s priorities or just the current book we love. Then we open the doors and see who is on our doorstep, and Djuna welcomes all.
What’s on the agenda for today?
At the moment I’m thinking of how to celebrate the bookstore’s upcoming 75th anniversary, as well as finishing work on a new section (art and history books). We’re also thinking about alternatives to current social media outlets and how to stay in touch without the algorithms (after reading Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and Sarah Wynn-Williams’ Careless People).
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
L’escale on Île Saint-Louis is my favourite spot right now. It’s the kind of place you’d expect to find in the 11th, not the 5th. It has the best music and crowd, and I love that people talk to strangers there.
How about a little leisure or culture?
My sons have insisted on visits to Roland Garros for the tennis tournaments and now I’m into it! It’s always a good idea to catch a live jazz concert by my friend Alex or a classic old movie at either Le Champo or Le Grand Action on Rue des Écoles.
Any weekend getaways?
London for great shows and funky fashion and the buzzing energy! Deauville (the 21st arrondissement de Paris) for some sea-air! And any of the forests near Paris such as Rambouillet, Fontainebleau or Meudon.
What was your last great vacation?
Venice! A classic. Our hotel wasn’t great but we spotted a beauty: Hotel Cipriani. (Its restaurant Cips is great for a special occasion.) Palais des Doges has to be one of the most incredible buildings in the world. As always, we seek out the local bookstores and it’s a great way to get a flavour of the city. The bookshop Damocle Edizioni was particularly special as the owner also prints limited editions of poetry including one of our favourites, Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A special treat is a facial at AIME.
What store or service do you always recommend?
La Tresorie for homeware
Thanx God I’m a VIP for really organized vintage clothes
My friends Ivan and Benoit at Astier de Villatte make the most original gifts
Where are you donating your time or money?
1% for the Planet. Every year associations pitch for donations to go to their environmental cause and as a team we vote to decide on who to support each year. Last year we donated to support insects, bears, forests and ways to avoid technological waste. This year we’ve focused on Ile de France and chose Veni Verdi and Les Petites Cantines, which offer meals that are healthy, cheap (you pay what you can afford) and communal.
PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Renowned punk-ethos gallery Air de Paris bankrupted, closing this week • Chatting with Andrea Capasso, executive chef of Le Clarence in the 8th • How and where to watch Roland Garros 2026 • Walking the streets of Ben Franklin’s Paris • Five favorites in Paris this spring • How Sweden built one of Europe’s most stable art markets.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three townhouses for sale in the 20th arr:
→ La Campagne (metro Pelleport) • 3BR/2.1BA, 192 m2 house • Ask: 2.74M € • 4-level family townhouse with tree-filled garden • Agent: Claire Vernet, Barnes.
→ Heart of the 20th (metro Jourdain, above) • 4BR/5BA, 370 m2 house • Ask: 2.785M € • built 1949, 3-story townhouse with sleek modern feel • Agent: Romain Costa, Engel & Völkers.
→ Rue de Rondeaux (metro Gambetta) • 4BR/3.1BA, 600 m2 house • Ask: 5.5M € • 6-story townhouse with lift access, no facing neighbors, plus pool, jacuzzi, hammam, and sauna • Agent: Guillaume Puech, Daniel Feau.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
French artisanal butter
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Paid subscribers can access the complete Nines archive.
Maison Bordier (Bretagne), surprisingly farmy-yet-elegant, smooth texture
Maison Viard (Moyon Villages, Normandie, found at Myam), farm butter energy, clean cream, elevated basic
Ferme de Hyaumet, EARL Moinet (Pays de Bray, Seine Maritime), pasture feeling, rustic
EARL La Martellerie (Anneville Ambourville, Normandie, above), beurre cru, a little more wild, alive, harder to find but worth seeking
La Conviette (Charentes-Poitou AOP), elegant, more on the classic side, neat, precise. simple pleasure
La Grande Prairie (Pas-de-Calais), great introduction to this universe, structured simplicity
Le Coq d Or, Beurre de Bresse AOP (Bresse, found at Terroirs d’Avenir), more commercial, still good, classic AOP polish, clean, structured
Ferme du Pis Qui Chante (Maine-et-Loire, found at Terroirs d’Avenir), right balance between wild and sophisticated
Ferme de Kervannes (Finistère, found at Terroirs d’Avenir), crème crue, demi-sel, serious farm character, strongly elegant too
CULTURE & LEISURE • Block Party
Supersonic’s Block Party Festival • Supersonic (12th arr) • Fri-Sun • GA, 62 € per
Slimane • Salle Pleyel (19th arr) • Wed @ 20h • carre or, 95 € per
Orchestre de Paris / Daniel Harding • Prokofiev, Berlioz • Grande salle Pierre Boulez – Philharmonie (19th arr) • Wed @ 20h • cat 1, 65 € per
Paid subscribers unlock this Italian vineyard getaway.
GETAWAYS • Italy
Message in a bottle
Through a gate, up the hill, around the turn, and, suddenly, the Selvadolce estate reveals itself. A breathtaking view of the sea stretching as far as the eye can reach, vines facing the sun, rows lined with bright green grass dotted with small yellow flowers. It leaves you momentarily speechless. As Selvadolce’s proprietor Aris Blancardi puts it: how could you make bad wine from a place like this?