Flooded with light
Matka, Marais for 3M €, Romée Paris, Arte Povera, Conservatoire des Hémisphères, best cocktail bars, La Fiermontina Ocean, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Polish precision
The Skinny: For his first solo project Matka, chef Piotr Korzen introduces the soulful cuisine of his Polish childhood to the Marais, filtered through the precision of French technique, served with the warmth of a family kitchen.
The Vibe: The space feels like a cross between a Kraków bistro and a storybook cottage: exposed stone walls, antique mirrors, a bottle-green leather banquette, a working fireplace. The open kitchen is visible from the second room in the back through a red-painted corridor.
The Food & Drink: Start with a herring tartare, or a cold pink borscht called chłodnik. Throughout the menu, items are stuffed but not stuffy: pierogi filled with potato, onion, and pressed faisselle; cabbage rolls (gołąbki) with lamb and rice; a chicken roulade with raisins and almonds. If it’s on the menu, order the smoked trout with buckwheat blinis and crème fraîche. Desserts include a fluffy cheesecake with rhubarb, and a poppy seed roll (makowiec) with meringue and chocolate ice cream. Even the drinks nod to home, with Rondo and Regent grapes from young Polish winemakers, plus a few bottles of vodka and cider for good measure.
The Verdict: A vibrant and authentic debut. –Victoire Loup
→ Matka (Marais) • 78 Rue Quincampoix • Wed-Sun 12h-14h & 19h30-22h • Book.
PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Inside the remade Grand Palais • Paris Fashion Museum names new director • Virgil Abloh exhibition coming to Paris Fashion Week in September • A palatial makeover for a Versailles apartment • How sporty sunglasses became super smart.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Three properties currently on offer in the Marais for around 3M €.
→ Marais (metro Chemin Vert) • 3BR/1.2BA, 143 m2 • Ask: 2.695M € • classic 4th floor apartment in 1880 building with lift • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 4186 € • Agent: Médéric de Rivoyre
→ Marais/Place des Vosges (metro Rambuteau, above) • 3BR/2BA, 176 m2 • Ask: 3.1M € • ground-floor loft with glass roof at rear of cobblestone courtyard • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 2658 € • Agent: Virginie Lambert Ferry, Sotheby’s Paris Ouest.
→ Place des Vosges (metro Chemin Vert) • 1BR/1BA, 89 m2 • Ask: 3.3M € • unique loft-style apartment with 400-year-old beams on fourth floor of Pavillon du Roi • Annual maintenance/condo fees: 2150 € • Agent: Melvin Cesar, Daniel Feau.
WORK • Friday Routine
Brand ambassador
FAUSTINE DORDET • founder & stylist • Romée Paris
Neighborhood you live in: Levallois-Perret
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Today I’m lucky — the room is flooded with light. A true tea enthusiast, I’m enjoying “Ambroisie,” my favorite green tea, which I buy from the tea specialist shop Conservatoire des Hémisphères.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m the only one managing Romée, my women’s ready-to-wear brand, so I play multiple roles: designer, manager, marketing lead, communications head, and more. This morning, I’m working on the mood board for my next photoshoot, which will take place in a beautiful Parisian apartment in a few days. I’m completely revamping the brand’s image, which takes up a lot of my time. Later, I’m meeting a friend for lunch before heading to my production workshop on the outskirts of Paris, to try on new models and ensure everything meets the brand’s standards. At 5 p.m., I have an appointment to check out the latest fabric arrivals at the warehouse — an exciting moment to plan for the upcoming collections.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I’m having lunch with a friend at Casa Bini in the 7th arrondissement — I love this Italian spot in the heart of Paris. Tomorrow, we’re going as a family to try MoSuke, the restaurant by chef Mory Sacko. Each year, we treat our parents to a nice lunch, and this time, we’re eager to experience Sacko’s blending of African cuisine with Japanese influences while staying true to French gastronomy. Tomorrow night, it’s date night — my partner is taking me to our little go-to spot in the 7th arrondissement, La Laiterie. And this weekend, we’re brunching with friends at Hôtel Hoy in the 9th arrondissement.
How about a little leisure or culture?
On Monday, I visited the Arte Povera exhibition at the Bourse de Commerce. It was quite crowded (too much so!), but incredibly thought-provoking. By showcasing this movement in such a prestigious, historically rich setting, the exhibition creates a dialogue between raw art and spaces of power and commerce, offering a profound reflection on the value of art, its materials, and meanings. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to see iconic Arte Povera works in an exceptional setting. I also love strolling through various Parisian galleries and the gardens at the Albert Kahn Museum in Boulogne. Additionally, I enjoy visiting The Silo near Paris, which hosts temporary contemporary art exhibitions.
Any weekend getaways?
My husband and I are spending four days in Marrakech at the Selman Hotel. Just the two of us, without the kids — we’re so excited to relax and enjoy the famous 80-meter pool. We’re also looking forward to dining at Jean-François Piège’s new restaurant there.
What was your last great vacation?
We went to the north of Mallorca, where we’ve been vacationing as a family for two generations, far from the touristy beaches. We also spent a week in Megève in a chalet with a breathtaking view of Mont Blanc, where our only neighbors were cows and their bells. It was simultaneously rejuvenating, restful, and active — Megève has become one of our favorite spots for summer vacations with the kids.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A pair of purple suede Chanel slingbacks. The color is quite unusual, but I adore it — it’s not something you see everywhere.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
High tea
On the Rue du Bac, past antique dealers and galleries, a glint of gold tins signals the entrance to Conservatoire des Hémisphères. Founded in 2020 by Alice Bureau, a former Officine Universelle Buly collaborator, this boutique applies a perfumer’s rigor to the world of tea.
The collection spans over 100 references, from smoky Lapsang and puffy Bai Mu Dan, to signature blends like Rive Gauche, with green tea, orange blossom, rose petals, and berries. There are theine-free options including rooibos mixes and herbal infusions with eleven-plant formulas. Some tea creations veer toward the poetic, like Souvenir Proustien, with notes of roasted almond, apple, and cinnamon — surely a nod to the author’s favorite madeleines. All come in customizable gold tins, pleated-silk paper, and ribbons you can choose yourself.
The space itself is reminiscent of a 19th-century apothecary. It’s as composed as the tea: soft lighting, wall-to-wall brass drawers, and shelves of matcha whisks, porcelain teapots, and Japanese ceramics. You can browse freely or ask questions, the staff knows every plant and every terroir by heart. –Victoire Loup
→ Conservatoire des Hémisphères (7th & 16th arrs) • 96 rue du Bac, Daily 11h-19h / 9 rue de Passy, Mon-Sat 11h-19h.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Run for Your Lives
Lollapalooza Paris • Olivia Rodrigo, Benson Boone, et al. • Hippodrome ParisLongchamp (Bois de Boulogne) • Fri-Sun • 1 day VIP, 499-599 € per
Iron Maiden • La Defense (Nanterre) • Sat @ 18h30 • prestige, 145 € per
Lu Jing • Salle Gaveau (8th arr) • Fri @ 20h30 • cat 1, 50 € per
GETAWAYS • Morocco
Home & heritage
It was an Italian friend who tipped us off to what is one of the most captivating new hotels to have opened anywhere in the world during the year or two, the Italo-Moroccan Filali family’s La Fiermontina Ocean, a seaside compound of 11 suites and two villas with private pools and four traditional houses near the coastal town of Larache, 45 minutes south of Tangiers in Morocco.
Hidden away in the country near the ocean, the hotel is decorated with a mixture of Moroccan furniture and craftsmanship and Dolce Vita vintage Italian furniture as unique as it is casually chic.
“A great hotel is where you meet interesting people and learn something new,” Yasmina Filali said over a glass of chilled Moroccan rosé on one of the terraces with sweeping seaviews the night we arrived. “This is our ambition for La Fiermontina Ocean.”
Filali and her family carefully considered what kind of a hotel they’d build on a large plot of land originally bought 30 years ago to build a house for themselves before deciding to create an eco-resort that could serve as a model for a new type of rural tourism in Morocco.
“Implementing what we’ve learned through our Orient-Occident Foundation, which we established to promote cultural exchanges between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean, we understood the region needed protected status as a natural park,” Filali continues. “Then the struggling local villages had to be intimately and organically involved with our project to build a hotel. While some villagers work at the hotel, others are employed by the Parc Naturel Régional – Les Dunes de Khemis Sahel. We look at every family on a case-by-case basis to see how we can help, and we’re also developing a cooperative staffed by local women to produce honey, jam, couscous and other products for sale.”
In addition to a beach club, hammam and restaurant, the heart of the hotel is the Maison du Cadi, a memorabilia gallery of the Filali family’s fascinating history and heritage. It was the meeting of Yasmina’s grandmother Antonia Fiermonte, a passionate Catholic raised free-thinking painter from Puglia, and Cadi Thadi Filali, a professor of Koranic law, that created this cosmopolitan family’s Italian-Moroccan background. It also explains the menu of Italian and traditional Moroccan dishes in the hotel’s restaurant, and why the Filali family owns several hotels in Lecce and one in Paris.
So maybe this summer, instead of yet another weekend in Trouville or week on the Ile de Re, you’ll hop an easy flight to Tangiers, and do your beach combing on a vast empty honey-colored Moroccan strand groomed by refreshing Atlantic breakers instead. –Alexander Lobrano
→ La Fiermontina Ocean (Larache) • NR 260, Houmat Eljediane Centre Sahel • Rooms from 515 € August wknd.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Finest farm stays in Europe • The world’s best hotel gyms • Virgin Atlantic debuts Starlink wifi, other upgrades • Why do airport restaurants feel the same?
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BARS • The Nines
Bars, craft cocktails
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Bar Nouveau (Marais, above), elegant interiors, artful drinks, thoughtful service