Joyous return

Le Canard Sauvage, Place des Vosges properties, Les Enfants du Marché, Sant Roch, Les Prés d’Eugénie, Chesa Marchetta Hotel, MORE

WORK • Friday Routine

Swann’s way

ANYA FIRESTONE • licensed Paris experience curator and guide & French heritage expert • Maison Firestone
Neighborhood you live in: 9th arr

It’s Friday afternoon. How are you rolling into the weekend?
I never have the same schedule, given that my work involves designing and hosting private, highly customized tours of Paris (called “Cou-Tours”) for mostly Anglophone clients. I’m licensed by the Ministry of Culture as a guide-conférencière, which means I can give lectures and tours inside the museums of France. I’m with clients for a full day or multi-day trip. Typically, that involves a museum in the morning, lunch somewhere historic or hidden, and then an afternoon experience that extends what we’ve seen at the museum into real life and Paris today — something immersive and unexpected that opens up closed doors.

One constant on Friday is that I host a Shabbat dinner party each week, often with a fun, sometimes avant-garde theme (The Nanny? Clue whodunnit? Surrealism?). Around 4p, I pick up my bébé, Swann, from crèche, then we go up Rue des Martyrs for flowers and last-minute groceries I’ve forgotten, get the bébé a baguette from Le Pain Retrouvé and my favorite cheese shop Fromagerie Châtaigner, before heading home to start the challah dough and set the table.

I usually host a mix of friends, but as my business expands into helping Americans not just visit Paris but also live here, I’m beginning to shape some of these evenings into more salon-like dinners — a way for expats and locals to meet, connect, and ease into French life, surrounded by crown molding, homemade food, and an excessive amount of candles. (My favorites are from Trudon, the candle purveyor to Louis XIV, still going strong!)

What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m visiting two residential properties for sale in Paris, one for a couple who wants to fully relocate, and another looking for a pied-à-terre. I also need to run to Chaussettes Rouges to pick up socks for a male client whom my husband, Matthieu, is styling. It’s an amazing little shop with beautifully made socks from Italy (the same ones worn by the Pope). Later, I’ll head home, cook dinner for my son Swann, put him to bed, and watch RuPaul’s Drag Race with my husband over a glass (or two) of wine. Bonne nuit.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
This weekend, I’m taking my son to the Marais to one of my favorite museums, the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature. It’s a divinely rich collection that pays homage to the relationship between humans and animals. If you can look past the taxidermy, it’s actually a sensational tribute to animals with a beautifully curated mix of contemporary and antique works.

Then, just a few minutes’ walk away, we’ll go to the Marché des Enfants Rouges. Inside is one of my favorite spots to eat, Les Enfants du Marché, where the plates look like Michelin-starred dishes. The foie gras and eel dish is a must-have, served with a very natty wine selected by someone from their very friendly, cool team.

Any weekend getaways?
I love visiting the Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay with my family and friends. It’s just about an hour’s drive from Paris, and upon arrival, you feel like you’ve entered some English-French aristocratic country home, but with a silver platter of fries and a spritz.

The site is historic too, founded as a Cistercian abbey dating to the 12th century, and during the golden age of the Jewish aristocratic Rothschild family, it was transformed into a grand private retreat. Today, it’s been given new life with meticulous interiors by Cordelia de Castellane (of Dior Home and Baby Dior), who can do no wrong fusing patterns and textiles like a magician: leopard + check + floral. It works! It’s an easy, transportive escape from Paris that is very magical (as is the gua sha body massage. Ask for Flore!).

What was your last great vacation?
My last trip was with my husband for our anniversary for a couple of nights, at my all-time favorite special-occasion spot: Les Prés d’Eugénie (near the Pyrénées). It is so charming and elegant. Palm trees, romantic country-house rooms, details like a chandelier tucked inside a pagoda, hand-hammered copper sinks, and beautiful dishware. Every choice is impeccable.

They have a three-star restaurant known, among other things, for their egg (with caviar).The late, great chef Michel Guérard also became known for developing a lighter, healthier approach to French cuisine, so one can have a fancy, yet healthy, experience there too. Small antique shops are in the nearby village, and I love gathering things from the local markets and having a simple picnic on the balcony. The spa’s incredible as well, especially the white porcelain clay bath.

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I love investing in things for the home and for Swann, but I want to keep the apartment looking chic: A toy chest from PoumPoum, in the shape of a Parisian building. I also acquired another playmat from Totter and Tumble, which takes from 19th-century William Morris prints. And then for something less child-friendly: Crystal cobalt stemware by Jonathan Hansen (I opted for the stemless flutes and use them as water glasses).

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PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Inside Sant Roch, France’s biggest sauna, newly opened in the 1st • Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2026: best runway looks… best backstage looks… Dior’s garden of earthly delights • Following renovation, Musée de la Vie Romantique reopens in the 9th • Legendary Paris discothèque Le Palace to return next year after four decades • Talking Paris cocktails with a true boulevardier • What poulet roti taught me about quality.

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RESTAURANTS • First Word

Anything goes

The Skinny: Leeds native and alum of beloved spots like Robert and Magnolia, Jack Baker Bosco is a hot name on the Paris restaurant scene right now. The chef’s new restaurant Le Canard Sauvage opened in November on the pulsing Boulevard de Strasbourg,and is a welcome addition to this pocket of the 10th arrondissement.