Beaupassage, an Epicure Garden

Visitors entering from boulevard Raspail step into La Traversée (The Crossing), the dreamlike world of Eva Jospin made from a cardboard forest that forms a thirty-meter corridor leading straight to Marc Vellay’s huge bronze L’Arbre Neuronal (Neuronal Tree.) Les Mangoustes de Beauvais by stone sculptor Stefan Rinck is just a short walk away. These three primitive mongooses invite us to enjoy the gourmet delights on offer at Yannick Alléno’s Allénothèque, a bistronomic restaurant, wine cellar and art gallery spread over three floors; the Mersea restaurant of Finistère Chef Olivier Bellin with its seafood menu; La Boulangerie Thierry Marx and its wide selection of bread kneaded on the premises; Alexandre Pommard’s Boucherie-Restaurant; the Fromagerie Barthélémy, a cheese store that supplies the French presidential palace, the Élysée, among others; and the Café Pierre Hermé, where you can savor macaroons in a tasteful décor by Laura Gonzalez. To create the perfect showcase, each Chef has called on top designers including Mathieu Lehanneur, the brains behind Daily Pic, Anne-Sophie Pic’s upmarket canteen, and the Onndo collective, formed by the Nomura and Nendo architecture studios, which designed the contemporary café for Japanese brand %arabica, where you can choose from a stimulating selection of quality coffees. And if you need to burn off some of those calories, the sports club opened by champion coach Abdoulaye Fadiga has all the facilities you need for a healthy mind in a healthy body.