hip destinations

Gourmet Traveler: Dining under the stars in Paris

The top two floors of the Kenzo flagship store houses the ultramodern restaurant Kong. Architect Jean-Jacques Ory's glass skylight replaces the traditional metal roof and gives you the impression to eat under the stars. Fumiko Kono’s cooking is creating a bridge between the French cuisine and modern Japanese cooking. Besides being tragically hip, the chicken dish in yoghurt and wasabi sauce is a steal considering you'd pay twice for the view alone. And the house "must" is the wine, which for some reason is one-third the price of the cocktails. After a few too many glasses, the chairs with female faces imprinted on them and the lime green fluorescent stairway designed by Phillipe Starck become even more interesting.

Private Collection: Christian Laxroix's Hôtel du Petit Moulin in Paris

Christian Laxroix has designed his first hotel, the Hôtel du Petit Moulin. Located in the trendy Marais, this 17th century building, the site of an ancient bakery, has been completely renovated. The facade, dating back to 1900, as well as the shop sign, both of which are registered as historic monuments, have been preserved. 17 rooms, ranging in style from baroque to Zen are waiting for the urban traveler. Contemporary furniture is mixed with old beams, reproduction wallpapers and screen-printed mural panels, some of which incprporate Lacroix's fashion drawings. The café is pure french bistro: tables, chairs and the bar are salvaged from old Parisian restauants.

Gourmet Traveler: Contemporary Dining in Paris

For quite a while dining out in Paris meant Brasseries “à l’ancienne”: heavy French food in traditional restaurants. Luckily this has changed and there are now more and more interesting places for contemporary dining to discover: Maison Blanche in the 8th arrondissement: The Pourcel brothers in the kitchen, designer Imaad Rhamouni for the décor, the City of Lights at your feet: that’s a good way of summing things up.

Some might say that the best way to view the Centre Pompidou is from six flights up, atop the centre itself, in the restaurant Georges. Run by Thierry Costes, son of celebrated restaurateur Gilbert Costes, Restaurant Georges views will amaze, and its menu continues to gain some encouraging praise. Designed by Paris-based architects Dominique Jakob and Brendan MacFarlane, Georges seats about 200 inside its imposing room. Ceilings 30 feet high display exposed silver and blue piping, while four aortic valve-like structures are the rooms main attractions. During the day, visitors of the centre are enjoining a refreshment, in the evening an interesting crowd of long-legged models, various suits, some trendy euro-trash and a few skate-rats thrown in for color are enjoying a surprisingly good buzz...