Ideas for Valentine’s Day in Paris

Q: My husband and I are spending Valentine’s Day in Paris, and we will be there for eight days; could you give us some suggestions on what to do and recommendations for restaurants, especially for that most romantic day? We are both fluent in French. Can you help? — Josette and Mike Raty, Cornville, Ariz.

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Remy de la Mauviniere

It might sound like a cliche, but nothing’s more romantic than seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, especially on Valentine’s Day.

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A: Ah, Paris on that high holy day of romance. Tres magnifique. The first recommendation may be obvious, but “nothing is more romantic than the Eiffel Tower’s twinkling lights at night,” as it was put by Victoria Shannon, digital news editor at The International Herald Tribune in Paris, who has lived there for a decade. For dinner, she recommended the restaurant on the second level of the tower, Le Jules Verne (33-1-4555-6144; www.restaurants-toureiffel.com). (The other restaurant in the tower, Altitude 95, is closed until March for renovations.) For more on the lure of the Eiffel Tower at night, look for Alison Smale’s article “The City of Light, as Seen From a Glittering Perch” (Aug. 26, 2007).

And for apres-Eiffel, Shannon recommends the Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris (15, place Vendome; 33-1-43-16-30-30; www.ritzparis.com), which is pricey but has inventive drinks, some with orchids and roses hanging from them.

Maia de la Baume, a researcher in The Times’ Paris bureau, recommended a “lavish and sophisticated meal in one of the coziest atmospheres in Paris,” the restaurant Laperouse (51 quai des Grands Augustins; 33-1-5679-2431; www.laperouse.fr/restaurant), once frequented by Emile Zola and Balzac. On Valentine’s Day it is offering a special menu for 190 euros, (about $274) without wine.

If you’re looking for a hotel, check out Elaine Sciolino’s “Paris Chic, on the Cheap” (April 22, 2007) with accommodation options that include the Hotel Muguet (11, rue Chevert; 33-1-4705-0593; www.hotelmuguet.com), which she described as a good pick “for a couple on a romantic vacation.”

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