Half a day in Paris

Go beyond the boardroom. If you’ve finished your business meetings and still have a few hours to kill before the next train home, get out into the city. Choose the smaller museums, the restaurants that don’t need a reservation and a café to watch the world go by..
 
Musée Rodin  
Wander through the rooms of this elegant mansion to see Rodin’s exquisite ballerinas in bronze, but don’t miss the real beauties out in the sculpture garden under the lime trees. Contemplate The Thinker, the Gates of Hell and the Burghers of Calais. The museum has an excellent hand-held audio tour and there’s a café in the garden.
Metro: Varenne (line 13)
Address: 79 rue de Varenne
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 18 61 10
Opening hours: Apr-Sep, Tue-Sun 09:30-17:45 (garden closes at 18:45); Oct-Mar, Tue-Sun 09:30-16:45 (garden closes at 17:00)
Prices: €6; reduced €4
Web: www.musee-rodin.fr

 Le Relais de L’Entrecôte
Dismiss impersonators. Squashed in the heart of St-Germain, this is the only place to eat steak-frites. No menu. Just say how you want it: bleu (v rare), saignant (rare), à point (medium), bien cuit (well done). Then prepare for a light green salad with walnuts, followed by tender beef slices slopping in a secret-recipe sauce (pepper, garlic??) aside crispy golden fries. You devour the lot. And then get seconds, without asking. Heaven. Wonderfully, there are no reservations but there is always a long queue outside.
Metro: St Germain-des-Près (line 4)
Address: 20 rue St-Benoît
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 49 16 00
Opening hours: Daily 12:00-14:30, 19:00-23:30
Prices: €23 for set menu
Web: www.relaisentrecote.fr

Musée Picasso
Deep in le Marais, this is one of the world’s largest collections of the Spanish artist’s work. The savvy French revenue authority claimed a quarter of Picasso’s paintings in lieu of inheritance tax, since the painter spent much of his career in Paris.
Metro: St-Sébastian Froissart (line 8)
Address: 5 rue de Thorigny
Tel: +33 (0)1 42 71 25 21
Opening times: Oct-Mar, Wed-Mon 09:30-17:30; Apr-Sep Wed-Mon 09:30-18:00
Prices: €7.70; reduced €5.70; under-18 free; free to all on the first Sunday of every month
Web: www.musee-picasso.fr

 L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Ultimate bar-stool dining around a bustling open-kitchen of perfectionist chefs. If you can afford it, order every single dégustation at about €20 a pop – unless that’s too complex on the tongue. Don’t miss the hot duck foie gras with citrus or the langoustine ravioli with truffles. Guarantee yourself a ‘soufflé Chartreuse’ with pistachio ice cream splodged into its heart. Let them choose accompanying wine by the glass. There are no reservations, so the whole world has a chance of sampling its delights.
Metro: rue du Bac (line 12)
Address: 5 rue de Montalembert
Tel: +33 (0)1 42 22 56 56
Opening times: Daily 11:30-15:30, 18:30-00:00
Prices: €70 for an assortment of little tasting plates
Web: www.joel-robuchon.com

Square du Vert Galant 
At the very western tip of Île de la Cité you’ll find this enchanting refuge away from the crowds. The Square du Vert Galant juts out from under the Pont Neuf, offering a perfect triangle of turf to take along a baguette, a book and a friend.
Metro: Pont Neuf (line 7)

Le Café Marly 
Louvre-weary? Under the arches, overlooking I. M. Pei’s sublime Pyramid, there’s no better place to kick back. Outdoors, there‘s ideal people-watching seating, while indoors you can relax within the café’s elegant interiors.
Metro: Palais Royal (line 1, 7)
Address: Palais du Louvre
Tel: +33 (0)1 49 26 06 60
Opening times: Daily 08:00-01:00
Prices: €5 for a coffee, €13 for a Cosmopolitan

 Jeu de Paume 
As photography has received greater attention in the world of art, so has its history. In the Jardin des Tuileries, this gallery (a former real tennis court) holds fascinating exhibitions of portraiture, montage and docu-photography, as well as film, video and installation art.
Metro: Concorde (line 1, 8, 12)
Address: 1 place de la Concorde
Tel: +33 (0)1 47 03 12 50
Opening times: Tue 12:00-21:00, Wed-Fri 12:00-19:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-19:00
Prices: €6; reduced €3
Web: www.jeudepaume.org

 Fauchon 
In spite of its years, this emporium of cakes, wines, breads, pastries and fresh fruits has a contemporary feel with vivid Lacroix-esque colours and jamming music. Take a seat in the lunchtime café for a baguette stuffed with foie gras and a leopard-skin-patterned chocolate éclair. 
Metro: Madeleine (line 12 and 14)
Address: 26 place de la Madeleine
Tel: +33 (0)1 70 39 38 00
Opening times: Mon-Sat 08:00-19:00
Prices: €15 for light lunch
Web: www.fauchon.fr

Café Beaubourg  
Enjoy a spot of shameless people-watching from the rows of metallic terrace chairs in black, white, red or beige. Perfect for Sunday brunch while you listen to buskers playing outside the Pompidou Centre, or just coffee, smoothies and cocktails. 
Metro: Rambuteau (line 11)
Address: 100 rue St Martin
Tel: +33 (0)1 48 87 63 96
Opening times: Daily 08:00-02:00
Prices: Brunch - the works €22, croque monsieur €12