La Frégate
Brasserie, French, European, Vegetarian, $$$

Quai Voltaire, La Fregate, Paris | © Britchi Mirela | Wikicommons
The pavement terrace of La Frégate is a great spot to soak up some of historical Paris. The Pont Royal is across the street leading to the Louvre and the Tuilerie gardens, and the Musée d’Orsay is just a stone’s throw away on the same quayside. If the flow of traffic were replaced by horses and carriages, you could easily be in a different epoch; this feeling of a different age is what Alexandre Dumas must have felt when he wrote the legendary tale of the Three Musketeers. And, indeed, this is where it all began: the real d’Artagnan who served Louis XIV as captain of the musketeers of the guard, and on whom Dumas based his novel, lived in this very building in the 1630s. Food-wise, La Frégate is a haven for oyster lovers with its fine selection of Normandy-sourced oysters to be savored with a carefully selected bottle from the curated wine list. A traditional menu also proposes some great classics such as onion soup or homemade fruit tarts.