RICHARD GILLISand MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBYon where to eat and drink if you're making the trip for today's match
THERE ARE FEW more romantic-sounding places in the world than Le Triangle de la Soif, and given this afternoon’s face-off between 6 Nations rugby and St Valentine’s Day, referring to Le Triangle may be just enough to ensure that rugby wins out over an overpriced restaurant meal with hot and cold running troubadours.
Let’s face it, veterans of last Saturday’s dreary 6 Nations opener against Italy will head to Paris today in desperate need of something to lift the spirits: there was precious little romance to be found at Croke Park.
To ease your passage, avoid translation before you get over there: Le Triangle de la Soif means the Thirst Triangle, and it refers to a small run of avenues just off the Left Bank where come this evening many of the more discerning fans will be celebrating or drowning their sorrows in Euro fizz.
Get off the Métro at St Germain des Prés or Odéon, and Rues Canettes, Princesse and Guisarde will await you with open arms. There's even a church – St Sulpice – should the need for prayer arise. This post-match period is known locally as the troisième mi-temps, or third half, and it's best not to fight it. Just drink it all in, literally and metaphorically.
With the game and its aftermath catered for, you are left with making the most of the rest of the weekend. The great thing about Paris is that the famous bits are both accessible and nearly always live up to their billing. The big-ticket destinations – the Champs Élysées, Place de le Concorde and Arc de Triomphe – still take the breath away.
But it’s the smaller, more intimate moments that should be treasured. What’s more, of any city in the world bar, perhaps, New York, the side streets are so familiar that you feel as if you are in a film. But remember that this is not just any weekend: the city will be packed with lovers – and their bastard cousins rugby-lovers.
If the sun is shining, the temptation is to sip hot, bitter coffee in Montmartre, à la Jean-Paul Belmondo. But remember: Belmondo only had Jean Seberg to keep happy. Hordes of green-shirted men from Meath were noticeable by their absence from the cast of À Bout de Souffle.
Instead, duck down the fifth or sixth arondissement and potter around St Germain des Prés and the Latin Quarter, with its cobbled streets, boutiques, art shops and general feeling of upmarket bohemia. It’s where the students of the Sorbonne hang out, talking very loudly about books they’ve never read and dreaming of the life to come. It’s easy to be romantic in Paris. And it works for rugby fans, too.
Where to eat, win draw... or lose.
Le Relais de l’Entrecôte.
15 Rue Marbeuf, 101 Boulevard du Montparnasse and 20 Rue Saint-Benoit, relaisentrecote.fr. A queue outside a restaurant is always a good sign, and the almost continual lines outside the three Paris branches of Le Relais de l’Entrecôte move quickly, so you won’t be waiting long for a no-choice feast of green salad with walnuts followed by slices of excellent steak in a delicious green sauce, with heaps of crispy pommes frites. If the plate looks a bit on the small side, don’t panic: the charming waitresses will expect you to eat seconds. The set price is a reasonable €23.50. Desserts – there are lots to choose from – and cheese are extra. Open lunch and dinner; last orders 11.30pm.
Juveniles.
46 Rue de Richelieu, 00-33-1-4-2974649. Tim Johnston is the genial Scottish host at Juveniles, a great little wine bar with a good line in comfort food. Centrally located, not far from Palais Royale, Juveniles is a great spot for a goat’s-cheese salad and a glass of something cold for lunch, or for more substantial fare in the evenings. Open Monday to Saturday, lunch and dinner (no lunch Mondays).
La Rotisserie de Beaujolais.
19 Quai de la Tournelle, 00-33-1-4-3541747. A Seineside seat by the window, with a view of Île Saint-Louis, a plate of rotisserie chicken with gravy and creamy potato puree, and a glass of Beaujolais: could this be the perfect post-match pick-me-up tomorrow? This relatively inexpensive little brother to the upscale Tour d’Argent opens seven days, lunch and dinner, and specialises in grilled and roasted meats.
Le Boeuf sur le Toit.
34 Rue du Colisée, 00-33-1-53936555. This art-deco gem, in a smart and central part of town, is part of the Flo chain of brasseries and restaurants that also includes big names such as Bofinger, Julien and Le Vaudeville. It’s a great place to kick back in bustling, atmospheric surroundings – and it opens late, with reservations taken until midnight. There’s something for everyone on the menu, from French onion soup to giant seafood platters.
Les Relais d’Alsace.
16 Rue Coquillière, 00-33-1-42367424, lesrelaisdalsace.com. If tankards of beer, pots of mussels with mountains of chips, tasty pizza-like flammekueches, several types of sausage and plates of grilled meat are what you're looking for, this Alsace chain could fit the bill. This branch near Les Halles never closes.