Sojourn in Paris #1

Paris 2025 - Julien Bouillon

My daughter and I just spent a long weekend together in Paris, which was a real treat, both to enjoy her company and to explore a city that I have not visited for a good few years. 

We flew from Manchester and, although it's not really that far, it took all day to get there. We got an early train to the airport. There was the usual waiting around pre-flight, then a very long (over an hour) queue at Border Control at Paris CDG, as the EU is introducing a new biometric entry system. Everyone had to get their photos and fingerprints taken (though for some reason they didn't bother with my fingerprints!) Then we had a longish train and metro journey to our accommodation. 

We'd booked an evening meal at a restaurant called Julien Bouillon, which my daughter had spotted online. It was rather an amazing place - and good that we had a booking, since there was a queue of would-be diners outside. It's said to be 'one of the most beautiful restaurants in Paris, if not the world'. It's a wonderfully preserved example of the Art Nouveau style. The building was constructed in 1906 by the French architect Edouard Fournier. It has stunning ceramic tiles and plasterwork, ornate stained glass panels in the ceiling and a beautifully carved mahogany bar. It was decorated by a number of exceptional craftspeople: Armand Segaud (peacock panels), Charles Buffet and Georges Guenne (stained glass), Hippolyte Boulenger (ceramic tiles), Louis Majorelle (woodwork), amongst others.

The four panels of 'flower women' depicting the four seasons, created by master glassmaker Louis Trezel, were inspired by Alfons Mucha's distinctive Art Nouveau designs. The building was renovated in 2018, when they discovered that the original wall colour was céladon green rather than beige, so it has been restored with that colour.

A ‘bouillon’ is a restaurant first created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries serving traditional French cuisine, in particular a ‘bouillon’ (broth). The purpose of the ‘bouillon’ was to serve good quality food at affordable prices. In 1900, nearly two hundred and fifty bouillons could be found in Paris. Today, Julien is one of only a small handful of authentic restaurants of this kind that remain in the French capital. Still very affordable too!

As for the food, well, it was tasty. I just had a main course of smoked pork loin, sauerkraut and potatoes. My daughter enjoyed onion soup and smoked pollock brandade, then we shared a crème brûlée. It was remarkably good value. 

A memorable start to our weekend away!