Fashion

The big news in the 2022 Michelin Guide was Chef Arnaud Donckele at restaurant Plénitude garnering three stars, from zero. It's very unusual for a new restaurant to pick up three stars in its first year of operation — in fact, we aren't sure it's ever happened before. Perhaps this shows what money can buy, for Plénitude is found in the former Samaritaine department store building, on the banks of the Seine, which, after a lengthy and expensive revamp (Michelin calls the work a "pharaonic investment") has become a new Parisian luxury shopping, dining, and hotel destination. The Michelin inspectors found it "impossible not to be impressed by [the chef's] work here" as they elevated Chef Donckele to the Olympic heights of chefs who hold three stars at more than one restaurant. Plénitude also received Michelin's Passion Dessert award for the work of Maxime Frédéric, the restaurant's pastry chef. 

 Le Bateau Lavoir is a historic atelier where famous artists Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, Kees van Dongen, Juan Gris, and Max Jacob lived and worked. In this unassuming little building that was once a piano factory, the art of Cubism was brought to life. Picasso moved here in 1904 and a year later painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. This surprising and distinctive painting is the first example of Picasso's signature Cubist style. Many artists, writers, actors, and art collectors (including Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Gertrude Stein, and Jean Cocteau) also visited Le Bateau Lavoir to discuss art, which allowed new ideas to flourish.  In addition to the artists who visited and lived here, many noteworthy artists (including Paul Gauguin, Otto Freundlich, André Salmon, and Constantin Brancusi) had their studios here. Back in those days, at the turn of the century, the house was rather squalid and had no electricity, heating, or running water, but it was very inexpensive, and the artists were happy living there because the cheap rent allowed for experimental creativity. The atelier has since been rebuilt, replicating its original form, after being destroyed by a fire in the 1970s. However, only a small shopfront reveals the historic character of the original building that was home to a legendary artists' community. Today the space houses 25 artists' studios. The Bateau-Lavoir is on the delightful tree-lined square, previously named Place Ravignan.  Address: 13 Place Emile-Goudeau, 75018 Paris