With Paris in the spotlight as the host of this year's Olympic games, people planning on visiting this summer know that the city is likely to be at its most crowded. But what tucked-away gems are there to discover outside of the busy rooms of the Louvre and the poetic, yet overly-traveled cobblestone alleys of Montmartre? We asked our favorite Paris-based designers to take us on a tour across the city to the places that feel most like home to them.
Heju is an architecture and design studio founded in Paris in 2015 by Hélène Pinaud and Julien Schwartzmann. Driven by a fascination with Japanese and Scandinavian design, the duo's work — straddling furniture, residential, hotel, and art projects — leans onto the timeless beauty of minimalist volumes and lines to 'breathe poetry into the daily lives of our clients'.
Focused around natural materials with living texture that evolves with use, and taking neutral, organic shades as the starting point for their Parisian designs, Heju creates spaces that don't simply please the eye, but also allow people to establish a long-term, meaningful emotional connection with them.
Boasting numerous collaborations with both rising and established design entities — including historical French house of paints Ressource, craftmanship-driven gallery La Lune, and furniture design studio Tiptoe — Pinaud and Schwartzmann imaginatively readapt their style to amplify 'the essence of the place'. In doing so, they manage to elevate their clients' taste while using their practice as a testing ground for further invention.
Below, Heju guides us along their places of affection to an unconventional exploration of Paris.
1. Trace the lines of minimalist artists at Galerie Virginie Lesage
8 rue du Trésor, 75004
As one of the world's leading art capitals, Heju's itinerary to discovering Paris had to start with an independently run gallery. Located in the very heart of the city, within walking distance from outstanding museums Centre Pompidou, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, and Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, 'Galerie Virginie Lesage is a small art space with a minimalist selection of emerging artists,' Pinaud and Schwartzmann tell me.
Founded by furniture and art object specialist Virginie Lesage, the gallery acts as a platform for undiscovered talent, striving 'to highlight works of art in limited editions, small series, or unique pieces conceived by new designers, craftsmen, artists of the material, and guarantors of a know-how in the service of design and decoration'.
Reaching across decorative objects, ceramics, lighting, photography, graphic works on canvas and paper, as well as furniture — all of which browsable on its website — Galerie Virginie Lesage represents an international roster of artists currently steering creativity into its next chapter.
2. Immerse yourself in the contemporary design scene at BOON_ROOM
9 rue de Lesdiguières, 75004
Heju's design-infused list of recommendations continues with BOON_ROOM, situated 15 minutes' walk southeast from Galerie Virginie Lesage on a perpendicular street to the riverside Quai des Célestins.
Powered by Kristofer Kongshaug and Clemente Pediconi's creative agency BOON, 'BOON_ROOM is a unique concept gallery that fuses art, design, and fashion, with an eye for projects characterized by strong personality and aesthetic,' Pinaud and Schwartzmann say. Showcasing a selection of emerging, mid-career, and renowned artists working across all forms of artistic expression, the space nurtures the innovators of the future as much as it offers a stage to the groundbreaking creations of today's leading makers.
With an eclectic collection of art, furniture, and collectibles available to purchase on its website, and a thought-provoking programming unfolding throughout the year, 'this atypical place is one of our favorite spaces to visit when we are looking for inspiration,' adds Heju.
3. Shop consciously at Poudre Organic
38 rue du Château d'Eau, 75010
Should you be traveling to Paris with little ones, make sure to include Poudre Organic in your to-do list. The brainchild of business as well as life partners Manon and Quentin Frottier, this cottagecore-inspired brand was born to remedy the absence of comfortable, durable, and accessible children clothing crafted in Europe — or better, to solve the Frottiers' own quest for it. Informed by those criteria, Poudre Organic has gone from a kids-focused label only producing selected items to all-around fashion destination reworking organic cotton and recycled materials into garments for clients of all ages.
With four shops scattered across France, including a Parisian location refurbished by Heju themselves, it caters to anyone caring about style as much as they do for the planet.
4. See how French and Korean cuisines meet at Pierre Sang Express
25 rue Oberkampf, 75011
'If you like Asian food, you can't leave Paris without trying the Veggie bimbimbap and their chocolate mousse — with just a little pinch of salt,' the Heju co-founders say of their favorite dishes served at French-Korean restaurant Pierre Sang Express.
Sited in the pullulating-with-people, lively Oberkampf district, house to countless cafes, concert halls, and nightclubs, Pierre Sang Express' original location welcomes diners right where the magic happens thanks to an open plan kitchen dissolving the boundaries between guests and the chef. With sophisticated industrial decor and no set menu, it likes to take people by surprise while always retaining the inventiveness and quality-oriented essence of its gastronomic offer.
5. Unwind at Médiathèque Françoise Sagan
8 rue Léon Schwartzenberg, 75010
Named after prolific French novelist, playwright, and screenwriter Françoise Sagan, 'this library is an hidden gem — you really have to know the place in order to find it,' Pinaud and Schwartzmann say of the final pick on their Paris itinerary.
Rising in the 10th arrondissement in the north-eastern portion of the city, the Médiathèque Françoise Sagan has endured multiple lives, having previously housed a leprosarium, a priory, and a prison before becoming a cultural center. Because of its hidden location, 'despite being steeped in history, the site is still little-known, even by Parisians,' explain architects Stéphane Bigoni and Antoine Mortemard, who completed its renovation in 2015. Extending over 4,300 square meters, the Médiathèque Françoise Sagan is home to a multimedia collection of over 100,000 documents, and one of the widest municipal libraries in Paris. Featuring stone arched windows letting plenty of natural light in and transitional style interiors, the building beautifully unites heritage and innovation, as also evident in its textural modern garden — Heju's ultimate refuge from the din of the city.
Paris can be a highly divisive place, even more so for those who like to travel the less-trodden path. Whether you are a fan or a critic, this series of travel guides — brought to you by some of the most inspiring names in the design world — will challenge you to take a fresh look at what's around, igniting you with the same love, connection, and curiosity they feel for the city.
