To eat: Brasserie Balzar, 49 Rue des Ecoles; 43-54-13 -67, www.brasseriebalzar.com. Specialties include lamb with beans and skate in butter. Dinners from about $45 per person.
Bouillon Racine, 3 Rue Racine; 44-32-15-60, www.bouillonracine.com/main.htm. Entrees include suckling pig, lamb shank, sea bass, scallops and salmon. Fixed-price menu from about $34.
To browse: L'Art du Papier, 48 Rue Vavin in the 6th arrondissement, 43-26-10-12, www.art-du-papier.fr. Elaborate stationery stores are a French specialty, and this is a charming example.
To snack: Jean-Paul Hevin Chocolatier, 3 Rue Vavin; 43-54-09-85, www.jphevin.com. Chocolates are an art form here.
TO LEARN MORE:
Pariscope magazine, www.pariscope.fr, lists 300 weekly film offerings in a cross-referenced system that enables you to find out where the film you want to see is playing and what's playing in a theater near you. Goes on sale at newsstands midweek. The magazine has addresses, Metro stops, admission prices and the all-important show times, plus the notation about whether the film will be in its original language (v.o.) or dubbed into French (v.f.).
French Government Tourist Office, (410) 286-8310 (for brochures) or (310) 271-6665, www.franceguide.com.
-- Kenneth Turan
