A Designer's Guide to Paris, Florence and Rome
As soon as the pandemic began to wind down and the world opened back up, Mike and I knew we wanted to plan a trip to Europe where we could eat delicious food, drink delicious wine and wander picturesque streets to recharge. We very quickly narrowed down our itinerary to France and Italy. More specifically, we started in Paris, traveled through the South of France, spent a few days in Florence and Tuscany, and wrapped up our trip in Rome. There were three things that we cared about for this trip, and today I’m sharing as much of them as I can with you: beautiful hotels, delicious restaurants, and decadent wine.
PARIS
There are few places in this world that I love as much as Paris. We were fortunate enough to have friends with us that have spent a lot of time in Paris, and they took us to their favorite restaurants in the city, so I can’t take credit for discovering them.
HOTEL DU SENTIER
We stayed at the most beautiful hotel, right in the heart of the Sentier neighborhood. Hotel du Sentier opened fairly recently, so the space is modern, fresh and smartly designed. The rooms aren’t huge, but they have all the perfect Parisian details in them. Tall windows open up and overlook the charming side streets. Herringbone floors add a stunning texture to the room. The “furniture” pieces are all custom designed and built in to the space to maximize the functionality. The headboard wraps the bed and has all the switches and shelves incorporated into it. In lieu of a closet, a hang rod is mounted just beside the headboard wall so you can unpack and have your wardrobe easily within reach. Right across from the bed, a cabinet, vanity and built-in bench provide the perfect space to tuck away your belongings and get ready each morning. Perhaps my favorite part of the hotel, is the front lobby that opens up to a small patio with the sweetest cafe spilling out onto it. Breakfast was absolutely delicious each morning - complete with espresso, homemade granola and a tartine.
FRENCH PARADOX - CANARD & CHAMPAGNE
As I mentioned above, I can’t take any credit for discovering the following restaurants because Mike and I quite literally just followed our friends, drooling, as they guided us to the best food in the city. Canard & Champagne is one of the most memorable restaurants I’ve been to. Tucked away inside the Passages des Panoramas, this restaurant serves two things - duck and Champagne. We ordered the entire menu (between four people) so that we could try all the different styles of duck that they served, and paired it with the Champagne tasting.
PARCELLES
This was the first reservation our friends made when they learned we were all going to be in Paris together. The design inside is absolutely perfect - minimalist yet incredibly warm, cozy and inviting - something that’s hard to achieve. The food is simply melt-in-your-mouth delicious and wine menu is even better.
LE CHATEAUBRIAND
On our last night in Paris, we treated ourselves to the tasting menu at Le Chateaubriand. Each course was incredibly unique and paired with a surprising and delicious wine (one course is even paired with a Sake). Some courses were incredibly complex and some were perfectly simple. Even the side bowl of tomatoes made me rethink every tomato I’ve had previously in my life. The best course of all was easily the dessert. It was recommended to pop the entire thing in your mouth in one bite and try to figure out what you’re eating. I won’t give any spoilers, but it absolutely did not disappoint.
POLENE
No trip to Paris is complete without a little shopping. While walking to the Galleries Lafayette, I stumbled upon Polene and had to go inside. The design of the store is right up my alley, with a minimalist aeshetic and simple arched openings throughout, clad in plaster. Friends of mine have raved about Polene handbags, and I had to take one home with me.
CHATEAU DE LA GARDINE (CHATEAUNEAUF-DU-PAPE)
On our way to Italy, we traveled through wine country and stopped at quite a few vineyards for tastings. My absolute favorite, was the Chateau de la Gardine in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The tasting room is built into the original family’s old house, a classic French Chateau. Inside, it had recently been renovated and they brought in beautiful modern details like fluted wood and a minimal aesthetic that lets the brick of the cave stand out as the star of the show. The wines were absolutely delicious (and quite a few came home with us). My favorite part, is the bottles they use for the wine are inspired by the handmade bottles from the winery’s early days and they have an organic, fluid design to them.
ITALY
I love France but after a week of cheese and foie gras (not that I’m complaining), I was certainly craving some pasta and pizza. Our time in Italy started in Florence, with a daytrip driving around Tuscany. From there, we drove through Montepulciano and stopped for some wine tastings on our way to Rome.
GLANCE HOTEL (FLORENCE)
When I booked the hotels for this trip, I prioritized aesthetic first and fortunately, everything I fell in love with happened to be in the perfect neighborhoods too. Glance Hotel in Florence is new, modern and thoughtfully designed. The first impression sets the tone - the hotel’s front door is a sliding piece of smoked glass and the lobby features stunning modern light fixtures and a smoked glass concierge desk. The rooms are comfortably sized and feature a minimalist, modern vibe. There’s an added level of luxury with fluffy white robes and slippers waiting at the foot of the bed.
CASTELLO DI VERRAZZANO
While restaurants were the star of the show during our time in Paris, wineries were the focus of our time in Italy. We rented a car one day in Florence and drove through the most picturesque vineyards of Tuscany. Our first stop was Castello di Verrazzano, famous for their Chianti and Chianti Classico. We did the full tour, which was really well done, and then the “light” lunch and tasting. The food served was absolutely delicious, and even better were the wines that were poured.
ANTINORI NEL CHIANTI CLASSICO
The second winery we went to was an architectural gem. The restaurant and tasting room are raised up with corten steel spiral staircases and railings wrapping and framing the stunning landscape. If I’m being honest, the food and wine wasn’t our favorite, but it was still absolutely worth going to just to see the views and the architecture.
CANTINA DE’RICCI (MONTEPULCIANO)
On our way to Rome, we drove through the town of Montepulciano and immediately headed to the cave of De’Ricci winery. The tour was really special (albeit, longer than we anticipated). The cave used to be a chapel, and has incredibly high, vaulted ceilings despite being carved out of the rock beneath the town. We did the 6-wine tasting and loved every one of them, but only two made it back to Chicago with us.
HOTEL SCENARIO (ROME)
The hotel that I had most looked forward to on this trip, was Hotel Scenario, in Rome. It did not disappoint. Located on a little side street tucked just behind the Pantheon, Hotel Scenario is a tiny, minimalist gem. I believe there are only about 12 rooms, so you need to reserve it in advance. The interior design is absolutely impeccable. The hallways and lobby are moody with stone floors and dark plaster walls. Light strips are strategically placed throughout the space to perfectly graze the walls and add a dramatic touch. The rooms are stunning. They’re small, but the ceilings are about 12’ high and every nook and cranny is thoughtfully designed. The door to the bathroom is a sliding smoked mirror panel. The bathroom itself is wrapped in marble and plaster with a long floating vanity that extends into the shower. The shower controls are actually on the vanity, so you can turn it on and warm it up without having to go in.
MARIGOLD (ROME)
There’s no doubt we ate well in Italy. For the most part, since we didn’t have our friends to guide us, we followed Stanley Tucci’s itinerary from “Searching for Italy” which I highly recommend. On our last morning, Mike and I walked to Testaccio, one of my favorite neighborhoods from my study abroad days (mostly for its bars) and had breakfast at Marigold. Marigold is definitely off the beaten path, but once you find it, you’ll be glad you did. Everything on the menu was thoughtfully put together and felt healthy and fresh. A welcome break from heavy carbs and cheese. We ordered three different coffees (cappuccino, macchiato and a flat white) and each one was more delicious than the last. In the morning, it definitely has a local coffee house vibe, so it was also the perfect spot to bring our laptops and start easing back into work now that the trip was winding down.
I hope this is helpful if you are planning a trip to any of these places! I certainly don’t claim to be a travel expert, but the reason I pulled this together is to share a few places that I simply fell in love with during our trip. Please share if you have been to any or if you go in the future!
-dgw
