The insiders: fashionable Paris with A-list hair stylist David Mallett

One of my favourite places to wander in Paris is Palais-Royal and its wonderful garden, just across from the Louvre.

A-list hair stylist David Mallett.

DISCOVER: One of my favourite places to wander in Paris is Palais-Royal and its wonderful garden, just across from the Louvre. The palace was built on the orders of Cardinal Richelieu and has become a centre of social life and entertainment. Today it houses the French national theatre, Comedie-Francaise. Its gardens are protected from the city on all sides. I like their symmetry and the feeling they give of being in an interior. My favourite time to visit is in spring (right now) when the magnolias are in full blossom.

More: domaine-palais-royal.fr/en.

BUY: On Sundays I go to the flea markets, especially the galleries of Paul Bert Serpette in Saint-Ouen on the edge of Paris, which specialise in 20th and 21st-century design items. I like to eat there or just stroll and look; it feels like a village apart on the weekends. Shopping in the various boutiques of Rue de Bretagne or the Palais-Royal is also something I enjoy, as well as popping into Le Bon Marche department store. My other favourite stop is the quincaillerie, or hardware section, of Le BHV Marais store at 52 Rue de Rivoli; it stocks everything from lamps to taps and tiles.

More: paulbert-serpette.com/en,

lebonmarche.com,

bhv.fr/en.

EAT: You can never exhaust Paris’s potential for fine dining. My favourite restaurant is Table of Bruno Verjus in the 12th arrondissement, where the environment and food are sensational. I also like to eat at Clamato, Saturne, Clown Bar and Le Verre Vole by the Canal St-Martin. These are all incredible places with an interesting, modern, French perspective.

More: tablerestaurant.fr,

septime-charonne.fr,

saturne-paris.fr,

clown-bar-paris.com,

leverrevole.fr.

DRINK: When I want to socialise there’s nowhere better to go than the Hemingway Bar at Ritz Paris on Place Vendome. Colin the barman truly is outstanding and his cocktails are out of this world. It’s like stepping back in time.

More: ritzparis.com.

STAY: I rarely get a hotel room here but my choice would have to be Ritz Paris, undoubtedly the City of Light’s most beautiful hotel.

Fremantle-born David Mallett is one of the world’s foremost hair stylists with an A-list clientele. He opened his first salon in Paris in 2003 and a second, at Ritz Paris, late last year. He also offers a range of haircare and lifestyle products.
More: david-mallett.com.au.

Insiders editor: Graham Erbacher