THE BEST . . .

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WAY TO BLOW PAST THE CROWDS
Paris Museum Pass
Tourists who can’t fake the necessary bravado to cut lines like the locals can simply buy the Museum Pass (formerly the Carte des Monuments et Musées). Thirty, 45, or 60 euros for two, four, or six consecutive days gives you the right to muscle in. You can get them at museums, tourist centers, and Fnac stores.

PLACE TO PICK UP A FRENCH BANKER
Le Fumoir
6, rue de l’amiral de Coligny (33-1-42-92-00-24)
The post-work hangout for financial types trickling home from a hard day trading futures at the Bourse. Conversation tip: The CAC 40 = the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE WHILE SHOPPING
Galerie des Galeries
40, boulevard Haussmann
This fall’s second edition of the surprisingly successful Galerie des Galeries—a contemporary-art exhibit started last fall in the main floor of the venerable department store Galeries Lafayette—will take place 10/27–12/9. Done in association with the contemporary-art fair FIAC, it will feature rising talents like Xavier Veilhan, Laurent Grasso, and Audrey Nervi.

SUBSTITUTE FOR THE GREENMARKET
Place d’Aligre
12th arrondissement
The Marché d’Aligre is the foodies’ favorite destination; it’s open every day except Monday, and the rapidly hippifying but still ethnically diverse neighborhood ensures that you’ll be squeezing tomatoes next to some of the city’s most attractive bohemians. The fresh-shellfish displays at La Marée Beauvau, trucked in daily from the Atlantic Coast, are particularly beautiful.
-T.I.

Next: A Guide to the Parisian Restaurant Scene