The most magical view of the most beautiful city, for me, is the quiet overlook from the top of Parc de Belleville, below the painted and mosaiced arches. Few things are better than waking up on a clear summer’s day, picking up a coffee and a pain au chocolat, or an éclair, or Paris-Brest, from one of the neighborhood patisseries high up on Rue de Belleville, and strolling along Rue Piat until, by the Belvédère, the whole of Paris and the day opens shimmering up under you. There are guys selling weed, half-naked people sunning by the fountains. It’s a good place to have breakfast. Or, for lunch, a carrot salad from the Franprix, or at night some vin rouge.
