24 Hours In: Paris

Follow in the footsteps of artists and writers who had made the city their own

Wilde wake-up

08.00: Wake up in fashionable St-Germain-des-Prés at lavish L'Hotel (00 33 1 44 41 99 00; l-hotel.com). Oscar Wilde chose to spend his last days here and room 16 is named after him. A double costs from €280 (£189), without breakfast.

Café culture

9.30: Café crème in hand, people-watch at the Café de Flore (00 33 1 45 48 55 26; café-de-flore.com). Since it opened in the 19th century, it has been a meeting place for artists and intellectuals.

Good impression

10.00: The Louvre can be daunting, so try the Musée d'Orsay (00 33 1 40 49 48 14; musee-orsay.fr) instead. This restored station on the Left Bank has an extensive collection of Impressionist art.

Pyramid pause

13.00: Sit outside under the arcades of the Richelieu wing of the Louvre at Café Marly (00 33 1 49 26 06 60). Lunch on classic dishes and gaze atI M Pei's pyramid.

On to Orangerie

14.00: Stroll through the Jardins des Tuileries to the Musée d'Orangerie (00 33 1 44 77 80 07; musee-orangerie.fr). Monet originally used the museum to showcase his work and it is home to eight panels of his waterlilies. It also displays works by other artists, including Cézanne, Picasso and Renoir.

Browse the Bard

16.00: Browse the shelves of the English-language Shakespeare and Co (00 33 1 43 25 40 93; shakespeareco.org) at 37 rue de la Bûcherie. Thousands of aspiring writers have passed through its doors since it opened in 1951. William Burroughs and Alan Ginsberg read their poetry outside, while Henry Miller often shared pancakes with the owner, George Whitman.

Aperitif time

20.00: The wood-panelled Bar Hemingway (00 33 1 43 16 45 33) at the Hotel Ritz, Place Vendôme, was Ernest Hemingway's favourite Parisian bar. It still serves some of his favourites - malt whisky and tapas.

Historic dinner

21.00: Book a table at Le Grand Véfour (00 33 1 42 96 56 27, relaischateaux. com). This is one of the city's oldest restaurants and has been frequented by everyone from Napoleon Bonaparte to Jean Cocteau. It still attracts the great and the good who all come for chef Guy Martin's two-star Michelin cooking.