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For the finishing touch on the flamboyant upgrade of its flagship store, Fauchon has just unveiled an eye-poppingly glamorous new cafe. Located on the first floor of the new store on the Place de la Madeleine, Fauchon Le Café continues the company’s new black-and-white and bright pink theme. Glossy pale pink tables are paired up with silver metallic banquettes and black-and-white woven café style chairs. Mosaic tiles in black and white form a fantastical carpet of flowers beneath silver metallic ceilings, all of which are reflected in multiple mirrored surfaces and softened by pink and purple mood lighting. Okay, the ladies who frequent Angélina and Ladurée may not be switching their allegiances but for the younger, hipper crowd of shoppers who burn up the Faubourg St.-Honoré, this is definitely the new place for lunch or tea. Open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations recommended.

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Two French icons, Alain Ducasse and the Eiffel Tower. Put them together and what do you get? Possibly the toughest restaurant reservation to secure in Paris but if you get one, a very memorable meal. Despite the griping of some in his camp that running a restaurant inside a city monument was too touristy for the gourmet genius, Ducasse fought for and won the contract to run Le Jules Verne restaurant, located on the second level of the historic tower. Renovation took close to two years as the existing rooms and kitchens were torn out and 21st century comforts and equipment were installed. Among the innovations: The main kitchen, where prep work and cleaning is done, lies below ground; food then ascends in elevators to a small finale kitchen.

Guests, too, arrive in a private elevator from within the base of the south leg of the tower. In fact, for a perfectionist like Ducasse, the one inelegant aspect of the new Le Jules Verne experience is the arrival. Those with sought-after reservations funnel into a small, dark waiting area to line up for a spot on the elevator. Aside from a Jules Verne quote that adorns one wall, there is nothing to amuse or comfort them. After suffering feelings of claustrophobia or thoughts of Sartre’s No Exit, the reward is semi-celestial, though. The music begins in the elevator, which rises skyward at a slight angle following the curve of the tower’s leg. The dining rooms, too, feel ergonomically respectful of the structure in which they are cradled. Cognac-colored leather banquettes and chairs evoke the aerodynamic splendor of the Concorde with much better views. Patrick Jouin, who also designed Mix in Las Vegas for Ducasse, has created an elegant universe that cossets without distracting from the main event. Whether you face the Left Bank or the Right, the city’s swaths of greenery and grandiose boulevards and Places will fill you with wonder.

Then, of course, there is the food. Ducasse’s attention to every dining detail, from the breads (don’t skip the mini-brioches) to the post-dessert sweets that come with silver toothpick-like implements for spearing the truffles, celebrates the joy of eating well. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy many of Ducasse’s meals but again, here, I was reminded of why he deserves his reputation. He continues to push his craft (okay, the amoeba-like plates didn’t work for me), but he never strays from the essential devotion to extraordinary tastes. A delicate white melange of celery and truffles and apples sets off the lobster in the lobster salad. Beef arrives with a pouch of thin French fry chips. Everything from the veal to seafood is perfectly cooked, tender and juicy, and seasoned with juices and sides that enhance flavor. Even the house white Burgundy was memorable—a delicious Meursault poured from a jeroboam with a proud flourish by our waiter.

Indagare Tip: Lunch reservations are easier to get than dinner ones, which are booked months in advance. Reservations can be requested through the web site.

Right next to his renowned restaurant Le Violin d’Ingres, chef Christian Constant has blessed the neighborhood between the Eiffel Tower and the Champ des Mars with an ode to home cooking in sleek, casual surroundings. Constant explains it as a Frenchman’s take on the diner concept because there is a long counter as well as small tables and meals run from 15 to 30 euros, but there is such a cozy and refined elegance to the narrow restaurant that the inspiration will be lost on most. Constant, who began cooking in a restaurant in his native Southwest France at the tender age of 14, may have earned Michelin stars during his years at the Hotel Crillon and with Le Violin d’Ingres, but clearly his love for down-home fare persists. You can order simple salads, sandwiches, omelettes or cocottes (casseroles) of vegetables or lamb, but join the celebration of delicious food. Constant has hinted that he may open Cocottes in other neighborhoods—and unlike Starbucks or McDonald’s this is just the kind of chain that lots of Parisians are hoping will move in. Open every day from noon to eleven. No reservations. Métro: Ecole Militaire.