Here are my favorite places in Prague to enjoy a delicious beer while taking in a breathtaking view:

Letna
Letenske sady (Letna Park), Prague 7 – Letna

From whichever direction you enter Letna park, the view never fails to inspire awe. As I’ve stated in a previous post dedicated to Prague’s green spaces, Letna is perched high above the city on a plane overlooking the Vltava River, with its succession of bridges, framed by the city’s stunning architecture. This view conjures up images of a Europe of long ago.

The beer garden hugs an edge of the park and encompasses 20 or so long wooden tables with benches. You purchase your beer from a small stall, where you can also stand at round tables and drink your golden brew with a plate of sausage, dark bread and hot mustard. They also offer some other snacks like chips and ice cream bars.

Seated at the benches, listening to the happy banter of others and staring out at the stunning view, day passes into evening almost without your awareness, as perfect moments always do.

Reigrovy Sady
Riegrovy Sady, 120 00 Praha 2 – Vinohrady
Web site

One of Prague’s largest, the beer garden at Reigrovy Sady mixes the country’s national beverage with a lovely park setting.

After purchasing your beverage (at the stall at the garden’s entry), sit back at one of about 30 wooden tables and enjoy the cool and lush environment, thanks to the parks numerous trees. If you’re into sports, you can also watch the latest game on the beer garden’s large screen (if you’re not into sports, don’t worry, the screen is set in one corner of the large space, so it doesn’t prove to be a distraction).

To experience the view–including rooftops of the city’s center and the castle in the distance, all framed by trees–find a patch of grass on the hill (located to the left when you’re standing outside the entrance to the garden) or sit on one of the benches just above it.

Vysehrad (Hospudka Na Hradbach)
V pevnosti 144, 128 00 Prague 2 – Vysehrad

Set within the grounds of one of Prague’s most magical settings, Hospudka Na Hradbach offers a stunning panorama of the city many visitors never get to see. To find your way there, look out for the dark spears of the Church of St. Peter and Paul, which nearly rivals Prague Castle as the dominate feature in the city’s skyline, and characterizes the entire Vysehrad neighborhood.

To best experience the view, sit down at one of the tables along the garden’s edges. If you’re not so lucky, opt for one of several tables within its center and then stroll over at your leisure. Along with beer, Na Hradbach offers a wide selection of food offerings.

To finish the evening or afternoon, walk the periphery of the area for more equally stunning views of Prague.

Parukarka
Parukarka Park, 130 00 Prague 3 – Zizkov

An off-the-beaten-path location well worth the trip, Parukarka sits atop a hill in Prague’s Zizkov district and offers nearly 360-degree views of the city. Although there are a few tables outside of the small pub, most people opt to sit in the grass just behind it. From there you can enjoy your beer with a view that includes a rooftop perspective of Zizkov, Prague’s TV tower, Vitkov National Memorial, and yes, Prague Castle in the distance.

To get there from the center, take the metro’s green line to the stop “Flora.” From there walk down the hill along “Jicinska” street (or catch tram number 5 to “Olsanske Namesti”). At the bottom of the hill, cross over the intersection, pass the bus stop and then head up the set of stairs directly in front of you. At the top, you’re at Parukarka.

Now sit back and sip in the view!

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That’s why this week in Cheapoland our staff held a “cupcake taste-off” to suss out the very best in baked goodness (a tough job, we know).

Here’s how it worked: This Cheapo hot-footed it to three downtown cupcake purveyors and picked up two cupcakes at each: one red velvet to serve as the “control” cupcake, along with one other “unique” flavor. Back at the office, Team Cheapo—also known as Tom, Meredith, Pete and Kari—embarked on a blind tasting to analyze each shop for taste, texture, frosting, looks and variety.

Meet the Contestants

Though the West Village mainstay Magnolia Bakery helped to kick-start the cupcake craze with a cameo in Sex and the City, I left it out of this competition, partly based on personal preference (I find their frosting to be too sweet) and partly because the shop, while still within walking distance of the EuroCheapo offices, is in the opposite direction of the other contenders. That said, the “Mama” bakery’s influence can be felt in a couple of the bakeries you’re about to meet.

Sugar Sweet Sunshine
126 Rivington Street
Web site

The vibe: This cozy Lower East Side spot with the oh-so-adorable name is simple and unpretentious. Furnished with mismatched thrift store finds, including a comfy couch and armchair, it gets major points for setting a homey scene.

The Bakers and Baked Goods: Owner-bakers Debbie Weiner and Peggy Williams are long-time friends and Magnolia alums who set off to create a welcoming, yummy spot of their own. The shop is named for a cement etching they spotted one day while looking at bakery spaces.

Sugar Sweet serves up colorful cakes in fun flavors like pistachio, “Ooey Gooey” and “Lemon Yummy.” But, come summertime, their light, creamy strawberry-lemon trifle is the treat to beat.

The Cakes: Where other bakeries seem to gouge you, cupcakes here cost a Cheapo-friendly $1.75 each. Our tasters tried the Strawberry Cream Cheese, a new addition to the Sugar Sweet menu, and the “Sassy Red Velvet,” which is topped with “The Moose” frosting.

The Verdict: I’ll admit to some surprise that my stand-by bakery did not hold up in this particular competition. With a few exceptions, the tasting team was less than impressed with the Sugar Sweet cakes. The breakdown?

Looks: The Sugar Sweet cakes are unabashedly simple. Bakers here are not concerned with fancy, instead creating simple cupcakes with sunny sprinkles. While the strawberry cake was festive with its pink frosting and sprinkles, the red velvet, with its disheveled whipped frosting, left the team less than excited. (Meredith: “It has a kiddie lemonade stand look.”)

Cake: The strawberry cake came in last with just about everyone in the group, mostly based on its crumbly texture and mysterious flavor (both Tom and Meredith noted that they did not know it was strawberry until told). As for the red velvet, there were similar concerns, though Pete ranked that “giant, delicious sponge” his number two overall pick.

Frosting: The strawberry cake had an unremarkable frosting, neither terrible nor earth shattering. Feelings on the red velvet, however, were far more varied. We ladies found it to be overly sweet and not complementary to the cake, but Tom loved its “whipped, lighter than air” texture.

Overall: I’ll admit that I was a tad disappointed with the strawberry cake, especially given that I sometimes dream about the shop’s incredible lemon cupcake. As for the red velvet, the reviews were mixed, and surprisingly divided down a “battle of the sexes” line, with the gals unimpressed and the guys enjoying both cake and frosting. In all, the shop is sweet and its treats worth trying, provided, it seems, you choose correctly.

Looking into the Little Cupcake Bakeshop.

Little Cupcake Bakeshop
30 Prince Street
Web site

The Vibe: This may be the cutest little cupcake shop in New York. It’s both a blast from the past and a step into a big green future. The black-and-white floor, marble counter and retro clock contribute to a sweet, old-fashioned Americana vibe, but hidden out of sight are sundry modern eco-friendly additions.

The Bakers and Baked Goods: As though it couldn’t get any, um, sweeter, the LCB is owned and operated by three brothers from Brooklyn (they have another store in Bay Ridge), who pay special attention to making their colorful confections with local ingredients—including some that come directly from their own mother’s garden. They also work with local organizations to better the community.

The wide array of cupcakes here ranges from the traditional to the very unique, like the “Mott Street” (tiramisu inspired in a nod to the shop’s location in old Little Italy) and the “Coney Island” (infused with cotton candy flavor in tribute to the shop’s Brooklyn roots).

The Cakes: It seems you pay for the pretty here: $3 a cupcake. In addition to the red velvet, tasters tried the peanut butter, though the choices here are seemingly endless.

The Verdict: When it comes to atmosphere, this bakeshop takes the cake. But what of the cupcakes? The brothers get mega points for variety and creativity, but the cakes themselves were just sort of middle of the road. Here’s what our tasters had to say.

Looks: LCB does a great job with aesthetics, and these were probably the prettiest of the cakes, each with big dollops of frosting and festive garnishes.

Cake: In this category, the goods didn’t fare so well. Nearly all of our judges felt that both cakes were disappointingly dry.

Frosting: Everyone enjoyed the peanut butter flavor, which was yummy but not overpowering, but it was a mixed bag when it came to the red velvet’s cream cheese frosting. Half of us loved the rich buttery frosting, which Pete ranked numero uno because it “packed a punch,” but Meredith felt that the flavor overpowered.

Overall: For the most part, the two LCB cakes ranked among everyone’s second and third choices (out of six cakes). These are certainly not the best cupcakes when compared side by side, but I do say this bakery wins in terms of creativity, ambiance and overall mission. It’s the spot to go for a coffee and cupcake break during your travels.

Billy’s Bakery
268 Elizabeth Street
Web site

The Vibe: Nestled on pretty Elizabeth Street, literally a block from LCB, Billy’s is tiny and bright, with a cheery turquoise awning and two small tables. Where Sugar Sweet is homey and LCB old-fashioned, this shop wears its sleek modernity in its yellow lights and straight lines. It’s cute, but felt a bit less personal than the others.

The Bakers and Baked Goods: Another former Magnolia employee, Billy Reece branched out on his own in 2003 and now has three shop locations (the others are in Chelsea at 184 9th Avenue and in Tribeca at 75 Franklin Street).

It’s all about simplicity here: basic flavors topped with generous amounts of frosting with little in the way of adornment. As for variety, in addition to the usual chocolate and vanilla variations (and the now quite common red velvet), Billy’s offers banana and carrot cupcakes.

The judges hard at work.

The Cakes: Like LCB, the cakes here run $3 a pop. We tried red velvet and, for variety, banana.

The Verdict: Given its somewhat larger “chain” feel and its well-known history as a Magnolia offshoot, I must admit I hadn’t given Billy’s a ton of credit. But, while the bakery verged on “vanilla” in terms of atmosphere and flavors, its cakes edged out the others overall.

Looks: This is the one category where Billy’s did not really stand out. The cakes were simple and topped with silky smooth pillows of plain white frosting. They’re pretty, but more in a sophisticated sense than a fun “cupcake” sense.

Cake: With the exception of Pete, who said his was dry, all the judges ranked Billy’s red velvet as their first or second of the six, mostly for its consistency and, for Meredith, “a bit of a chocolatey touch.” The banana was also among the top-ranking for its moist cake that Tom likened to a banana bread texture. (Kari, though, did not like the “cakey” aftertaste.)

Frosting: Tom and Meredith both loved the “utltra-rich” banana frosting, but I found it to be on the over-sweet side. The red velvet again topped many of the frosting reviews, with Tom calling it a “buttery with more intense flavor” and Kari raving that the icing and cake “melt together.”

Overall: Though Billy’s seems to place stylish over whimsical when it comes to shop and actual cupcakes, in terms of taste it came out the winner, with both cupcakes taking first or second place for most of our judges.

We hated them.

The Final Verdict

Our elaborate testing mostly proved that everyone has different tastes. While Billy’s ranked highest overall, most enjoyed LCB’s frosting, and I still stand by Sugar Sweet’s other flavors.

In short, Cheapos, I suggest you administer our own test. And, since all three shops are within a 20-minute walk of each other, it would be quite easy to set up a little cupcake crawl.

If you choose to do so, also look out for the cupcake carts that sometimes hang around. There is often one in Washington Square Park (West 4th Street and Thompson Street) and I’ve also seen one on Broadway and Houston.

Also on the route is Baked by Melissa, a veritable hole in the wall at 529 Broadway (the opening is on Spring Street) that serves up teeny-tiny cupcake bites, in crazy flavors like “Smores” or “Cookies and Cream,” for $1 a pop.

Your favorite cake?

Do you have a favorite cupcake in the city? Tell us, Cheapos!

The post New York Bakeries: The great cupcake taste-off appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

So this week I’ve taken it to the table, by conducting an impromptu taste testing with three of my favorite food snobs. Scientist Jean-François, filmmaker Peter and writer Véronique all agreed to lend a helping hand, while sipping crisp white wine.

But first things first, Cheapos, let’s meet our contestants!

Ladurée
€15 (per half dozen macarons)
Time spent waiting in line: one hour

Since 1862 Ladurée has been donning pastels like no other. Their shops are sprinkled about the city, including Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 2.

Tip: Every year Ladurée rolls out a “flavor of the year,” along with a matching set of gift boxes. More tidbits: Belle Époch poster artist Jules Chéret designed their Saint-Germain tea salon and shop at 21 Rue Bonaparte. Sex and the City fans, Carrie Bradshaw “ate here” during the season six finale. Also, Ladurée’s pastel colors inspired the color schemes in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.

Gérard Mulot
€9 (per half dozen macarons)
Time spent waiting in line: 15 minutes

On the flip side, sparky new kid on the block Gérard Mulot has been pouring on the pizazz with a vibrant palette since 1975. From the day-glo-get-go, Mulot’s shops, macaroons, and gift boxes have been bursting with his trademark set of fluorescent colors.

His shops are located in Saint-Germain des Prés and the Marais, but the main bakery and flagship shop are located at 93 Rue Glacière in the 13th arrondissement.

Tip: Tours of the workshop are offered. Just contact the Glacière shop prior to your visit.

The taste testing

Round one: First impressions

The first round was all about looks, see. Tucked away in Véro’s kitchen, I hid the telltale signs of boxes and bags, and quickly quartered six macarons (three from each contestant). Acting as the impartial moderator, I then presented the samples (organized by flavor) on a white dish (pictured, top), and asked the judges for feedback on the macaron colors. Gut reactions were immediate and judgment was swift.

In living color

“So French, more natural and very chic,” said Véro, describing Ladurée’s soft pastel hues. “Classical,” said Jean-François before he continued. “Those bright ones are tacky and look artificial.” Peter concurred with a filmmaker’s snapshot. “While the vibrant macarons are photogenic, they’re too gaudy-looking.”

And just like that (in no more than two minutes), Ladurée won the first round in the looks-alone department. Ring-a-ding-ding!

Round two: Sweet is the lore

Then, with eyes shut, phase two of the testing got underway. My judges blind-taste-tested each sample, starting with the citron.

“I like this one because it reminds me of my mother’s lemon pie,” said Véro, gesturing toward the Mulot product without knowing which one it was. Both guys concurred, giving the Mulots high marks for their “natural zest.” With his eyes closed, Jean-François couldn’t place the taste of the Ladurée citron sample, while Peter found the same pastel morsels “too sweet and artificial tasting.”

So you can’t judge a book by its cover

After they sampled four more macarons, I revealed the results, which were surprisingly consistent and unanimous.

Here the tables turned, Cheapos. The judges found the Mulot macarons “natural tasting,” “authentic,” and “recognizable,” despite their artificial colors, while they found the Ladurée samples “saccharine” and “artificial,” even though visually they seemed more appealing.

After Mulot was declared the winner of round two, post-game contemplation continued throughout the night with more wine. But of course!

My recommendation?

Try both and be your own judge. To make the game even more interesting, add other famous makers like Arnaud Larher or Pierre Hermé to the mix!

Cheapos, who makes your favorite macaron in Paris?

Have a favorite macaron? Tell us about it in the comments section.

A big thank you goes out to Véronique, Peter and Jean-François! Cheapos, I sprung the taste testing on them at a recent dinner party. They took it seriously and elevated it to another level. Merci!

The post Paris Macaron Taste Test: Ladurée vs Gérard Mulot appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

In February 2009, Irish expat Joe Hatchiban plugged in a karaoke set at Berlin’s Mauerpark Flea Market in Prenzlauer Berg. A bicycle courier by day, Hatchiban toted the necessary equipment on his vehicle: a laptop with karaoke mp3s, a microphone, mixer, two speakers, an umbrella, and a lawn chair. The stage was open to anyone with the gusto to sing and dance on stage. It was a huge success.

Enter the Bearpit

Bearpit Karaoke now draws about 1,500 people on an average Sunday afternoon. It’s open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m in the summer and 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the fall. Performers range from kids to adults, metal heads to opera singers, and average Joes to best friend trios.

“It brings a whole new activity to the flea market,” says Donald Burke, a professional Berlin guide, bartender, and Bearpit Karaoke regular.

Burke is a loyal fan, admitting that two favorite performances he caught recently were the Spice Girls’ “If You Wanna Be My Lover” sung by a French girl who barely knew the lyrics, and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” performed by a 13-year-old boy “with perfect choreography.”

Razzle dazzle them

It’s all about picking a tune that’s both a crowd-pleaser and that falls in line with the three-and-a-half-minute song limit. In the end, perfect pitch isn’t necessary when you’ve got killer moves, high enthusiasm and audience interaction.

The beauty of Bearpit Karoake lies in its communal aspect, as the crowd acts as a giant support group for all performers. The seating area in Mauer Park’s stone amphitheater fills quickly with onlookers ready to spend an entire afternoon clapping, dancing, and shouting lyrics to singers in need of assistance. The event is also a magnet for tourists, who are offered a special look inside Berlin’s summer scene.

Sing for your supper

“It’s also a new outlet for food and drink businesses to set up and accommodate the 1,000 people watching karaoke,” Burke said. About a dozen refreshment vendors line the area ready with water, beer, and soft drinks at dirt-cheap prices.

There is no cost to watch or sing at Bearpit Karaoke, though donations are happily accepted. The whole event doesn’t aim to make money; it’s simply a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Bearpit Karaoke runs during the warm months of summer and fall.  Check out the Web site for more information.

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From July 27 to September 29, 2010, the recently opened Garden Café will provide visitors the opportunity to enjoy some light refreshment on the West Terrace, located between the State Rooms and the Palace garden. The café overlooks the Palace’s famous lawn and lake.

The Garden Café is open during the Palace’s visiting hours, from 9:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. View the Palace’s Web site for more information.

The price of luxury

Of course, the fancy ambiance does come for the cost of a visit to the State Rooms: The café sits at the end of this exhibit. Admission costs £17 (£15.50 reduced).

Buckingham Palace also offers “A Royal Day Out” combination tickets, with admission to the States Rooms, the Royal Mews and the Queen’s Gallery for £30.50 (£27.50 reduced). The combination tickets are available from July 27 to October 1, 2010.

If you’ll be in London again (and can’t get enough of Her Majesty’s posh pad), buy your combination ticket from the Royal Collection to get free admission for the next 12 months. (Otherwise, stick to the standard ticket and save the pounds for a confection at the café.)

The post London: Teatime at Buckingham Palace for summer 2010 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

At the Porte de Vanves Flea Market

So in celebration of freedom of choice and “seizing the day,” here’s a grab bag of activities for kids in Paris that not only would have captured my imagination at age 10, but still holds magical appeal today.

So play on, Cheapos!

1. 400 bows: The Doll Museum

Got a broken doll or a one-eyed sock monkey? Schedule an appointment with Dr. Véronique Derez at the Le Musée de la Poupée. La Docteur Miracle is usually on call on Thursday afternoons, and will gladly mend eyeballs, replace lashes and repair heads. Permanent collection feature the 400 historic French dolls.

Check out the clothing for the dollies in the gift boutique. Looking for a vintage doll to call your very own? Skip on over to the Porte de Vanves Flea Market any weekend morning.

2. Day for knight: the Army Museum

Nestled in what was once Louis XIV’s military hospital, the Musée de l’Armée is a definite hit not to be missed. Watch out for Catherine de Médici’s stone bow and Henri IV’s sword, dripping in mother-of-pearls. See Charles de Gaulle’s leather bomber jacket, and Napoleon’s tent, hat and little dog too!

Up in the attic, model railroad bugs can feast their eyes on the military model collection. On either end of your visit, picnic down the street on the grassy Champs de Mars. This former marching grounds is my favorite spot for gazing up at the Eiffel Tower, sun soaking and people-watching.

3. A real scoop: The new Chocolate Museum

Around St. Valentine’s Day 2010, Le musée Gourmand du Chocolat opened its doors in the heart of Bonne Nouvelle. The museum serves up 4,000 years of history, along with free chocolate samplings. Signage is in both French and English, and at a kid’s eye view, to boot

Inside the Chocolate Museum

After your tour, stop by the shop for cookbooks and molds, along with chocolate lipsticks, candles and bags of chocolate from all over the globe. Ooh, la la. Also, Cheapos, discount bookstore Mona Lisait and Le Grande Rex movie palace are located just a few blocks away.

4. Right round like a record: The carousels

The Sun King set the French love affair with the carousel in motion when he installed a wooden one in his amusement park at Versailles! Today nearly every square in Paris boasts one. My favorite carousel is deep in the Jardin du Luxembourg (where kids try to spear brass rings with tiny lances), designed by Opéra architect Charles Garnier.

My pet merry-go-round spins at the Place des Abbesses. The difference between a carousel and a merry-go-round? The latter features a variety of animals and transports, while the former only wild horses!

5. Send in the clowns

But think seasonal. During the fall and winter, warm-up with the clowns at Cirque d’hiver Bouglione. Imagine! Degas, Seurat, and Toulouse-Lautrec all sat tight on the same velvet seats at this old one ring circus.

Chaumont’s Théâtre Guignol Anatole

Tips: Stop by the nearby Clown Bar for a pre-show nibble. Its circus memorabilia-covered walls and frites will help get the party started. Pack your camera because there’s usually a photo-op with the troupe during intermission. For the love of Bozo, just do it.

Haribo street candy

During the warmer months, get punchy with the 202-year-old puppet Guignol and his rowdy entourage at the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont’s Théâtre Guignol Anatole. Before moving to the park in 1867, this same theater worked the crowds into laughing frenzies over on the Champs Élysées.

There are more than a dozen puppet theaters in Paris. For current show listings, pick up a copy of Pariscope (the weekly entertainment guide) at any newsstand or kiosk. Buttes-Chaumont’s temple, cliffs, cavern and waterfall lend a panoramic backdrop to any scene.

Additional Pick-me-ups

Best French supermarket cookies (for touring fatigue): Lu Biscuits
Best French soda pop (in a super cool bottle) to order in a café: Orangina
Best place to score the perfect snow globe: the shops at the Place du Tertre in Montmartre
Best street candy: Germany’s Haribo (another meltdown cure)

The post 5 fun things to do with kids in Paris appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Today (June 25, 2010) in Stockholm, the sun came up at 3:32 in the morning and will go down at 10:09 p.m. That is a whole lot of daylight.

It is the difference between the summer and winter months that makes Midsummer such a special holiday in Sweden. Celebrating the summer solstice is actually a public holiday in Sweden, although not necessarily on the actual Midsummer day. Instead, the Friday and Saturday of the summer solstice are celebrated, ensuring that every year, everyone gets the day off.

Midsummer celebrations

A small maypole. Photo: DeCyner

Traditionally, the day begins with the dressing and raising of the maypole. This involves collecting shoots, green branches and flowers to decorate the pole before it is finally raised.

If you find yourself at a traditional midsummer celebration, you may notice people wearing what is referred to as folkdräkt, the traditional folk dress. These vary for each area of Sweden and differ between men, women and children. Before the festivities really begin, though, you need to be sure that you have collected enough green (and bendable) twigs and flowers to create a crown to wear while dancing around the pole.

Once your crown is complete, you’ll be ready to celebrate the summer. Dancing around the maypole is surprisingly easy, even for those, like me, who have no rhythm whatsoever. Songs include “Små grodorna” (The Small Frogs) which involves hopping around the maypole like a small frog. Easy enough really. Of course, it’s not always that easy and often times a group of dancers will demonstrate the traditional dances associated with the celebration.

The midsummer meal is also a big part of the celebration and often times (depending on weather, of course) is eaten outside. Various types of sil (pickled herring) and potatoes make up the majority of the menu, followed usually by strawberries and cream. Akvavit, a strong Swedish liquor, flows freely, along with beer.

Skansen in Stockholm

Each year, Skansen, the outdoor living museum in Stockholm, plays host to a three-day Midsummer celebration (minus the midsummer meal with akvavit).

This year, the celebration starts on June 25, 2010 and will be complete with the raising of the maypole, dancing, singing and even traditional folk dress. The event is popular with Swedes and tourists alike and is a great way to experience a traditional Swedish midsummer. Visit the Skansen Midsummer site for the schedule.

Getting there:
Bus: Line 47 from Finland or line 44 from Karlaplan
Ferry: From Slussen to Djurgården

The post Stockholm: Celebrating the sunny Swedish Midsummer appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

A cheapo dream-come-true, the shop is stocked with more than 250 discounted brands of produits de beauté, and staffed with 200 knowledgeable employees dressed in black and poised to help you explore the outer you.

Inside the Champs-Elysées Sephora.

Pump it up

A French superstar since 1969, Sephora is a cross between a gigantic supermarket and a glittering playground, with testers available for every product sold. Music and spontaneous dance sessions led by the staff also stoke its irresistible “backstage on opening night” vibe.

One can easily spend both night and day applying products—which is not a problem at the Champs Elysée location, as its doors are open till ’round midnight.

A tour of hard-to-find fragrances

Cheapos, Sephora is the place to study the French classics or buy a gorgeous (and difficult-to-find) flacon (“vial”) for someone special back home. Interested in a scent? Ask for a free sample. They’ll happily prepare one for you.

With so many choices, where to start? To help make-up your mind, I’ve created a spray-by-spray shopping list of some of the famous (and sometimes difficult to find) fragrances available here.

Here’s a “Cheapo’s dozen”: 11 of my favorite scents, and the stars who loved them. So strike a pose, there’s nothing to it!

An impromptu dance session.

1. “Ivoire” by Balmain (1979)

A fiery encounter with a woman swathed in ivory on the Opéra steps moved Pierre Balmain to create the fragrance. Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn were absolutely cuckoo for it! And speaking of visions in white, he also designed Audrey’s first wedding gown.

2. “Fleur de Rocaille” by Caron (1933)

Ava Gardner wore the original version, inspired by Monet’s water-lily paintings. Ava radiated in “The Sun Also Rises,” based on Hemingway’s novel. And guess who served as Papa’s spy during the shooting of the film? At the time, no one smelled a rat.

3. “Cabochard” by Grés (1959)

Shaped and named by Madame Grés after voyaging to India, “Cabochard” translates to “stubborn” or “headstrong.” Marquise Gloria “Norma Desmond” Swanson was mad about it.

4. “L’Interdit” by Givenchy (1957)

Count Hubert de Givenchy fashioned “L’Interdit,” (“The Forbidden”) for muse Audrey Hepburn, as well as her luscious garments for films like “Sabrina,” “Funny Face,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” and “Paris When it Sizzles.”

5. “Jicky” by Guerlain (1889)

Not only were Brigitte Bardot, Colette  and Sarah Bernhardt devotees, but so were Roger Moore, Sean Connery and Peter Sellers. Created the same year the Eiffel Tower was built, “Jicky” was one of the first fragrances to be made with synthetic ingredients.

The Givenchy display.

6. “L’Heure Bleue” by Guerlain (1912)

“L’Heure Bleue” (“Twilight”) softly wooed both Catherine Deneuve and Wallis Simpson (Duchess of Windsor), who smartly paired it with Guerlain’s other classic, “Mitsouko.”

7. “Mitsouko” by Guerlain (1919)

Celebrating the end of WWI, Jean Harlow, Ingrid Bergman, Charlie Chaplin, Anaïs Nin and Serge Diaghilev all took to Mitsouko’s bold intensity. Jean Harlow’s husband, Paul Bern (MGM producer), sprayed himself with her Mitsouko just before committing suicide, only two weeks after their wedding. Talk about lingering power!

8. “Vol de Nuit” by Guerlain (1933)

Created as a tribute to flyer Antoine de Saint-Exupery (author of “The Little Prince”), aviators around the globe, along with Claudette Colbert, Marlene Dietrich and Katherine Hepburn, all found the scent of “Night Flight” heads above others. Its bottle evokes an airplane propeller.

Aisles of cosmetics

9. “Arpège” by Lanvin (1927)

Princess Diana, Rita Hayworth and Jayne Mansfield fell for its full-bodied scent.

10. “Joy” by Jean Patou (1930)

Patou launched it just after the stock market crashed, because he wanted to lift the gloom and give his American clientele something they could still afford to buy. Even so, it was immediately nicknamed “the most expensive perfume in the world” by Patou’s friend and gossip columnist Elsa Maxwell because it took 10,000 jasmine flowers from Grasse and 360 roses from Bulgaria just to make one ounce.

Grace Kelly, Josephine Baker, Vivien Leigh, Sophia Lauren, Marilyn Monroe and Mary Pickford all helped spread a little Joy around.

11. “Femme” by Rochas (1945)

Mae West, Joan Crawford, and Carole Lombard all found the original formula simply diva-licious. Mae West’s curvaceous torso inspired the shape of not just one hourglass-shaped bottle, but two—for Femme by Rochas and for Elsa Schiaparelli’s Shocking!

As Schiaparelli said, “C’est divin! C’est divin!”

Practical information

Address: 70 avenue des Champs-Elysées
Tel: +33 1 53 93 22 50
Hours: Open 10 a.m.-12 a.m. (Sunday-Thursday), 10 a.m.-1 a.m. (Friday and Saturday)

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