A Museum In Paris Offers A Café In A Secret Garden With Cozy Decor And A Seasonal Menu

Paris has a wealth of incredible eateries to choose from, and you can try a new place for every meal (including the site Anthony Bourdain deems the best restaurant in Paris). While you're sightseeing, you may want to enjoy one of the city's less formal cafés. To get that perfect Parisian moment, you don't have to sip coffee and eat pastries across the street from the Eiffel Tower, as there are a few places tourists should avoid shopping at while in Paris. However, there is a wonderful hidden gem in a cozy secret garden that you must visit. If you're strolling along the Champs Elysées by the L'Arc de Triomphe, take a walk to the Petit Palais Fine Arts Museum to enjoy the stunning collections and dine at one of the prettiest gardens you've ever seen, Café 1902.

The Petit Palais was constructed for the World's Fair in 1900 and designed by Charles Girault in the Beaux Arts style. It was turned over to the city of Paris in 1902 (hence the café's name) and now houses a collection of incredible artworks. Even better? The Petit Palais offers free access to its permanent collection, but you'll be charged a fee for specific exhibitions. It's open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the last entry at 5:15 p.m.; on Fridays and Saturdays, it is open until 8 p.m. In the center of the museum, you'll find a lovely garden, and Café 1902 sits at the edge, offering views of the greenery, a shaded terrace, and the charming arcades. 

Paris museums are often packed (although Rick Steves knows a secret entrance to skip the line at the Louvre), so if you prefer a smaller museum, the Petit Palais is the perfect spot to explore, with incredible paintings, sculptures, and artworks. Plus, Café 1902 is a great place for lunch and drinks. To get there by public transport, you can simply take the metro on Lines 1 or 13 to the Champs-Elysées Clemenceau Station and walk across Winston Churchill Avenue to the Petit Palais. You can't make reservations, so be prepared to wait without getting hangry. On the menu, you'll find seasonal breakfast, lunch, and children's combinations, or items à la carte. There are pastas, pastries, and salads, as well as brownies, lemon and almond cake, and madeleines. You'll find beverages like espresso, coffee, hot chocolate, and tea, as well as red, white, and rosé wines and champagne.

As you sit in chairs under the shade or out in the sunny courtyard, you can enjoy views of the painted ceilings in the arcade, incredible tilework on the floors, and seasonal flowers and plants. However, a number of reviews say the service isn't exactly what you'd call friendly. One Tripadvisor reviewer says, "Beautiful small garden inside Le Petit Palais. Great coffee, lovely patisserie, but the service is horrible and were inexperienced and not friendly at all." That said, it's absolutely worth the trip to enjoy a respite from the hustle and bustle of sightseeing in Paris.