A picnic in Paris followed by a night or two ensconced in a romantic hotel

One of the most romantic things you can do is to walk hand in hand with your lover shopping for picnic provisions in that most gorgeous of Parisian enclaves the Ile Saint Louis. I know you will think this is completely mad but try to do it in winter. Bundle up warmly in your most elegant coat with your chicest hat and slip two wine glasses and a Swiss army knife into your equally chic reticule.

Start in the Rue des Deux Ponts at the greengrocer and buy a tangerine or two or some berries. Then trawl the Rue Saint-Louis-en-L’ile for the rest of your provisions. The island, less than a kilometer long, has the feel of a small, albeit very sophisticated village with all manner of food shops dotted between little boutiques, galleries, antique shops and restaurants. You might find yourself sidetracked by all the other shops and if it is mid summer do stop off for an ice cream from Berthillon.  You could stop at Cacao et Chocolat for a chocolat chaude and at the same time buy a few macaroons and a couple of chocolates to round off your picnic later.

The essentials for your picnic are a big crusty French loaf and a good bottle of red wine. And then to eat with the bread buy a generous wedge of brie de Meaux from La Ferme Saint-Aubin wrapped as every piece of cheese should be wrapped – in paper, no shrink wrapped plastic. Then I would also buy a piece of pate de Compagne or confit de canard.

Once you have all your provisions stroll across to the Ile de la Cité and walk right down to the furthest tip. Here, if you really are doing this in winter I would settle down on one of the benches in the tiny park. There will be a couple of other hardy souls and in all likelihood they too will be lovers. In summer you can go down to the water’s edge, sit under the trailing branches and dangle you legs over the quay.  While on the Ile de la Cite be sure to visit Saint Chapelle, a beautiful thirteenth century gothic chapel.

After your picnic you are sure to want to retrace your steps and make the Ile Saint Louis your permanent home. If you are not able to quickly purchase a property then your next best option would be to check into the Hotel du Jeu de Paume. You can happily spend quite a few days (if not a lifetime) at this gorgeous hotel, eating at the wide variety of restaurants on the Île with just a few little sorties off the island into the hustle and bustle of Paris. The hotel – built by Louis XIV as a tennis court – has been renovated to perfection as you can’t help noticing from the minute you step through the door and go up to your room in the glass elevator. As you flop down on the bed you can be sure that food and love have come together in exactly the right way on this island.