Rue du Bac / Rue de Beaune

M: Sèvres Babylone. Begin by filling up on goodies at La Grande Épicerie du Bon Marché (see Standout Stores), then head out the main entrance on the cnr and turn left up rue du Bac. Savour cool sorbets at #109 Le Bac à Glace / 45 48 87 65, or a pastry at #93 La Pâtisserie des Rêves / 42 84 00 82. Sweet tooth still not sated? Swoon over Des Gâteaux et du Pain at #89 / 45 48 30 74 / while choc addicts can dive in next door at Jacques Genin. Ok. Ready? Waddle over the blvd Saint-Germain to the extraordinary window display at Perptich Galerie / 240 blvd St-Germain / and then continue up rue du Bac. On your left at #46 is the divine cabinet of curiosities Deyrolle / 42 22 30 07 / closed Sun / deyrolle.com / with Le Prince Jardinier's haute gardenwares and natural wonders including all that's stuffed, preserved, and mounted. Out you come and head left to #42 Galerie Maeght / 45 48 45 15 / for modern art and prints, and next door contempo interior junkies can get their fix at Christian Liaigre also at #42 / 53 63 33 66. From here, look across the street and you'll see lovely L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (see Rest./Smart). Conveniently, next door at #3 is Hôtel Montalembert / 45 49 68 68 / and its streetside terrace, adored by the ladies who lunch. They do a pretty mean cocktail at the bar inside, too. Head up to rue de l'Université, one of several criss-crossing streets in this antiques and décor jackpot. Check out / carrerivegauche. com / for a guide to the scores of specialist stores. Detour a quick block left down l'Université to find the unique Moissonnier at #52 / 42 61 84 88, restoring antique furniture with a distinct modern twang, or turn right, then left onto rue de Beaune and step into glamsy Muriel Grateau at #37 (see Standout Stores), and then cross to #18 Atelier du Bois Doré / 40 20 05 74 / a store devoted to sumptuous ornate gilded picture frames. Carry on rue de Beaune crossing rue de Verneuil and then turn right into rue de Lille, a street littered with fab decorative boutiques. First up on the right at #23 is Galerie André Hayat / 06 12 86 33 89 / for fine C.20th furny; then cross over to Mougin #30 / 40 20 08 33 / for a clutch of leading contemporary artists; White Moon Gallery at #16 / 06 71 01 66 38 / feat. dramatic, mostly marble mod sculptural pieces; and then buzz yourself into Chahan at #11 / 47 03 47 00 / for inspired interior design, before picking out a beautiful tome to sit on your new table from 7L, M. Lagerfeld's bookstore at #7 / 42 92 03 58. Now head to the end of the street, turn left and you'll come to ACNE Studios / 1 quai Malaquais, an edgy fashion trove. OK, options. Batobus (see V. Useful) has a pick-up quay just over the bridge on the right if you fancy some Seine sightseeing); or turn left for a 5-min trot, passing Jacques Garcia-designed concept shop Ventilo at 7 quai Voltaire / 42 61 67 04, to the Musée d'Orsay (where there is also a Batobus stop); or, head right and drop into Dries Van Noten's flagships at 7 and 9 quai Malaquais for avant-garde fash and eccentric objects, before crossing Pont Neuf to Île de la Cité for the divine Sainte-Chapelle (see Activities), after which you could reverse the Île Saint-Louis itin, which ends there. Otherwise, leg it to L'Hôtel (see Bars) for a stiff one... Ooh la la!