Because it's a city for romantics, those who love to walk, eat and shop. You don't need a car. You don't need a taxi (which are impossible to find anyway). You barely need the Metro, which is spotless and safe. You occasionally jump on a bus, but the best thing about Paris is that it's a pocket-sized city that can be reached practically everywhere on foot or by the Velib, bicycles that you rent by the hour.
I live in the Golden Triangle - the area between the Luxembourg Gardens, Sèvres Babylone and Montparnasse. It's the heart of literary Paris circa 1920; the homes of Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Alice B Toklas and Sylvia Beach, who opened Shakespeare and Company, are down the street. The Luxembourg Gardens - in my biased view - is the most romantic and magical park in the world. But whatever quartier you choose to make your temporary home, the wonderful and unique thing about Paris is you can walk anywhere and find something charming - a shop where pianos are fixed; a brocante (antique shop) devoted solely to silver spoons; a tiny bistro run by the same family for three generations.
If you are grand and have the money, head to Le Bristol on Rue Fabourg St Honoré (www.hotel-bristol.com; 0033 1 53 43 43 00) or Hotel Raphael on Avenue Kléber (www.raphael-hotel.com; 0033 1 53 64 32 15) both of which are fabulous, luxurious and very French. This means you can expect linen sheets, fantastic coffee and croissants in bed and excellent service. At Le Bristol, you can also have a great Anne Semonin facial. A double room at Le Bristol costs from US$890 (Dh3,267). A double room at Hotel Raphael costs from $712 (Dh2,614), both including taxes.
For the super trendy, there is still the Hotel Costes on Rue St Honoré near the Tuilerie Gardens, which is dark and discreet and has a wonderful swimming pool and spa downstairs. You will bump into lots of French stars here, and the restaurant is fun place to people-watch and grab a club sandwich. A double room costs from $753 (Dh2,765) including taxes (www.hotelcostes.com; 0033 1 42 44 50 00).
Start by walking through the Tuilerie Gardens, cut up through the Louvre and head towards the Place des Victoires. From there, you can see the lively Rue Montorgueil with its wonderful cafes, bakeries and flower stalls. Then, head down to Palais Royal and wander through the arcades full of tiny, unusual shops selling military replicas, music boxes and vintage little black dresses (Marc Jacobs is also there).
Cross the bridge, head to St Germain des Prés, and have tea at Café de Flore (never Deux Magots, that's for tourists). Browse through the wonderful bookstores nearby, then head up Rue du Bac, and head towards the Musée Rodin. In the summer, the garden there is lovely. It's a long day of walking, but a good one, and you can always jump on a bike if you have the energy. On day two, tackle the Marais and Montmartre and you will pass through some great Paris neighbourhoods - Canal St Martin or Oberkampf for example. Get a good map.
Go to the markets - it's how Parisians shop for their food, especially on Sunday mornings. There are wonderful ones on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir in the 11th Arondissement, or in the Marché des Batignolles in the 17th, or Marché rue de Buci in the 6th, but my entire world seems to revolve around Rue du Cherche-Midi, which, in fact, is an ancient reference for the sun shining down this street at precisely midday. It is an elongated jumble of shops and open air vegetable stands that runs south-west from the Carrefour de la Croix-Rouge and continues all the way to the Place Camille Claudel in the 15th. My favourite stretch is between Boulevard Raspail and Montparnasse; it's the part that tourists don't bother seeking out.
Walk and you will find French-only bistros; antique jewellery shops with no names but wonderful pieces of coral, ruby and diamond rings and bracelets; dépôt ventes (France's equivalent of chic, vintage boutiques); and my favourite tea house, Mamie Gateaux on 66 Rue du Cherche-Midi. Try the home-made tarts or quiches; I love the 4pm ritual of a slice of cake and tea (0033 1 42 22 32 15).
Take your pick of delightful stores scattered around the city. The most beautiful children's shop is one I pass every morning walking my son to school, Jours de Fete on 66 Rue Notre Dame des Champs. The girls' dresses are shades reminiscent of a delicate palette of macaroons from Ladurée - palest pink, apple green, lilac and biscuit yellow. Next door is a wonderful brocante called Portobello, selling chandeliers, old luggage, beautiful lace Provençal linens, and china (open Tuesday to Saturday, from 3pm to 7pm).
Amor Lux opposite the neighbourhood hangout, Café Vavin, has classic French pieces - the kind of clothes you see chic families wearing on Ile de Ré. Next door is Le Lucernaire cinema that has shows, concerts, films and a very cool bar (www.lucernaire.fr). A tiny shop called Minute Papillon on 58 Rue Notre Dame des Champs is a favorite place of mine to buy birthday gifts. You can find tiny little French jewels - notebooks, bags, cool jewellery, at good prices. If you keep going towards Montparnasse, you can end your day at the best literary cafe in the world that was also a favourite haunt of Hemingway - Le Select. If you get there at the end of the day in time for an aperitif, you can watch Paris' most famous journalists, writers and literary figures meet and gossip. Then, go have dinner around the corner at La Closerie des Lilas ( www.closeriedeslilas.fr). It's a classic - but still, in my view, one of the best for steak tartare or oysters and a glass of champagne. Main courses cost from $41 (Dh151). If you head to the other side of town, go to Merci, the new concept store opened by the owners of Bonpoint on 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais (www.merci-merci.com). The mix of books, housewares, funky shoes and beautiful clothes is irrisistable. It's very good at sale time, too.
Chez Fernand (www.restaurant-chezfernand.fr): this is a locals-only, Montparnasse bistro, serving wonderful traditional French dishes such as bone marrow with sea salt, or creamed eggs. You have to book, and you often see local writers arguing with their editors over drinks. The desserts are huge so order one and share. A main course costs from $22 (Dh80).
Another more starry contender is Le Grand Véfour on rue Beaujolais (www.grand-vefour.com; 00 33 1 43 89 10 66). This is where to go if you are prepared to spend a small fortune and you are a true foodie. A three Michelin-starred restaurant, Napoleon and Josephine dined here, as did Colette; Guy Martin is the current chef who is wonderful. In season, the truffles are incredible. But a main course costs from $103 (Dh377) - the prix fixe dinner menu is $367 (Dh1,347) - and it is booked months in advance. Still, a real treat and a stunningly beautiful place at the end of the Palais Royal.
My favourite restaurant of all time is Josephine Chez Dumonet on Rue du Cherche Midi, but it costs more than I can usually afford to spend, so it's a treat. It serves food the way it was cooked in the 1950s - real French rustic cooking with tons of butter and cream. Try the foie gras - the portion is enough for three - and for dessert, the souffles are marvellous. The bistro is famous for its confit de canard.
The Champs d'Elysées at all costs - it's the only part of Paris I find offensive because it has become so touristy. It's simply not worth fighting the crowds to see a Disney Store or the vulgar Louis Vuitton. One suggestion on how best to "do" the Louvre is to know exactly what it is you want to see and look at a map before you get there. Otherwise, it is too overwhelming and so crowded that you'll want to faint. Les Halles is no longer the charming food market it once was and is now the home of tough kids from the suburbs on the prowl for innocent tourists who are looking to get mugged. Stay away - there is nothing to see there anyway.
Le Bon Marché. This is the only department store to go to. It has a wonderful food market, a fantastic kids department, beautiful grown-up clothes and accessories, and great sales. The lingerie section is heavenly and there is a delicious and airy Italian restaurant to meet friends for lunch. *The National
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
SHAITTAN
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
