La Rentrée - What to do in Paris this Autumn

It's that time of year again - summer is coming to an end, kids are weighed down by disproportionally large school bags, and you have to field the back-to-work question of "How were your holidays?" with such frequency that a new vacation is needed to recover from the effort.
But it's not all bad: the reversal of the annual summer mass exodus from Paris brings with it a whole array of brand new exciting shops, exhibitions, restaurants, bars and events to look forward to. Here are our highlights.
FOOD and DRINK Chef Inake Aizpitarte is set to open a wine shop, Le Cave, located between his two much-lauded restaurants Le Chateaubriand and Le Dauphin. Marc Grossman of the Bob's Juice Bar and Bob's Kitchen mini empire, will be opening Bob's Bake Shop in the 18th arrondissement this autumn. Feted chef Eric Frechon - who has 3 michelin stars to his name - is opening a restaurant called Lazare at the busy Paris train station, Gare St Lazare, in September. Ceviche seems to be a food trend to watch in Paris, with La Cevicheria having just opening in the 2nd arrondissement and Bertrand Grébaut (of Septime) set to open Clamato, a ceviche bar, sometime in the next couple of months.


Fish and chips at The Sunken Chip
Our favourite new cafe last rentrée, Blackmarket, has shut up shop in the 18th arrondissement to move to larger premises in the Marais - set to open mid-October.
On our radar bar-wise are the new pingpong bar Gossima, Blue in the 18th arrondissement and the bar from Parisian brewery Demory. The 10th arrondissement's best bar, Le Pompon, may have closed earlier this year, but it is set to reopen in new premises in Pigalle in a more club like venue that rock the night away until til 6am. Two new summer openings are set to become fall favourites: deliciously authentic fish and chip joint The Sunken Chip and Californian-style burger, tacos and cocktail restaurant, Le Depanneur.

ART and EXHIBITIONS
This is set to be a solid season on the art scene, with blockbuster exhibitions lined up from Georges Braque at Le Grand Palais (18th Sept-6th Jan), to Goya at the Pinacothèque (26th Sept-2nd Mar), Frida Kahlo-Diego Rivera at the Orangerie (9th Oct-13th Jan), Surréalisme et l'Objet - featuring works from Dali, Duchamp, Man Ray - at the Centre Pompidou (30th Oct-3rd Mar), Etrusques at Musée Maillol and La Rennaisance et le Rêve - with works from El Greco, Bosch, Veronese - at the Musée d'Orsay (9th Oct-26th Jan). Get ready to queue.
After more than four years of renovation, Paris' fashion museum, The Musée Galliera will reopen its doors on 28th September with a retrospective on the iconic designer, Azzedine Alaïa - the first exhibition of its kind in Paris.

Litchenstein at Centre Pompidou
Still running is the pop-art extravaganza that is the Roy Lichtenstein retrospective at the Centre Pompidou, until 4th November - catch it before it's too late.

FASHION and SHOPPING The invasion of the gazelle-human hybrids is nigh, with Paris Fashion Week coming up at the end of September. Also on the horizon are the opening of two of London's finest in the French capital: Topshop and Agent Provocateur - our credit cards are already warming up. Petit Bateau will open a pop-up store from 23rd Sept-22nd Oct in the Marais (11 rue Debelleyme) to showcase its men's and women's collections designed by hippity-hipsters Gildas and Masaya from Kitsuné.
EVENTS Concerts that we're particularly looking forward to include Chance the Rapper at Social Club on 7th Oct and Jay-Z's Magna Carta tour, coming to Paris on October 18th. Annual autumn events that are always worth checking out include Nuit Blanche, les Journées de Patrimoine (Heritage Days) and contemporary art fair, FIAC.

FIAC at Le Grand Palais

As ever, stay tuned to Unlock Paris for all the latest news on what's going on the capital and we'll make sure you make the most of Autumn in Paris.