Behind an unmarked door off Passage du Pré Carré, is a playful cocktail bar. Framed paintings along the wall fold down into tables for two, each coming with a small red light to summon a waiter. The menu is largely gin-focused though the bartenders are willing to mix the menu and concoct a new creation. A Saturday DJ  welcomes crowds until midnight with  weeknights feeling more  like an intimate hangout. 

Run by a Vietnamese family on Rue Vaugelas, Mamie Anh draws a lunchtime queue for its bò bún, soft bánh bao, and a vegetarian bánh mì served on a baguette baked in-house. The portions are generous and the seasoning straightforward (bring your own hot sauce if you like things properly Vietnamese-spicy). Take it away for a picnic on the Pâquier lawns or squeeze into one of the few indoor seats. This is a small, unfussy address that locals tend to get protective about and visitors often stumble upon by accident.

Tucked into Passage de la Cathédrale, Baïda is the breakfast room locals queue for on a Saturday. The menu is short and unfussy: Turkish eggs with a proper hit of garlic, breakfast buns with veggie bacon, chocolate brioche to ask for double-toasted. All gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian, none of it tastes like compromise. The flat whites are excellent, the homemade lemonades better. The room is intimate enough to feel like a secret, which makes it ill-suited to large groups but ideal for two over the morning paper. Pair with a wander through the old town.

Small, stylish and brilliantly located, La Cour du 6 sits just minutes from the lake, the old town and the station. Its 21 thoughtfully designed rooms showcase the work of local artisans through marble, ceramics and handcrafted ironwork, while the lively brasserie downstairs is reason enough to drop by, whether you're staying overnight or not.