Where do you live?

The 11th arrondissement, Paris, Saint Ambroise.

What’s best about your Paris neighbourhood?

Proximity to my friends, lots of nice cafés, restaurants, food shops and markets. It’s near to everything without being a happening neighbourhood in its own right, so it’s not too busy, hectic or full of fashion people you don’t want to bump into after work hours.

If money was no object, where would you live?

In exactly the same area, but in a much bigger apartment with a balcony or terrace. Or better still, in a house.

Which are your favourite Paris stores?

Carven on rue Saint Sulpice, Chez Chiffons on rue de Lancry, APC and branches of Naturalia and Bio c’Bon – I seem to go in one at least once a day.

And your favourite restaurants?

Chez Philou, avenue Richerand; Le Dauphin, avenue Parmentier; Le Galopin, rue Sainte-Marthe; Sheger, passage du Jeu de Boules.

Can you recommend any dishes to try?

Cheese and charcuterie plates at wine bars like Aux Deux Amis or Le Baron Rouge – not very diet-friendly but delicious, sourced from great independent producers.

Do you have a favourite local café or bar?

L’Étincelle café-tabac on the corner of rue St Sébastien and rue Amelot, and the Pop In at 105 rue Amelot, but as I have grown older and wiser I seem not to spend as much time there as I used to.

Where do you take out-of-town friends?

A typical wine bar like Le Baron Rouge near Place d’Aligre, or to the Bastille market on Sundays.

Where do you like to celebrate?

The Hemingway Bar at the Ritz, while it is still open.

Do you have a favourite walk in the city?

I love walking pretty much everywhere in Paris, except the really dodgy areas. It’s always nice to discover new parts of the city, but I am still surprised by places I walk past every day.

Which is Paris’s best attraction?

The Grand Palais is beautiful, but you have to see it from inside which is not always possible.

Which Parisian do you most admire?

I would have loved to know Paris in other times, hanging out at the Flore or Deux Magots with Sartre and de Beauvoir, or Montparnasse in the 1920s.

Any places you’d recommend visitors avoid?

The metro at rush hour. The pavement in front of Printemps and Galeries Lafayette on a busy day, especially before Christmas.

Any advice for visitors?

Take time to walk around, sit on a terrace and watch people go by. You can do most things in Paris on foot and it’s nicer than rushing round on the metro.

What can’t you live without?

If I miss going to the market on a Sunday, it sets my week up all wrong. No cheese! No fresh fruit and vegetables! One of the best things is meeting up with friends after a day at work, sitting in the sun and having a glass of wine together.