When you need to escape the mass of Marais shoppers or kill some time before dinner, le Café Suédois is a sweet and tranquil spot. Tucked into the courtyard of the … Swedish Cultural Center, the café is simple and relaxed with just a few tables and flower pots set upon the paving stones. [link]

Among the many boats floating in the Seine outside the BNF, the El Alamein stands out because of its gorgeous plant-covered deck. It's a great place to catch some sun … or just to hide for an hour while the world and the bateaux mouches go by. [link]

One of the most charming museums in Paris, le Musée de la Vie Romantique also has a tree-filled garden café. With dappled light and gravel crunching underfoot, it's … easy to forget about the other 2 million inhabitants of the city. The café is open to all before 6 p.m., and the museum's free permanent collection of trinkets from 19th century luminaries (Sand, Delacroix, Chopin, Liszt, etc.) is worth checking out. [link]

This terrace may be hidden, but it's by no means a secret. Locals flock to this pretty spot just steps from the Place de Clichy. Behind the El Dorado Hotel is a courtyard … filled with candles. But the adjoining "veranda" (indoor room) is where you'll be seated if you arrive after 7 p.m. without booking. [link]

Just a stone's throw from la Maroquinerie, la Bellevilloise was founded in 1877 as the first cooperative association in Paris. The original mission -- to provide … cultural education to people of modest means -- continues today with a great lineup of concerts and expos. What few people know, however, is that la Bellevilloise has an amazing rooftop terrace. Small and intimate and filled with flowers, it's a perfect pre-show meeting place with a view overlooking the city. [link]

Behind the crumbling walls of this former convent lies the perfect hidden terrace. Most who pass by the nondescript exterior would never suspect what lies within: a leafy … oasis of calm between Gare de l'Est and the canal. Café A remains largely undiscovered -- a shared secret among the satisfied few who sit sunning themselves or sipping kir beneath the shade trees. [link]