Le Jules Verne

Le Jules Verne inside the Eiffel Tower is no tourist trap. You’ll breeze up the private elevator on the west side and into one of three dining rooms tastefully decorated in shades of gray, bringing the Invalides and Sacré Coeur views into full focus. The exquisite French food matches the incredible views. After popping the first amuse-bouche into your mouth with your fingers as instructed, you'll embark on a playful, unstuffy prix fixe meal featuring all the rich sauces and emulsions a spot of this caliber is pretty much obligated to serve balanced with welcome touches of bitterness and acidity. Expect truffle everywhere, including in the cheese course—instead of the traditional gilded cart, you'll get just one zhuzhed-up baked cheese that's totally worth the €35 supplement.

There are five- and seven-course tasting menus at lunch and dinner, but the move is the weekday €160 three-course lunch—more like eight, with all those amuse-bouches, pre-desserts, and mignardises—served at a pace tailor-made for luxuriating. This is a legendary space perfect for a birthday or an anniversary, as the candles you'll glimpse on some tables come dessert surely show. But a reservation here can even turn a random weekday lunch into an affair to remember.