My Parisian friends brought me to this semi-hidden café in what is undoubtedly one of the most heavily trafficked tourist attractions in the world. We came for a late lunch and were seated immediately at a stunning table on the terrace overlooking I.M. Pei's Pyramid at the Louvre. While we did not have a reservation, we got a table because we came at an opportune time. I would recommend one as this café can become quite busy around lunch and dinner time. Set behind and afforded privacy by the vaulted arches of the Richilieu wing of the Louvre, this café is relaxing and at the same time stimulating. It is very much a see-and-be-seen kind of place, with many business and fashion types lingering over lunch. I had a cool lunch of gazpacho and carpaccio that was delicious. The smart-looking servers were prompt if a bit aloof, but this is Paris after all. I felt as though I could sit at this table forever. When I went to use the bathroom, I got to see the even more beautiful scarlet-colored inside of the restaurant. I was going to ask the waiter to take a picture of our group to remember this terrific lunch and location, but decided against it. This just isn't one of those places. I'll be back...

Our lunch here got off to a bad start, as we first sat at an outdoor table that, according to our rather formal black pant, fancy white shirted waiter, was reserved although there was no sign to indicate it was. As we were moved to another table, by luck I struck up a conversation with the hostess who was escorting us. In excellent English she kindly informed me ALL public museums were closed indefinitely because the museum workers were on strike. But for her warning we would have proceeded to the Orsay after lunch, only to be disappointed again, as we had just been, when we had arrived at the Louvre and found it closed to visitors.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch of haricots verts salade, marvellously crisp French beans, tossed in vinaigrette. The menu was definitely upscale in range of offerings and prices. We surmised that in non-strike times the cafe would have been crowded, so reservations might be necessary. We also guessed we were paying for the ambience; spread out before us was the immense Napoleon courtyard. Inside the cafe are three elegant dining rooms where the tab and the menu were probably considerably more elevated, but the outdoor courtyard is really more interesting for people-watching and the food and service was still stately.

In our ignorance we did not realize that the inside area is glass-walled and the other side of that glass wall is the Louvre''s Richelieu Wing that diners there can see as they eat. For pictures of this elegant cafe that is owned by the trendy Costes brothers, check out www.bohnsack.co, a site that contains another traveler''s photos of this exceptional restaurant. Worth the splurge, the lunch (especially my hubby''s two wines) fortified us to stroll around getting as much as we could of the outside of the Louvre and its vast beauty. The Costes also own the even more elegant La Grande Armee brasserie near the Arc de Triumphe at no. 3 La Grande Armee.

Cafe Marly is open from 8am to 2am, daily. It''s definitely as "flamboyant and unabashedly sophisticated," as Fodor''s Up Close Paris describes it. Inadvertently, we had stumbled into a "see and be seen" place which may explain the unmarked reserved spot we were removed from, for we were attired in non-elegant clothing as we try to minimize the cost of any luggage loss by not packing our best clothes.