Visiting a Parisian café is a time-honored tradition, but Americans may be surprised that it’s not as simple as ordering just a “coffee.” There are many different options on a café’s menu, and things can quickly get confusing. Luckily, we’re here to help!

The Simple: Le Café

The most basic option on any café menu is un café. While the term directly translates to “a coffee,” Americans might know it better as “an espresso.” Short, dark, and bitter, le café is the cheapest item on most café menus, usually costing about 2 euro at most Parisian cafés.

Your typical café can be modified in a few ways:

• Un serré – literally, a “tight” (coffee), is a shorter espresso. It will be richer and darker than your run-of-the-mill café.
• Un allongé – literally, a “long” (coffee), is a longer espresso. It will be slightly weaker than most French coffees. Cafés will either serve this to you as is or, sometimes, as a regular coffee with a pitcher of hot water, so that you can dilute your coffee as you like.
• Un américain – literally, an “American,” is an even longer coffee, similar to an Americano.

Level Two: Milk

Coffee with milk is traditionally a breakfast item in France, and while most Americans are keen to order a café au lait, you’ll only find this option on the most touristy of menus. Here are your choices if you’d like a touch of milk:

• Un noisette – literally, a “hazelnut,” has no nuts added! It’s an espresso with a dollop of foamed milk, similar to a macchiato. It’s also the only milky coffee that most French people would consider drinking past breakfast.
• Un crème – literally, a “cream,” is what most people are thinking of when they order a café au lait. Similar to a latte, a crème is made by topping espresso with steamed milk and a touch of foam. Most cafés will offer both a grand crème (with more milk) and a petit crème (with less milk).

Cappuccino, Filter, Flat White, Oh My!

Expats have been present on Paris’ coffee scene for a number of years now, so it’s not uncommon to find coffee shops and coffee houses offering Italian, American, or Australian coffee specialties like cappuccinos, filter coffee, or flat whites. You’ll rarely see any of these options in a typical French café.

Sit, Stand, or Go?

Most Americans are used to grabbing their coffee to go, but this mindset has not really been adopted by the French, who far prefer to sit and enjoy their coffee for an hour (or two!) If you want a really French experience, linger over your coffee. You won’t be given the side-eye by your waiter, and you can stay as long as you like!

If you need a faster jolt, consider the time-honored Parisian tradition of enjoying your coffee au zinc: at the bar. If you stand and order your coffee at the bar instead of pulling up a chair, you’ll usually pay even less!

If, however, you need to drink and run, there are a few places you can grab a to go coffee. Starbucks has infiltrated the city, but many bakeries also offer coffee in to go cups. You’ll also find coffee machines in all of the train stations and some major metro stops where you can have your coffee à emporter – to go!