Month: February 2019

cafés

Our Favorite Parisian Cafés

Is there anything more essentially Parisian than a café? They’re the perfect place to rest your tired feet between neighborhood walks, visits of the Louvre, and climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

We love cafés of all kinds: big and ornate, tiny and cozy, modern or old-fashioned. With that in mind, here are our faves.

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Best View: La Contrescarpe

This classic Parisian café is located in the heart of the Latin Quarter overlooks the Place de la Contrescarpe, the very same quaint square that Ernest Hemingway used to cross every morning on his way to work. The sidewalk terrace is large enough to accommodate everyone who wants to sit in the sun, and on rainier days, the leather armchairs in the back room are super cozy.

Best Coffee: Café Lomi

Café Lomi is one of several artisanal roasters that has recently taken root in Paris. Boasting fantastic, house-roasted coffee and a slightly industrial feel, it’s the kind of place you’d be more likely to find in London or New York, but we love it all the same.

Most Historic: Les Deux Magots

We can forgive Les Deux Magots its touristy reputation given its long and illustrious history. While it’s not the oldest café in Paris (that honor goes to Le Procope), it is one of our favorite literary cafés, once the favorite watering hole of Paris’ Surrealist writers. Don’t miss the wooden magot statues inside that give this café its name!

Coziest: Boot Café

This diminutive café gets its name from the fact that it’s located in a former cobbler’s, or cordonnerie. As you can imagine, this makes the inside ultra-compact… and ultra-cozy.

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Top 5 French Phrases to Master Before Coming to Paris

A lot of visitors to Paris worry that they won’t be able to communicate in France without mastery of French, but the truth is, most French people have a working knowledge of English (and many of them speak it better than we do – thanks, American television!) But there are a few phrases that any visitor should master, whether it’s to communicate with one of the rare locals who doesn’t speak any English, or just to show that you’re making an effort with the locals.

With that in mind, here are the five phrases to master before visiting Paris.

1. Bonjour

Not so much a phrase as a word, bonjour is nevertheless the number one thing to learn how to say before visiting France. While most phrase books will translate bonjour as “hello,” it’s a lot more.

French culture requires that every interaction begin with an exchange of bonjour – before you even consider making a request. So every time you enter a shop or restaurant, say bonjour and wait to hear it back *before* asking for a able, a specific size, or anything else.

(Emily wrote all about bonjour – and what happens when you neglect to say it – for the Wall Street Journal.)

Pronunciation: bawn-DZOU

2. Bonne Journée

Goodbye is technically au revoir in French, but you’re far more likely to hear people say bonne journée at the end of an interaction, which means, “Have a good day!” Around 5pm, this will be traded out for bonne soirée or “Have a good evening!”

Under no circumstances, by the way, should you ever say bonne nuit or goodnight to strangers – this is a bit too intimate and should be reserved for people you live with.

Pronunciation: bun-dzou-NAY

3. Excusez-moi ?

Many cases of interacting with French people will begin with this phrase: it’s the right way to stop someone on the street before asking them, for example, where the closest métro stop is or what the time is.

Pronunciation: ex-coo-zay-MWA

4. Où sont les toilettes ?

Ah… that essential phrase. If you need the restroom, this is how to ask for it. A word of warning, though: Parisians do not take kindly to non-patrons using their restrooms, so you might want to order at least un café au bar (a coffee at the bar) before asking to use the facilities.

Pronunciation: oo-son-lay-twa-lett

5. Merci !

If you learn one word in a foreign language, make it “thank you!”

Pronunciation: mer-SEE

Learn even more about what makes the French tick with our custom tours, which can be tailored to any element of French culture you find fascinating.

5 Most Romantic Spots in Paris

Celebrating Valentine’s Day in the French capital is a no-brainer, but deciding what to do once you’re in Paris can be tougher. Luckily, we’ve got some off-the-beaten track suggestions to help make your Valentine’s Day as romantic as possible.

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Montmartre is one of our favorite neighborhoods in Paris, and it’s not hard to see why! The former village can be found atop Paris’ highest hill and is home to tons of quiet cobbled streets for canoodling… and the famous “I love you” wall.

Paris’ bateaux mouches are riverboats that escort you on a cruise down the city’s River Seine. What could be more romantic than holding hands as you take in Paris’ sights, all the way to the glittering Eiffel Tower?

Paris is home to 36 bridges, and everyone has their favorite. For years, the Pont des Arts was a big draw for young lovers, who would attach a padlock to the bridge’s rails as a symbol of their love. While the padlocks have since been removed, we still love this pedestrian bridge with its view of the Louvre.

Less well-known than the Seine, the Canal Saint-Martin to the north of Paris is no less lovely for a stroll. In fact, a wander along the smaller waterway, with its iron bridges, is one of our favorites if you prefer to steer clear of the crowds.

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Paris is home to tons of lovely parks, from the Luxembourg to the Tuileries to Buttes-Chaumont. One of the most romantic, to our mind, is the Jardin des Plantes, with beautiful gardens and one of the oldest gazebos in the world.

Top Photo by Grillot edouard on Unsplash

parisian café

Café Culture in Paris: Our Guide to Good Coffee and Great Ambiance

Paris is famous for its sidewalk cafés (dubbed terrasses by the locals), locations inextricably linked with its history.

From Procope, Paris’ first café, which hosted the founding fathers of both the French and the American Revolutions, to Flore, which Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre considered a second home, to Brasserie Lipp, where Hemingway used to sit and scribble (and yes, sip a beer or two), it’s no wonder that sitting in a true Parisian café is on the minds of many visitors to the city.

For these writers and revolutionaries, Paris’ cafés became a sort of outdoor living room: a place they could meet to discuss writing, politics, and more. (Find out even more about this on our Left Bank tour!)

You may have noticed the repercussions of this tradition on the modern Parisian café. Here are just three ways Paris’ cafés retain this Old World culture.

1. You don’t need to pay rent.

Cafés have long been considered meeting places, in large part due to the fact that young thinkers and writers didn’t have the space to welcome their cohorts into their homes. They would linger over one drink for hours, and the same is still accepted – and even expected – in Paris today.

When you visit a Parisian café, you’re free to order just one drink and sit and talk, read, or – in some cases – even work on your computer, for as long as you like.

That said, don’t push this cultural norm too far! If you notice that the café is filling up (or that waiters are setting up for lunch!) either buy something new or move on.

2. Your waiter isn’t rude – despite what it may seem!

Waiters are far from attentive in Paris, but don’t misconstrue their intentions! Parisian waiters are purposefully aloof to keep you from feeling like you’re being chased away. Once you’ve ordered, they won’t bother you – which means you might have to work to hail them and pay your check!

Sometimes, if your waiter is going off shift, he may ask you to settle your bill, but you can still linger without a problem.

3. People-watching is a sport.

You may notice that if you grab a table outdoors, you won’t be facing your dining companion. Most café tables in Paris are set with both chairs facing the street, both freeing up sidewalk space for those who need to walk past and providing café-goers ample opportunity to watch the passers-by! So sit back, relax, and soak up this all-too-Parisian past time.