What is Apéro, and Why Do the French Love It So?

If you spend any amount of time around French people, one evening, you’ll undoubtedly hear them say:

Alors… on prend l’apéro?

Apéro, short for apéritif, is sacred in France: an hour or so before dinner where you can unwind over a cocktail (or two) and a few snacks. It’s not about getting drunk: it’s about spending time together and preparing your palate for the meal to follow. And now that days are getting longer, it’s one of our favorite activities.

Here’s our guide to the perfect French apéro.

1. Choose Your Drink

You can enjoy pretty much anything for apéro, but there are a few standbys. Many French people, especially in the south of France, start the evening off with an aniseed Pastis, typically drunk diluted with cold water. Some tinge theirs red with grenadine for a tomate, or green with mint syrup for a perroquet.

A very common apéro beverage, particularly among women, is a kir, a combination of dry white wine and syrup. A traditional kir is made with crème de cassis, or blackcurrant liqueur, but peach, strawberry, or blackberry are great too. Spike Champagne instead of white wine for a kir royale!

For kids, syrup combined with water or seltzer (the latter is dubbed a diabolo) is a great alternative to juice or soda.

The only thing you’ll very rarely see at apéro is red wine, which is usually reserved for mealtime!

2. Choose Your Location

There are three possible locations to have a quality apéro.

The first, and probably the most common among locals, is at home. Serve drinks with a few snacks, such as chips, pretzels (or slightly snazzier verrines, if you’re feeling really French) and you’re good to go.

If you don’t feel up to making your own apéro – or you want to see how other locals partake – try having apéro at a bar. Any Parisian café will offer the simplest of apéros – drinks accompanied by a small bowl of snack mix, chips, or popcorn – but other places will also have charcuterie platters or other snacks on the menu to accompany snazzier cocktails or specialty drinks.

Here are a few of our Paris faves:

  • Septime La Cave, 3 Rue Basfroi, 75011
  • Le Barav’, 6 Rue Charles-François Dupuis, 75003
  • Le Perchoir, 14, rue du Crespin de Gast, 75011

The third possibility? One of Paris’ nearly 100 parks! Pick out a bottle of your favorite rosé and snag a few snacks from a supermarket or specialty store, and spread out a blanket at one of our favorite picnic spots.

3. Enjoy!

It doesn’t take much to enjoy apéro: good friends, a drink in hand, and an expanse of time before you.

Santé!