A Fresh Perspective on Travel Every Day
Many people feel comfortable navigating a new city using only their wits (and maybe their smartphones). However, for other visitors, finding a good tourist information center and seeking advice from local experts is key to feeling informed and relaxed.
Paris may be renowned for its haute cuisine, dazzling fashion, and iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. However, it is equally rich in literary history, waiting to be explored on your next visit to the French capital. Some of the greatest writers, such as Simone de Beauvoir,James Baldwin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway, crafted their masterpieces in Paris, leaving a lasting literary legacy throughout the city.
Everyone knows that Parisians are rude, right? It’s admittedly a stereotype that even French people outside the big capital tend to fiercely cling onto. If you ask residents of Toulouse, Nantes, or Lyon, they may likely respond with a little knowing smile and a dramatic sigh if you ask them what they think of the capital city, even going so far as to comment: “I can’t stand it there! People are so snobby, stressed, andrude!”
This article discusses the recent nocturnal regulations impacting nightlife in Paris, highlighting the pros and cons for both local residents and visitors.
Ah, the traditional Paris cabaret. A show that has little to do with contemporary Parisian culture and everything to do with nostalgia, a good heaping of kitschy fun, and a love for longstanding erotic codes. You won’t, admittedly, find many Parisians lined up to catch a show at one of these places. However, if you’re hankering for French cancans, Vegas-style glitz, and lots of skin, these top traditional Paris cabarets will provide delicious clichés up to your elbows– for a hefty price, of course. There are plenty of more subdued, serious, or arty cabaret-theatres in Paris, too, but the following are all cabaret classics.
Paris boasts some of the world’s largest, most glamorous, and historically rich department stores. These locations provide visitors the opportunity to browse the latest trends in designer fashion and new collections, enjoy meals on dramatic outdoor terraces, explore tempting aisles in gourmet food shops, and even attend free fashion shows. Known as “grands magasins” in French, these cherished institutions attract both locals and tourists and should undoubtedly feature on your itinerary if shopping in Paris is on your agenda.
Best-known for their incomparable, fluffy, “melty”macaronspacked in pastel-green boxes with posh pink ribbons, Ladurée is synonymous with luxury pastries and sweets. First opened in 1862 by miller and baker Louis Ernest Ladurée on Rue Royale near the Opera Garnier, the shop, bakery, and tearoom has several locations around Paris and is a coveted destination for food enthusiasts and tourists alike.
With its first store opened on the Place de la Madeleine in Paris in 1886, the flagship shop still stands there today. Maison Fauchon is one of Paris’s premier gourmet food shops. It offers gourmet grocery items, including chocolates, signature tea and coffee, biscuits, jams, mustards, confits, oils,foie gras, and pâtés. This iconic Parisianépiceriefeatures a separate bakery andtraiteur(gourmet delicatessen) at its Madeleine location, along with a restaurant-tea house and a wine cellar. Consequently, Fauchon becomes especially busy during the Christmas and holiday season as it is a favored spot for stocking up on holiday meal items and gifts for foodies.
One of the oldest streets in Paris, with roots extending to pre-Christian Paris, the mostly pedestrian Rue Mouffetard houses a bustling, permanent street market at its southern end. Some of the city’s finer fruit and vegetable vendors, fish and meat markets,fromageries, and other specialty shops are clustered on Rue Mouffetard and the Square Saint-Médard.
Are you a food enthusiast eager to sample all the myriad culinary specialties France has to offer (and beyond)? If so, a whirl at the Grande Epicerie, coveted by many as the “creme de la creme” of gourmet Paris food markets, is in order during your next trip to the French capital.
Since the Eiffel Tower has gained such iconic status around the world, becoming an object of endless fascination as well as the cliché of choice for representing Paris, it can be easy to gloss the surface when visiting it and overlook its fascinating (and tumultuous) history. The tower’s remarkable construction is also something that tourists often fail to appreciate, so it is advisable to read up on this marvelous monument before you go up to the top and look out— you’ll no doubt gain a much richer appreciation for it.
The St-Jacques Tower is the only remaining element of a church that once stood in central Paris and served as a significant starting point for Christian pilgrimages southward. Dating back to the 16th century, this stunning tower has recently undergone dramatic restoration.
Created at the end of the 18th century, the Paris Catacombs hold the remains of approximately six million Parisians, whose bones were transferred from overcrowded cemeteries deemed unhygienic. The public area—only a small portion of the vast catacombs complex—consists of about two kilometers (1.2 miles) of narrow corridors carved from limestone quarries deep underground. This hauntingly fascinating site offers visitors a morbid spectacle of millions of human bones and skulls arranged in intricate and symmetrical patterns.
Many tourists aspiring to explore the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris often face disappointment as they are swiftly turned away by the guards stationed at the entrance. The rationale behind this restriction is clear: the institution aims to limit disturbances to its students and faculty. Consequently, to ensure a more tranquil environment, access is primarily reserved for the members of the university.
For those interested in the long and complex history of scent-making, the Fragonard Museum in Paris is a true gem. Situated in a rather unassuming but nevertheless regal nineteenth-century building right near the Palais Garnier (old Opera house), this museum only opened in 1983 but takes visitors on an old-world sensory voyage back to the origins of perfumery. It’s one of the
The Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris serves as a vital bridge between the Middle Eastern and Western cultures, showcasing Arabic arts, culture, and history. This article highlights the Institute’s location, contact details, nearby attractions, opening hours, and its unique architectural features.
The Centre Georges Pompidou, established in 1977, has become a cornerstone of Paris’s cultural landscape, embodying accessibility and inclusivity in art.
This humble little museum dedicated to 19th-century French novelist and thinker Honoré de Balzac is located in the writer’s house, nestled in Passy, formerly an independent village west of Paris. The novelist lived and worked here from 1840 to 1847, conceiving his monumental series of interconnected novels and stories,La Comédie humaine(The Human Comedy), as well as many other acclaimed novels.
Are you looking for something a bit off the beaten path in Paris? Are you visiting with kids? If so, the sprawling Science and Industry Museum/Center in Paris (Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie) is a delightful place to spend a morning or afternoon in pursuit of fun, learning, and discovery. Designed for children aged 2 to 18, this vast center includes numerous thematic attractions and areas, including an impressive planetarium.
The National Medieval Art Museum in Paris, also known as the Musée Cluny, stands out as one of Europe’s premier collections dedicated to the arts and social history of the Middle Ages in France. After being closed for renovations in 2018 and most of 2019, Musée Cluny reopened its doors to the public on July 14, 2019.
