The Email of Paris Recommendations I Send to Everyone
I keep losing it in my sent file, so I’m just making it a Substack post.
I’m supposed to be writing something this morning, something professionally that I’m being paid to write. That’s why I’m writing this instead, obviously. (By the way, I’m also a recent ghostwriter. Let me know if you want me to write your memoir.)
A few times a quarter I get the classic DM requesting Paris recommendations. Maybe an old colleague will be in town for a few days and wants to eat like a local. Perhaps a friend from business school is passing through and wants to know where they can get a great cocktail in Paris. Or a friend of a friend of my parents wants activities recommendations even though they already booked a hotel near the Arc de Triomphe and nothing I say is going to save their trip at this point.
I take Paris recommendations extremely seriously because I don’t want to ruin someone’s vacation or let them down or cause them not to like me anymore. I always reply with a heartfelt, overly detailed set of restaurant, monument, museum, leisure time ideas, all with too much context and too many caveats. (Yes, I know over-explaining is a trauma response. No, I’m not going to work on it.) It’s likely that no one even reads these lists I make, but at least I know if their vacation sucks, it won’t be my fault.
Instead of reinventing the wheel every time I get a recommendation request, I decided to create a singular recommendation email that I send to everyone who hits me up. This still takes a lot of time to curate, type up, and edit every so often as restaurants change or close. I don’t know how Rick Steves does it. And after all of that work, I somehow always end up losing the email in my drafts or my sent messages. I accidentally revert to an old one that isn’t up-to-date, the formatting gets all wonky when I copy and paste the content into a new email, etc. So I decided to make it a Substack post so I can send people the link and send them on their way. Actually, it was my husband’s idea, and as I’m frequently quite hard on him I’ll give credit where credit is due.
That said, I am no food and culture expert, I’m just a normal human who lives in Paris. I literally steal everything I do or recommend from Le Fooding, Paris By Mouth, and The New Paris Dispatch. They post about a resto, I bookmark it, I visit, I save it if I like it, I tell you to go there when you visit. That’s all this machine can do. Some of us are explorers or great thinkers. Others of us are curators and critics; that’s me.
Anyway, that caveat over-explained, here’s my extremely long and detailed list of Paris recs with elaborated asides to make an actual post out of this. Bookmark it, annotate it, reference it, critique it. Let me know what I forgot to include; we all know I’ll remember all my omissions as soon as I hit “publish.”
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Parks
They’re all good but I think some are better than others. People always ask me what there is to do in Paris, and I say that you can either eat, drink, or stroll. Parks are a huge part of life here, so grab a snack and sit and chat like the Parisians do.
Parc des Buttes Chaumont (20eme): More local vibes, newer, but with a really cool island in the middle. Where Parisians go on a sunny day. Literally every Parisian. It will be crowded. Rather steep lawns so be prepared to hike.
Coulée Verte (12eme): The Highline of Paris. Actually the Highline is based on this park, don’t get it twisted. My personal happy place in Paris where I’ve laughed, cried, run in the rain, lunched, read, and gotten my 15k/day steps in. Lots of loud-breathing joggers plodding along the route, but you don’t have to move for them because there are posted signs that say jogging is only tolerated, the park is primarily for walkers.
Place des Vosges (4eme) is the first real park in Paris, or so a friend told me many years ago and I’m too lazy to fact check such a harmless fact. It’s pretty quaint, but can get very full of influencer types these days. Great cafes and shopping in the surrounding area. Lovely at around 9am, if you happen to have a child who is forcing you out of the house that early. It does have those two-sided benches that are super awkward if you deign to use both sides.
Along the Seine: Lots of picnic spots or places to grab a quick drink on the right bank. Group dancing on the Quai de Saint Bernard. Just show up without a plan and walk; this is literally the whole point of Paris.
Bois de Bologne and Bois de Vincennes: yes they’re not central, but both are gorgeous. Go touch grass after spending time in gray Paris.
You’ll notice I didn’t mention the Tuileries, Jardin des Plantes, Jardin du Luxembourg, and Monceau. That’s because there’s no need to, you already know about them. They’re huge, amazingly beautiful, worth visiting even when they’re a crowded human soup on a sunny day. But you don’t need me to tell you that.
Lunch
Most of these are the types of places I hit up for lunch on a normal day. Save them for when you’re sick of a big three-course French lunch and you wouldn’t mind eating a vegetable.
Le Chanceux (11eme and 5eme): good for breakfast or lunch, feels like it would fit in in HLP or Los Feliz, maybe that’s why I feel at home there. I literally never shut up about this place and bring anyone who will let me to sample their mushroom melt. Very good option if you’re tired of heavy bistro food.
Plan D near the Canal in the 10eme: Really fun vegan sandwich place, great spot for lunch if you’re hanging out at the canal. They usually have two monthly sandwiches based on a color. Just buy the whole menu, to be honest.
Marche des Enfants Rouges (3eme): Covered market with tons of food, like the Original Farmers Market but of course better. Great for lunch, but can get full of tourists so book or get there early for the highly publicized spots. I find it kind of pricy compared to other similar restaurants in Paris, but if you’re American you won’t even notice.
Gramme (11th or 3rd): More Instagrammable lunch and brunch vibes. I’ve actually never been because I’m worried I’ll have to stand in line and I’m too old to stand in line for restaurants. I think you can reserve at the location in the 11eme, however. I’ve heard it’s very good, though.
Chez Aline (11eme): Some argue they have the best sandwiches in Paris, and I am some. Get there early enough to not miss out on the tortilla española, it will sell out. The chicken salad is maybe the best I’ve ever had, which is really saying something because I care about chicken salad more than most folks do.
Olga Wine and Cheese (12eme): I think I already said my favorite sandwich was at Chez Aline but it’s also at Olga. Creative yet simple sandwiches and desserts, curated wines and cheeses, and the most attractive sandwich paper on the continent, nay, the world. Get the formule so you can taste the homemade confiture. Can’t say enough good things about this place.
I love to get omusubi from Omusubi Gonbei Palais Royal or Aki Cafe then go and take it to Jardin du Palais Royal and have a picnic and reflect on how freaking amazing my life is. Having a good day? Omosubi picnic. Having a bad day? Omosubi picnic to improve the day.
KEÏLI (11eme): Tired of steak frites or ham sandwiches? Miss a giant, filling grain bowl covered in veggies and sauces? This is the place for you. The desserts are also delicious and the staff is super friendly.
Cantine Diderot (12eme): This place serves the type of food you’ll find at a bouillon, but the vibe is much more locals-only bistro. I like to treat myself to a steak lunch here now and then complete with entree and/or dessert and the bill is like fifteen euros. It’s quick, it’s French, it’s charming, but never a tourist in sight.
Le Cornichon (10eme): Don’t let how cool this place is put you off, the food is great. I actually like coming here for apero and small plates as well, but they don’t take evening resys, and I’m barely cool enough to show my face here past 7pm. But they do take lunchtime reservations, have wonderful lunch specials, inspiring entrees, and a green salad that I literally crave from time to time. If you’re going to dine here, please invite me.
Dinner
Yes everything is heavily weighted toward the 10th and 11th but that’s the zone where I live and dine.
Cafe Compagnon (2eme): More elevated, contemporary French cuisine but looks like an LA spot which is a huge compliment in my books. Good central location near Montorgueil and lots of famous walking areas. I don’t remember the particulars of what I ate here, just that it was all very good. I do remember the particulars of the chairs at the restaurant, and my life won’t be complete until I have similar ones in my home.
Bonhomie (10eme): Another very beautiful but not overly fussy, spot with contemporary, well-considered vibes and food. They also have some good cocktails if memory serves.
Avant Comptoir du Marché (6eme): Haven’t managed to get here yet because I don’t want to risk trekking down to the 6th and not be able to get a table. Yes, there’s a theme here. But highly recommended French food, favorite of Anthony Bourdain. They do something cool with the butter, I think.
Bouche (11eme): Great small plates and wine bar, usually need a resy. They have a gorgeous large table you can reserve; I need to come up with an occasion that merits it.
Chez Janou (4eme): Popular spot for people watching in the Marais. Actually, I wrote this before Chez Janou absolutey BLEW UP on TikTok a cause de its mousse au chocolat. Now the line is even longer, though they do now accept reservations. I’ve heard it’s still good but I haven’t verified this myself. Maybe I’m not putting this on here to recommend that you go; maybe I’m adding it so you are aware of the notoriety of this spot and can make an educated decision as to whether you should go.
Robert et Louise (3eme): Meat
Le Denicheur (2eme): Tiny winy bar w/ small plates, definitely reserve. Everything is delicious. You will be the least cool person there.
Near the eiffel tower is Cafe Du Mars, really great for dinner, updated French food in a classic yet understated ambience. They have a super chill cat who will come and sit next to you.
I really like La Belle Epoque in the 2nd. The food is pretty good, the ambiance is gorgeous, but mostly I like it because I saw Louis Garrel there once and he was looking foine.
I personally love Au Bon Coin in the 18eme. It’s a locals only, red checked tablecloth, hole-in-the-wall type of place. No frills, nothing to write home about, but it’s exactly what you want for a quick, filling duck confit or saucisse lentils.
My friend once said “I want to go somewhere buzzy with lots of natural wine and really good small plates” and I know exactly what she meant. If you are in that mood, hit up: Cafe du Coin, Amagat, Early June, Le Chardon, Cafe Content, Recoin, and especially my recent favorite, Cendrillon. You might also be the least cool person at each of these.
(Quick aside: A week ago I would have put Chambre Noire on that list but a recent dinner there has convinced me I should never recommend this place to visiting Americans. Food and wine were good of course, but we were fighting for our lives to get service. Like aggressively begging to order and receive food in exchange for money. If I had feelings, our server would have hurt them, but I’m a calloused beast at this point, impervious to rude servers. If I was new in town, I would have starved. I’ll probably go back, of course.)
There aren’t many reasons to head to the 20eme if you’re not staying very long or if it’s one of your first times in Paris. But if you want to get off the beaten path, I highly recommend Paulownia, which I heard about from a chef in Jura who told us about it and luckily my much more restaurant-savvy friend remembered his recommendatio
If you can’t make it a few days without tacos, never fear, Paris now has good ones. I recommend Candelaria, Furia, El Cartel Del Taco, and Tarantula. Read more about why these in particular are so good in this post I wrote for Paris Unlocked.
Good rule of thumb: if the restaurant menu is in French and isn’t too long, and most of the patrons look like locals, it’s likely fine-to-good. If you see even one person wearing a backpack at the restaurant, get out of there, you’re in danger of eating a twenty euro croque madame.
Boulangeries & Pâtisseries
Mamiche in the 10eme is as great as they say. But if you’re not in the mood to wait in line, feel free to go somewhere else and you’ll be just fine.
Any pâtisserie that is Cedric Gollet or Cyril Lignac is over-hyped but over-hyped for a reason. If the line is short, go ahead. If the line is long, skip it, you’ll be just fine.
Sometimes the best boulangerie is the one that is closest to you. I’m partial to Boulangerie Bo and Ble Sucre in my old neighborhood. There’s also one called Magnolia that creates some very original and beautiful croissants and patisserie.
Don’t order a “baguette,” order a “tradition.” Learn more about why here.
All I’ll say about Du Pain et des Idees is that I don’t get it, but I do like how sassy the women who work there are.
Everyone is very hyped on The French Bastards right now (11eme). I actually haven’t been. I was supposed to meet my friend there for a sandwich but it was the day they closed off much of the 5eme for the Olympics and he was trapped inside his block as a result and had to cancel. True story.
Coffee
If you want a Paris cafe vibe, just pick whichever one looks to have the most locals on the terrace, avoid anything with fake flowers. The vibes will be right but the coffee will be meh.
For the coffee your body needs: you’ll need to find a more contemporary coffee place like: Back in Black, Ten Belles, Beans on Fire, Bonjour Jacob, Dreamin’ Man, Fauna, Magic Carpet, Noir. All of these will have your cafe filtre or a flat white or a cold brew from some kind of decent beans and not a Nespresso pod.
If you absolutely have to go to Starbucks, I understand. No judgement, sometimes I need a PSL, too. But, I will caution that Starbucks brand experience is not always consistent over here. Every latte I get is milky and flavorless, and the iced drinks are served in paper cups which negates the gorgeous sound of ice clinking against the side of the plastic cup. It’s just not the same. They also don’t have the little egg bites.
Drinks
I drink so few cocktails here because there are so few bars in Paris serving good ones. That doesn’t mean there aren’t ANY good cocktail bars or dive bars, they’re just fewer and harder to find. I have had several very good cocktails in Paris over the last five years. I have also had two of the worst cocktails of my entire life here, so bad that I can remember them.
Wine is also relatively better and better priced than any decent cocktail you can find in Paris, so it makes more sense to stick with wine. When in Rome, etc.
There are so many good wine bars in paris, both old and new, many of which also have better food than most LA restaurants. Here is a random list of hits: Baron Rouge, Delicatessen Place, Caves du Prague, Les Amoureuses, Giclette, Septime la Cave, La Buvette.
There are a few rooftop bars called “Perchoire” that have great views of the city at sunset, drinks are lame, vibes are very WeHo so it’s a bit cringey, but worth it for the view. The one in the 10eme might be a little more chill than the one in the 3eme that’s on top of the BHV. You do have to get in line earlier than they open for a chance to actually go in.
Canal St. Martin and Basin de la Villette (10eme-19eme) are pretty walks with lots of places to hang out along them, more beer bars as you get to the 19eme.
Walk down Rue de Faubourg Saint-Denis and stop in literally anywhere that looks cool, it’s always a party there.
Museums and Sites
Sadly, the Louvre is perpetually crowded, but the building is very cool. There’s a good restaurant inside but it’s always booked. Surrounding parks are lovely but usually also crowded. Worth it to go at least once in your life, but you need to plan your moment, your entrance strategy, your visit route, and be prepared to be exhausted afterward. Be sure to google the “hidden entrance” that is via a different set of stairs, it’s a faster way to get in. Recently even that has been crowded. You’ve been warned.
Musée d’Orsay (7eme) is great but it’s also huge so you better really be into art to commit to it. Has a beautiful cafe inside with tasty iced tea, including ice cubes. Recommend pre-booking tickets to avoid the lines.
Musée Rodin (7eme) is tiny, beautiful, and the collection is amazing. That guy could really sculpt! Skip the big museums and go here and Musée de l’Orangerie instead and you’ll leave Paris happy.
Musée Bourdelle (near Montparnasse) is a recently reopened sculpture museum that is also beautiful, free, and not overwhelmingly large. Amazing cafe there with great, well-priced food, highly recommended for brunch or lunch.
Musée Carnavalet (3eme) is free and shows the history of Paris, has a cute bistro inside, one of the prettiest places to have lunch in Paris. Book museum in advance, I highly recommend going during lunch when everyone else is actually eating lunch.
I love the Pompidou, the collection, the views, the children’s area. Sadly it’s going to be closing for remodeling for about five years so… yeah. Maybe come back in five years.
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise is usually a nice outing in my opinion--depends on what you’re into. It is cool to be like “oh wow Chopin is literally buried right there.”
Sacre Coeur: I’ve literally never been inside. It’s such an impressive edifice, but damn if the surrounding areas aren’t overrun with tourists and scammers. Do yourself a favor and read a history of this church and how it was built. Now that’s entertainment.
Notre Damme: It’s open! It’s light and airy! The new pews are gorgeous, I wouldn’t mind putting a set in my living room. The line moves in so give it a whirl. Don’t forget to dip down to Saint Sulpice though, too. Also beautiful.
Catacombs: Not a huge fan. I’ve never met anyone who has gone and said it was a must-see, especially given the lines. If you really want to go, definitely book an appointment and don’t just show up. Don’t go on a hot day.
Areas and Random Thoughts
Montorgueil: This is a great street with many delicious patisseries and historic spots to try. Can be crowded but worth it especially for your first trip to Paris. Also, it took me about three years to be able to pronounce this street name. It’s kinda like “mont-or-goyyee.”
Opera: worth walking around, visiting some of the large department stores, even the Starbucks in this area is impressive. I’d recommend touring Palais Garnier over visiting Versailles if you want to see some gold.
Latin Quarter: definitely stop by this area for lunch or dinner to people watch. One of the most charming areas of Paris, even though it can get congested with other tourists sometimes.
Shopping: Avoid Les Halles as much as you can, even though there’s a mall there. The 3eme nearby to the east is great for walking around and shopping, lots of brands mixed in with smaller boutiques. Definitely hit up Merci on Beaumarchais.
Malls: The BHV, Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, and Bon Marche are extremely huge and gorgeous. They succeed in making me miss malls. Galeries Lafayette can be painfully crowded with tourists, so I’d recommend any of the others instead. We didn’t really like the Samaritane when we went, not enough to see and too many people, though the building is pretty.
Cute shops: Amour Fou, Officine Universelle Buly, Fleux (there’s like five of them on one block), Marin Montagut, Messy Nessy’s Cabinet
Theft and safety: The worst thing that will happen to you here is to get pickpocketed, but that’s it. Don’t have your phone out on the metro, especially if you’re near the doors; young dudes will grab your phone and run out of the metro just before the doors close so you can’t chase them. Don’t put anything in your back pockets, esp. on metros. Carry small bags and small crossbody bags WITH ZIPPERS. They know how to open clasps without you realizing it. Backpacks give away that you’re a tourist. Don’t talk loudly on the metro either, that’s a dead giveaway that you’re not local and makes you a target. Lines 1, 12, and 4 tend to have the most tourists, therefore the most targeted metros, so just be on your guard. Almost everyone takes cards here (except AmEx), so no need to carry a lot of cash at any given moment.
THE MOST IMPORTANT FRANCE TIP: Any time you enter a store, restaurant, cafe, bar, etc. say “bonjour!” to the person working there. This is a cultural thing and if you don’t start off with saying hello in this way, it’s considered extremely rude. If you’re asking for help, say “Pardon, bonjour” or “Excusez moi, bonjour” and then ask for English or whatever you need help with. If it’s after 6pm, say “bonsoir” instead of “bonjour” and don’t worry if you say the wrong one, even French people mess this up all the time.
Introducing Contributor, Selby Chambers
Immerse yourself in all of Selby’s articles on her Contributor page.
This is such a fantastic list! I love the Coulée Verte, which I discovered recently with my daughter's family. And the restaurant recommendations! I'll definitely be saving this.
Thank you, Shelby, this is a very generous list!
Wonderful!
Thanks
Judy