You are in Paris for a few days and want to feel what it means to "live in Paris"? Parisian life is a clever alternation between running at 1,000 miles an hour and knowing how to take one's time, between the city and green spaces, snobbery and bohemianism, proximity and anonymity. To better understand the "Parisian way of life," we offer you some ideas of authentic places. Follow the guide - gastronomy, fashion, culture, and aperitif - to discover which Parisian you are!
1/ A morning workout: wake up with Paris 2/ Breakfast: on the go or a brunch with friends 3/ Take care of your style like a Parisian 4/ The essential cultural after-work 5/ The aperitif is sacred!
Waking up with Paris
As soon as the sun rises, the most courageous are up and about to do some sport: jogging, stretching, yoga, or tai chi... In Paris, there are many fantastic parks or neighborhoods where it's good to go for a walk at daybreak before the city wakes up.
The banks of the Seine, Montmartre, and the Sacré Coeur, the Tuileries gardens and the Louvre esplanade, the Monceau and Buttes Chaumont parks, the Saint-Martin canal, and the Ourcq canal... so many spectacular places to witness the awakening of the most beautiful city in the world. Strong emotions are guaranteed!
Breakfast is sacred!
This is not a cliché; breakfast remains an important meal in the day of a Parisian. When he gets out of bed, he runs to the local bar for a coffee croissant, finds the day's newspaper, and exchanges a few words with his neighbors, who have also come for a croissant.
If he has more time, he will prefer to meet his friends for brunch at one of the best cafés in town.
Here is a non-exhaustive selection of places offering an excellent and very Parisian brunch: the café la Bossue in Montmartre, the rooftop terrace of the Rochechouart hotel in Pigalle, the rooftop terrace of the Galeries Lafayette, or one of the Rosa Bonheur's guinguette's (in the Buttes Chaumont, in the Bois de Vincennes or on the quays of the Seine)
Take care of your style like a Parisian
Le Parisien ne se revendique pas comme une fashion victime, il vit la mode ! Il n’hésite jamais à entrer dans les jolies boutiques qu’il croise sur son chemin. S’il préfère les petites boutiques de créateurs de la rue des Francs Bourgeois dans le Marais ou bien de la rue Saint-Sulpice, à Saint-Germain-des-Prés, il participe dès qu’il le peut, aux ventes privées de ses marques favorites.
Because in Paris, fashion is everywhere, open your eyes and dare!
The cultural after-work!
Parisians are great consumers of culture. After an intense day of work, it is common to go to the cinema, the theater, a vernissage, or a museum. This is good because Paris is full of exciting cultural and artistic places.
For the cinema, it is in the Latin Quarter that it happens. There are many independent cinemas offering films by authors as well as classics. Let's mention the Champollion, the Filmothèque du quartier Latin, or the Espace Saint-Michel.
In Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in the district's many art galleries, exhibition openings are organized almost every day. With a glass of champagne in hand, you will discover the works of artists in the making or already confirmed.
Since Parisians hate crowds, they prefer to go to the prominent museums at the end of the day, outside the tourist crowds. To do this, find out about the "nocturnes" offered by the main museums. For example, on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Louvre is open until 9:45 pm; on Thursdays, the Musée d'Orsay also stays open until 9:45 pm and the Centre Pompidou until 11 pm.
A drink with friends or the sacredness of the aperitif!
If breakfast is essential in the life of a Parisian, the aperitif is no less sacred! Luckily, Paris has some beautiful places to enjoy the softness of the twilight.
Take your bottle of Pastis and go to the Place Dauphine for a game of pétanque. You might think it's a cliché, but the French love this game and even more so with a glass of Pastis in hand.
You can also go to the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, to the Rosa Bonheur, a guinguette located on the heights of the largest park in Paris. In the middle of the trees, you will feel the softness of Parisian life and take a step back to the city, which you will see in the distance.
On the canal de l'Ourcq, between the place Jean Jaurès and the parc de la Villette, you will find many terraces, sheltered from the main boulevards, as well as bars on barges very popular with Parisians.
So, which Parisian are you, Emily Cooper, Neymar, Brigitte Macron, or Mr. and Mrs. everyone?

