Paris: The city of Lights, the city of Art, the city of Chic. Can anyone ever conquer Paris? Can anyone ever say they know Paris well? Personally, I have read amazing amounts of magazines, blogs and guides that attempt to teach you the real Paris, the authentic places to go and where the good prices are. So, let me tell you something: if it has been published in a book or it’s mentioned in a tumblr page, it is no longer a secret. It may still be amazing, but it cannot be “THE best kept secret in Paris”. If two people know it, it simply is not a secret.
What I suggest that we young, fun, nifty students do is simply “do it our way”. Close all the books, stop googling “Paris best yummy cheap restaurant” and start owning it. Wear comfortable shoes and, well, just walk. No metro, no buses, no maps. Just walk around, and discover your own Paris. Visit the little jardins that pop-up every now and then, lose yourself in a small cobblestoned street where all you can buy is fish, cheese and vegetables and find a small chocolaterie whose prices are reasonable and chocolat chaud you can enjoy at their one table next to the register. Continue walking and discover statues you never knew existed, graffiti with colorful awkward political comments and smells that make you think you are in Istanbul or Beirut. Walk around the backstreets of Champs-Élysées and find that one small Italian place that uses virgin olive oil, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella on their pizza. Discover the cutest little pink Salon de Thé and invite your friends for a warm cup of verveine. Find that really good passion fruit macaron place with the outstanding recipe of soft and crunchy macaron that melts in your mouth.
Don’t fall for traditional, mass consumption places such as Ladurée or Pierre Hermé but find your own Parisian secret that you can pass on to your friends. Look for the best créperie where you can enjoy both the galette complète with emmental, jambon and oeuf and the sweet nutella banana crêpe that costs less than your Resto-U ticket. Figure out the best boulangerie for your chèvre panini and just don’t settle for that Monoprix 2.15 € sandwich anymore. Stop getting your food from the super market and find a place whose prices work and whose food makes you want to eat it every single day. Discover your favorite Indian place and befriend the Indian owner who will help you order your next chicken massala meal. Find the best gellateria in the whole of Paris where the owner does not speak French and in which the smell of milk assails your nostrils when you enter.
We are all fortunate enough to get a semester away from our home cities and countries and live in Paris. It would be dommage to leave without having our own faves our own must-dos and our own best-hidden Parisian secrets. I suggest we all start aimlessly walking more in Paris, finding our favorite little bookstore and the best little patisserie and that tiny vintage store that sells Hermes for 50 euro. Allez-y!!
Extra tip: Read the signs when you walk, that is the only way you will ever get to know the place and practice your everyday French. Read every single sign you see, so that you know what is where. Look at menus and prices, look at catalogues and if you are worried about a place, just Google it and see the reviews. Tripadvisor.com usually has many reviews for almost any restaurant and it also gives you a feel for the place through pictures or other links. Also, do not be intimidated! If you see a nicely decorated place it does not mean that it will be expensive and a not very sharp place does not mean it will be cheap, it just means you are in Europe.
Alexia Rempoutzakou