French Cuisine

Here are five amazing things you can do in Paris

1.) Find your favourite restaurant in Paris

Of course you can do some research on the internet, or in a guide book… But we advise you to walk around the streets and find the French restaurant which will suit you the most. Indeed, Paris is an historical city, full of different kinds of atmospheres and cooking styles. Try to find your favorite place in Paris, and then you will be able to find the Parisian restaurant which will be perfect for you, because of its location and because of its menu. If you want to find typical French restaurants in Paris, why not start with the main districts? In the 8th arrondissement, you will find Gastronomic cuisine, but if you go to a more typical neighborhood (for example the 18th arrondissement, Montmartre’s neighborhood), you will find some small bars, called “bistrots”, with typical food.

2.) Take a French Cooking Class

Choose your favourite foodista among the great chefs available for this cooking class where you will be able to select the ingredients and to have both a French food tasting experience and a fun cooking class. Then have your traditional French meal with a Parisian and enjoy the whole experience!

3.) Experience a great Restaurant in Paris

After having found your favorite restaurant in Paris and after having discovered some typical French cooking tips, you may now wonder how having a meal at a great Parisian restaurant feels like. We recommend that you choose a restaurant both famous for its great cuisine and its ambience, therefore you can go to La Tour d’Argent, situated in the 5th arrondissement, and which it is believed to have been founded in 1582. In this restaurant, you will enjoy typical French dishes and a panoramic view over the River Seine and the Notre Dame Cathedral.

4.) Experience another type of food

As a true cosmopolitan city, Paris welcomes other cultures and other ways of life. In each neighborhood, each arrondissement, you will be able to see a different community. With the bobos (Parisian hipsters), there are also people from Asia, African, America and all around Europe… So it is possible to find all these different types of cuisine just around the corner!

You can enjoy a great Japanese restaurant after a walking tour near the Garnier Opera House and the Gallery Lafayette, or try some organic food in Paris. You can also discover other kind of French food coming from the French overseas departments: spicier, more flavorful and exotic, these dishes will make you travel around the world while staying in Paris.

5.) Enjoy the French food markets

In the City of Lights and Pleasures, you will always have the choice between the place you want to have your meal in and the kind of food you would like to taste. Parisian Markets are the perfect opportunity for you to mingle with Parisians and to learn how they choose their cooking ingredients. This way, before your cooking class you can first have a walk in a market where a Parisian will show you the way. Then, you can also walk on your own and discover those itinerant Parisian symbols and Parisian attractions by yourself. From the Halles Markets, with typical short-lived shops in the center of Paris, to the “Enfants Rouges” Market, the oldest Parisian market renovated in the 90s and situated in the 3rd arrondissement, to the Maubert Market, at the heart of the Latin Quarter.

Insider’s tips:

• Try to avoid the so-called “traditional French restaurants” that are near the very touristic landmarks. They are usually expensive and not worth the advertisement they make of themselves.
• In France a 13% tip is included to the check in restaurants. You can leave an extra 1 to 5€ if you have really enjoyed the service but it is not compulsory and French people do not let tips most of the time.

Facts about French Cooking

The famous French cooking appeared during the Middle Ages. Since then, France has become the place for sophisticated cooking and the greatest chefs’ country. If today Paris concentrates more restaurants than any other French city, the entire country has benefited from this modernization.

As far as cooking is concerned, France has kept its classic roots. The meal remains an essential family moment when all that matters is sharing and communicating, as for the banquets during the Middle Ages. French cooking became an art, a discipline where self-expression was possible and where the country could distinguish itself from the other countries thanks to its methods, products, chefs and secrets.

Among all the cities in the world and among all the cities in France, Paris is nowadays the undisputed Cooking Capital. Here you can travel through different countries and their traditions, but most of all travel through French history and the most famous French dishes.

Where to Find Good Food in Paris

La Tour d’Argent:
Pont Marie (Cité des Arts), Metro Line 7 (Pink)

The Halles Market:
Les Halles, RER A (red circle); Châtelet, Metro Line 1 (yellow)

The Enfants Rouges Market:
Filles du Calvaire, Metro Line 8 (dark pink)

The Maubert Market:
Maubert Mutulaité, Metro Line 10 (brown)

Boulangerie Mauvieux:
Jules Joffrin, Metro Line 12 (dark green)

Musee du Chocolat:
Bonne Nouvelle, Metro Line 8 (darkpink)

Other Highlights

1.) Paris Best Baguette:
Each year, Paris congratulates its best baker and his best Baguette. The winner has then the privilege to deliver his Baguettes to the French President every morning. In the year 2012, the Boulangerie Mauvieux, in the 18th arrondissement (Montmartre neighborhood) won the prize.

2.) French Best Wine:
France is famous for its specialties: food, bread, but also wine, and you can find the best in Paris. Find your “cave” (which can be translated by “Cellar”) and enjoy the atmosphere and the great French wine.

3.) Musée du Chocolat:
Food is part of the French heritage. That is why we do want to preserve the best part of it. A great example of this wonderful heritage is the Musée du chocolat, in the 10th arrondissement, a museum dedicated to the people who want to taste some of the best chocolate in the world.

Why it’s worth tasting

• “French cuisine” is one of the best in the world: it offers a unique variety of flavors, assortments and recipes.
• In November 2010, French gastronomy was added to the UNESCO’s list of the world’s “intangible cultural heritage”.
• Nothing is worth a rare entrecote steak with its glass of red wine, or a “sole meunière” with its glass of white wine.