Five signs that you are a real Parisian

What is the real Parisian way of being? Is it a way of thinking, a way of acting or both? Actually being Parisian is about being yourself in the most beautiful city of the world and after a few years, being able to know its good sides, bad sides and live your life to the fullest.

It’s also about diverse people living in the same town and they end up after a while acting sometimes a tiny bit alike. Here’s for you, five signs that you are a real Parisian.

The first sign that you are real Parisian in that you know and understand the rules of behavior in the metro and especially in the escalators: If you want to stand still on the escalator, stand still but on your right so the people that are actually in a hurry can go up the stairs. Expect to be yelled at if you stand still in the middle of the escalator, and it will be deserved.

As the metro is a big part of a Parisian’s life the other sign that you are a Parisian is that you know exactly where the doors are going to open while you wait for your metro, and you feel pretty darn good about it. (hint : you just have to look on the floor, the places where the platform edges are darker are the places where you should wait).

The third sign that you are a Parisian is that you know exactly where to go for a picnic in the middle of Paris (an other hint: this place is called le Canal Saint Martin). Indeed, Paris is a big city full very diverse places to hang out with friends and family, but you still know the best place to go to have fun. You go Parisian!

This fourth sign that you are a real Parisian shows confidence in yourself but also in your city. You are what Paris is all about: rebellion. You do not care about the rules because you have created your own. And the new rule is that you do not care if the light is green or red, you will still cross the road if after looking right and left you see that cars are still far away. You are truly a little rebel my dear Parisian.

Paris is a bit of an outsider sometimes, it does not want to follow all the international trends. Paris makes its own trends and is about tradition and excellence. You might see people from New York to Beijing buying coffee and taking it away. Ew!

The last sign that you are a real Parisian is that you do not want want to follow this trend, coffee is meant to be enjoyed at a coffee or at home, seated. And taking it away would be a true blaspheme. You my friend, know how to enjoy the good things in life.