Paris Weekend Local Style
Walk, eat and enjoy life. Like Parisians do.
In all honesty, I had to get used to Anthony Bourdain. To me, he was an acquired taste. But once I finally got what he was doing, I understood that he loved enjoying food. Good food judged by taste, love of making it, tradition and originality. Not so much the fine dining experience, but the sharing great food with friends and family experience. In one of his shows about Paris, he gave a great tip. Forget (he used a slightly different word starting with ‘f’) the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre. Don’t stand in line for the so-called must-sees. If you have only a few days to enjoy Paris, go and eat.
And boy is he right about that. We recently went back to Paris, the city we once lived in, for a weekend getaway. There were people protesting something, so the Champs Elysées was off limits on the one full day we had. A little war was going on there, and we did not want to get caught up in that. Fortunately Paris is big enough, and every arrondissement has an enormous collection of restaurants, many of which serve great food or have a fun atmosphere. And if you’re lucky, you’ll find one that combines both.
One thing you shouldn’t miss is one of the traditional brasseries.
They serve fresh seafood and traditional french dishes. We visited La Lorraine and Wepler. Both have excellent seafood. Super fresh, great diversity, and plentiful servings. At Wepler I had some traditional fare: Lyon sausage and choucroute. Apart from enjoying the food and drinks, we also greatly enjoyed the people-watching. Especially the waiters. They take their job very seriously, and work as great professionals. Really, if you think they are bad tempered, you probably don’t know how they view the roles of waiting staff and guests. If you get that right, you will be amazed by their professionalism and friendliness. That goes, by the way, for most of the Parisian black brigade.
Moving on to a little walking tour escaping the Gilets Jaunes protests. We ended up in the 6th arrondissement and were looking for a tip from the afore mentioned show by Mr Bourdain. We found a sister-outlet called l’avant comptoir du cochon. It is also known as l’avant comptoir du marché but it serves mainly pork-based dishes, hence de “cochon”. The other two are of the earth (l’avant comptoir de la terre) and of the sea (de la mer). But we stayed here. Delicious food, ordered by plate and then shared, and accompanied by wonderful wines. You can stand, but there are also a couple of stools. We spent a few hours here, enjoying the food and each others company. If you only have time to visit one place, this would be a very good choice!
One evening we spent in the Montmartre area, and we ended up picking a restaurant that was full of atmosphere, interesting people to watch but the food was mediocre at best.
You’d be better off, if the weather allows, to buy some baguette, cheese and charcuterie on the rue Lepic and eat it in the park in front of the Sacré Coeur.
Walking around the city, taking the metro for slightly longer distances, shopping a bit, watching people and eating. That is a great, and very Parisian way, to enjoy the city of lights. Forget the Eiffel Tower. Walk, eat and enjoy life and good company. Like the Parisians do.
I like to travel and share about what I find, hoping it might help you make your own decisions about where to eat, sleep and play on your holiday. Follow me on TripAdvisor to get my take on lovely places around the world.
