I revisit my list of 100 tips for living in Paris article now and then to ensure the tips are still relevant, and to see just how cringe I was when I wrote it in 2019. I can confirm: those were useful if not extremely newbie tips. We’ve come a long way since then, baby.
Revisiting the first list made me think “damn, I can’t believe I was ever so naive that I had to learn this stuff.” It also made me realize how many other niche insights I’ve amassed. If you’re going to do the good old three-month sabbatical, or if you’ve landed here indefinitely, you can have a smoother transition by familiarizing yourself with all 200 of my priceless and hard-earned if not succinct pearls of wisdom. You’re welcome.
I’m always reticent to write a list article because they are widely considered in media to be lazy click bait. But by now, y’all know that’s not how I roll. This will be useful, idiosyncratic, long, and of course, biased af. Might as well have fun with it.
So here they are, 100 MORE tips for living in Paris, the slightly deeper cuts, if you will.
Just walk. It’s always faster and more pleasant. If it’s far, then bike. You’re going to feel awful and probably touch something dirty on the metro.
If you are on the metro, give your seat to pregnant women, the elderly, folks with crutches, women with babies, or be a hero and tell people to give their seat to others in need. If you wait for someone to do the right thing and give up their seat, they won’t.
Same goes if you need a seat: just ask for it. Very rarely did I get offered a seat as a pregnant woman.
If you see someone with luggage or a shopping cart or a stroller trying to mount or descend the metro stairs, help them out. It will be you in that situation at some point, so rack up as much karma as you can.
If you’re in Montparnasse, first of all, sorry. Second, go to the Starbucks on the -1 level instead of the one that’s next to the train platforms; it’s way less crowded.
Also, never forget that all the Marks & Spencer locations closed after Brexit,
EXCEPT the tiny M&S/Monop combo pack at Montparnasse. Shop accordingly.I literally went to Montparnasse two hours after publishing this and realized the M&S is no longer there. Devastated. We used to live in a society. Anyway, lots of other good options there, but not as good as the options we could have if it weren’t for xenophobia.Speaking of Starbucks, if you must patronize one, say your name with a French accent so the barista can understand you. The anglo-sized pronunciation is irrelevant here. I’m “Shellllll-BEE!” Otherwise, they can’t understand what I’m saying.
Don’t forget that train station bathrooms are almost always pay bathrooms. Keep a few coins on you to pay for the privilege to pee.
According to my phone, this photo was taken at 8:58 am. That’s why the market was so manageable. Get to the marche before ten for an easy, breezy experience. After 10:00, everyone and their mom is out, the lines are long, and it seems that everyone wants to talk up the sales guy, which slows the lines down.
Yes, metro prices continue to climb. Also, yes, it’s a pain in the ass to keep loading up your Navigo pass with tickets all the damn time. Getting the Navigo Liberte+ allows you to just swipe and swipe and then get billed at the end of each month, PLUS each trajet is just €2.04. You do need to have a French bank account to apply, but at least you no longer need to bring a bunch of paperwork and passport photos to the accueil in the metro station. The website even allows you to take your photo via your phone.
Still can’t get a French bank account, but need a RIB for your Navigo Liberte+ pass or your gym or any other number of things that you can’t use a credit card for? You can create a European account with Wise that has its own RIB.
Even big movie theaters like UGC Bercy and Chatalet will not pump up the AC, no matter how hot it is, no matter how full the theater is, so don’t go on a hot day thinking you’re about to get a nice dose of cinema AC.
Yes, that theater has both sweet and salty popcorn. Make sure you specify your preference; I’ve had theater employees assume that, because I sounded American, I wanted sweet popcorn. La honte.
Even six years after I wrote that last list of 100 tips, it’s still not worth it to wait in line for brunch. There are other places to eat and (with a few exceptions), Parisian brunch isn’t quite there yet. I know of a few good places, but I’m not sharing them, sorry.
If you can’t find something at the grocery store, it will be at the small epicerie around the corner. Whether it’s Asian, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean-focused, they have it. We’re talking brown sugar, actually spicy sauces, pickled jalapeños, BBQ sauce, more varieties of peanut butter, whatever.
Never order bottled water, just get the carafe d’eau. I should have mentioned that in Part 1 because that’s entry level. If you look at all touristy or speak English, the waiter might try to sneak the bottled water on you, but you can send it back and ask for a carafe.
If your French isn’t crystal clear, go ahead and hold up a finger to indicate the number of baguettes you need. That way, you provide the boulangerist some useful context, and you don’t experience ego death when they say “QUOI?” after you order.
If you’re waiting forever for the metro to arrive and it’s stuffed full of people, wait three minutes for the next one. Sadly, this doesn’t work for the 13 at any hour or the 8 after 10pm.
Don’t ever run a red light when biking. It doesn’t matter that everyone else does. Cops don’t ticket cars and motorcycles for this dangerous infraction, but they’ll ticket a biker because they can actually catch us, so don’t even try it.
If you’re a parent of a small child, don’t take them anywhere without a hat because French boomers will criticize you for your child’s cold head. Never mind that the child has more hair than an adult and has told you his head is too hot.
Everything here gets done via word of mouth. Job placement, apartment hunts, doctor/dentist/osteo recommendations, all achieved via le bruit qui court.
That reminds me, get a good osteopath and go once a quarter. Make up an ailment if you have to; the floating feeling afterward is worth it.
Ditch Google Maps for Citymapper. The wait times, Metro and RER outages tend to be more accurate, and I find the routes more logical. You can also optimize for step-less routes for mobility issues and strollers, simple routes without connections, etc.
Line 4 used to be busy and crowded and sad, but since I wrote my first list of 100 tips, they’ve automated the 4, and now it is always on time, every four minutes, and it’s now so fast, it almost feels dangerous. Dangerously efficient.
With that overhaul, the doors on Metro line 4 are extremely quick and snappy. Watch your extremities, and don’t try to squeeze through at the beep. (I got squished once.)
If you’re choosing a place to live or stay, make sure it’s within a five-minute walk of a major Metro line that crosses the city, preferably one that is automated like the 1, 4, or 14 (these stay on time and rarely get shut down even during strikes). The 8 is convenient, geographically, but has been voted the worst line because it is slow, infrequent, and kinda old and funky.
Find any excuse not to exit the metro at Chatelet. Even if you know which exit to take, you’ll still wind around underground for forty minutes, and somehow end up at either a pool or a subterranean Muji.
That reminds me, if you want to stay above ground, see the sights, and save a few cents, take the bus. I feel like people are always dismissing the bus as slow and infrequent, but this is only sometimes true. The bus is always there for you, as long as you’re not already late.
If you’re on the sidewalk and you see a kid coming at you on a little scooter, get out of the way. He probably doesn’t know how to/doesn’t care to stop.
If you’re lucky enough to be here long enough to get a Carte Vitale, get yourself a médecin traitant, aka a dedicated general practitioner. You then get better/bigger reimbursements for all appointments and prescriptions, and it’s easier to get appointments and referrals to specialists.
If you’ve applied for your Carte Vitale, you can still visit the doctor, dentist, etc., and eventually be reimbursed for what you pay up front. Just save your receipts to request reimbursement retroactively.
A recent polling of friends has revealed that annual teeth cleanings in France tend to be very brief, thorough, reassuring, but also ROUGH. Like, wow thanks for hoeing the tartar fields of my mouth with a spiked mace.
Save all of your receipts, regardless of whether you think you need them or not. I don’t know when, how, or why, but you’re going to need them again at some point, especially if they have your address on them.
Learn what a garant is and get yourself one. Many renters need a garant or co-signer for their lease, even if they have enough cash or cash flow to cover the rent. It’s just a precautionary thing rooted in a country that is very nervous about entering into contracts. Even if you use something like Garant Me, you may still need a real human garant for your lease. I know a lot of people whose friends and peers are their garants; Paris is just a circle of the same people co-signing one another's leases. Sounds sustainable!
People might look at you funny if you don’t peel your fruit before eating it. Either get comfortable peeling a peach, or get comforrtable being stared at while you enjoy that fuzzy peach skin.
Identify your closest copy shop and stay on good terms with the owners. Grocery stores and post offices used to have printers/scanners, but they’re disappearing. Library printers are always en panne. You need those copy shop guys, especially if you’re going to use Vinted.
Also, build a relationship with the local cobbler, or“Cordonnerie Maroquinerie” shop. They can breathe life into your worn-out shoes and bags, and you might need them to make key copies, too.
Miss broccolini? I know I do. No matter how many marches I explore, I can’t seem to find a reliable broccolini source. The most reliable my friends has found is Monoprix.
Ordering a medium-rare steak here can be tricky. Your server will tell you (sometimes nicely, sometimes not) that they don’t do THAT here, madame, they only do saignant (rare), a point (medium well-ish), bien cuit (shamefully well done), and bleu (still mooing). I usually order saignant, which then arrives at any one of the four temperatures I just described. The key learning is that you can send it back if it’s too rare for you, and the staff tends to be more chill about it than at a US restaurant. Just ask nicely, and they usually re-fire it with little fuss, sometimes accompanied by “bien sur.” I’m quite timid, and I’ve done this more times than I can count.
One restaurant where your steak will always be cooked to perfection is at Les Provinces, 12th. Listen to France Inter and other French radio. They speak extremely clearly, so it’s easy even for beginners to understand what the hosts are saying, and the exercise is great for improving comprehension and vocabulary. Once you do fully understand, France Inter is some really good public radio you can enjoy. It’s also extremely eye-opening to hear news coverage from the perspective of a different country and culture. Like, sometimes they’ll actually use the word fascism to describe fascist stuff.
If you like a spot, go back often to become a known regular. The infamous cold French service eventually warms to include greetings, small talk, and bonus drinks.
Don’t expect anything to get done in May. There are so many public holidays, everyone attempts to “faire le pont,” or bridge the holidays and weekend with a vacation day. The result is that the whole city, nay country, is out of town, making business, school, and social gatherings impossible to muster.
Watch your use of “excitée.”
Batten down the hatches when there are big national sports games. Whether France wins or loses, there will be riots, destruction of property, tear gas, fires.
Fête de la Musique is the best day of the year, in Paris anyway. My main tip is to manage your expectations.
Lines move slowly because the person who is being served has the right to ask as many questions as they want. In fact, it’s expected that they ask the grocery store clerk or proprietor or whatever about their supply and wares. If you are the customer being served, take your time, ask your questions; it’s your moment.
If it looks like rain, bring your umbrella, and then it won’t rain. If it looks like a 50/50 chance of rain, and you decide to risk leaving the umbrella at home, it will rain.
Always be fifteen minutes late. Fifteen minutes late is on time. Early or on time is too early and also rude.
“Pas mal,” aka “not bad,” is actually a high compliment; maybe the most positive you’ll ever receive in France. Par contre, “pas terrible” or “not terrible” means “very bad.” It doesn’t make intuitive sense; you just have to believe me.
Paris public schools are half-day on Wednesdays. Private schools and the rest of France have NO SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY. I still don’t understand why. If you have kids in your life, this is very critical information.
Do you know how most families deal with this Wednesday situation? Some send their kids to camps, with nannies, or to daycare those days, aka spend a lot of money. If they can’t manage that, mothers tend to take reduced salaries to not work Wednesdays. This, in a country that is literally mailing pamphlets to 29-year-old women, begging them to procreate.
I guess that one isn’t a tip, so much as it is something I learned recently that really pisses me off/impacts my life as a mother of a small child entering school. Wish I’d have known that sooner.
Since I wrote my original list of 100 tips back in 2020 (republished on Substack in 2024), plenty of great Mexican spots have opened. You can find them here, and it’s only gotten better since then.
Candelaria, the tried and true. Get yourself a friend with an old X-ray on hand. You know these French doors that close behind you and click, and then you can’t open them, even if they’re not actually locked? You can shove a credit card or X-ray in there to open it, without having to call an expensive serrurier.
Learn how to pronounce “serrurier” for when you inevitably lock yourself out.
Don’t put your feet up in the Paris metros, you risk a €60 fine or an admonition.
Don’t take your large luggage (or other big stuff) on the Paris metro (larger than 75 cm or 29.5 inches). You risk a fine up to €200. This one really irks me because it’s enforced even on line 14, which was just extended so that people can easily get to Orly.
If you’re going to see an American-made film that’s originally in English, make sure the showing says “VOSTF” and not “VF.”
The films with the original English will still show French subtitles, which is actually great for practicing your French.
If you hail from the US, check if your state does driver’s license transfers with France. If they do, you can easily switch to a French license. If they don’t (like my home state of California), you’re fucked.
If you’re trying to communicate in French at a restaurant, store, etc., and the person you’re engaging with switches to English, don’t let it get you down. I’ve learned that, most of the time, it’s their way of trying to accommodate you, not patronize you. Sometimes people will make this switch even if their English is weaker than my French. If you really want to practice your French, just keep going regardless of the switch. This gets easier with practice.
If you’re trying to maintain a convo in French and feel out of your depth, just keep asking questions. Then you’re saying things you can handle, and being a generous conversationalist.
No matter how acclimated you get to France, you may still need to smuggle your preferred deodorant in from home. Here’s why.
The key to progress towards what you want in France is to learn to compromise. Here’s why.
“AI” is called “IA” here, which sounds like “EEE-AHH.” This is important for French conversations and news-listening. Also, “ChatGPT” sounds kind of like “Chat je peh teh,” which to the French ear translates to “Chat I farted,” which you should probably be aware of.
The best Ziploc-style bags I’ve ever found are at Muji. I used to recommend Ikea, but Muji is actually where it’s at. They aren’t always available at supermarkets, especially in the sandwich/snack size.
If you’re not sure what is in season at the marche, just look at what the neighborhood elders are buying. They know if it’s time for apricots or not. They’ll know if the asparagus on display is too early or if it’s time to buy. They’ll also tell you which stall has the best produce.
Your life will be richer if you find a kind butcher who will grind turkey and chicken for you.
Even if you find corn at the marche, even if you’re deep in the beautiful, fertile countryside, even if you grill the corn and slather it with the best French butter, it ain’t going to taste right.
If you see some hype videos saying that Trader Joe’s products are available at Aldi, don’t get too excited too fast. This myth is technically true because Aldi is the parent company of TJ’s, and they sell a few items there. But it’s usually just a few packages of nuts and dried fruit. It does make me happy to see that logo, though.
If you’ve never tried a Kouign Amann, do so immediately and never stop eating them.
No matter where you are in France, make sure to attend the Salon de l’Agriculture.
Beautiful cows at the Salon de l’Agriculture. For weekend trips find a go-to rental car company near the edge of Paris so you can always get out of town quickly. Whatever you do, don’t use Europcar.
Not all eggs are created equal, and they’re not always available. The best egg sources will always end up selling out the fastest, leaving you grabbing eggs from Franprix or Carefour, or worse, not being able to find any eggs at all (it’s impossible to find eggs in my nieghborhood if I shop on a Monday). Identify all possible egg sources, as well as several backups. I call this my plan oeuf.
Everyone is always chasing sunny apartments. During a heatwave, you learn that dark apartments are where it’s at.
Speaking of heatwaves, during summer you have to choose between opening the window for coolness but risking mosquitos, or keeping windows closed against mosquitos but being too hot to sleep. Luckily you can add a cheap and easy-to-mount temporary screen that Velcros to the window frame. It’s ugly as all hell but it keeps mosquitos and flies out.
Keep a hand fan in your purse for hot metros and parks. They’re extremely effective, and it’s fun to pretend you’re an old-timey lady fanning yourself so you don’t faint in the heat.
Don’t keep your phone in your coat pocket.
Call 15 for non-emergency medical stuff, or if you’re not sure if you need to see a doctor or not. You’ll be given advice on if you need a regular appointment, or if you need to haul ass to the urgences. If you need a standard doctor’s appointment, the hotline will also book it for you, or pre-authorize you to visit the maison de garde on the weekends.
Download the L’Officiel des Spectacles app or frequent the website to easily view every play, performance, museum exhibit, concert, etc. happening in Paris on a given day.
Did you know you can get free sparkling water in Paris? Find your locacl Eau de Paris location, bring your bottles, and load up on sparkling water. Or just refill your water bottle. I once saw an older gentleman bring a wagon full of glass bottles to fill up at the souce in the 12th.
Always get a cafe gourmand if it’s on the menu.
Canal Plus usually has a lot of HBO and Apple TV+ shows and films that are hard to watch in France because, even with a VPN, the HBO app is glitchy abroad. (Are they back to calling it HBO, by the way? You know which studio I mean.)
Sometimes Netflix or Amazon won’t have the same content available in France as in North America, or vice versa. This is where a VPN comes in handy.
Mail your US ballots back as soon as you possibly can. The post between the US and France has apparently resumed, but it’s still slow.
Hear a super loud siren, but no one seems to be alarmed? Check to see if it’s a Wednesday. Major cities in France test their emergency alarms every first Wednesday of the month at noon. This used to freak me out until I got used to it. If it’s not Wednesday, I don’t know what to tell you.
Ask for you what you need, then follow up until you get it. There are a lot of benefits and services that you have a right to in France, but you usually have to push to get them. For example, I was eligible for the two year visa at one point, didn’t realize it, and was issued another single year visa for no apparent reason. You’d be surprised how effective a little gentle pressure, a few follow-up questions can be.
The speed cameras in France are no joke. Because it’s all handled by radar instead of copy hiding behind bushes to leap out and catch you, it’s not always clear that you’ve been “flashed.” Sometimes, you don’t know until the ticket shows up in the mail. Slow down.
Every apartment building has a little old lady who is grumpy about everything and likes to hassle residents about things like mailboxes or normal volume levels or how loud you close the door. Just humor her.
Read the minutes from the public meetings held at your local mairie! There’s useful information about services, construction, events, and more. Plus, civic duty, etc.
Finding a third place where you can read and just chill out on your own has obvious benefits. One benefit I hadn’t counted on was the ability to practice French comprehension through eavesdropping. You can learn new phrases, and see how much you’re able to follow a conversation that isn’t being catered to a non native speaker.
Flexible lunch time at Aujourd’hui Demain, Paris 11. Finding a spot that’s open for a late lunch can be tricky, but there are options out there.
When I arrived in Paris, no one was taking reservations. It was the wild west out here every Friday and Saturday night, trying to snag a table. Now, everyone is taking reservations, either online or via phone. If you’re not sure, just call the place, they’ll probably find a way to accommodate you.
It never ceases to amaze me how chill restaurant staff here are about splitting the bill, even amongst, like, 12 cards.
If you’re getting something important delivered, just stay home. It doesn’t matter if you left detailed delivery instructions. It doesn’t matter that they have your phone number and door code. If you need that package, camp out on your front door step.
Make sure you try to make it to the Foire de Chatou if you like antiques, lunch, or eating lunch amongst antiques.
It doesn’t always snow in Paris, but when it does, the city kinda falls apart because the metros are too full, and the ones that go outdoors have issues with ice on the tracks, and everyone is slipping and sliding and falling. You’ve been warned.
No, I don’t know of a good US/France accountant or immigration attorney. No one really does. If they’re good, they’re not affordable, and if they’re affordable, they’re not good. I’ve enjoyed using ExpatFile for my taxes; I’m not sure if they’re being done correctly, but they’re done.
If you don’t have any plans, don’t know what to do, just go for a stroll.
When you’re having a bad day, too many errands, locked out of your apartment, missing package, biker almost maims you, relationship drama, toddler narcissism, run-of-the-mill male narcissism, etc… just remember that you’d be having a bad day no matter where you are, but you’re lucky enough to be having that bad day in Paris.
Hold tight for a rare cross-promo: I’m offering coaching sessions to folks who have moved abroad and are navigating change in their new career, life, everything. My practice focus is typically executive or career coaching, but I thought it would be fun to throw the offer out there for any transplants who might feel clunky, lost, or frustrated, and who would like to work on feeling… not that. If that sounds like you or a loved one, feel free to reach out for a discovery call.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.