Well, it’s once again been a bit of a stretch between posts, mainly because I took a long break for the winter holidays, and have been working at full throttle to launch the podcast I mentioned in my last issue. I hope y’all have been enduring the cruel rigors of January as best as you can. I always think to myself that this will be the year that I avoid giving into the half-awake, I-wish-I-were-a-bear-and-could-just-hibernate-for-a-couple-of-months instinct that the deeper part of the winter seems to trigger in me.
But then I remember that as a fellow mammal, I’m not so different from bears— nor from my cat, Matilda, who naps luxuriantly on the bed behind me as I strain to focus on the task at hand. Thanks for rubbing it in, petit chat.
Despite this inevitable dip in energy (it’s physiological, people), I’m excited to get to today’s issue, which is just about as eclectic as they come.
First off, our Contributing Editor Rachel Naismith has some solid suggestions for where to eat decently in Paris’ city center. Her shortlist mainly covers the 1st arrondissement, an area that’s always swarming with tourists thanks to its iconic monuments, royal gardens and rich history— so it’s perhaps unsurprising that many of the restaurants operating here are (at worst) tourist traps and (at best) mediocre. Many are eye-wateringly overpriced, too.
To help you avoid spending fistfuls of Euros on a crappy meal, Rachel picked a few places she’s personally tried, and thinks are worth a try. These include casual and slightly more formal restaurants, as well as a good spot for decadent hot chocolate accompanied by pastry from a nearby bakery— both located on the Rue du Nil, a street in the 2nd that in recent years has transformed into a gastronomic hub.
Supplement Rachel’s suggestions with some of my own in this guide to what to see, do & eat around the Louvre Museum.
Yesterday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and while I’m a bit late to the table, I wanted to share a piece I wrote a few years ago that I consider to be one of the most meaningful things I’ve yet done.
In early 2020, right before the pandemic hit, I paid a visit to the Drancy memorial and documentation center outside Paris. This is the site of a former internment camp where tens of thousands of Jews, prisoners of war, resistance fighters and others were detained between 1941 and 1944. Most were sent to Nazi death camps eastward in trains operated by France’s national rail company. Thousands never returned.
After visiting the site and being shown around by one of the lovely curators, I wrote to ask whether any survivors from Drancy might be willing to talk to me about their experiences.
I was put in touch with two people: Victor Pérahia, a survivor of Bergen-Belsen who was detained at Drancy when he was only a child, and Yvette Lévy (née Dreyfuss), who was also held at the French internment camp for months before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. I was lucky enough to interview both, in long conversations that deeply moved and shocked me. At the same time, I noted that both seemed oddly detached from their horrific experiences in recounting them: an effect that’s well known among survivors of atrocities.
Pérahia sadly passed away in 2024, and Lévy, now 99 and living in Paris, continues to testify to her experiences as one of a few remaining survivors of Nazi barbarism in France.
It’s been a few years since I wrote this piece, and I have a couple of reasons for wanting to reshare it now, in addition to commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
One: Recent events in the US have shaken me into realizing that authoritarianism can creep in drip by drip — making us all boiling frogs who only see what’s happening to our freedoms once they’re assaulted with outright violence and blatant lies.
So it seemed like an apt moment to reflect on another time when governments asked ordinary citizens to ignore the evidence furnished by their own eyes and ears, and to look away from atrocities.
Secondly, and as I note in the piece, we’re in a moment when young people are losing awareness of the events of World War II and the Holocaust, with some reporting that they have no knowledge of it at all. I hope this piece will contribute, in some small way, to ensuring these horrific acts, and the lessons they offer, are never forgotten. Please feel free to share widely, and use my images as you see fit.
This morning my youngest daughter (now nearly four) excitedly pointed out a yellow crocus in the grass— and we’re looking forward to seeing other early harbingers of spring, from white snowdrops to bright-yellow winter aconites, the latter resembling little bowing dancers.
All this to say that spring isn’t that far away, so if you’re heading to Paris or elsewhere in France this year, consider reading my full advice on how to enjoy a spring trip— including hacks for avoiding crowds, choosing day trips and enjoying the reality of the season, rather than being guided by cliché fantasies of what it “should” be like.
I also explain why I think getting out of the city for a spell is essential at this time of year, and offer a few suggestions for what to say and do around the capital this year.
As per recent tradition, I’ll wrap this issue with a quick round-up of France-related stories I’ve been reading around the web (including on Substack) in the past couple of weeks, and found inspiring, insightful and/or funny:
At French Glimpses, Elizabeth Pérotin explores the recently-reopened Richelieu library and its sumptuously beautiful “Salle Ovale”. You can claim it as a free post if you’re not yet a paid subscriber.
At Allison Zinder’s Paris on the Edge, Zinder pays tribute to what she calls the “silent king of French gastronomy”.
At The Independent, reporter Simon Calder analyses whether France’s TGV Ouigo train service is being an asshole for offering a premium “no-kids” section to some of its premium-class travelers.
While I still have your ear, it’s become totally unnecessary to buy a SIM card once you reach your destination— and to pay ridiculous amounts for your at-home mobile/cell provider to allow roaming data and calls when you travel. With the advent of eSIM cards, it’s become much easier (and cheaper) to stay online and reachable when you’re abroad.
Sim Local is an eSim company that’s gotten consistently high ratings from travelers on Trustpilot, and you can get 5% off when you purchase a pay-as-you-go or unlimited plan by adding the promo code PARISUNLOCKED.
Well, that’s a wrap for this month, friends. I aim to be back next month with a review of “Nouvelle Vague”, Richard Linklater’s tribute to the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s breathless. Thanks so much for being part of this little community of readers. You make this sometimes-lonely endeavor more than worthwhile. And your ongoing support is so vital.
If you’re able to, please consider becoming a “Donor” subscriber or “Star Supporter”. For less than a cost of a couple of barista coffee drinks every month, you’ll get access to our ample archive of Paris and France-related features, opinion pieces, film & TV reviews, travel tips & in-depth itineraries— plus a free consultation with Courtney by email, to help you plan any future trips and offer personalized suggestions for your stay.
You’ll also be offering precious support to the development my podcast project, which will explore French culture from various angles — history, food, cultural trends, the arts — and hopefully be as addictive as it is informative. At the moment, I plan to drop a few first episodes for Season 1, exploring Great French Icons of the 20th Century, in June.
If you enjoy what you read here but would prefer to make a one-off contribution, you can always buy us a coffee (via Ko-fi). Whatever you can give is immensely appreciated, and will allow me to continue producing in-depth features, reviews, interviews, audio & video stories on French history, culture, art, food, news and more.
Please make sure to comment below if you’re hoping to see something in particular covered here, or at Paris Unlocked. You can also write to Courtney here: editor@parisunlocked.com.
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