If you only have a few days to explore Paris or it’s your first trip to the capital, you may want to spend a few hours roaming around the Louvre/Tuileries district. Besides harboring […]
Most “top attractions” lists for the French capital suggest a boat tour of the Seine or other waterways in Paris. But since these sorts of sightseeing cruises are so commonplace– and hardly original– […]
Here at Paris Unlocked, we tend to focus our coverage on lesser-known corners of the French capital, and encourage readers to look well beyond the obvious, tried-and-true or wildly popular sites. But when […]
The first time I set foot inside the Louvre Museum, I had already been living in Paris for three or four years. The guests I accompanied were astounded that I’d never bothered […]
When I moved to Paris in the early 2000s, Italian cuisine was certainly not a notable feature or strong point in the local food landscape. I knew of a few mediocre, albeit perfectly […]
It’s an annual tradition that’s certainly not taken lightly. Every year since 1994, a panel of judges gathers in the French capital to select the best baguette in Paris. The judges range from […]
A small confession: I’m not someone you can really trust with a pint of ice cream left in the freezer. If it’s there, it’s pretty certain I’ll eat it– and often too much […]
During the heyday of train travel in the late nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries, rail stations in major cities were places where wealthy travelers showed off their status and prestige. Le Train Bleu, a […]
In all the years I’ve covered Paris, the question I’ve been asked more predictably than any other is “When do you recommend I go?” Again and again, I’ve disappointed those hoping for me […]
Some might ask why it would be necessary to plot short excursions away from a city as diverse and interesting as Paris. After all, doesn’t it offer enough beauty, history, unexpected wonder? Possibly […]
Paris in August presents travelers with an odd and interesting scenario. Following July’s mass exodus of local residents to beaches in the south of France, it’s arguably both high season and low at the […]
Visiting Paris in June? Of all the summer months, this may just be the most pleasant. The temperatures generally remain on the mild side, and even though the occasional thunderstorm cuts picnics […]
Most tourists never set foot into one of the French capital’s finest single-artist collections, the Jean-Jacques Henner Museum. This is a shame. Not only does it house an arresting permanent exhibit of the […]
With its eclectic mix of trendy bars, nightclubs and concert halls, the lively Oberkampf neighborhood in Paris is a haven for foodies and partygoers. This hip section of the 11th arrondissement boasts great […]
When most people think of Josephine Baker, they imagine her dancing in some glamorous Paris venue at the height of the jazz age. While this image certainly isn’t wrong, it tends to reduce […]
We don’t wish to disappoint you: this newcomer to the Parisian arts scene doesn’t resemble a giant, patterned couture bag from the popular designer after which it’s named. Maybe you’d say it evokes an […]
Anyone aiming to better understand the long and complex history of the French capital would do well to pay a visit to the Musée Carnavalet in Paris. The permanent collection at the Carnavalet […]
“It’s a great city, Paris, a beautiful city––and––it was very good for me.”– James Baldwin, Another Country (1962) One of the most singular and important American authors of the 20th century, James Baldwin […]
The early spring of 2020 will no doubt take up some space in the history books. It marks a moment that is unprecedented in contemporary life: the first time in decades that governments […]
When news hit in 2005 that one of Paris’ historic department stores was being shuttered, locals reacted with understandable sadness and dismay. After all, since 1869, La Samaritaine– with its boldly-lettered Art Nouveau […]
For this first article in a new series of practical tips I’ll refer to as “Paris Trip Planning Q&A”, let’s tackle a boring, but entirely necessary, question. Readers have often asked me this: […]
I often get e-mails from parents asking how to keep their young ones stimulated and happy in the French capital. And while it’s a city that can seem about as far from kid-friendly […]
I still remember my first bad taxi ride from Charles de Gaulle Airport. I was returning home from a visit with family in California, lugging around suitcases so heavy I thought I might […]
Looking for some decent crepes in Paris? You’re not alone. Crepes are one of the world’s great democratic foods. They’re inexpensive, often portable, and remarkably adaptable, ranging from hearty and simple to lofty and gourmet. They’re also just as easily enjoyed by meat eaters as by vegetarians. In short, they make a meal that few would claim to genuinely dislike (including picky kids).
Put on your Sunday best and head over to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, an upscale Parisian neighborhood with centuries-old literary, revolutionary and artistic roots. Situated on the left bank of the Seine River– just blocks west of […]
I’ve always been a bit skeptical of the apothecary trend. It’s generally struck me as a marketing ploy to raise the perceived value or originality of products and crank up their prices– irrespective […]
Technically, the tangled arrangement of wide, grandiose streets known as the Grands Boulevards in Paris stretch all the way from the Eglise Madeleine church in the 8th arrondissement (district) to the Place de […]
Strolling down Rue des Martyrs, a stretch of Paris’ South Pigalle that packs more gourmet power in a single street than most entire neighborhoods do, I noticed a patisserie that was clearly out […]
When I first heard that an all-digital art museum and cultural space called the Atelier des Lumières would be opening its doors in Paris sometime in 2018, I was more than a little […]
…& Some Thoughts on the Power of “Imaginary Cities”, in Print & in Dreams The subtitle of the handsomely bound, compact red volume should have tipped me off from the first glance: […]
Since the world was turned upside-down by a minuscule, spike-covered virus, those of us who take joy in travel have had to find creative ways to keep our wanderlust from imploding into gloom. […]
Much ink has been spilled about French people having no “real”sense of humor– at least not beyond a strong penchant for biting political satire, à la Voltaire. As a 2003 article in the […]
On the Place des Petits Pères in central Paris, a sense of calm abounds these days. The Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church graces the square, and the lush gardens and covered arcades of the Palais […]
If you follow Parisian cultural trends with any regularity, you’ve probably seen locals reference the Latin expression “Fluctuat nec mergitur” as the city’s motto. But what does it mean– and where does it […]
During the 19th century, the Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann gutted much of what had been medieval Paris-– forging the iconic skyline and enormous, grandiose boulevards we now (wrongly) tend to think of as timeless. […]
At the wobbly, bright-eyed age of 22, I moved to Paris to take up a seven-month teaching assistantship at a middle school in one of the city’s northern suburbs. Having barely adjusted to […]
In the midst of the coronavirus crisis and following terrorist attacks and occasionally-violent street demonstrations, many people are wondering whether Paris is still safe to visit. A quick look at Google’s search statistics […]
Starting in early December, 2019, major transportation strikes in France have severely affected trains, Paris metro and bus service, some flights to and from France and Eurostar networks. Grinding much traffic to a […]
While most people prefer sightseeing against the backdrop of sunny skies and a cool breeze, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the best of the city when it pours. Paris is a pretty […]
As one of the world’s most-visited cities, Paris relies on tourism to thrive economically. While that’s generally a mutually beneficial thing, it has its downsides. For one thing, certain areas can seem devoid […]
Featuring Siberian temperatures, surreal bunker-like surroundings that might remind you of Superman’s icy lair, and a jetset-aspiring clientele, the Ice Kube bar at Paris’ Kube Hotel claims to offer a singular nightlife experience. […]
Situated in South Pigalle, a formerly seedy Parisian district that’s recently been colonized by hipsters, foodies and fashionistas, the Grand Pigalle Hotel has only been open since 2015. Yet it’s quickly become […]
Located on a peaceful street in the upwardly mobile Paris neighborhood known as Passy, the three-star Hotel Gavarni is a traditional hotel built in 1907 that has been awarded the European Ecolabel for […]
If you type “cheap hotels in Paris” into Google or far cooler search engines such as Ecosia, the first page of search results will display a cascade of booking sites whose featured […]
There’s something deceptively timeless about raising a toast over a glass of champagne (or some other form of sparkling white wine). It’s easy to imagine that “bubbly” has always been associated with festive […]
My partner and I almost always have a block of salted Brittany butter in the fridge, and usually there’s a “backup” somewhere in the freezer, too. Why? There’s simply something addictive about its […]
Basque country is one of those fascinating “liminal” spaces that crosses cultural and linguistic borders. Straddling France and Spain, the area is in fact an aggregation of several distinctive regions and cultural identities. […]
Last summer, I spent a little under six weeks living and working in Bordeaux, as I prepared to write a local guide. Like almost everyone, I knew coming in that the capital of […]