Local Expert
Kate Cyr
Originally from a small town in upstate New York and most recently living in New York City, I transferred to Paris for work in April 2007. I'll admit it: I came to Paris convinced that no city could…
Originally from a small town in upstate New York and most recently living in New York City, I transferred to Paris for work in April 2007. I'll admit it: I came to Paris convinced that no city could compare to New York. But little by little, day by day, Paris is winning my heart as I discover its beautiful art and architecture, its fabulous food and the unique attitude of its residents. I'll share these winning discoveries here.
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January 6 is the feast of the Epiphany, when the three wise men finally made it to visit the baby Jesus. In France, this of course means a special tradition involving food. The galette des rois is a round flat cake filled with almond pastry cream. Depending on your taste and following the decadence of Christmas this may seem a little underwhelming, but it's what's inside that counts. A small ceramic piece called a feve is baked into each cake. Traditionally in the shape of bean, the feve can also be in the form of the baby Jesus, a Smurf, a car, or almost anything else you can imagine (just search for "feves" at ebay.fr) take the The person who finds the feve in his or her slice is the king for the day and gets to wear the flimsy paper crown that comes with the cake. To ensure total impartiality in the distribution of slices, purists insist that the youngest person in the room sit under the table and call out names as the cake is cut. Galettes of all sizes are available throughout the city, from chains like Monoprix and Paul to almost every neighborhood patisserie. Don't pass up what may be your only chance at royalty this year.
If you're looking for a last-minute holiday gift for a Parisian friend who has everything but space in their apartment, or just another way to experience French culture first hand, consider a cooking course.
For star-struck foodies,
L'ecole de cuisine d'Alain Ducaisse is a professional culinary training center run by the celebrity chef. The center, located in Argenteuil, offers full and half day courses for amateurs covering topics such as "Bases, sauces and condiments", " the Mediterranean South" and "Far East". There are also courses in pastry making such as "Only Chocolate". Prices are 365 euro for a full day session and 190 euro for half day and include transportation for Paris to the training center.
The famous Parisian patisserie
Le Notre offers half-day and evening savory and sweet workshops for the general public at its school on the Champs Elysees. Prices range from 130 to 300 euros depending on the length of the course.
Though her cooking school,
On Rue Tatin, is based in Normandy, former cafe owner and food writer Susan Loomis travels to Paris several times a year to give week-long and one day courses. The one-day morning courses run from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm and include a trip to a local market to gather ingredients which are used in the preparation of a simple lunch. One day evening courses are from 5:30 to 10 pm with instructional tastings followed by preparation of dinner. Week-long courses cost $3000 and focus on organic specialty ingredients with daily
demonstrations followed by class and multi-course lunches. Alba Pezone offers three hour courses in Italian cuisine in a fully equipped studio housed in a former printing workshop in the 18th arrondissement. Recent themes included "Voyage in Italy - From Milan to Palermo", featuring different cities featured each evening, or courses that build an entire menu around a single ingredient, such as eggplant, coffee, or parmesan cheese. Registration is 90 euros for a three hour course, or 400 euros for a block of five courses.
If you are lucky enough to be doing your holiday shopping Paris, your loved ones back home are probably expecting something at the very least French, if not entirely Parisian. Pass up the Eiffel Tower statuettes and Mona Lisa mousepads and avoid the mad throngs at the megastores on the Champs Elysees for one of the following unique shopping experiences.
Maille has been producing vinegars and mustards for over 250 years. It's true that the company is now owned by a large corporation and that you can find its products in supermarkets throughout the country, but this doesn't mean that you should deny yourself the pleasure of a visit to the world's most elegant mustard shop on the place de la Madeleine. Spice up your Christmas ham with a little ceramic pot of the stuff, pumped to order in the store.
6, place de la Madeleine 75008
When you're finished with your mustard, wash out that cute little pot and bring it to
Les Abeilles in the 13th arrondissement to be filled with something sweet. Les Abeilles is devoted to all things honey - including the acacia or chestnut honey on tap - and is the only boutique in the Parisian region to carry beekeeping equipment. While the queen bee on your list may not be about to set up her own hive, she is sure to appreciate one of the speciality honeys such as lavender or almond, or one of the honey-based delicacies, like the seasonally appropriate honey gingerbread.
1 , rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles 75013
Keep their hands warm during marathon carolling sessions with a pair of gloves from the impossibly glamorous
Maison Fabre. The Fabre family has been making beautiful leather gloves since 1924 and recently opened its first Parisian boutique in the lovely Galerie de Valois near the Palais Royale.
128-129 Galerie de Valois - Jardins du Palais Royal 75001
If your recipients are more likely to hibernate during the cold weather, chose a gift to beautify their nest with beautiful, handmade housewares and decorative objects from
Le petit atelier de paris in the Marais. This studio within a boutique was opened by two designers in 2005 to sell the clean, modern yet whimsical items designed and produced in the studio.
31, Rue Montmorency 75003
To ensure that your gifts are holy as well as handmade, try
Artisanat Monastique. Located in a convent near Denfert-Rochereau, this store is one of eight in France that offers products made in over 250 monasteries throughout the country. The goodies include chocolates, cookies, liquors, candles, soaps, lace and woolen shawls. With proper notice they'll even monogram your bed linens.
68bis Avenue Denfert Rochereau 75014
When all else fails, look at the renowned Parisian taxidermist,
Deyrolle. It's a pretty safe bet that yours will be the only stuffed leopard under the tree this year. For giftees whose tastes run more towards the living, the antique biological teaching posters make lovely decorative gifts - just make sure you steer clear of the ones featuring the human digestive system.
46 rue de Bac 75007
Coming from a country whose Christmas lights can be seen from outer space and are known to cause rolling blackouts, Christmas in Paris can appear to be relatively subdued. Never fear, Christmas is here, it just isn't the head-on attack that it is elsewhere. There are plenty of tasteful decorations throughout the city to help you get into the holiday spirit.
Paris illumine Paris is cosponsored by the city of Paris and a city-wide commercial association. Using supplies and creative direction provided by the program, local merchants take responsibility for the Christmas lights decorating their individual streets. With 180 000 meters of state of the art low consumption lights (powered by alternative energy sources) adorning 150 kilometers of Parisian streets, this program is as green as it is festive. The website has a fun interactive map of all the participating streets to help you plan your visits.
On a smaller scale, two large Parisian department stores have special holiday window displays. At Printemps , three big names from the world of fashion and design, Karl Lagerfeld, Hannah Mac Gibbon and Hervé Van der Straeten, offer their interpretation of the theme "Cosmic Dream", while the Galeries Lafayette building is covered in a "lace" of lights created by an Italian artist. On Wednesday evenings, a thirty person choir sings tradition Christmas songs around the store's 20 meter tree.
If you're the type for whom it isn't winter until you've glided gracefully or slid precariously over a sheet of ice, the city of Paris offers three temporary outdoor skating rinks, at Hotel de Ville, Montparnasse Tower and the BNF. Access to the rinks is free and skate rental is 5 euros. For indoor skating, try the Sonja Henie rink at the Palais omnisport de Paris Bercy. This one's not free but the DJ alone is worth the 6 euro entrance fee.
Could it be possible that, even with the omnipresence of Starbucks, different cities have unique coffee cultures? For example, I have the impression that cities in the Pacific Northwest part of the United States are filled with fun, hip coffeehouses where you can sit and work all day or listen to live music in the evenings. People in New York City, on the other hand, aren't interested in coffee unless they can take it everywhere with them in a paper cup. So what's the coffee profile for Paris?
Paris is filled with neighborhood cafes serving drinks, meals and snacks from from early in the morning to late at night. These cafes are more than food service establishments - they are an important part of the social fabric of the city. There's nothing better than spending a sunny morning at an outside table, nursing a coffee and watching all of Paris pass by, except for maybe spending a sunny afternoon in the same spot with a glass of wine. You're sure to find a favorite cafe close to wherever you're staying, but for a good introduction to cafe culture, try
Cafe de Flore or its neighbor,
Les Deux Magots. in St Germain de Pres. Cafe de Flore has been in business since 1890 and was a favorite hangout of artists and writers such as Picasso, Camus and most notably Sartre. Les Deux Magots dates from approximately the same time and counted the same cast of characters in its list of regulars, with the illustrious addition of Oscar Wilde.
People-watching at a cafe is one of the best things to do in Paris, but the unfortunate truth is that the coffee served is often just plain bad. For decent coffee, go to
Cafe Verlet in the first arrondissement. Since 1965, the Verlet family has been importing and roasting coffees from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Try a cup of one of the house blends at the cafe or take some home from the epicerie, which also sells teas, jams and spices.
If coffee's not your cup of tea, try
Mariage Freres: "Beautiful Tea for Beautiful People". Founded by the Mariage brothers in 1854, Mariage Freres now has tearooms and "tea restaurants" in the Marais, the Rive Gauche and near Etoile. Go on the weekend for an elegant, decadent (and pricey) brunch or afternoon tea, where you will choose from the selection of over 600 teas, served by an impossibly aloof young man in a beige linen suit. To recreate the experience at home, stop by the Mariage Freres store across the street from the Marais location.
The
Forum des Images is an organization, supported by the city of Paris, whose mission is to serve as the audiovisual memory of Paris. It achieves this mandate by making the 4000 hours of film in its archives available to the moviegoing public and on December 5, the Forum will open the doors of its newly refurbished facilities in Les Halles. To celebrate its new digs, the Forum will host "portes ouvertes" next weekend - three open door days of special screenings, lectures by movie directors and music and dance performances.
The Forum kicks off its programming in its new space immediately, with a
New York film cycle starting on December 5. Highlighting the New York as a source of cinematic inspiration, this month-long festival features films in or about the city, including
Annie Hall, Manhattan, Shaft, On the Waterfront, the Seven Year Itch, Rear Window and all three Godfather movies. Director James Gray, whose movies are the most accurate portrayals of life in New York City that I know of, will be on hand to introduce his films
Little Odessa and t
he Yards. Gray will also present a master class on December 14. The New York cycle is supplemented by the Forum's regular weekly
schedule of films from the archives.