Restaurants, vocabulary, and tips

Consider bringing a good pocket-sized guide to menu and food-related terms, such as the Marling Menu-Master for France.

For an excellent intro to French restaurants, choosing where to eat, differences between brasserie/bistro/café/restaurant, click here.

Where to eat??

• First, read the excellent explanation at the link above.
• You probably can't go wrong by picking selections from the well-known guide books, BUT: try to get off the beaten path sometimes, or you may find yourself constantly surrounded by American tourists, all of whom have read the same guides, especially at dinner if you eat before 8 p.m. By law, all restaurants must post their menus outside, so you can get an idea of the choices before you go in.
• If you have a special restaurant in mind, reserve well ahead of time, and remember that many are not open seven days a week.
• If you want to eat at one of the "top" restaurants without paying top prices, consider going for lunch rather than dinner. Most offer "prix fixe" lunch "packages" (e.g., appetizer + main course + dessert) that are significantly less expensive than the same items ordered at dinnertime. The downside is that you can't choose from the entire menu--only the choices offered.

A few pointers on eating in French restaurants:

• Timing--Many restaurants do not begin dinner service until 8pm. You may want to have a something to eat in the afternoon to tide you over if you're used to an earlier dinner. If you want to dine earlier, brasseries and bistros often offer non-stop service.
• Tipping--A 15% tip is (by law) already included in the check. If you are particularly pleased by the service, you can leave a bit extra, from just a couple of 10 Euro cent pieces for a coffee or a soft drink, to 1-5 euros for a lunch or dinner, or up to 5 to 10 percent of the total check.
• Getting the check--Unless the waitperson is about to go on a break, he or she will not bring the bill until you ask for it.
• Ask for your server using "Monsieur," etc. Waiters haven't been called "garçon" in years.

Food activities

• Paris On Your Plate™ Cheese & Wine and Chocolate & Wine tastings, and Cheese & Wine Tasting Lunch.
• Partage et Saveurs: A market visit and cooking class offered by a delightful Parisian woman in a private apartment. An authentic and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Available in French or English.
• Skip restaurants a few times and instead, compose your own picnic or eat-in from goodies purchased at charcuteries, boulangeries, fromageries, and open-air markets.

SHOPPING IN PARIS!

A few pointers

• Sales tax: A national sales tax of roughly 11 to 20% (called TVA, or value-added tax) is already included in all prices. If you buy more than 175 euros worth of merchandise in a single store in a single day, most (but not all) stores will provide the paperwork needed to get a refund of the tax at upon your departure from the European Union. The procedure varies by store. Click here for more information, and also be sure to ask at the information desk at the store..before you make the purchase.
• At two of the big department stores, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, get a discount card good for 10% off most purchases at the information desk. You just need to show your passport.
• As in any large city, pickpockets abound in tourist-filled areas. Signs are posted to that effect in the métro system, but it also applies to stores: while shopping and paying, keep a solid hold on your wallet/bag/purse at all times.

Food/food-related items

As indicated above, arrange some meals from fresh goodies purchased at local shops and open-air markets.

Gourmet food items to bring home can be found at the following (luscious) food emporiums:

    Hediard--21 Place de la Madeleine, 8ème (with smaller boutiques at: 31 avenue George V,
    (75008),Gare de Lyon--Galerie des Fresques (75012), 106 boulevard de Courcelles (75017)
    and 70 avenue Paul Doumer (75116))

    Fauchon--30 place de la Madeleine, 8ème

    Galeries Lafayette--40 Blvd. Haussmann, 9ème (entrance across the street from Galeries     Lafayette Maison)

    La Grand Epicerie--across the street from Le Bon Marché department store, at 38 Rue de     Sèvres, 7ème

For some great foodie souvenir ideas, click here.

Department stores

Bookstores

In addition to the bookstores listed below, keep in mind:

• museum bookstores (often have an excellent selection, and often books in English)
• the bouquiniste stalls along the Seine (Click here for a little history about les bouquinistes.)

Books in English:

Books in French:

(In addition to those listed, don't neglect the many wonderful smaller shops all across the city.)

Open-air markets

Open-air markets are one of the great pleasures of Paris, whether you're here for a week or a lifetime. They're filled with a rainbow of colors, the laughing sounds and banter of merchants joking with potential customers, and a bountiful selections of beautiful, delicious food. If you have access to a kitchen, you can pick up fresh food for an entire meal. If you're at a hotel, don't let that stop you--think picnic. Along with the food, many markets also have stalls selling spices, jams, jewelry, clothing, leather goods, and more.

Which one to choose? You'll probably do just fine at whichever one is closest to you, but some are bigger than others (for example, the one at Bastille is HUGE) so you might want to experiment if you have time. Also, don't forget to check out the market streets.

The following list is arranged by arrondissement. Hours: All are generally 9am-1pm. Most open earlier and stay open later, but not all vendor