UPDATED 30 May 2026

Is Paris Still Paris? Part 2

Several days ago I shared with you our Special Correspondent Kat’s response to my question: “Is Paris Still Paris?” (If you have not read it, see below,)

Kat, like many who have decades of experience visiting the Paris at various times of year, has definite ideas about timing. Kat wrote:

I omitted to mention something very important: timing. 

Many Parisians still leave town in August, which leaves the city feeling somehow depleted. It lacks what I can only describe as its usual flair. Paris looks dry and dusty. In short, it needs a drink. Also, many restaurants close for les congés annuels. The weather can be unpleasantly hot, and the only time I visited in August there was a general warning to stay indoors due to air pollution (caused by en masse departure of Parisians.) The summer sales are on, so store windows aren’t up to their usual elegant standard. And the place is full of tourists who should know better than to visit in August, but don’t. Avoid.

Actually, avoid Summer altogether, and go in Spring or Autumn. The weather will be slightly unpredictable, but the city will be at its best. Or, if in the mood for something different, visit in December! Granted, the days are shorter, but the winter light gives the buildings a silvery look which, in my experience, is unique to Paris. The shop window displays are stunning, and this is the one time I’d urge people to visit the huge department stores on Haussmann, just to view the Christmas decorations. And if there is the usual Christmas market on the Champs Elysees, it will provide a magical experience after dark. We took our daughter to it once, and she has never forgotten it.

Again, thanks to Special Correspondent Kat for sharing her comments and advice on Paris.

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|| 26 May 2026

Is Paris Still Paris?

Our Special Correspondent Kat has recently visited Paris. I asked Kat to give us a report on whether Paris is still the same Paris that many of us came to know. Or have recent political demonstrations, city renovations — all those things your learn about in the media — changed the city noticeably? Here is Kat's report:

I spent yesterday in Paris, and although our train arrived at 9.30am and the train back to Lisieux wasn’t until 5.10pm it seemed like a very short day. Unusually, it was quite a full day. After a quick café crème and a croissant, we went to Printemps (a department store which always reminds me of Harrods in London, and not in a good way) in search of slip-on shoes for my husband, ahead of our trip to Japan in September (shrines and shoelaces don’t mix), then to Sezane in search of a lightweight jacket for me (have previously mentioned Sezane, and highly recommend it to any Baronettes visiting Paris, the store was buzzing and I saw a number of their trenchcoats walking the streets).

After that, it was a brisk walk over to the Rive Gauche for lunch at the Cafe Beaux Arts - which has relocated, but is still on the Rue Bonaparte, and is where we hosted our wedding reception 39 years ago! It has a very traditional menu, onion soup, escargots, boeuf bourguignon etc. and a thoroughly Parisian ambiance.

I’m sorry to report that Paris restaurant prices have gone through the roof since COVID — the city has bounced back alright, bar a few permanent closures, but the days of the inexpensive meal have gone, probably for good.

 

image: lunch at Les Beaux-Arts

That said, you can still get a meal worth eating at a price you won’t mind paying at Les Beaux Arts, Le Roi de Pot au Feu, Au Lyonnaise, and the nostalgic Procope off Boulevard St. Germaine, which is the oldest cafe in Paris, and has seen the likes of Voltaire, Napoleon, Barras and Rousseau come through its doors. The food isn’t as good as the others I’ve mentioned, but it’s not at all bad, and, again, won’t break the bank.

After lunch it was off to see the Renoir special exhibition at the Musee D’Orsay (anyone planning on visiting this, or any other major Paris galleries had better book well in advance online, or be disappointed), then another brisk walk back to Gare St Lazare.

So, you’ll understand why I haven’t managed to snap any fashion moments (and there were quite a few) but I’m attaching some views of the Beaux-Arts, which I hope capture the atmosphere. When in its original location it was famously a haunt of students from the nearby Beaux-Arts (hence the name) and Oscar Wilde are there almost daily whilst in exile in Paris, and staying at the Hotel Atlantique across the road (now L’Hotel, one of the chicest places to stay in Paris — we spent our honeymoon weekend there, and I still wonder how we managed to afford it…)

image: terrace La Vie en Rose

I visit Paris once a year, sometimes twice, and always remark upon how little it has changed since my first visit, in the mid 70’s. It is, and was then, a multi-racial city, but it remains solidly — and stolidly — Parisian. Covid closures aside, the shops, cafes, museums and other attractions remain unchanged, and, although certain online posts would have you believe that the Muslim call to prayer is now heard throughout the city, and that the Champs-Élysées is lined with rows of immigrants, facing Mecca, nothing could be further from the truth.

France, and Paris, have their immigrant issues, what country and city hasn’t, but if you visit Paris today, as a tourist, it’s unlikely you’ll see them, unless you take it into your head to visit some banlieue on the outskirts.

In the center, there are far fewer beggars and rough sleepers than in London (I saw only one).

If I were visiting for the first time, I’d skip the Eiffel Tower, head straight for the Galeries Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann, go up to the roof — and get a panoramic view of Paris (including the Eiffel Tower) For FREE!

Much thanks to Kat for her assurance that Paris is still Paris. She has sent more information and photos which I will be posting in coming Nouvellles.