Place Of Adventure:
Last October was a season of good weather, croissants and great shoes - wink wink. We tossed in our berets, packed up our trunks, and took off to explore France - starting right from the lovely Paris, down to a quaint nearby town, Aix-en-Provence (pronounced ox-on-praw-von), a vineyard and even a beautiful lake in the gorgeous Chassis. All those in favour of knowing where to go in France beyond the Eiffel Tower, say oui!
Grab A Bite Of:
- Chocolate mousse that tastes like a fluffy dream at Chez Janou, a lovely outdoor restaurant in Paris where conversations & wine run equally high
- Creamy hollandaise sauce + a damn eggcellent breakfast at Claus (pardon our French)
- A quintessential French meal at La Marine right by Canal Saint-Martin
- Nutella crepes on-the-go which you’ll get at ‘most every street corner and cart
Shops To Hit Up:
- The local kiosks selling jewellery at Montmartre in Paris ,for they had some of the best bits and baubles for friends back home
- Shakespeare and Company in Paris for the unmissable old-paper scent, French books and a trip into literature
- L’occitane at Aix-En-Provence for their lovely smelling bath products (the brand is originally from there, and hence has the best stock and discounts)
- Concept store Merci on Boulevard Beaumarchais for everything cute from your next favourite outfit to a pair of tongs for picking up toast
Must Do Adventures:
- Walk up the 300 steps of Sacré-Cœur church for a sweet combination of a workout combined with a beautiful sunset
- Take off your shoes and sink into the Luxembourg garden with a croissant in one hand and Angelina’s hot chocolate in the other. Pro-tip: Carry your least obvious people-watching eyewear along. Shoes in picture: Moonbeam
- Definitely explore the city with the Sandeman’s Walking Tour - they give great anecdotes and non-yawn history (the first 2.5 hours are free; and then you can choose where else to explore with them)
- Hop on to a children’s carousel at a local fair nearby and care not for people looking! {Shoes in photo: Fly Birdie Fly Loafers}
- Swing by a vineyard and sniff, swirl and sip your way to being the best student at a tasting class there (may we recommend the Château La Coste near Aix-En-Provence?) Also, drive by Chassis for the best lake view, we don’t exaggerate.
Bonus: Learn five new phrases besides ‘bon jour’ and use your best french accent with the locals
Give It A Miss:
- The prepaid dessert crawls are a waste of time and euros. We suggest you make your own sweet trail around the city (definitely stop by Laudureé for macrons)
- A Saturday evening at Le Comptoir General - as the queue is longer than their long island iced tea, and there’s no food on the menu!
Get Our Look:
Bhavika Govil is a writer made up of equal parts popcorn and puns.
Read more of her work here and see her illustrations here.
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