La Belle Vie: The underrated places to visit across France and in Paris
From the many ways we change after adapting to life in France and some names you might want to avoid for your baby boy to how to beat the crowds by visiting France's less tourist areas, this week's La Belle Vie newsletter offers you an essential starting point for eating, talking, drinking and living like a French person.
La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in “My account”.
This past week, I have found myself randomly chuckling over the Barbie movie advertisements featuring Barbie's love interest: Ken - the blonde doll to be played by none other than Canadian heartthrob Ryan Gosling. The French have had a lot of fun with this character, seeing as the term has a very different meaning in French. It is actually slang for sexual intercourse, mostly used by adolescents . . .
Ken is not the only English-language boys' name to suffer from an awkward French alter-ego. There are several other names that will cause laughter and confused expressions in France. If you or anyone you know is thinking of baby names for a child that will spend time in France, you might want to consult this list beforehand.
The 9 boys' names that mean something very different in French
If you unfortunately have one of these names - or know someone who does - and you live in France, then you might be more likely to have the first complaint on The Local's list of common complaints: 'The French are rude'. Of course, if you've been insulted because of your name, then that's a pretty understandable complaint.
Oftentimes, however, people complain about French rudeness due to simple cultural clashes. A lot of times, what we might perceive as rude can be remedied by simply starting the conversation with a friendly 'bonjour' before starting whatever sentence we had in mind. The Local has compiled the eight most common complaints foreigners have about the French and France - as well as the best ways to solve these problems.
8 of the most common complaints about France - and the solutions
I have noticed that after four years in France, I've changed some of my perceptions about rudeness. Sometimes I catch myself feeling confused (and even a bit bothered) if someone does not say bonjour when stepping into a shared elevator with me.
Perspectives on politeness are just one of the ways we change and adapt after spending extended time in another country and culture. Changes in how we approach food and drink is probably one of the clearest areas to pinpoint. I've noticed that I am more willing to try raw things - in the United States, I am known to order my meat at least medium to medium-well, but in France I will go for a saignant steak.
We asked readers of The Local what they have noticed about their own eating and drinking habits since living in France, and they gave some fascinating answers.
Revealed: How your food and drink habits change when you move to France
I've unfortunately also become a bit squeamish about large crowds in Paris during the summer time. During the fall and winter, I might go for a walk in the middle of the Marais on a Sunday morning, but during the summer I try my best to avoid it. Tourism in France (and Paris) is on the rebound - recently, the city officials in the capital said that based on data from the first quarter of 2023, Paris is almost approaching its pre-Covid visitor levels.
Some people aren't too happy about this though - there have been growing complaints about 'over-tourism' in France, namely the fact that 80 percent of tourism only occurs in 20 percent of the country. The French government is hoping to tackle that by encouraging visitors to head to other parts of France. I happen to agree with this - the country has so many incredible places to visit. You're certainly not limited to the Eiffel Tower and Versailles.
Beat the crowds: 19 alternative places to visit in France
One location within Paris that often fails to make the 'places to visit' lists online is the Panthéon. It is a truly fascinating building - commissioned as a church, it was repurposed during the Revolution to serve as final resting place for France's most distinguished citizens, from scientists and philosophers to pilots and poets.
Although, some of them are not entirely buried in the Panthéon...
Ashes, skulls and body parts: What's really inside the Paris Pantheon?
And finally, aside from the Panthéon, there are some wonderful alternatives to the typical tourist attractions in Paris. Writer Zipporah Alcaraz gave her take on the places you can avoid - like the crowd around the Mona Lisa in the Louvre - as well as the better alternatives that they can be replaced with, for instance, sitting along the canal Saint-Martin and enjoying an apéro.
Ten (much) better alternatives to the Paris tourist hot spots
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La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in “My account”.
This past week, I have found myself randomly chuckling over the Barbie movie advertisements featuring Barbie's love interest: Ken - the blonde doll to be played by none other than Canadian heartthrob Ryan Gosling. The French have had a lot of fun with this character, seeing as the term has a very different meaning in French. It is actually slang for sexual intercourse, mostly used by adolescents . . .
Ken is not the only English-language boys' name to suffer from an awkward French alter-ego. There are several other names that will cause laughter and confused expressions in France. If you or anyone you know is thinking of baby names for a child that will spend time in France, you might want to consult this list beforehand.
The 9 boys' names that mean something very different in French
If you unfortunately have one of these names - or know someone who does - and you live in France, then you might be more likely to have the first complaint on The Local's list of common complaints: 'The French are rude'. Of course, if you've been insulted because of your name, then that's a pretty understandable complaint.
Oftentimes, however, people complain about French rudeness due to simple cultural clashes. A lot of times, what we might perceive as rude can be remedied by simply starting the conversation with a friendly 'bonjour' before starting whatever sentence we had in mind. The Local has compiled the eight most common complaints foreigners have about the French and France - as well as the best ways to solve these problems.
8 of the most common complaints about France - and the solutions
I have noticed that after four years in France, I've changed some of my perceptions about rudeness. Sometimes I catch myself feeling confused (and even a bit bothered) if someone does not say bonjour when stepping into a shared elevator with me.
Perspectives on politeness are just one of the ways we change and adapt after spending extended time in another country and culture. Changes in how we approach food and drink is probably one of the clearest areas to pinpoint. I've noticed that I am more willing to try raw things - in the United States, I am known to order my meat at least medium to medium-well, but in France I will go for a saignant steak.
We asked readers of The Local what they have noticed about their own eating and drinking habits since living in France, and they gave some fascinating answers.
Revealed: How your food and drink habits change when you move to France
I've unfortunately also become a bit squeamish about large crowds in Paris during the summer time. During the fall and winter, I might go for a walk in the middle of the Marais on a Sunday morning, but during the summer I try my best to avoid it. Tourism in France (and Paris) is on the rebound - recently, the city officials in the capital said that based on data from the first quarter of 2023, Paris is almost approaching its pre-Covid visitor levels.
Some people aren't too happy about this though - there have been growing complaints about 'over-tourism' in France, namely the fact that 80 percent of tourism only occurs in 20 percent of the country. The French government is hoping to tackle that by encouraging visitors to head to other parts of France. I happen to agree with this - the country has so many incredible places to visit. You're certainly not limited to the Eiffel Tower and Versailles.
Beat the crowds: 19 alternative places to visit in France
One location within Paris that often fails to make the 'places to visit' lists online is the Panthéon. It is a truly fascinating building - commissioned as a church, it was repurposed during the Revolution to serve as final resting place for France's most distinguished citizens, from scientists and philosophers to pilots and poets.
Although, some of them are not entirely buried in the Panthéon...
Ashes, skulls and body parts: What's really inside the Paris Pantheon?
And finally, aside from the Panthéon, there are some wonderful alternatives to the typical tourist attractions in Paris. Writer Zipporah Alcaraz gave her take on the places you can avoid - like the crowd around the Mona Lisa in the Louvre - as well as the better alternatives that they can be replaced with, for instance, sitting along the canal Saint-Martin and enjoying an apéro.
Ten (much) better alternatives to the Paris tourist hot spots
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