Local Flavor: where to eat and drink in Paris

You might assume hosting the Olympics is great for a city's economy thanks to an influx of visitors staying in hotels, dining out, and enjoying the sights.

There’s never a bad time to go to Paris, and Air France agrees, giving away a pair of roundtrip flights and a wardrobe incroyable so travelers can live their best French lives.

Europe’s ancient cobbled cities are not necessarily renowned for accessibility, but if you know where to look, Paris has reliably accessible places to visit. The bus system is fully accessible, with frequent services to most areas in the city. Many of the major activities or venues in the city have elevators, ramps, and staff more than willing to help. Plus, most of the museums and cultural activities in the city are available for free or at a heavily discounted rate for people with disabilities and their caregivers.

“The pavements are often narrow and cluttered. There’s always either a badly parked bike, dustbins, or dog waste,” says Virginie Dubost, a wheelchair user and disability consultant who lives and works in Paris. Recently, when coming out of a museum, she got stuck. “The pavement was very high, and it was complicated to turn around,” she tells me.

When Los Angeles–based designer Clare Vivier began decorating the 19th-century house she'd bought in her husband's hometown of Saint-Calais, in France's Loire Valley, she had a particular aesthetic in mind. “I love color and patterns but wanted something peaceful, so the intention was to create a dialogue between those two things,” she says. She wanted the house to have a blend of contemporary pieces, antiques, and textiles from heritage maisons to create a space that, much like her namesake handbag and fashion label, channeled both California fun and French sophistication. She also knew that she wanted her longtime friend Kate Berry, a designer and creative director, to help her make it happen.

We’re back with another edition of the brands and properties that have caught my eye this season. 

The rapidly brightening sky was painted with swaths of orange, pink, and yellow. The early-morning light revealed a city that seemed to be little more than a patchwork of haphazardly planned mid-rise buildings in varying states of repair, punctuated with sprawling bushes, trees quivering in the morning breeze, and lawns sloping toward the nearby sea. The nocturnal beep-beep of tree frogs gave way to the insistent chirp of morning birds that rose from the trees to swoop across the sky like animated chevrons. As I watched the Senegalese sunrise on my first day in Africa, I was vibrating with anticipation. Dakar was waking up, and I was here to witness it.

When Los Angeles–based designer Clare Vivier began decorating the 19th-century house she'd bought in her husband's hometown of Saint-Calais, in France's Loire Valley, she had a particular aesthetic in mind. “I love color and patterns but wanted something peaceful, so the intention was to create a dialogue between those two things,” she says. She wanted the house to have a blend of contemporary pieces, antiques, and textiles from heritage maisons to create a space that, much like her namesake handbag and fashion label, channeled both California fun and French sophistication. She also knew that she wanted her longtime friend Kate Berry, a designer and creative director, to help her make it happen.

The 2024 Olympics seemed like a great time to explore Paris, so my friends and I began booking our trip over a year in advance.

Aug 20, 2024 • 0 min read

Looking to bolster its presence in the European short-term rental market, India-based hospitality company Oyo has acquired Paris-based rental management company Checkmyguest. The acquisition is valued at INR 2.3 billion ($27.4 million), according to reports.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Candice Gallagher, a 38-year-old British marketer and content creator . It has been edited for length and clarity.