The City Code · France
Paris
A city that rewards restraint and punishes hurry.
Arriving
Take a car from CDG rather than the RER — the traffic is the same, the arrival is not. Inside the centre, walk; the 1st to the 7th is forty minutes on foot.
Book this first
Dinner. Paris's defining tables release seats four to six weeks out and are gone the same morning.
What is worn
Quiet, tailored, dark. Nothing logo-led. A jacket after seven anywhere near Place Vendôme.
Money & manners
Service is included; round up rather than tip. Cards everywhere, but keep €50 in cash for the smaller caves and markets.
The golden hour
Eight in the morning on the Tuileries gravel, before the gates fill.
The usual mistake
Crossing the river three times a day. Choose one bank per day and walk it.
Worth having
"Bonjour" before every single sentence — the omission is the only real rudeness.
When to come
April — see where to go, month by month.
From the collection
The stay, the table, the morning
While you are there
What moves the city
Festival · 24 Feb to 5 Mar
Paris Fashion Week
The couture and ready-to-wear shows take over the 1st and 8th. Palace hotels sell out and rates climb. Book cars and tables well ahead.
Festival · 21 Jun
Fete de la Musique
Free music on almost every street corner until very late. Central streets are closed and taxis are slow after 22:00.
Public holiday · 13 Jul to 14 Jul
Bastille Day
Military parade on the Champs-Elysees and fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. Many museums and shops close; bridges and metro stops shut for hours.
Go deeper
The rest of Paris on Velori
Elsewhere
Other city codes
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