Parc des Buttes Chaumont (Celine NYC)

If you’re in Paris in summer, you’ll pretty quickly realize that as soon as the sun starts to glimmer, Parisians grind into picnic gear. However, despite informal appearances, there is a complex and unspoken code of conduct to be adhered to in order to avoid unforgivable picnic faux pas.

Do dress appropriately.

It is important to give the air of not trying very hard. For girls: a categorical ‘no’ to heels and look-at-me makeup.  For guys: forget smart suits or bling sportswear, it’s all about skinny jeans and scarves. Subtle colour and pattern coordination are à la mode. Hats highly recommended.

Gail Tang

Do arrive late.

It is useless to turn up anywhere near the appointed picnic hour. It is best to saunter up several hours in, give a slightly (don’t overdo it) apologetic smile, whilst simultaneously giving the impression that your diary is over-spilling with très fun engagements and that the organiser should therefore be delighted that you’ve managed to squeeze them in.

Karigee

Do invite lots of friends.

The concept of ‘the more the merrier’ is de rigueur. Whereas the biting winter winds keep Parisians at home or drives them (penguin-style) into crowded, sweaty bars, the warm summer weather democratizes social gatherings, which are known to take on gigantesque proportions!

Do not buy ready-made sandwiches.

It is unacceptable to pop to the supermarket and pick up a long-life cellophane-encased creation that deigns to call itself a ‘sandwich’. A fresh baguette, some cheese and charcuterie are the bare minimum.

A delicious french picnic (Scorbs)

Do prepare elaborate dishes.

I.E., quiches & salads. Always present the dish while mumbling something along the lines of, ‘Didn’t have much time, just a little something I threw together…’ As with the dress code, it is important to make it all seem oh-so effortless.

Do experiment with people-meeting techniques

Concoct a (mildly) plausible excuse to approach the targeted stranger(s) and casually wander over. I suggest ‘The forgotten corkscrew’, ‘The over-inquisitive dog*’ or ‘The do-you-have-any-spare glasses’ scenarios, but your imagination is the limit! Although Parisians usually frown upon general interactions with strangers, come summer, icy propriety starts to melt – well, just a little.

*Please note that bringing a dog to culinary gatherings is not considered unhygienic or inappropriate.

Canal Saint Martin, typical picnic supplies (Thatgirl; Matthew Kebbekus)

Do choose the right location.

Here’s the lowdown on some of my favorite places to picnic:

- Buttes Chaumont, 19ème (Plus: largest park in Paris with trees, waterfalls & a lake. Minus: hilly and thus lots of potential for spillage & bottle rolling).

- La Seine (Plus: picture postcard setting. Minus: loud tourists on boats, the occasional wandering bum.)

- Canal St Martin, 10ème (Plus: Trendy hotspot, great people-watching, plentiful surrounding bars for après-picnic festivities. Minus: very little grass, quiet or room to spread a blanket/do acrobatics).

Presta

Further afield (well, beyond the safe confines of the 20 arrondissements):

- Bois de Vicennes (Plus: huge and green with lots of trees, 2,458 acres to be precise – that’s 3 times bigger than Central Park & 4 times bigger than Hyde Park. Minus: Far away from the center of it all (in Parisian terms) and beaucoup de getting-lost opportunities).

- Bois de Boulogne (Plus: same as above, although a little bit smaller with its (still very) respectable 2,090 acres. Minus, doubles up as Paris’s red light district at night!)

With these tips, we hope you’ll have everything you need to be a smashing pique-nique success. The best of luck and bon appétit!

Joe Shlabotnik

Related Links:

• In other Paris news, Kim from I Heart Paris writes about soon-to-be-fully-booked resto Au Passage. Get there now!
• Had enough food? Carams has some gorgeous pics of Paris Plage
• Parisien Salon also has a shortlist of cool events happening in Paris in August

Written by Victoria Wall for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.

As a very keen runner, I realized that Paris – with its pavement café culture and lax attitude towards dogs’ toilet habits – might not be the ideal place to train. However, little did I know the numerous obstacles I would have to overcome each time I pulled on my trainers and switched on my iPod.

The tourists: map-reading, awestruck or, worse still, love-struck, they tend to look at the sky, the ground, into each other’s eyes or up at elegant Haussmannian buildings. However, they are rather less aware of what’s going right next to them (i.e. me charging past) and happily straddle the pavement two or three abreast.

The cars: do not expect them to stop willingly. Ever. The art of a good Parisian runner is judging if, with a little acceleration, you can whiz by before the lights change and the engines rev back into action.  For a Brit accustomed to polite codes of roadway courtesy and to giving cheery waves as cars patiently wait, I admit that this was initially quite a shock.

Dodging city life, jogging along the Seine (D’Alk)

The bikes: Equally unwilling (or unable) to stop, but doubly dangerous as often manned by:

A) Unsteady, inexperienced Parisians whose idea of physical exercise is a gentle Sunday stroll to the boulangerie for fresh croissants.

B) Tourists.  Having read the above, imagine the chaos when they haul themselves on to a heavy, unwieldy and highly unsexy Vélib (hire-and-drop bikes dotted at strategic points around the city). Don’t be misled by quaint wicker baskets and slim steel frames that adorn postcards and appear in films like Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain!

Philippe Charles

The beggars: Do they really think I carry around loose change in my skin-tight running trousers? Apparently so.

The dogs: They rule supreme in Paris. I’ve even heard that there are more dogs than children in the city. I digress. I have learned to steer clear of all canine specimen after various incidents involving barking, biting (well, some very close calls) and being tripped up by leashes as unconcerned owners look on nonchalantly as if to say, “Bon, if you will insist on donning that ridiculous running outfit and puffing around in a rather ungainly manner, you can’t expect to not get caught in a couple sticky situations…”

Dodging pillars in the Palais Royal (Multimaniaco)

However, never fear! For the intrepid runner who likes to train on the edge there are still some green(ish) options:

1.) Parc Buttes Chaumont, 19ème (dramatic former quarry ideal for mountain training).

2.) The banks of the Seine (for the romantic culture lover, can include Notre Dame & the Louvre).

3.) La Coulée Verte, 12ème (a city escape along old railway tracks to the Vincennes woods).

Jogging along the Seine (Julie Kertesz)

Related Links:

• Paris Breakfasts has a cute photo-montage post about running in Paris
• HiP Paris friend Lindsey, from Lost in Cheeseland, ran in last year’s La Parisienne race
• Our very own Tory wrote about exercising in Paris – without really trying
• Sion, from Paris Imperfect, shares her Paris gym faux-pas

Written by Victoria Wall for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.

Summer is at last upon us, and with it comes the opportunity to partake in the favorite past time of many Parisians: Le Pique-nique. The possibilities for picnics in Paris are endless -from benches and bridges, to parks and promenades- so when the weather is warm, there are few better ways to wile away the long summer evenings than by gathering some people, bread and wine and picnicking like it’s the last supper. Here are a few places to enjoy the perfect picnic…

Picnicking staples: le vin, le pain, le paté! (Kari Geltemeyer)

The medieval gardens at the Museum of the Middle Ages
The institution of the picnic dates back to medieval Europe, when outdoor feasts were served before hunting, so what better place to have a picnic than where it all began? The medieval-inspired gardens beside the Musée National du Moyen Age, right in the heart of the Latin quarter, offer a tranquil haven from the bustling Boulevard Saint Germain. Split into three sections, the names of the gardens sound like something straight out of King Arthur. Past the ‘carpet of a thousand flowers’ and through the ‘sunken lane’ you come to a courtyard headed by a silver reed fountain. Within lie a quartet of square gardens with period-inspired themes: a medicinal garden, a celestial garden, a vegetable patch and a garden of love. When it comes time to unpack your basket, head beyond the courtyard to the shady glades of the ‘unicorn forest.’ Hidden behind a woven wicker fence, medieval plants like hazel, elder, holly and medlar reign supreme here. Through the ‘forest’ you can even glimpse the ruins of the only remaining Roman baths in Paris.
Musée du Moyen Age. 1 rue de Cluny, Metro: Cluny la Sorbonne (line 10)

Gardens of Cluny museum – Erica Berman

Pont des Arts
The Pont des Arts might as well be renamed the Pont des Pique-niques. This pedestrian bridge stretching out over the Seine from the Louvre is a perfect place for families, friends and couples to gather for an impromptu picnic. You can join them every evening bunched on blankets laid across the wooden slats, and enjoy a candlelit meal as the sun sets behind the Eiffel Tower further down the river. Free of traffic, you can enjoy your picnic to the sound-track of the gentle hum of boats and barges that pass beneath and the the soft ripples of the river lapping the banks below.
Pont Des Arts. Metro: Pont neuf (line 7), Louvre-Rivoli (line 1)

Pont des Arts (JF Gornet)

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
Formed on the site of an old gypsum quarry, the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is the steepest park in Paris. It is well worth the hike up this rocky hill to witness the stunning views of Paris at the summit. Beyond that, a waterfall, lake, caves and a suspension bridge are all waiting to be discovered during leisurely, post-picnic strolling, as well as a playground and puppet shows for the children in the summer.
Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Metro: Buttes Chaumont (line 7 bis), Laumière (line 7)

Parc des Buttes Chaumont (Celine Willard)

Parc de la Villette
Just off the Canal de l’Ourq in the north east of Paris, the Parc de la Villette is a vast grassy expanse, with flat fields perfect for playing games and enjoying the shows and live music performances put on there throughout the summer. During July and August, classic and modern hits are screened (for free!) at the open air cinema on a giant inflatable screen. Ten themed gardens to suit both young and old are spread across the rest of the park, including a fog garden, a mirror garden and a bamboo garden.
Parc de la Villette. Metro: Porte de la Villette (line 7), Porte de Pantin (line 5)

Kari Geltemeyer

Promenade Plantée
The Promenade Plantée, an old viaduct that stretches three miles from the Bastille right out to the Bois de Vincennes, is the longest park in Paris. The promenade runs level with the rooftops of Paris and offers a magical, elevated, almost voyeuristic, view of the city below. On a bench set back from the thoroughfare of joggers and strollers, you can sit and watch the world pass by in absolute peace. Handily enough, the park passes not far from the Marché d’Aligre, one of the city’s most famous produce markets, where visitors can pick up all the picnic essentials: fresh fruit, delicious patés, an array of cheeses and still-warm bread from the countless bakeries in the area.
Promenade Plantée. Metro: Bastille (lines 1, 5, 8), Gare de Lyon (Line 1, 14), Daumesnil (line 8, 6)

Kari Geltemeyer

A few Parisian picnic essentials… What do you take on a picnic?
-Baguette
-Cheese
-Bottle of wine
-Saucisson
-Paté
-fresh fruit
-Blanket and basket (optional)

Related Links:

• Picnic post 1 on HiP Paris. Tory Hoen shares her favorite Paris picnic spots here
• Aside from picnicking, here are some frugal tips for making the most of Paris – from Pret à Voyager
• Here are some top Paris picnic spots from The Guardian
• Or you could get Amelie to hand-make and deliver a picnic to you on the Canal Saint Martin…

Written by Anthony Cuthbertson for the Hip Paris Blog. For our amazing rentals in Paris, Provence & Tuscany check out our website Haven in Paris.

Photo Erica Berman

Text Jen Holup
Open the infamous little red “Plan de Paris” to a map of any arrondissement, and you will be presented with pleasant green shapes on every page.  Full of green spaces to discover, Paris is a veritable urban jungle.

Many of Paris’ parks are well-tred territory, beloved by both locals and tourists alike. Luxembourg Gardens is a welcome rest-stop on a journey through the bustling Latin Quarter to Montparnasse. the Champs de Mars and Jardin des Tuileries offer grandiose promenades among the city’s most impressive monuments.  Yet, more than once, after packing a picnic and a book for an afternoon in the park, I have found one of the endearing “pelouse au repos” signs gracing the lawn, informing me (albeit in the charming French way) that the grass was “resting,” and thus unfit for human contact.  So, where does one retreat for a picnic in the City of Lights while our flora friends recuperate?

Bois de Vincennes: Since Louis XV, these 995 acres have been open to public enjoyment.  The lovely thing about parks in Paris is that they are so much more than a series of well-landscaped paths for an afternoon stroll.  Bois de Vincennes offers distractions for all interests.  This forest on the eastern edge of the city has so much to offer, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it even for a rainy day.  Enter the forest from Porte Dorée (Metro Ligne 8), where you will be greeted by Paris’ only Aquarium.  A short walk away is the Zoo (closed for renovations until 2012), the Cité de l’Histoire de l’Immigration, and a bonafide Buddhist monastery offering courses in meditation, yoga, and Eastern practices several days a week.

During the summer, the Pelouse de Reuilly comes alive with carnival activity.  To truly escape the city for a spell, Vincennes offers two pleasant lakes: Lac Daumesnil and Lac des Minimes.  Bird-watchers will delight in the informative placards identifying (in French) the lakes’ waterfowl.  A trip to the Ferme Georges Villa, a small-scale farm, and a hippodrome.

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont: Truly, the only setback of this unique park is its unfortunate location on the feeble Metro Ligne 7-bis—a 7-stop affair that will likely require at least two transfers from any major hub.  Take a taxi, if you must, but don’t miss this peaceful oasis in the 19th, offering spectacular views of Paris.  Ideal for lounging on a spring or summer day.

Bois de Boulogne: Alighting at the art-deco Metropolitain at Porte Dauphine evokes the early twentieth century Paris of Proust, where gentleman courted ladies along the wooded avenues to Longchamp races or the ritzy suburbs of Neuilly and Boulogne.
(Perfectly safe during daylight hours, but do exercise caution in any public park at night: the area becomes an infamous red-light district after dark).