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Live Like a Local In Paris

Choose a neighbourhood and immerse yourself in the day-to-day life of the city.

By Gareth JohnsonPublished 7 years ago 3 min read
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Paris, France (image: Pixabay)

On my first few visits to Paris I only ever stayed in hotels — usually in the Opera district, and then amidst the nightlife of Le Marais. Whatever your budget, a good hotel in a great location is the perfect introduction to this vibrant and beautiful city – enabling you to see the sights, test your language skills, and get a feel for how everything works.

Having built a bit of confidence in my knowledge of the city and how to get around, these days when I visit Paris I always rent an apartment.

There seems to be a huge range of apartments in Paris available for private rental. Often it is the pied-à-terre – a small city apartment that a family might own to give them a Paris base, while their main home is somewhere else completely.

The Parisians seem particularly relaxed about renting out their apartments through private rentals – they were doing it long before Airbnb. I've tried a number of different rental services and never had any issues – probably my favourite is the agency called One Fine Stay.

On my most recent visit I was travelling with a couple of friends and we opted for an apartment in the République neighbourhood – not an area that I’d stayed in before but it’s a great central location.

The Place de la République has always played an important role in the life of Paris. A surprisingly large space, it was shaped by the city design of Baron Hausmann (who demolished most of the old theatres that occupied this area). The enormous bronze statue that dominates the square was designed by brothers Leopold and Charles Morice, unveiled in 1883.

The Place de la République has become an important meeting or rallying point for the citizens of the city — it was here that Parisians came to demonstrate their solidarity with the murdered Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, and political and protest slogans constantly adorn the bronze statue.

Travelling from London to Paris is a breeze — we caught the Eurostar from London’s St Pancras station and in no time were disembarking at Gare du Nord in the centre of Paris. The Paris Metro system is easy to navigate — you can buy tickets at St Pancras before leaving London. It was just a couple of stops from Gare du Nord to République and then just a short walk to the address of our apartment.

Waiting to greet us at the apartment was a representative from the rental agency. It was a professional, efficient service, and the apartment was better than we had hoped.

Our weekend was spent walking along the canals of République, eating in local restaurants, and shopping in local shops. We grabbed groceries from the small supermarket on the corner, and picked up big bunches of pink peonies from the florist at the end of the street.

We jumped on hire bikes, and explored the neighbourhood. We discovered local bars and cafes that were miles away from the usual tourist traps that are often hard to avoid.

Paris is a beautiful city and there is an enormous amount to see, but if you have the time it can be a lot more rewarding to simply immerse yourself in its day-to-day life, to get under the skin of the place, to try your best to live like a local.

I love the French language, but unfortunately my complete inability to speak or understand French makes it instantly clear to everyone that I'm not a local. However, despite their reputation as being a bit aloof and unwelcoming, most Parisians seemed fairly understanding and patient as I struggled to string a few basic words together.

By the end of the weekend we felt like we were almost living in Paris, and that République was a neighbourhood where we belonged. It was hard to leave, hard to say goodbye, already making plans for our return.

travel advicetravel tipseurope
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About the Creator

Gareth Johnson

A non-smoker who loves to laugh... (and binge on travel, food, movies, fashion, and theatre...). Find me on Twitter @gtvlondon

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