The Only Lines Parisians Will Wait In
The Only Lines Parisians Will Wait In — Full Guide
1. GoodNews Coffee ☕️ 📍 24 Rue du 4 Septembre, 75002 Paris (Opéra / 2nd arrondissement) 🕐 Best before 9am on weekdays to catch the commuter crowd 🗺 Google Maps: https://maps.google.com/?q=24+Rue+du+4+Septembre+75002+Paris 📱 Instagram: @goodnews (verify handle before posting — there are multiple brands using similar names) 🌐 goodnews.coffee The to-go coffee move that Parisians have actually adopted. Paris doesn't do to-go coffee — except here, because it sits at a commuter metro.
2. The 4pm Bake (any good boulangerie) 🥖 🕐 Arrive between 4-5pm when the second bake comes out ℹ️ The word "boulangerie" is protected by French law (1998 decree). If it's on the sign, the bread was made there from scratch. Don't buy bread anywhere that calls itself a "dépôt de pain" or "point chaud." Some favorites to research: Du Pain et des Idées (10th), Poilâne (6th), Utopie (11th), or any boulangerie you pass in a residential neighborhood.
3. Lulu Crêperie 🧈 📍 Marché des Enfants Rouges, 39 Rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris (3rd arrondissement — oldest covered market in Paris, dating to 1615) 🕐 Market hours vary by vendor; Lulu typically open lunch + early dinner 📱 Instagram: @lulu.creperie 🗺 Google Maps: https://maps.google.com/?q=Marché+des+Enfants+Rouges+Paris The move: Lulu has no seats. Order the crêpe, walk it to a café table inside the market, order a glass of wine. The café won't mind the food isn't theirs — that's how the market works.
4. Polène 👜 📍 Le Bon Marché, 24 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris (ground floor, entrance at Rue du Bac / Rue de Babylone intersection) 🕐 Monday-Saturday 10am-7:45pm, Sunday 11am-7:45pm 📱 Instagram: @polene_paris 🌐 polene-paris.com Other Paris locations: Polène Richelieu (69 Rue de Richelieu, 2nd) and Polène Champs-Élysées (2 Rond Point des Champs-Élysées). Meaningfully cheaper in Paris than the US (factor in VAT refund). Still independent, still family-run, leather crafted in Ubrique, Spain.
5. Galerie Dior 👗 📍 Visitor entrance: 11 Rue François Ier, 75008 Paris (building also addressed as 30 Avenue Montaigne) 🕐 Open daily 11am-7pm (last entry 5:30pm). Closed Tuesdays. 💰 €16 full price, €12 reduced 🎫 Book in advance: https://www.galeriedior.com/en 📱 Instagram: @diorofficial Tickets sell out — book early, especially during fashion weeks. The exhibits rotate, so it's worth revisiting. Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Line 1 or 9) or Alma-Marceau (Line 9).
6. Fotoautomat Montmartre 📸 📍 53 Rue des Trois Frères, 75018 Paris (Montmartre / 18th arrondissement) 🕐 Open daily, roughly 8:30am-11pm 💰 €6 for 4 black-and-white photos (coins or contactless card — no change given) 🚇 Metro: Abbesses (Line 12) 📱 Instagram: @fotoautomat_france 🌐 fotoautomat.fr Steps from the fruit shop made famous by Amélie. Four minutes to develop, slightly damp when they print — let them dry. Other Fotoautomat locations exist in Paris (Samaritaine, Galeries Lafayette, Bonton, Parc des Buttes Chaumont) but Montmartre is the original.
7. Chez Janou 🍽 📍 2 Rue Roger Verlomme, 75003 Paris (3rd arrondissement, near Place des Vosges) 🕐 Open daily, lunch and dinner 📞 Reservations essential: +33 1 42 72 28 41 📱 Instagram: @chezjanou 🌐 chezjanou.com Provençal bistro. Rude waiters, cramped tables, handwritten French-only menu. And bottomless chocolate mousse — yes, really. They'll leave the bowl.
8. Bar Hemingway at The Ritz 🌹 📍 The Ritz Paris, 15 Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris (1st arrondissement) 🕐 Tuesday-Saturday, opens 6pm — get there by 5:45pm ⚠️ No reservations. 25 seats. First come, first seated. 💰 Cocktails €32+ 📱 Instagram: @ritzparis 🌐 ritzparis.com/en-GB/dining/bar-hemingway The move: don't order off the menu. Talk to Colin Field, the head bartender (a legend — he's been called the world's best bartender by multiple publications). Tell him your mood. He'll invent something. If you're a woman, he hands you a rose.