Things to Do in Paris That Aren't Obvious
It's easy to get Paris wrong. I learned that the hard way on my first morning at Le Marais, where I spent 45 minutes trying to figure out why my croissant was so dense and not flaky. Turns out, I was eating a "croissant au beurre" from a bakery that had just opened—no wonder it was heavy. The real magic happens at 7 a.m. at Boulangerie Poilâne on Rue des Rosiers, where the sourdough is still warm from the oven and the staff knows exactly what you need. I stood there, holding a baguette and a buttery croissant, and the baker handed me a small bag of fresh butter for free. That's Parisian hospitality, not just a tourist trap. For a real taste of the city, skip the Eiffel Tower queues and head to the Seine River for a quiet morning walk. Start at Pont Neuf and follow the river toward Notre-Dame. The sun hits the stone bridges just right around 9 a.m., and the locals are already out for their morning coffee. I sat at a small café on the Left Bank, Le Petit Cercle on Rue...