- 2 days ago
Today, entrepreneur and CEO of Plume, Laurianne Melierre, audits some of the internet’s most recommended destinations in Paris, and weighs in on whether there are other spots people should try instead. Where can you eat Paris’ best pastry? Which museum should you visit first? Laurianne shares her guide to experiencing Paris like a local.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00The internet might tell you to queue for the Eiffel Tower,
00:02but I'm taking you somewhere better.
00:04Hi, I'm Lauriane Molière, Paris local and travel expert.
00:07Come along to experience my city.
00:18Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
00:21This is the city that I keep falling in love over and over again.
00:25This city has some of the most incredible sights ever.
00:29So let's see what the internet says we should see first.
00:32I don't even have to look at it because...
00:34The Eiffel Tower.
00:35Of course, the Eiffel Tower is iconic.
00:37Who would doubt that?
00:39But the Seine, the river, is the soul of the city.
00:42This is the best way to discover Paris and see some of the most beautiful monuments.
00:47An overview of the Eiffel Tower, you can see the Pont des Arts,
00:50you can see the Pont Alexandre III just by walking or cycling.
00:53And as a cyclist enthusiast, I'm so happy
00:56that the Quetzin is now pedestrianised.
00:59No cars allowed.
01:00You see people riding a bike, running, jogging.
01:03You see people falling in love, kissing each other, holding hands.
01:06This is the life of Paris.
01:09Sometimes some people visiting Paris ask me
01:11if it's okay to take selfies on the Eiffel Tower.
01:14My answer is you do you.
01:16No Parisian will ever go to the Eiffel Tower anyway.
01:19We were there when we were 10, we visited the place, we're done.
01:27Paris isn't just a city with museums.
01:29It is a living museum.
01:32So let's see what the internet says we should go to.
01:35Okay, I don't even have to look this up
01:37since we all know that internet says to go to Le Louvre.
01:42Of course, Le Louvre is the most visited museum in the world.
01:46But if you want to try something off the beaten path, Bourse de commerce is my go-to.
01:51The museum opened in 2021.
01:54But this building has been around for more than five centuries.
01:57It used to be a grain exchange and then a communities market.
02:02And it's now a cultural landmark.
02:04If you're hearing something, this is right.
02:07This is the main exhibition.
02:09The artist is called Celeste Boursier-Mougenot.
02:12The sound becomes something that is part of the art and part of the experience.
02:17So it's not just noise, it's something to reflect on.
02:20To be honest, the space itself is a work of art.
02:24It's bold, it's grand, and it's always inspiring.
02:28So when you come to Bourse de commerce, clearly what happens under the rotunda
02:33is always so spectacular, unexpected, sometimes a bit weird or confusing.
02:39Because art isn't always meant to be comfortable.
02:45You never know what is going to come up in the next room.
02:48You walk around and you discover some art.
02:51And then you push a door and you discover some more art.
02:54Just like these ones.
02:56It's part of this new exhibition called Cors et âmes.
02:59It means bodies and soul.
03:02I really have the impression that I have real people with me.
03:06I don't know if I can approach them.
03:09And I think this is exactly what you want to feel when you come to
03:12La Bourse de Commerce.
03:13It's this surprise.
03:15You never know what you're going to see.
03:16So here you have photography.
03:18Drawings, sculptures, paintings.
03:21It's so diverse.
03:23It really makes you more curious.
03:26When I come to Bourse de commerce, I never leave the space exhausted or drained.
03:31I feel rejuvenated.
03:33I want to know more.
03:37But my little secret is this artwork.
03:40The mouse plays hide and seek with you.
03:43To me, it's a great example of how Francois Pinot sees art.
03:48Like it's supposed to be playful.
03:50It's supposed to be lively.
03:51If you come here, please text me and tell me if you found the mouse.
04:00To Parisians and to French people in general, lunch is sacred.
04:05Like you can't spend less than an hour eating for lunch.
04:09Let's see what the internet has to say about where to go.
04:12Okay, so the internet says to go to a bouillon.
04:16Of course, why not?
04:17It's charming.
04:18It's cheap.
04:18It's rooted in tradition.
04:21But maybe you can skip the touristic areas and go to where Parisians actually live.
04:28And to me, a good example would be Clamato.
04:30So Clamato opened in 2014.
04:32Long enough to say it's a Parisian's temple.
04:36They only serve seafood-based dishes.
04:39So you have fresh seafood from Brittany or Normandy.
04:45It's always very local, very seasonal.
04:48The most difficult part is to choose.
04:51I'm a seafood addict, so maybe we can order a Clamato Michelada.
04:58It's a mix of beer, mescal, tomato juice and Tabasco.
05:02Because it's lunch, but why not?
05:04I already feel better.
05:09Okay, so let's try this.
05:14That is just spicy enough.
05:17It's juicy.
05:19Like my mouth is watering.
05:20It's also because I'm starving.
05:22It's calling for a nap afterwards.
05:27The smell of a very good piece of bread.
05:29It's a bit acidic.
05:30You can smell the sourdough.
05:34I feel guilty having so much pleasure into mayonnaise, but on another level.
05:44Here's the grilled octopus with arroz blanco and fig leaf olive oil.
05:48Underneath lies a surprise.
05:51The surprise being the harissa, the spicy sauce.
05:54I'm going to try to make it a little bit better.
06:02To recognize a very good product, the texture needs to be present.
06:06The flavor needs to develop in your palate.
06:10This dish is called Aioli.
06:12It's Provincial language.
06:15It's really a mix of seafood and vegetables.
06:18You always have the eggs, salted eggs.
06:21You have cabbage.
06:22You have white fish.
06:25And the bulo.
06:26In English, you would say sea snail.
06:29And for the sea snail, take a pig and you take it out.
06:37Dip it in the sauce.
06:38Yes, yes, yes.
06:49With bakeries on every corner, Paris is definitely pastry heaven.
06:54I'm sure the internet will point you to the best macarons and croissants in the city,
06:57but for a chocolate fix that is truly unforgettable, let's head to Plaque.
07:01It's not just a shop, it's also a factory.
07:16We call it a manufacture atelier.
07:18It makes it so special to know that the chocolate you're going to buy is made here.
07:24Not just somewhere in France, not just somewhere in Europe.
07:27It's made here in Paris, rue du Nil, between the 2nd and the 10th arrondissement.
07:32It's so fun because in France, we have this Petit Ecolier that we can buy in any grocery store.
07:40Something that you eat after school and they remade the Petit Ecolier, but the Plaque way.
07:46Once in a while having this, I think it's really, it brings back memories.
07:50Plaque is not your typical Parisian spot and still it is so ingrained in the life of the neighborhood.
07:57My favorite treat here, of course, there is the Plaque.
08:00So it's just pure chocolate and sugar.
08:03But I like to come and have not a hot chocolate, but a cold chocolate.
08:09And it's not mixed with milk as we normally do, it's mixed with water.
08:15So you really have the smell and the flavor of pure chocolate.
08:19And Sandra, the co-founder, just told me that actually some people have a shot of this every day
08:25and they can't live without it.
08:28And I understand why.
08:37Shopping in Paris is serious business.
08:40And I'm sure that if you look up into the internet, you're going to find plenty and plenty of
08:45recommendations from fashion places to souvenir shops.
08:49But my recommendation is La Grande Épicerie.
08:52It's not just a shop.
08:54It's a food institution.
08:56To me, this is really the Disneyland of food.
08:59When I come here, I'm always so excited.
09:03Because you have everything you ever dreamed of in terms of food in one place.
09:09Chestnut spread is very French.
09:12You can put it on crêpes.
09:13You can just take it directly.
09:18This brand, Augier, is one of the oldest.
09:21It says 1885.
09:24It's always sold out.
09:25In Japan, chestnut spread is very popular, especially in pastries, but very expensive,
09:31which is the opposite in France.
09:33It's very popular, but quite cheap.
09:36Some lucky locals actually buy all of their food here.
09:40But as it's a bit pricey, this is not what the regular customer does.
09:45The way they source the product is very, it's handmade.
09:51You don't have to have a big production line to be featured in La Grande Épicerie.
09:54You just have to have an amazing and outstanding product.
09:58So Christine Ferber is here.
10:00And I can't think of any other place where you can find this range of jams.
10:06Here's the cultural cheat codes.
10:08You can't really start a French apéro if you don't have chips.
10:12My favorites are breads.
10:14It's made in Brittany.
10:15And you have all of these beautiful flavors,
10:18like bleu d'auvergne or jura cheese and pesto mozzarella.
10:23So really try a few and tell me about it.
10:27Some people find it weird and I find it delicious.
10:30Snails, a French delicacy.
10:32Usually I take it and I put it to freeze.
10:35And so when people come over, I can just put that in my oven and it's ready in minutes.
10:42And the whole point is to have the best bread possible,
10:45people to take the butter and eat the garlicky butter.
10:49And speaking about butter, I think we're approaching the Hot Isle.
10:54The one that people keep coming and coming over for.
10:57One of the most famous butter house is Beurre Bordier, Maison Bordier.
11:03They are located in Brittany.
11:05You can have the normal milk, like just salted milk.
11:09But you also have all of these beautiful flavored butter,
11:14from vanilla to olive oil with lime, yuzu, raspberry.
11:22This is a new one.
11:23In Paris, every building feels like a work of art.
11:35Beautiful, timeless and full of character.
11:38So let's see what the internet says we should be looking at.
11:41Notre Dame de Paris, yes.
11:44Of course, everyone knows the beauty of Notre Dame,
11:46especially since it's reopened.
11:49But I think I should take you maybe somewhere else.
11:51As a writer, this is a place that is so close to my heart.
11:55This is the BNF Richelieu site.
11:57BNF stands for Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
12:00So the building itself is a blend of different architectures,
12:06eras, but also influences.
12:10And we are now in the Oval Room,
12:13which used to be a study room, like a reading room.
12:16And since the reopening in 2022, it's completely accessible to the public.
12:22You have more than 20,000 books and more than 10,000 comic books.
12:28There is no hierarchy between culture.
12:32So a comic book is at the same level than a Flaubert manuscript,
12:36because it's really the interest of the researchers and of the people
12:42that gives a document its meaning.
12:44And when a document enters this space,
12:47it doesn't have any commercial value anymore.
12:50It won't be sold anymore.
12:53And so it's just a new piece of culture,
12:57a story, a testimony of the time that is accessible to people.
13:02If you look up, you'll notice some city names like Rome, Carthage, Thebes, Vienna.
13:09All these cities symbolize the fact that culture has no borders.
13:14And I like seeing this around, like, of course, Paris is a cultural place,
13:20but culture can be found anywhere in the world.
13:27Paris is all about the art of living.
13:31Of course, we work and we work hard,
13:33but we work in order to afford a lifestyle and be comfortable.
13:38Just working without pleasure doesn't mean anything.
13:42Aperitif is very important in our culture.
13:45It starts around, I would say, 6 p.m.
13:48It's the end of the day and you're just a bit more relaxed.
13:52Okay, let's see where the internet thinks we should go for a drink.
13:57Not too bad.
13:58I go to Harry's Bar.
14:00My suggestion would be to go to Frequence.
14:03It's still in the heart of the 11th arrondissement.
14:05It's independent.
14:06It's small.
14:07I like the vibe.
14:08It's full of locals.
14:10You will blend perfectly, just like their cocktails.
14:13We are at Frequence.
14:14It means frequency.
14:15Of course, it's related to music because here we play music analog with vinyls.
14:20To describe the atmosphere, I think it looks like this painting.
14:25It's crowded, full of people, dancing, chatting.
14:30You touch a shoulder.
14:31You touch an elbow.
14:33You order a drink.
14:34You see this old friend that you didn't see for a while.
14:37And you chat and you dance.
14:39And all of a sudden, it's two in the morning and they're closing.
14:42And you're like, wow, I had the best evening.
14:44Cheers.
14:45Sophie.
14:45It tastes like danger.
14:52These were my favorite places in Paris.
14:54I hope you enjoyed it as well.
14:56Please leave a comment to tell me about your favorite places or ping me to debate.
15:01To theigans.
15:02depart Diseases the Dark
15:05to the Damage
15:07button
15:08You know
15:10You can hit the
15:15point
15:17Over finished
15:18the
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