Paris History

Gorgeous delicacies can be found all over Paris, but the most classic of Parisian treats are at their scrumptious best in the places where they were created, or else perfected. The Macaron Macaron biscuits — a blend of almond, sugar and egg whites — have been popular in Europe for centuries; legend has it that […]

Continue Reading

Art Nouveau (“new art”) was an ornamental design movement that flourished in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century. It enjoyed mainstream appeal for only around a decade, but its impact was forceful — it was a direct contrast to, and defiance of, the classicism that had kept Paris aesthetically in line for the […]

Continue Reading

In 1560, a certain Jean Nicot introduced tobacco to Catherine de Medici, raving about its various healing powers. The queen and her court were soon hooked — and the ambassador would go on to be immortalised in the word nicotine. The backstory of tobacco in France has long infused smoking with an air of nobility; […]

Continue Reading

Paris created the concept of the café as well as the restaurant, of fine dining along with the picnic, so it’s little surprise that in this city each type of eatery has come to have a fairly set definition. A brasserie is not a bistrot, for example, and a bar another thing altogether. Some distinctions […]

Continue Reading