The Perfect Parisian Cafe

There were a lot of reasons I chose to study abroad in Paris and I would be lying if I said that pastry was not one of them. During my time abroad I made a point of visiting every cafe on Rue Daguerre, the street where I took classes. There are a variety of different shops and markets on the street so I was spoiled for choice for my morning pain-au-chocolate. Throughout my time in Paris I conducted serious research on the qualities of a perfect Parisian boulangerie (bakery), here are my findings:

The best places always have a cat. If you’ve just entered a bakery and you see a sort of scrappy looking cat wandering in and out consider it a good omen. In terms of ambiance, I would say if the weather allows, sitting outside is essential to the cafe experience. Paris is home to world-renowned people watching and sitting outside allows you to participate in the time-honored French tradition of judging strangers. You also have a great chance to watch the flow of the city, it’s a great moment notice architecture, cars, and fashion on the street. Those are things you might think are more or less the same everywhere, but I’ve found that to be pretty revealing and it tends to stick with you when you look back on your memories of a place. 

Obviously, an important part of a cafe is the food. Pastry in Paris is made fresh daily on site, if you have really good timing you can sometimes get fresh out of the oven pastry which is a whole new level of heavenly. One warm pain-au-chocolate can turn your whole day around.  A good pastry needs to have the right mixture of flakiness and soft bready texture. I have to confess I’ve become a little bit of a pastry snob, I’m not sure if I can go back to eating those Pillsbury croissants that come in a tube, I’ve been spoiled. The level of quality and accessibility of bread is one of the things I’ll miss most when I go home. 

In the end though, coming to a cafe isn’t just about the food or the atmosphere, it’s about having a third space, somewhere that isn’t home or school that you can exist for a while and care for yourself. Having something like that is so important when you’re abroad and adjusting to a new place. Rewarding yourself with a coffee or a snack after a long day genuinely really helps improve your mood. Cafes are also a great place to talk to new people, I would often run into people in my classes at the cafe next to the IES Abroad center and I’d have a chance to talk with them outside of class. It’s a great casual way to get to know new friends. In many ways Paris was not what I expected, but the food definitely exceeded my expectations and it’s something I really associate with my sense of home here. Even when I’m back home, every time I put sugar in my coffee I’ll remember my time in Paris.