Paris has been written about so many times that it can feel like you already know it before you arrive. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Seine, all real, all worth it, but also just the surface. Bea has lived here for 25 years, and her Tourizzy tour, Paris in my Pocket, is built around a different idea - show the city the way a Parisian actually experiences it, not the way a tourist itinerary tells you to.
That means the Champ de Mars not as a backdrop for Eiffel Tower photos, but as the giant green park Parisians actually use, for picnics, summer concerts, and on the 14th of July, fireworks that light up the whole sky above the tower with 10,000 people on the grass below. It means knowing which bakery on Avenue Mozart in the 16th arrondissement makes a hazelnut squirrel cake worth a detour, and that Rue de Passy nearby is where locals shop without a tourist in sight.
It means the Sunday market under the Metro at Motte Piquet, which goes on and on with fresh produce, flowers, cheese and seafood - open from 7am, done by 1pm, and mostly unknown to visitors.
The Shortcuts Only Locals Know
Bea’s Paris is also a city of long-standing institutions. Café de Commerce in the 15th has been serving classic French food since 1921 - onion soup, escargot, steak from Normandy, baba au rhum, with waiters who are, genuinely, usually in a good mood. La Coupole in Montparnasse opened in 1927 and once drew Jean Cocteau, Man Ray and Josephine Baker to its Art Deco dining room. Café Verlet on Rue Saint-Honoré has been roasting its own coffee since 1880 and remains almost entirely unmarketed, which is exactly why it’s never crowded.
There are practical tips too. The trick to seeing the newly renovated Notre Dame without queuing is to attend the midday mass - you walk straight in. The rooftop terrace of Galerie Lafayette is free, open to anyone, and offers one of the best panoramic views of the city.
The Musée Carnavalet in the Marais tells the entire history of Paris across 3,800 works and has free entry. And the Brocante, the travelling street antique market, moves between districts on weekends, full of furniture, jewellery, vintage clothing and African craft sellers, all open to bargaining.
Paris is a city that rewards people who pay attention. Bea’s been paying attention for 25 years. Paris was featured on Tourizzy by Bea, a local who has lived in Paris for over 25 years.
