Home > > Paris Food Guide 2024 – First Timers’ Guide to Eating in Paris
by Elisa - Travel Writer & Local in Paris
Paris for Foodies
Some people travel to see historical sites; some go to the beach. Me? I like to travel for food and wine!
During my Paris explorations, I also go in quest for the best food in Paris, and I tell you about my nicest findings in this Paris food guide.
If you are looking for good food, Paris won’t disappoint you. In this Paris foodie guide, you will find my best Paris food tips, where to eat in Paris (restaurant, brasserie, or bistro), the best places to eat in Paris, and what to order. Go on reading this Paris food guide with something for everyone!
Are You Planning a Trip to Paris Last Minute?
If you are booking a last-minute trip to Paris, I’ve got you covered! Below are our must-guides, top tours, hotels, and more:
» Plan:Paris Travel Planner; Paris Arrondissem*nts Guide; Check out thebest Paris Metro tickets for tourists
» Book your flight tickets withOmio;book your train tickets withOmio
Book your transfer from the airport to the city with Welcome Pickups.
» Where to Stay:Best Districts to Stay in Paris
- Le Pavillon de la Reine(historical 5-star hotel in Le Marais)
- Hotel La Comtesse(mid-range hotel with Eiffel Tower view from all the rooms!)
- Hotel Ducs de Bourgogne (super central 4-star hotel near the Louvre)
» Top-Rated Paris Tours & Tickets:
- Louvre Museum Skip-the-Line Ticket
- Eiffel Tower Summit Access Ticket
- Seine River Night Cruise
- Catacombs Skip-the-line tour with VIP access to restricted areas
Want skip-the-line access at museums & attractions in Paris?Get your hands on aParis Museum Pass!
» Don’t leave without travel insurance!Safety Wing works well for long and short trips (starting with a minimum of 5 days). SafetyWing covers COVID-19 for new policies purchased, and unplanned quarantine is covered, too.
Table of Contents:
- Eating in Paris Like a Local
- Best Food in Paris
- Vegan in Paris
- Paris Food Tours
- Wine Tasting in Paris
- Cooking Lessons in Paris
- Best Food Markets in Paris
- Best Food Streets in Paris
- Where to Eat in Paris: Restaurant, Brasserie or Bistro?
- Best Places to Eat in Paris
1. Eating in Paris Like a Local
When talking about a country’s culture, it is impossible not to speak about food. Take part in a cooking class and learn how to make macarons or croissants.Go and visit the city’s markets with local, fresh produce. Enjoy a French apéritif (and some planches of cheese and cold cuts) with your friends. Have fun at any of theFrench food festivals in Paris. Eat street food and dine in local restaurants. Eat Like a Local!
When planning your trip to Paris, be sure to learn about French food and the best places to eat in Paris like a local. If you’re not trying the Paris food, you are far from getting to know the culture.
2. Best Food in Paris
Here is the list of the most famous foods in Paris: from typical food in Paris to delicious cheap eats or traditional Paris cakes, there is something for every taste!
- Baguette – Here are the best baguettes in Paris
- Café & Croissant – Learn how to order coffee in France
- Jambon-beurre – also called “Parisien”
- Croque-monsieur – or croque-madame
- Steak-Frites
- Onion Soup
- Duck confit
- Crêpes
- Oysters
- Raw Milk Cheese
- Saint-Honoré
- Café Gourmand
Read more
3. Vegan in Paris
In 2024,Pariswas highlighted as one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the world, with a 13% increase in vegan restaurants! Today, the city boasts 90 vegan restaurants and over 1,000 vegan-friendly spots.
From delicious plant-based versions ofFrench classicsto ‘veganized’ international cuisines, you will be in for a treat by eating in a vegan restaurant in Paris! Here are the best all-vegan restaurants in Paris for all budgets.
4. Paris Food Tours
Food tours are a great way to discover a specific neighborhood or Arrondissem*nt of Paris while tasting delicious food.
Food tours in Paris usually last 3 to 4 hours and combine walking & sightseeing with gourmet breaks, so you get the best of both worlds.
Sometimes, these Paris food tours include a visit to a local market or a gourmet store so you can see what’s on Parisians’ shopping baskets in every season.
The most popular food tours in Paris are cheese tours and French pastry tours, but Paris chocolate walks are also very requested (check out this self-guided Paris chocolate tour in Le Marais).
FOODIES GUIDE TO PARIS’ BEST FOOD TOURS
- Le Marais Walking Food Tour. Duration 3.5 hrs
- Walking Food Tour in Montmartre. Duration 3 to 3.5 hours
- Saint-Germain Sweet and Savory Food Tour. Duration 3 hours
- Gourmet Tour in the Latin Quarter. Duration 3 hours
- Canal Saint-Martin Food Tour. Duration 3 hours
- The Best of Paris Original Food Tour. Duration 3 hrs
- Saint-Germain Chocolate, Pastry, and Macaron Food Tour. Duration 3 hours
- The Aligre Market Food Tour. Duration 2 hours
- Suck & Savor Oysters with Wine Pairings. Duration
- Parisian Bakery Behind the Scenes Tour. Duration 2 hours
5. Wine Tasting in Paris
Amongst all French drinks, wine is the star in Paris; the wine regions of France produce between 7 and 8 billion bottles of wine per year!
Wine-tasting tours in Paris are a great way to start a memorable night in Paris. More than ever, people want to know more about French wine and the best wine regions in France.
Wine-tasting tours in Paris are usually led by a professional sommelier who can answer all your questions about wine in France during the wine tasting. Some wine tours are more pedagogical, where you learn about the grapes, soil, the best wine regions in France, and wine-tasting techniques. Other tours, instead, are more focused on tasting the best French wines from different wine regions.
Wines are usually paired with gastronomic specialties or typical Parisian food, like cheese or cold cuts. Remember that in France, cheese is neither an entry nor a dessert; cheese is just cheese!
From Paris, you can visit some of the best wine regions of France on day trips or guided day tours with tastings. Check it out!
TIP: Want to ensure your wine makes it home?Find the best wine bags for travel.
A good introduction to French Wine
FOODIE GUIDE TO PARIS’ BEST WINE TOURS
- Grand Cru Wine Tasting Session in Paris. Duration 2 hours
- Les Caves du Louvre: tour of the royal cellars with tastings. Duration 1.5 hours
- Ô Château’s Wine Tasting Class with a Professional Sommelier. Duration 2 hours
- Wine and Cheese Tasting Masterclass. Duration 2 hours
- Private Wine and Chocolate Tasting. Duration 2 hours
TIP: Always store your wines at the right temperature; check out this small wine coolers review
6. Cooking Class in Paris
Cooking lessons are also a great way to learn about delicious food in Paris while having fun. The finished product is one thing, but you truly get an appreciation of a certain type of cuisine when you see where the ingredients come from and how the food is prepared.
Cooking lessons help immerse yourself in the local culture and are also a great way to connect with other foodies in Paris. Add a Paris cooking class to improve your cooking skills and learn how to prepare the best traditional food in Paris.
FOODIES GUIDE TO PARIS’ BEST COOKING CLASSES
- Chocolate-making workshop. Duration 45 minutes
- Macaron class at Galeries Lafayette. Duration 1.5 hours
- Bread and croissant making class in Paris. Duration 2 hours
- French pastry cooking class. Duration 2.5 hours
- Choux pastry and French éclair cooking class. Duration 2.5 hours
7. Best Food Markets in Paris
This Paris food guide would not be complete without the markets of Paris. Paris has numerous food markets selling fresh, locally produced food.
Food Markets in Paris are foodies’ paradise! Parisian markets (marchés in French) can be found in all the districts of Paris, anda visit to a local market alone or with a guided tour can be one of the best local experiences in Paris.
Some Parisian markets, like le Marché des Enfants Rouges, also host small eateries where you can eat lunch or a second breakfast for a small price.
FOOD GUIDE TO PARIS’ BEST FOOD MARKETS
- Marché des Enfants Rouges, in Paris 3
- Marché Mouffetard, in Paris 5
- Marché Bastille, in Paris 11
- Marché d’Aligre, in Paris 12
- Marché Président Wilson, in Paris 16
8. Best Food Streets in Paris
In addition to restaurants and markets, the French capital boasts a myriad of colorful food streets populated with typical Parisian cafés, food stalls, and gourmet shops.
If you’re in the mood to shop and snack at the same time, add a couple of these streets to your Paris bucket list; these streets are still a hub for food lovers in Paris.
FOODIE GUIDE TO PARIS’ BEST FOOD STREETS
- Les Halles, in Paris 1
- Rue Montorgueil, in Paris 1 – 2
- Rue Saint-Anne, in Paris 1 – 2
- Rue des Rosiers, in Paris 4
- Rue Saint-Antoine, in Paris 4
- Rue Mouffetard, in Paris 5
- Rue du Bac, in Paris 7
- Rue Saint-Dominique, in Paris 7
- Rue Cler, in Paris 7
- Rue des Martyrs, in Paris 9 – 18
- Rue Daguerre, in Paris 14
- Rue de Lévis, in Paris 17
9. Where to Eat in Paris: Restaurant, Brasserie, or Bistro?
Where to eat in Paris, France? French cuisine sounds fancy, but in the end, food in Paris is all about quality – fresh produce andcreating a harmonious dish that elevates the quality of the main ingredient.
The City of Lights boasts over 70Michelin-starred restaurants, but eating in Paris is not all about expensive restaurants: there are still good places in Paris for foodies with lower budgets.
Brasserie, or bistro: Where to eat in Paris?
Both places serve typical French cuisine. Bistros are usually pretty casual neighborhood restaurants, with a limited offer and specific opening hours for lunch and dinner. Bistros are good places to find local dishes and the best desserts in Paris. The brasseries, instead, are bigger spaces, serve throughout the day until late at night, and have a larger menu.
Traditionally, a Parisian bistro was a low-key place to eat, but nowadays, you can also find trendy or upscale Parisian bistros based on the concept of “‘bistronomie.”
A contraction of “Bistro” and “Gastronomie,” the termbistronomie combines the cuisine worthy of great chefs with the affordable prices of a bistro. You can read more about this topic in my e-book about the Parisian bistros, which comes with a list of the best bistros in Paris by Arrondissem*nt.
10. Best Places to Eat in Paris
Where to eat in Paris? In a city like Paris, you will be spoilt for choice! This food guide Paris links to our lists of the best restaurants in Paris listed by district, category, or type of food.
FOOD GUIDE TO PARIS’ BEST RESTAURANTS (BY DISTRICT)
We are gathering lists of the coolest restaurants in Paris right now:
- Most Romantic Restaurants in Paris
- Best Restaurants in Le Marais
- Best All-Vegan Restaurants in Paris
- Best Restaurants in Paris 3
- Best Restaurants in Paris 5
- Best Restaurants in Paris 7
- Best Restaurants in Montmartre
- Work in progress…
TIP: Paris is one of the best cities in Europe for being gluten-free if you know the right places to go. Check out this quick guide to Gluten-Free in Paris.
Read more about food and drink in Paris
Back to Homepage
Pin it now and read it later
Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you make a purchase through my links. It costs you nothing more (in fact, if anything, you’ll get a nice discount) but helps me to go on creating incredible Paris content for you. I trust all products promoted here and would never recommend a product that isn’t of value. World in Paris is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no expense to you.
