Over the past year, The Earful Tower podcast has had around 50 guests – many of them experts on Paris. They’ve given tips and secrets, hints and recommendations for everything from restaurants and bars to must-sees and free things to do.
Now, I’ve spent the off-season compiling the best of these tips into one massive Paris guide – organized by arrondissement.
So which is the best restaurant in the 4th? The best bar in the 9th? The top attraction for the Paris expert in the 2nd? It’s all there, with addresses, explanations, and pics. In fact, there are 138 tips to get you started.
The best bit? This page will be updated as new guests give new tips during season 3.
To read the guide, become a member on Patreon at the $5 level and it’s all yours. There are a bunch of other bonuses for those who sign up.
So what’s the guide like? Well, here’s the intro:
The Earful Tower’s Best of Paris (138 tips and counting)
Paris is neatly divided into 20 arrondissements, sometimes referred to districts of municipalities. But whatever you call them, they’re a very handy way to split up your exploration of this city.
But before we get started, you need to know a few little things about these arrondissements. They’re arranged in numerical order, starting in the centre of the city with the 1st, and then spiralling clockwise in a snail-shell formation until number 20. Here’s a map in case I’ve already lost you.
So you see, if you’re staying in the 10th arrondissement, you’re logically surrounded by the 9th and the 11th. But you’re also bordering the 2nd, 3rd, 18th, and 19th. You’re even touching the corner of the 20th, on the eastern point.
Now, of course, you can’t possibly be expected to remember all this, especially not if you’re just visiting. The Parisians fare better, but that’s because their whole life is made up by complicated rules and baffling administration, so they’re very used to it.
Anyway, if you’re a visitor to Paris or indeed if you’re living here, this guide is to help you find the treasures in whichever arrondissement you might find yourself. It features everything from restaurant and bar tips to hidden sites you shouldn’t miss.
This is also an accompaniment to The Earful Tower podcast and is mostly based on the recommendations of experts who’ve been on the show.
All the other tips are either from the host Oliver Gee, or from his guests on the show (as noted). Ready to go? Let’s start at the very beginning, the first arrondissement.