Inside the Secret Workshop of the Louvre

In a vast warehouse at the edge of Paris, artisans are working around the clock on a clandestine operation entrusted to them by the Louvre: recreating France’s most iconic sculptures and prints for mysterious clients the world over. And unbeknownst to most of Paris, its doors are open to anyone curious enough to come knocking.…

Olympia Le-Tan transformed “Don’t be a Tourist” Books into Clutch Bags!

As an author and purveyor of curiosities, if there was ever a collaboration to be had, this was always it! So it is with great honour that we reveal the Olympia Le-Tan x Don’t be a Tourist Limited Edition embroidered Clutch bags. Please enjoy my mini movie dedicated to the collection:

A Pocket Guide to Conker Season in Paris

In the mood for something cozy for fall in Paris? Think quaint bee houses in the Luxembourg Gardens, or a stroll through Paris’ accidental gingerbread house street. Think “cottagecore”. Fun fact: 31% of France is actually covered by forests, and that percentage grows by 0.7% every year. So we humbly ask: is there a better…

5 Ways to Fake an Endless Summer in Paris

Summer is over. The angry clouds over Nôtre Dame make it look too sinister, Sunday strolls in Montmartre are more melancholy in dreary weather and the rain-soaked gravel in the Tuileries does no favours for your shoes. It’s not exactly the makings of a picture perfect Paris. But if like me, you’re a little stubborn…

The Not-So-Lost World of the Parisian Salon

Once upon a time, in a pre-smartphone world, people had to make their own entertainment. And so enters the salon, an Italian-influenced tradition of gathering of artists, writers, musicians, dancers, philosophers and intelligencia that flourished during a period known as the ‘age of conversation’. Dating back to the 17th century, guests would assemble in the…

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The Messy Nessy Chic Paris Hotel Guide

I embarked on an off-beat hotel trail and wandered the cobbled streets of the city in search of alluring homes away from home in Paris. I suppose this little guide might also come in handy from now on when I’m asked, “Can you suggest a charming and inexpensive hotel in Paris?”. For budgets of all kinds, this…

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Revisiting a Podcast: “Americans in Paris”

If you’ve ever lived in Paris or had notions of living in or travelling to Paris, a twenty year-old podcast episode from This American Life is essential listening. For the program’s 25th anniversary, producers dug up the episode for rediscovery, and as the author of book called Don’t be a Tourist in Paris, the podcast…

Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, a Little Shop in Paris

I came across the space by chance (or we can call it fate). My children play in the little public garden that faces the shopfront and I’ve always been drawn to its window because it was one of the rare galleries left in Paris where an artist paints and sells his own work. I once…

Inside the Time Capsule Fencing Club of Paris

I had been curious about what was behind the door of No. 6 Rue Gît-le-Cœur in Saint Germain for quite a while before I decided to Google it, half expecting to be disappointed by news that it no longer existed. To my surprise, a kind voice picked up at the other end of the telephone line. “Yes…

Searching for a Lost Wine Village in Paris

Parisians often talk about the great travesty that was the loss of Les Halles, a legendary food market in the heart of Paris, fondly referred to as “the belly of Paris”, a seemingly indestructible monument to the great tradition of French markets. It was demolished in 1971 and the hub of all food distribution in the city…