So many of my Paris, Perfected clients had trips planned for March, April & May that have had to be postponed. And I myself have had to take a pause on planning any future trips to Paris for myself. It led me to realizing that right now we can use our minds and use technology to escape to France for a bit. I hope you enjoy these ideas of how to virtually visit France – and add a dose of Parisian culture in particular – during this time.
A Francophile’s Guide to Staying Inside
Practice French!
Download Dulingo and up your vocabulary.
Watch some movies set in Paris.
Personal favorites include Funny Face, Sabrina (with Audrey Hepburn), Midnight in Paris and Ratatouille. There are also some Netflix series in French if you’re up for subtitles.
Try your hand at French baking.
Here are five easier French desserts to try if you can get your hands on the ingredients. Or profiteroles which are fun to make with either cream or ice cream! If you have kids consider a toppings bar for them to dress them up with different types of fruit or chocolate or caramel sauce.
Cook French inspired dinners.
How about a classic bistro-style steak? With a side of gougeres! (My friend Taylor makes these often in her tiny NYC kitchen and they are delicious!) Or a decadent lunch of a croque monsieur. Or a classic roast chicken with Provencal spices. Here are even more French classic dish ideas for beginners.
Escape to Paris virtually.
I have a Pinterest board dedicated to Paris if you want some escapism.
Read novels set in Paris.
Personal favorites of mine include The Perfume Collector, Julia Child’s My Life in France and Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast.
Learn how to make the perfect French omelette.
French omelettes are so special but certainly require skill. Here is a recipe to test your skills – the perfect weekend activity!
Explore museums virtually.
Did you know the Louvre has virtual tours of some of the museum? You can also visit Versailles virtually! Same with the Musee D’Orsay.
Do a French wine tasting.
Now is a great time to learn about French wine. Skillshare has introductory wine classes (and you can get two months free by signing up here). Watch some classes and then order (or buy from your local wine store) some French varietals you’re not familiar with and do some tasting at home!
Take in a show.
The Parisian Opera is showing performances on their website if you’d like a dose of performance one evening.
Listen to French-inspired podcasts.
Try The Thing About France, The Earful Tower, The New Paris and French is Beautiful.
Learn how to make a classic French cocktail.
Pour some celebratory drinks to bring some fun to your home. Might I suggest a French 75 or a Kir Royale? I just treated myself to this new book Drinking French and got inspired to stock my bar a bit more so I can experiment making some classic French classics.
Follow some Paris based content creators on Instagram.
I love following David Lebovitz, Pretty Little Paris, Chateau Versailles, La Presque Parisienne, Journey into La Ville Lumiere, See My Paris, Alexandrine_Ar, Paris is My Kitchen, Clangart, Coffee and Seasons, The Francophiles, Daphne Moreau, A Parisian Moment, My Little Paris, Rue Rodier and Paris Je T’aime.
Use French skincare.
You guys know how much I love French skincare products and now is a nice time to test some out. I won’t offer a laundry list but instead thought I’d share a few personal favorites from Caudalie. The SOS moisturizer is holy grail for me and I also like their pore minimizing toner, this detox mask, this body scrub that feels like a spa treatment and of course their cult-status beauty elixir.
Buy something pretty at Sezane.
A favorite French clothing brand that ships to the U.S. and that I recently wrote about in depth here. They’re also donating 10% of proceeds right now to the French hospitals emergency fund.
Listen to a Parisian inspired playlist.
I’ve curated a playlist that brings me so much comfort and joy called Paris is Always a Good Idea. I particularly love listening to it while baking or cooking.
LOVE this – and that black and white photo is stunning. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Liz! Thanks for taking time to let me know!
I love Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence and Hotel Pastis. Both are so charming and atmospheric.
Adding these to my list pronto – merci!!
Thank you, Megan. I’ve been going to Paris a lot over the past few years (lucky combination of work travel and having a friend who now lives there), and I’m missing it terribly. Love all these ideas, and especially love the playlist. I’ll be listening to it all day. Thank you for making my day!
So thrilled to hear it helped transport you, Emily! The playlist brings me such joy and I hope it does for you, too!!
I think I am definitely going to take that Skillshare wine class, hahaha! Sounds like the perfect thing to do to fill our time at home. We have also somewhat jokingly said that we are going to recreate Julie and Julia because we have The Art of French Cooking! Hope you’re hanging in there, Meghan 🙂
xx Libby
https://premedwearspearls.blogspot.com/
Report back if you enjoy it! I think Skillshare is such a wealth of ideas of what to do right now.
What a lovely post. Brightened my day. I am now following all of the Instagram accounts you shared! Checking the recipes next.
Absolutely love hearing this 🙂 Brightened my day to write it!
I loved this post! I’ve never been to Paris, but I’m so inspired by Parisian style and architecture that I’d love to visit one day. Until then, I’ll try some of these tips for creating that sort of experience at home.
I am so glad you enjoyed it and can’t wait for you to visit Paris one day!
Thank you for sharing! The French baking ideas are a great way to help pass time during NYC isolation. I also LOVE the dress you’re wearing in the picture above. Could you share the details?
[…] has managed to make the best of it. She started doing more COVID-safe “travel” content, like ‘A Francophile’s Guide to Staying Inside.’ And just last month, she launched a private membership option for Paris, Perfected fans […]