Restaurant Hours in Paris
We will be in Paris in April. I know that Europeans (and many North Americans) eat dinner later than my family is used to. We usually eat dinner between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. While I expected this to be a problem last year in Rome, it turned out to be a non-issue since most restaurants in Rome were open by 5:00 pm, although mostly tourist, myself included, were eating at this hour.
My question is then: Will there be many restaurants (sans locals) open or should we plan on eating later than we are normally accustomed? No big deal either way, just curious. Thank You Karl |
The major restaurants usually open around 7:30, but you will find many brasseries--and cafés serving full meals--that stay open all day.
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Even 7:30 is considered early. Dine later and it will be nice to enjoy eating with locals around you to get a better feel of Paris.
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Thank you Underhill & Cigalechanta. We are very easy to please and plan to "go with the flow."
We did spend 2 days in Paris a couple years ago but did not have nearly enough time. We have 8 days this time and plan on seeing Paris a little more in depth this time. Karl |
One advantage of being willing to dine early is that you can often get a table. But that only works if the restaurant is open. Aim for dinner no earlier than 8 (preferably 8:30) if you want to eat in a restaurant other than open-all-the-time cafe and want to see some other diners.
Of course, if you eat dinner that late, you can also plan to eat lunch a little later. We've found that is quite easy to find restaurants that are open and still serving lunch around 2:30-3:00 pm. So we've found that we have quite a civilised day on our weekend days off here- breakfast around 9, then sightseeing or shopping, a coffee around 11 or 12, more activities, a late lunch, followed by more activities (or, if wine was involved, heading home for a nap) before going out again at 8:30. If you have a mini-bar in your room, stash a bit of bread and cheese, so that you can have a snack in the late afternoon if you get the munchies. |
One of the advantages of dining early is that the locals aren't there lighting up their cigarettes.
(Hey Mimi! ((F)) ) |
Hi K,
We have found that many good restaurants will allow reservations around 7:30-8:00. The advantage is that you will get a good table, because they expect you to be gone by 9:00, when the lines form. ((I)) |
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