During the hiatus, visit Paris in August

“When my brother and I decided to move apartments for four days in the summer, I made the mistake of doing it in mid-August.” Immediately a London journalist announces on the sides Daily telegram. In the middle of summer, here he landed in Paris, near the Canal Saint-Martin, ready to explore the capital’s fairs and discover good restaurants.

My brother’s predictions that most of the establishments have closed down may ring a bell. “Being a big sister who knew everything better than anyone else, I was convinced my brother was wrong until I started calling the restaurant owners. ‘No no no’, And ‘No’*. Again, I was lucky they responded…”

A marked difference from London

In front of the bar’s closed doors, “Closed for Summer Vacation” signs follow each other. Ditto for museums, even if they are open, that don’t offer temporary exhibitions. “Of course, there will only be Foreigners* Appreciate them…”, Acknowledges the journalist. Go to Permanent Collections. Time seems to have stopped in Paris, and the city has almost shut down. A striking contrast to a Briton.

“While Paris was half-asleep, finally sunny London was living at a frenetic pace.”

However, there is a way, which the journalist quickly discovered: to join the most touristic districts of the capital, carefully avoiding all year round. “In fact, the Marais, Île Saint-Louis and Saint-Germain were much busier than the other neighborhoods, but were only frequented by English speakers, Spanish speakers or Japanese speakers.” Many Parisians, as usual, leave the city in the second month of summer. “If I had scheduled my apartment transfer three weeks later…”

* Text in French.