Chef Chooses Foodie Things to Do in Paris in 2025

It’s January and with the new year comes the urge to plan, dream, and—let’s be honest—eat my way through life. There’s something undeniably thrilling about jotting down a fresh list of adventures, even if it’s just an excuse to daydream about everything I want to devour this year. As a chef and foodie, looking for foodie things to do in Paris, my adopted city, is a constant mission to please my palate. Paris is a playground for the palate, and this list is my love letter to its endless culinary treasures.

I’m sharing my ultimate foodie bucket list for Paris in 2025—not just to inspire you, but to hear from you too. Think of it as a conversation starter: what would you add? What’s already on your plate (pun intended)? Whether you’re a seasoned gourmand or a curious newcomer, there’s something here for everyone.

Scroll through, savour the possibilities, and let’s make this the most delicious year yet. Each item is a gateway to the heart of Parisian cuisine—some classics, some wild cards, but all guaranteed to whet your appetite. Bon appétit and bonne année!

Take in the Delights of a Food Festival

Food festivals in Paris are one of the densest ways to discover the delights of French food. From large exhibition halls filled with delights for the professional foodie to intimate tastings for the amateur, these events capture the essence of French gastronomy. Here you can taste regional specialties, meet producers, and expand your palate with exclusive tastings and masterclasses.

My favourite food festivals in Paris for 2025

Here is a small selection of some of the food festivals in Paris for 2025. I have a calendar for foodies that you can access and subscribe to here (it’s a work in progress and will be updated throughout the year).

• Paris Beer Festival (April 2025) Celebrate craft beer with tastings, brewery tours, and food pairings across the city.
• Taste of Paris (May 8–11, 2025) Held at the Grand Palais Éphémère, this festival showcases the city’s finest culinary talents. Enjoy signature dishes from Michelin-starred chefs and Parisian restaurants.
• Paris Coffee Festival (May 2025) A paradise for coffee lovers featuring tastings, latte art contests, and workshops at Carreau du Temple.
• Fête de la Gastronomie (September 2025) A nationwide tribute to French cuisine with special events hosted in Paris, including tastings, workshops, and celebrations of culinary heritage.
• Salon du Chocolat (October/November 2025) Dive into the world of chocolate with artisanal creations, live demonstrations, and the famous chocolate fashion show.
• Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre (October 2025) Celebrate the Montmartre wine harvest with tastings, parades, and cultural events.
• Omnivore Food Festival (September 2025) Bringing together innovative chefs and food lovers, this festival at Parc Floral de Paris celebrates modern gastronomy with tastings and masterclasses.
• Le Food Market (Monthly) Held in Belleville, this open-air market is a celebration of street food with stalls offering diverse international cuisines.

👉 Craving more culinary events? Get every delicious event synced straight to your phone. Click here to grab our FREE Foodie Calendar and never miss a bite in Paris.

Lunch in a Neighborhood Bistro

There are few better memories than those made while lingering over a delicious, affordable meal with a carafe of wine on a sun-drenched Parisian terrace. Whether it’s your first visit or, like me, you’ve called this city home for over a decade, the cobbled streets of Paris and its charming suburbs serve up thousands of plats du jour every single afternoon.

Neighborhood bistros are the beating heart of this city. Seasonal menus, honest cooking, and a warm “bonjour” from a busy waiter who somehow remembers your order after one visit—this is Paris on a plate.

If you’re after something authentic (and not overpriced tourist fluff), I’ve got your back:

🔍 Check out my guide to eating out in Paris on a budget—it’s full of smart tips for finding real value without sacrificing flavour.
🧠 Not sure where to start? Follow these food critics and guides I actually trust. They know what’s worth your time—and what’s just Instagram bait.
🍽️ And don’t miss our growing collection of honest restaurant reviews straight from the chef’s table.

My Top Picks for Neighbourhood Bistros in Paris for 2025

These are the places I’m excited to revisit or finally cross off my wishlist in 2025. Expect bold flavours, relaxed vibes, and not a QR code menu in sight:

• Caravan
• Café du Coin
• Le Verre Volé
• Bonnotte
• Restaurant Quedubon
• Les Arlots

Whether you’re chasing the perfect steak-frites or a killer lunch deal, don’t stress about hitting my list. The best bistro for you is the one that welcomes you in and sends you out a little fuller, a little tipsier, and a whole lot happier.

Dinner with a View (Hold the Tourist Trap)

Paris knows how to set the mood. The food? Divine. The wine? Flowing. The skyline? She’s showing off. But forget Eiffel Tower prix fixe menus and sterile rooftop clichés—you want views with soul and food that’s worth the climb.

Here’s where to eat while feasting with your eyes and your tastebuds:

Top Picks for Dinner with a View in 2025

🌆 Les Ombres
Set in the Musée du Quai Branly, this rooftop delivers knockout Eiffel Tower views with refined French cuisine to match. Come for the sunset, stay for the soufflé.

🎺 Radioeat
Inside the Maison de la Radio, this artsy, lesser-known gem has serious Left Bank cool. Asian-fusion meets French flair, with jazzier vibes and a terrace overlooking the Seine.

🌿 Perruche
A lush rooftop oasis perched atop Printemps Haussmann. Think cocktails, Mediterranean-inspired plates, and Paris sprawling beneath you like a vintage movie set.

🗼 Ciel de Paris
Sky-high dining in Tour Montparnasse. Slick, sexy, and surprisingly romantic—especially if you’re into sweeping night views and bubbly on a budget.

🎭 Lapérouse (Seine-side seats)
Not technically a rooftop, but who’s counting when you’re eating by candlelight with the Seine at your elbow and centuries of Parisian scandal in the walls? Iconic, discreet, and oh-so-seductive.

🌸 Forest (at Palais de Tokyo)
Boho meets haute cuisine. Floor-to-ceiling windows, botanical vibes, and a seasonal, shareable menu with flair. A little wild, a little weird—in the best way.

Want more under-the-radar spots with knockout views and actual flavour? Drop me a DM or check out the full reviews in the restaurant section.

Visit a Market

Forget soulless supermarkets—Parisian markets are living, breathing temples of taste. They’re where grandmas, chefs, and hungover students all line up for the same fat figs, rotisserie chicken, and slightly aggressive cheese vendor.

If you want to eat like the French, you need to shop like them—with a tote bag in one hand and a vague plan to buy “just a few things” (spoiler: you won’t).

Must-Visit Markets in Paris:

🧀 Marché Bastille
One of the biggest and buzziest in the city. Come for the fresh produce, stay for the oysters on ice and sizzling sausages. Sundays are a full-contact sport.

🥖 Marché d’Aligre
Part food market, part flea market, part beautiful chaos. A mix of bargain produce, quirky stalls, and a covered hall full of cheese, meat, and wine. A local legend.

🍅 Marché Billancourt
A west-side gem most tourists never see. Family-friendly, unpretentious, and packed with quality produce, charcuterie, and warm “bonjour” energy. If you’re in Boulogne, this is the market to hit.

Want to tour a Paris market like a local chef?

🗺️ Take my free self-guided market tour
🔪 Read my insider tips for doing the market like a chef

Pack your appetite, bring small change, and never say no to a sample. These markets aren’t just about shopping—they’re a full-on flavour safari.

Go Wine Tasting (Or Just Grab a Bottle and Sit Somewhere Pretty)

Wine in Paris is not a luxury. It’s a lifestyle. It’s the €5 bottle you pick up from the corner shop that tastes better than half the overpriced stuff back home. It’s the caviste who actually talks to you about what you like and doesn’t upsell you into debt. It’s easy, it’s everywhere, and in 2025—I’m leaning in.

This is one of the things I’m most looking forward to this year. Whether it’s sipping something crisp on a sunny bench with a baguette or popping into a natural wine bar that plays vinyl and serves anchovies with everything, wine in Paris just hits different.

And yes, I need to come back and write a lot more about wine here—because this city makes it delightfully easy to drink well without breaking the bank.

Top Spots for Wine Tasting in Paris

🍷 O Chateau
A stylish wine bar with curated tastings in English. Great for first-timers or if you want to learn a bit without the snobbery.

🍇 La Cave du Septime
Biodynamic, natural, and seriously cool. The wine list is adventurous, and the vibe is sommelier-meets-dive-bar in the best way.

🍾 Les Caves Augé
One of the oldest wine shops in Paris, and still one of the best. They’ve got rare vintages, free tastings, and zero tolerance for mediocrity.

🍷 Caves Populaires
This no-frills, crowd-packed Montmartre spot is a vibe. Affordable bottles, buzzing terrace, and the kind of chaotic charm you can’t fake.

🍇 La Ivresse
Natural wines, local plates, and warm service. Tucked in the 9th, it’s the kind of place where you end up ordering another bottle just to stay longer.

💸 Don’t overthink it. A €5 bottle from the supermarket will do just fine—especially if it’s chilled and enjoyed en plein air. But if you’ve got €10–15 to spend? Go see a caviste. They’ll sort you out properly.

Let the Chef Choose

You’re in Paris—let go of the menu and let the chef show off.

Opt for the tasting menu. No substitutions, no second-guessing. Just shut up and eat. What you’ll get: seasonal brilliance, creative chaos, and maybe the best bite of your trip.

This is where chefs flex. You? You just sit back, wait for the next plate and for them to fill you up your wine glass. Enjoy the ride.

Take a Cooking Class

Want to leave Paris with more than just a fridge magnet and a sugar hangover? Take a cooking class. Learn to whisk, fold, flambé, and chop like the French—without losing a finger or your patience.

Whether you’re a total kitchen coward or a knife-slinging home cook, there’s a class for you. And yes, you’ll absolutely get to eat what you make (and probably drink too).

Where to Learn Without Boring PowerPoints:

👨‍🍳 Le Cordon Bleu
The culinary temple. Legendary chefs, polished technique, and all the prestige. Go big or go home.

🥖 La Cuisine Paris
Laid-back, central, and fun. Macarons, croissants, baguettes—perfect for anyone who wants to leave with flour in their hair and joy in their heart.

🛒 Cook’n With Class
Shop the market, then cook the meal. Real ingredients, real chefs, and real-life Paris vibes all wrapped into one delicious half-day.

These aren’t just classes—they’re hands-on, butter-soaked memories.

Eat All the Cheeses

Let’s be clear: I could talk about French cheese for hours. Probably days. Give me a glass of wine and a wedge of something unpasteurised, and I’ll turn it into a sermon.

France doesn’t just do cheese—it lives cheese. Over 1,000 varieties. Washed-rind stink bombs. Buttery triple crèmes. Nutty, earthy, runny, sharp. Some wrapped in chestnut leaves. Some illegal in other countries (the best kind). And here in Paris? They’re waiting for you on every corner.

You can grab a gooey wedge from the market, chat with a fromager like they’re your therapist, or blow your mind pairing Comté with dark chocolate (trust me).

This city feeds my obsession—and I’m not done writing about it. A full blog post on Paris cheese culture is coming soon, because this deserves more than a paragraph.

But if you’re hungry now, start here:

🧀 Fromagerie Laurent Dubois – MOF-awarded master of the aging cave. Go for the aged Comté, stay for the perfect packaging.
🧀 Androuet – Historic, sprawling, and full of funk in the best way.
🧀 Chez Virginie – Organic, family-run, and deeply committed to making you fall in love.

Pair it with a crusty baguette, a whisper of butter, and a good mood. Then keep going.

Visit a Baker

Bakeries are the beating heart of this city.

They open before sunrise and smell like dreams. They feed schoolkids, Michelin chefs, hungover students, and millionaires—often in the same queue.

For the price of a coin, you get a warm, crackling baguette. For a few euros more, a jewel-like pastry so delicate it feels criminal to bite into it (do it anyway).

Bread here isn’t just food. It’s ritual. It’s rhythm. It’s religion.

And Paris? Paris worships at the boulangerie.

Drink in Public Like a Parisian (Yes, It’s Legal)

You haven’t truly tasted Paris until you’ve sipped something boozy on a bench. Or the riverbank. Or that patch of grass that might be a park. Drinking in public isn’t just allowed here—it’s practically a cultural institution.

Forget overpriced terraces with attitude. Parisians know the real joy is cracking open a bottle with friends as the sun sets over the city, the smell of warm baguette in the air and not a bar tab in sight.

Where to Bring Your Bottle:

• 🍷 Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
  Lush, hilly, and slightly chaotic. The perfect place to picnic like a local—with views, vibes, and maybe a guitarist in the distance.
• 🥂 Quai de la Seine
  Grab some rosé, dangle your feet over the edge, and soak up that dreamy golden hour glow. Bonus points if someone brought olives.
• 🍾 Champ de Mars
  Picnic right under the Eiffel Tower. Yes, it’s touristy. Yes, it’s fabulous. Just keep your bottle classy and your trash in the bin.
• 🧺 Square du Vert-Galant
  This little island park at the tip of Île de la Cité is a romantic riverside gem. Perfect for apéro with a view—Notre-Dame on one side, sunset on the other.

🎒 Don’t forget: baguette, cheese, chilled bottle, corkscrew (or strong teeth).

Want to nail it like a local?
Here’s your no-BS guide to doing a street apéro the right way → How to Drink in Public Like a Parisian

Dine with a Parisian

Yes, Really! Forget white tablecloths and maître d’s—some of the most unforgettable meals in Paris happen around someone’s kitchen table, glass of wine in hand, kids running underfoot, and a lovingly over-simmered dish bubbling on the stove.

Thanks to platforms like Eatwith and BonAppetour, you can slide into a seat at a real Parisian dinner table. No reservation required—just an appetite and a bit of curiosity.

Why Bother?

🍷 Home-Cooked Realness
Think rabbit terrine, slow-braised beef, or grandma’s gâteau you’ll never find on a menu. This is food with a soul—and a story.

👩‍🍳 Proper Culture Clash
Learn how Parisians actually eat (hint: it’s not all foie gras and snails). Swap stories, steal recipes, ask rude questions—this is your backstage pass to French life.

💛 It’s Not Just a Meal—It’s a Memory
You came to Paris for magic, right? These dinners are the kind of shared experience that stick to your ribs (and your heart) long after dessert.

Curious what it’s really like?
Read this: I Got Invited to a Parisian Dinner—Here’s What Really Happens

So skip the tourist traps for one night. Say “oui” to dinner with a stranger who might just become your favorite local.

Get Lost in an Edgy Food Scene

This is the Paris I dream about at 2am.

Not postcard Paris. Not white-tablecloth Paris. But the Paris where chefs get off shift, grab whatever’s in the fridge—duck fat, three herbs, yesterday’s lentils—and throw together something wild over a cigarette and a cheap bottle of wine.

I want cookouts on stoops. I want ramen with butter. I want music too loud in a tiled kitchen at 3am. I want to feel like I’m in a Parisian episode of Fuck, That’s Delicious, where the lines between dinner and party and poetry blur completely.

Where to Start the Spiral:

🔥 Le Grand Bain (Belleville)
Tiny plates. Big flavours. A kitchen that doesn’t care about rules. Sit outside, share everything, drink too much.

🌙 Gravity (Canal Saint-Martin)
Part cocktail bar, part Nordic food fever dream. Inventive, low-lit, and a little sexy.

🌍 Street Food Pop-Ups
Belleville, Strasbourg-Saint-Denis, and the bits of Paris that don’t show up in guidebooks. Syrian tacos, Senegalese BBQ, natural wine in plastic cups. Follow the smell. Follow the sound. Follow the chefs who look like they just clocked out and want to eat real.

This isn’t just edgy for the sake of it—it’s the beating, messy heart of the city. The stuff that sticks to your soul as much as your shirt. I’ll keep chasing it all year. Come get lost with me.

Want More Foodie Things to Do in Paris?

That’s where this Paris Google Map comes in. Handpicked by me—a chef who’s spent years navigating the city’s food scene—it’s packed with the best places to eat, drink, and explore without falling into a tourist trap. Whether you’re after buttery pastries, hidden bistros, or the perfect wine bar, this map has you covered.

📍 Ready to dive in? Click here to open the Paris Google Map now.

And if you’re after even more foodie intel, here are a few must-read guides to help you plan your trip:

• 🍽️ Top Tips for Visiting Restaurants in Paris – A blow by blow of everything you need to know about visiting a restaurant in Paris.
• 🥐 What Food is Paris Known For? – Avoid the clichés. This is what Parisians actually eat.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Eating Out with Kids in Paris – Because great food and toddlers can coexist.

Every month we release a list of foodie things to do in Paris with not only the best events you need to visit but also a guide to seasonal food, hidden restaurant gems and notes from what I see happening in the city of lights.

• Foodie things to do in Paris in April 2025
• Foodie things to do in Paris in May 2025 [incomplete]
• more coming soon…

This isn’t just another “must-eat” list—it’s your permission slip to eat with reckless, delicious abandon.

• ✔️ Bistros that hug your belly.
• ✔️ Rooftops that flirt with the sky.
• ✔️ Markets that smell like nostalgia and rotisserie chicken.
• ✔️ Festivals overflowing with cheese, beer foam, and too many samples (never enough).
• ✔️ Wine-fuelled wanderings and cooking classes that might just ruin you for supermarket food forever.

Whether you’re here for a weekend or a season, Paris will feed you—if you let it. So skip the guidebook fluff, trust your taste buds, and follow this list like it’s your new religion. The city is hungry for you too.

💬 Got a tip? A myth to bust? Comment or DM—this is a conversation, not a sermon.

Bon appétit, babes. Let’s eat like the French.

Chef Tris

Food Tour Guide

From the bustling streets of Paris to the heat of a professional kitchen, my life has always revolved around food. A Brit who moved to France at 16, I trained as a chef in a Parisian palace kitchen at 18 and have spent decades cooking, eating, and living like the French.

By day, I run kitchens and events, but Eat Like The French is my side hustle—a way to share my passion for French food through writing and food tours. After a detour into tech recruitment, I returned to what I love most: cooking and storytelling—one dish, one tour, and one bite at a time.