🇫🇷 Paris
Beyond the postcard — discover the courtyards, bistros, and stories Parisians love.
Start a Paris tour →What you can do in Paris
CityCompanion has audio walking tours, scavenger hunts, 4 curated local food signatures, multi-day itineraries, and a daily morning briefing for Paris. All free, no app store needed.
- 🎙️ AI-curated walking tours — coherent district-based routes (3h to 5 days)
- 🎭 Cultural scavenger hunts — narrative quests with questions, hints, rewards
- 🍽️ Local food signatures — 4 dishes with history and best places to try
- ☀️ Daily morning briefing — 1–5 min audio: weather, today's plan, a fresh story
- ♿ Accessibility routing — wheelchair-accessible, step-free, stroller-friendly
- 🗺️ Offline maps — cache for travel without data
Must-try local food in Paris
3 signature dishes every visitor should try. Each has its own history and the best places to find it authentically.
🥐 Croissant Must try
Buttery, flaky lamination at its peak — there is no good substitute outside a real boulangerie.
Despite myth, the croissant was perfected in Paris, not Vienna — though it derives from the Austrian kipferl. The all-butter modern shape arrived in the 20th century. Look for "croissant au beurre" — the curved kind is sometimes margarine, while the straighter ones are usually butter.
📍 Where to try (3)
- Du Pain et des Idées — 34 Rue Yves Toudic, 75010
The croissant. World champion lamination. - Cyril Lignac (Pâtisserie) — 2 Rue de Chaillot, 75116
Modern master, perfect butter ratio - Pierre Hermé — 72 Rue Bonaparte, 75006
The maestro. Croissant Ispahan if you spot it.
🥖 Baguette Tradition Must try
Long, crackly-crusted bread — by law, only flour, water, salt, and yeast.
The "tradition" label was created in 1993 to defend French bread from industrial production. Each year Paris holds the Grand Prix de la Baguette — winner gets to supply the Élysée Palace for a year. Buy by 11am for peak crackle.
📍 Where to try (3)
- Mauvieux — 159 Rue Montmartre, 75002
Recent winner of the Grand Prix de la Baguette - Du Pain et des Idées — 34 Rue Yves Toudic, 75010
Pain des amis: thick country bread that ages like wine - Poilâne — 8 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006
Sourdough heritage, famous miche country loaf
🥩 Steak Frites Must try
Entrecôte with a generous heap of fries and usually a peppery sauce or béarnaise.
The bistro classic. The legendary version is Le Relais de l'Entrecôte — they serve only one dish (steak, fries, and a secret green-herb sauce), no menu, no choice. Founded 1959 and queues are still around the block.
📍 Where to try (2)
- Le Relais de l'Entrecôte — 15 Rue Marbeuf, 75008
No menu, only steak frites + secret green sauce - Le Severo — 8 Rue des Plantes, 75014
Butcher-led, prime cuts, no-frills
Also worth trying
🍲 Cassoulet
Slow-cooked white bean stew with duck confit, sausage, and pork — properly only found in winter.
Legend says it was invented during the Hundred Years' War when villagers pooled all remaining food into one pot. Authentic cassoulet takes 24+ hours and forms three crusts as it bakes. Toulouse claims the throne but Paris bistros do excellent versions.
📍 Where to try (2)
- Au Trou Gascon — 40 Rue Taine, 75012
Two-Michelin-star traditional cassoulet - Auberge Pyrénées Cévennes — 106 Rue de la Folie-Méricourt, 75011
Old-school bistro, generous portions
Why CityCompanion for Paris?
Most Paris guidebooks send everyone to the same spots. Most apps charge per-city or only cover the basics. CityCompanion is different:
- Free, no in-app purchases
- AI-personalised, not a fixed playlist
- Real local stories, written by editors who know Paris
- Adapts to weather — rainy day? Indoor cafés. Sunny? Best parks first.
- Daily concierge — a friendly companion who greets you each morning