Parisians

(picture from blog Tongue in Cheek: Stories collected while living in France - http://willows95988.typepad.com/)

The other day, my friend India told me that the best way to sum up Parisians is "that they don't say thank you when you hold the door for them". She's right, generally they don't.

But living in amongst them for a few months, you learn to take the gruff with the smooth. All city dwellers have their own idiosyncracies, the habits and foibles that make us what we are, determined by nationality, culture, language, and countless other factors. Similarly, there are several very universal traits and behavioural patterns which unite us all; observe any population of any city at rush hour and you'll realise that fundamentally, in our darkest hour, we're all cut from the same cloth.

I personally belive that the difference comes down to a question of generosity. Madrileños share their food, Romans share their beds, Berliners their beer. Londoners are all-accepting and unshockable and Athenians, well, their outlook is sunny by default. But Parisians have no such reputation. Tell your friends you're off to Paris for the weekend and you'll immediately be met with sneering disdain: "Great city, big tower. Shame about the French." Even when you're not a tourist it is true that, at times, the Parisians can be the very definition of hostile; sulkily knocking back bad coffee, cantankerously pushing and shoving their way onto the metro, strutting aloof down the rue de Rivoli, allowing their pint-sized pooches to foul every inch of treacherous pavement, and even queue-jumping.

That said, when it comes to anything food-related, Parisians can become a very jolly bunch indeed. And although they might not be as lyrically and grinningly exuberant as we might like, the act of producing and distributing such an awe-inducing amount of delectable food does, in itself, indicate generosity. They want you to taste their bread, made to the same recipe, in this very same bakery that was built with the blood of the bourgeoisie over 200 years ago. They incite you to marvel at their jewel-like pâtisserie, your nose pressed against the glass, seduced by the impossible beauty of it all.

Parisians might not like to share their metro car, their street or even their city with you, but you're always welcome to stay for tea. Just not for very long.

• Stohrer (51 rue Montorgueil, near les Halles)

One of the oldest and most famous bakeries in Paris, a major destination on any food pilgrimage. Don't leave without trying the Baba au Rhum - it is said to have been invented here. http://www.stohrer.com/

• Pierre Hermé (72 rue Bonaparte, near St. Sulpice)

Pure wow-factor sugar-based creations, expensive but then so is everything here. Try the wackiest, most unrecognisable thing on display; the good kind of surprise. http://www.pierreherme.com/

• L'As du Falafel (34 rue des Rosiers, le Marais)

The best falafel in Paris, bar none. Eat in, or better still take the huge pitta and wander around the neighbouring Jewish bakeries to see what you'll have after. Not that you'll have room.

• Ladurée (throughout Paris, but the one at la Madeleine is surrounded by other fantastic food shops such as Fauchon and Hédiard)

A bit of a gimmick now, but it has to be done, push through the queues and go upstairs into the salon du thé for a special tea and a few macarons.

• Berthillon (29-31 rue Saint-Louis-en L'Ile, Ile Saint Louis)

The finest ice cream in Paris, as you'll notice from the constant queue.

• G. Detou (58 rue Tiquetonne, near Les Halles_

This area, in the 2nd arrondissement, is locally known as "the stomach of Paris". And for good reason. This shop (G. Detou is a play on words meaning "I have everything") is foodie mecca, selling every possible ingredient imaginable (and more besides), namely for baking. The quantities and prices resemble wholesale, so this is the place to stock up. Unmissable. Walk around this area afterwards to find incredible cookware shops, countless cafés, fishmongers, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers and of course, Stohrer (see above). Suddenly the Eiffel Tower becomes less enticing.