Karen Fawcett

If you’re an American woman, chances are you think you’re fat – and possibly (probably) carrying a few extra pounds around your middle. Unless you’re a gym addict, it’s so easy to gain surplus weight from eating between meals and not walking as much as most French people do – especially if they’re city dwellers. For that matter, even the French who live in small towns generally walk in order to accomplish the essentials of everyday life, such as going to the baker and the butcher. Driving from one shopping center to the next does not make for skinny.

Even though many French people are eating an increasing amount of junk food and eating on the run, quantities aren’t the same. It’s rare when you see a French diner chowing down a side of beef. It’s an enigma for many Americans, after moving to France, how much less meat they consume. Portion control is a way of life and not part of a weight loss diet.

Ironically, American women aren’t the only ones who tote the “fat” self- image. According to a recent study, France has the highest proportion of clinically underweight women in Europe. But, only fifty percent perceive themselves as being too thin. Hello, anorexia and perhaps that’s why you rarely see French (and most especially Parisian) women do much more than pick at the food on their plates.

The adage, “You can never be too rich or too thin,” has been attributed to Dorothy Parker, Joan Rivers, Rose Kennedy, Diana Vreeland, and more frequently, either the Duchess of Windsor (Wallis Simpson) or Babe Paley, the wife of CBS’s founder William Paley, who was known for her acid tongue.

In all probability, the person who originated the comment was author Truman Capote, when he appeared on the David Susskind Show in the late 1950s. What’s amazing is how memorable the phrase has remained throughout the years.

Interestingly enough, the opposite is true in other European countries, including the U.K., Portugal and Spain. Women tend to perceive themselves as being underweight when they’re anything but.

Thibaut de Saint Pol, a researcher at France’s National Institute of Demographic studies, recently published a study documenting that the French consider the ideal weight to be less than people living in other EU countries. France is the one country in which both sexes are statistically categorized as being in the “normal” weight bracket. While particularly dramatic in France, this hypothesis holds true in fifteen European countries.

The study demonstrates an objective and subjective gap between how men and women perceive weight. According to the World Health Organization, with the exception of Frenchmen and Dutchmen, men from Western Europe are overweight. Holland is the only country in the study where women are comparatively heavier than men.

Men and women perceive their body weights differently. Men denigrate their bodies when underweight but don’t perceive being overweight a problem unless they fall into the obese category. For men, however, carrying weight is felt by some — consciously or not — as projecting strength.

Conversely, women value being underweight and equate it with elegance and beauty. As soon as they gain weight, they find it unacceptable and it can cause them to ricochet into depression.

There’s a definite correlation between economic affluence and weight. In the US and in the EU, wealthier people tend to be thinner. De Saint Pol notes that cultural symbols reinforce different attitudes, even though it’s hard to tell whether they are more cause or effect.

Obese people are ostracized and tend not to be able climb as high on the corporate ladder as their thinner colleagues. Who says appearance and not sheer competence aren’t factors when it comes to success?

De Saint Pol says, “If a French person who feels fat goes to the United States,” — which has much higher rate of obesity — “he or she probably won’t feel fat.” That’s a sad commentary but unfortunately, based on metric studies, true.

Time will tell whether or not Europeans will become heavier or if Americans will adopt some French standards. It’s a toss-up considering the preponderance of fast food restaurants mushrooming up everywhere. But in France, McDonalds advertises that people confine eating there to once a week. However, the chain is aggressively adding salads and lower calorie items to the menus – as a marketing tool. So perhaps, people will become McDo addicts and not feel as guilty since they’ll be eating healthy.

Anyone who lives in France is the first to admit the month of May is pretty much a non-month.  Let me rephrase that. Even though it has 31 days, many of them (and I am not including weekends) are vacation days and not a whole lot of work gets done. The French are used to it. But it’s unnerving for business people coming to France and finding that the decision makers aren’t around. 
 
This year, the calendar isn’t cooperating with people who want to take mini-breaks and deduct a minimal number of days from their guaranteed five weeks of vacation.  Pity, because the French will take mini-vacations wherever and whenever they can.     

This year, May 1 (Labor Day) falls on a Friday. The second May holiday, Armistice Day, is Friday, May 8th.  Naturally, this isn’t ideal, but these are moveable feasts and the days they fall on change every year. Some years are simply better than others. It’s the luck of the draw.

The next holiday, Ascension, falls on a Thursday. Who wouldn’t take that Friday off since the majority of their colleagues would have built the pont (bridge) and made it a four-day weekend?  They wouldn’t be able to accomplish any business even if they were sitting behind their desks. If you do the calculations right, people can get away for five days and only need to declare Friday as vacation day.

That sounds pretty good to Americans who generally start with ten days of vacation (two working weeks) and work their way up to somewhat longer periods after being with a company for so many years and gaining seniority.

The last May holiday is Pentecost which is celebrated on May 31st—alas, always a Sunday. But don’t despair; Whit Monday, June 1 is a holiday so all isn’t lost. But if we assume that this holiday is really an extension of May (May 32?), then things look glum because there are no holidays in June, the next being Bastille Day, July 14.

The majority of them aren’t glamorous or necessarily expensive. Frequently, they go and visit parents or other members of the family. May is one of the most pleasant months of the year. People take advantage of it and take to the rails or the roads. Be certain to reserve train tickets as soon as possible and don’t be surprised if you encounter more traffic than normal on the autoroute.  

One of the reasons the French have started staggering winter and spring break school  vacations according to specific areas of the country is because it’s better for families as well as tourist destinations. But May is May and so are July, August and Christmas and New Year’s holidays — so you can expect everything moving as slow as a snail.  

May 1 is a date that will be indelibly etched in my heart and in my mind. This year it marks the 21st anniversary of my move to Paris. I’ll never forget landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to start my husband’s six-month-long consulting assignment. I hated the idea of being a “trailing spouse,” but he persuaded me to look at the sojourn as a Sabbatical and I’d be back at work before I knew it.  

The ride from the airport into town was eerie. There practically weren’t any cars on the road and it felt as if the taxi were entering a ghost town. In my jet-lagged condition, I wondered what we’d find at the rental apartment.  Would it be as I’d remembered? Would there be sheets on the beds? Why weren’t any stores much less restaurants open? What had I done? It sounded so romantic but I was in for culture shock supreme.

It wasn’t until I saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance that I realized I was actually in Paris.  My life and I were embarking on a radical change and turning to a new and dramatic chapter. But that’s another story. Perhaps even a book.

In the meantime, I’ve learned to adjust to the month of May—and to the French and their frequent absences.

Dear powers that be:

I am writing to protest my recent trip between Washington/Dulles and Paris, France.

My United MileagePlus account was credited with one segment and 3,861 miles. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Because there wasn’t enough fuel on board due to weather conditions, we were forced to make an unscheduled stop in Brussels. Rather than landing 30 minutes early as the Captain announced upon take-off less than six hours before, we landed in Paris approximately two hours after our scheduled arrival time.

I recognize things are tight at United and another 1000 employees are being laid off. There will be additional cutbacks and times are tough.

But how much did that unscheduled stop cost? Weren’t there landing fees incurred with our Brussels visit? What did it cost to file an extra flight plan?

Rather than a non-stop Paris landing, the plane was forced to fly an extra leg. This dictates additional fuel, not to mention wear and tear on the plane and the passengers. And what about the turn-around time for the aircraft?

Was United forced to pay extra to the French workers who were responsible for the aircraft’s inspection and turn-around? I don’t know about the French aviation union but if it’s like other French unions, a rush job probably carries a premium.

The crew was angry and conveyed the feeling this wasn’t the first time they’d made an unscheduled stop. One mumbled the flight’s captain was none too happy.

It’s becoming clear that the potential of saving some money is more important than catering to those who have boarded the flight. The crew did its best to smile but was having a hellava time.

What would your reaction have been had you been on that flight? Can anyone calculate how much that unscheduled stop cost United? Is this the future of travel especially when it comes to US carriers?

Karen Fawcett is president of BonjourParis.

This past week has sent chills and freezing temperatures throughout Europe and Paris experienced something it rarely (if ever) does.

Snow brought traffic to a halt. People were stranded and even the Eiffel Tower was closed for a couple of days. A few metro lines weren’t functioning. Paris doesn’t have snow removal trucks because snow is essentially an enigma.

People were forced to walk and some Parisian children who’d never seen REAL snow were able to fulfill a fantasy. While school was canceled, they built snowmen and even threw snowballs – ever so much fun for the uninitiated.

It was time to bundle up since Paris’s temperature plummeted to below  -9 degrees Celsius (15 degrees Fahrenheit). That’s a record low for the City of Light. It’s so cold that the police are turning people away and not allowing them to enter the Luxembourg Garden. In my 20 years of living in Paris, this is a first.

Utility companies in France and throughout Europe were operating at full tilt and there were some power failures. The count still isn’t in as to how many people died because the lack of heat.

Passengers were stranded at Paris’s Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport. Heavy snow last Monday forced Air France to cancel 150 out of 400 scheduled flights from Roissy. Three thousand passengers had  to stay at nearby hotels while another 2,000 people camped out in the airport’s terminals.

Ironically, flights in and out of Paris’s second airport, Orly were operating on schedule.

Global warming appears to be taking its toll on the highs and lows of temperatures throughout the world and the joys of travel.

If you were stuck in Paris (or another EU airport), please post your experiences.

Karen Fawcett is president of BonjourParis.

Admittedly, the economy is terrible and many people are worried about finances. But that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone should stop traveling. They simply need to know how to travel smarter because now, for anyone that happens to have some extra cash, it may be time to head to the City of Light for shopping and more.

Airlines want to fill their planes and they’re having a hard time doing that these days. Surf the Internet. There are lots of deeply discounted fares, especially if travelers are able to be somewhat flexible with dates. Ditto for hotels. There are many websites offering last minute and discounted prices.

If you need an excuse to visit Paris, shopping when bargains are real and plentiful is as good as any. The winter retail sales in Paris officially begin on January 7, 2009, and continue for six weeks. Stores discount their stock by up to 70%. If travelers are leaving the EU, they’re entitled to a tax rebate (up to 15%) if they spend a minimum of €175 in the same store on one day. Gone, unfortunately, are the days when visiting shoppers could accumulate receipts during a week and qualify for the sum total of the tax rebate.

The French are gunning for the shopping tourist trade and have launched a website Shopping Paris that tells visitors what’s hot and happening during the sales.

Parisians by nature love shopping. Paris has 17,500 shops (many aren’t much larger than a postage stamp). That’s 29 stores per 1,000 inhabitants. Once travelers are shopped out, dine at one of approximately 10,000 restaurants to refresh the body, take in a show at one of the 145 theaters to refresh the soul and visit one of the city’s renowned museums.

It doesn’t take much other than comfortable shoes to walk the streets and get some inspiration. Be sure to bring appropriate clothes. Even though it rarely snows (or if it does, it doesn’t stick), a knit hat, scarf, gloves and boots will undoubtedly come in handy.

Here are five new shopping itineraries targeted at individual’s different styles of dressing. Be sure to buy a Plan de Paris (a small book that you can carry with you that notes every street). Another option is using the GPS function if you’re carrying a Blackberry or an iPhone. Check with your provider before leaving the U.S. about activating it and the costs you’ll incur.

Clothes glorious clothes:

Classic: Looking for timeless elegance? Head to these areas: Montaigne, Champs-Élysées, Place Vendôme and Palais Royal.

Trendy and cutting edge: Le Marais, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Haussman, Étienne Marcel, and Les Halles. Les Halles is a good bet for anyone on a limited budget.

Bobo-chic (or the charm of arty intellectual Paris): Sèvres-Babylone, Odéon, Charonne, and Canal Saint-Martin.

Creative and young designers: Try Bir Hakeim, Abbesses, Marché Saint-Honoré, and Saint-Paul.

Fusion Fashion World or cultural melting pots: head to Belleville, La Villette, Olympiades, Ledru-Rolli, and Opéra.

Don’t overlook outdoor markets. Even though many of them concentrate on selling food, there are usually plenty of clothing vendors. I’ve bought some terrific wearables for a fraction of the cost I’d have to pay in a store.

Even if a browser ends up buying nothing, walking these neighborhoods will teach a great deal about the city and its people. The shopper’s view of Paris after diving into the Paris-on-sale world will be far different from those people who take a city tour or a cruise on the Seine.

Visitors forget how small the city is. In its entirety, Paris is only 41 square-miles and the Métro and the buses will move millions quickly from shop to boutique comfortably and quickly. What more could you want?

Karen Fawcett is president of BonjourParis.

British Airways has just introduced Open Skies that originates from JFK airport in the US and doesn’t treat its passengers as cargo. Currently, the price of a prems+ ticket (business class) costs the same as coach on most competing airlines. My Open Skies experience was eye-opening.

Coach travel to Europe lacks any hint of romance these days. There’s the opportunity to be stuck in the the middle of a five seat configuration. Even with an aisle seat there is little comfort. Most meals served in coach have little resemblance to real food — akin to what military music is to music. To add insult to injury for a trip to France, if you’re on a US carrier, be prepared to fork over $5 or $6 dollars for a tiny bottle of not very good wine.

When I was asked to fly Open Skies, I wanted to experience what I had been reading about in the travel business press. These flights between JFK in New York and Paris began on June 19th. On October 15th Open Skies launched their New York-to-Amsterdam route. Additional routes are planned for 2009.

To begin with, the 64-seat flight from Kennedy lands at Orly airport outside of Paris, not Charles De Gaulle. That makes it much closer to where I live in Paris, only a quick local rail ride away. From the moment I entered the Open Skies lounge, I felt like a princess. It was the same sensation I had when I was young and had to dress up — that meant wearing white cotton gloves and black patent Mary Janes — to fly between Washington, DC, and Los Angeles.

Everything in those days was so glamorous, including the stewardesses. The food was wonderful and I stayed up the entire night fantasizing about joining their ranks or becoming a ballerina. I guess I’m dating myself, but I was dazzled and remembered the excitement and glamor of travel the way it used to be.

Upon arriving at JFK and checking in, I went to the BA/Open Skies lounge. This is where the Open Skies enchantment began. Unfortunately, unless passengers have a BA frequent flier gold or silver card, they won’t have access to the lounge at Kennedy. Nor can they buy their way in with a day pass.

Spending time in lounges is nothing new to me. But being greeted by smiling personnel who don’t act as if they are doing me a favor is rare in US airports. I found a place in the enormous sun-filled lounge and immediately morphed into a vacation mode. Instead of letting myself get stressed, I passed on the free WiFi and headed for the Elemis Travel Spa for a 15-minute treatment.

Feeling supremely relaxed, I ordered a glass of champagne. The waiter presented me with a flute of Charles Heidseick Brut Réserve and tea sandwiches.

They offer a complimentary first-rate buffet for passengers who like to eat before boarding flights so they can immediately go to sleep. When I asked the man at the serving station if he had actually cooked this, he told me he had. I believe him because it tasted homemade. I was planning to eat on the flight, but went ahead and sampled the mushroom soup; I figure Michelin would give it at least a star.

I was able to steal a few minutes with Chris Vukelich, an executive with Open Skies, for few minutes of insider talk. Chris explained the business model was to diminish the complexity in flying. “We’re a point-to-point airline. If you change airlines, it’s up to you to transport your suitcases.” What I understand from that is Open Skies wants to put its energy and resources into the passengers’ comfort on the flight, not into logistics.

The Open Skies plan is to make travelers feel the trip itself is part of the experience and not a means of getting from here to there. Its business class has only 24 seats and all recline 180 degrees. The head-to-toe beds, separated by collapsible fabric fans, enable people to have privacy or, if they prefer, share a bottle of wine. There’s a sense of tranquility throughout the flight that’s echoed in the plane’s interior design from the navy uniforms the flight crew wears, to the presentation of the food.

In both Biz Class and prem+ (business class comfort without the business class cost, but including taupe leather seats with a 52” pitch) all seats have multi-standard electrical plugs. The menu selections in both are very good and there are nice touches one wouldn’t expect. For example, there is never a plastic cup or anything less than bottles of wine or champagne.

Business class is heaven for people who want to sleep on their way across the Atlantic, but there are a couple of glitches. Not being mechanically minded, I couldn’t figure out how to make my seat fully recline and wished there had been more comprehensive instructions. But not to worry, since there’s always help on the way. Christophe, who’d been a head purser with Air France before coming to Open Skies, was in charge of me. He made the seat into a bed within seconds and then wrapped me in a duvet cover with white, high-count cotton thread. I also had a choice of about 150 movies and other channels.

The best thing about the flight was the personnel. They were gracious and accommodating. All of them had been employees of MaxJet or Eos Airlines — the all business-class airlines that would frequently be chartered by the rich and famous and, perhaps, the spoiled.

I look forward to my next Open Skies flight. There’s only one time when I won’t fly with them and that’s when I’m traveling with Kitty, the jet-setting pussycat. Even though she has an EU passport and thinks nothing of flying, Open Skies won’t allow her to become a frequent flier. They’re owned by BA, and it’s against their rules and regulations. When Kitty accompanies me, we’re going to be forced to find another airline.

Even an airline as good as this has a little room for improvement, and I hope they figure out a way to make their lounge open to all their passengers. Even for a fee for a day pass, it would be a terrific deal—and an incredible service for travelers who want to begin their trips feeling relaxed.

At Orly airport in Paris, there’s a shared departure lounge, courtesy of Icare, accessible to all Open Skies passengers. You can’t compare it to the Open Skies Biz class lounge in New York, but you can get a coffee, tea or a drink and enough to eat to hold you over until the departure hour.

Karen Fawcett is president of BonjourParis

For travelers who would stay at nothing less than the Ritz while they’re in Paris, the 172-room Mama Shelter isn’t for you. It was formerly a multi-story garage located next to abandoned railroad tracks. But it’s one of the most talked-about trendy hotels in the French capital since its recent opening.

Its location is in one of Paris’s most multi-ethnic neighborhoods. Most tourists avoid the quartier unless they’re paying homage to luminaries at Pere Lechaise. Jim Morrison was buried here and although there’s been talk that he’s overstayed his lease, so many people visit his grave, there would undoubtedly be a riot if his remains were moved. A few other stars who’ve made the cemetery their final resting places include Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Bizet and Chopin.

Still, it’s nearly impossible to score a room even though the hotel has received relatively little publicity.

Its owner, 61-year-old Serge Trigano, the son of Club Med’s founder, believes his architectural, design and management team (which includes his two sons) has developed a new type of hotel for the 21st century. His rationale is that “people no longer want to wait for hours in airports in order to fly to exotic locations which are no longer especially exotic. The new tourism will be urban tourism, the discovery, or the re-discovery of great cities such as Paris or Amsterdam or London.”

Based on the hotel’s prices, Trigano is counting on the premise that people won’t have or won’t want to fork over mega-Euros to stay in central Paris. One of the great things about the City of Light is its metro system that goes all over the city.

But the hoopla this hotel is receiving is also because of its design plus its amenities. Internationally acclaimed French designer Philippe Starck has made more than his design mark. There’s graffiti scribbled permanently on the ceilings, floors and even inside the elevators. They’re part of the decor – bizarre but welcoming, funky and functional.

Mama Shelter combines the informality with luxury. It’s part youth hostel, where people eat breakfast and are served drinks from the bar at a communal wood table. If you were strangers before arriving at the hotel, bets are on that you won’t be when you leave.

Even though the 19th and 20th arrondissments are in the process of being gentrified, there are more than a few remnants of nitty-gritty pre-war Paris. Because Paris can’t expand its boundaries and there are definite height limitations, if you’re a pioneer, these neighborhoods are the places to buy.

“My hope is that we will eventually attract visitors from the 16th arrondissement (the most conservative of all Paris districts),” says Serge Trigano. After all, if they go to Marrakech, they will merely see other people from the 16th arrondissement. If they come here, they will see people and things they have never seen before.”

If you were visiting Paris, would you be game to stay at this hip hotel even though it location is a wee bit dodgy? Do you see these types of hotels becoming a new trend in the hotel industry?

Karen Fawcett is president of Bonjour Paris.

Even though the dollar is finally a few cents stronger, don’t go out and count your euros and expect to be in consumer heaven when you visit Europe.

Americans are hardly rich, even though there’s talk of a psychological barrier being passed, now that the dollar is clocking in at less than 1.50 euros. Europeans are watching the currency market as if it’s the hottest game in town.

Americans aren’t heading to Paris they way they used to. The weak dollar, the U.S. economic downturn, and the high cost of airline tickets, due to the rocketing cost of fuel and the airlines’ own misguided efforts at nickeling-and-diming travelers, all convince a lot of people to stay home. And many just have sworn off dealing with airport security and being treated as criminals.

According to the French Government Tourist Office, 1.5 million Americans traveled to Paris in 2007, a drop of 5.5 percent from the previous year. Since January 2008, statistics reflect a further decline of 14 percent.

Paul Rol, director of the Paris Tourism office says, “the number of U.S. visitors has been decreasing since June 2007 and the downward trend is growing steadily.”

But as fewer Americans are coming to the City of Light, other nationalities are making up the slack. Paris has recorded an overall increase of tourists by 2.3 percent. During 2007, there were 8.76 million tourists, many of who came from Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Americans still comprise the largest number of tourists in Paris—just fewer, currently. But they’ve shunned France before. There were fewer between 2001 and 2003 following the September 11th attacks and the Franco-American row over the U.S. invasion of Iraq. However, U.S. tourism rebounded in 2004, and many people feel it will again after the upcoming presidential elections if Barack Obama is voted into the Oval Office.

Imad Khalidi, president of Auto Europe, predicts the dollar will become stronger if a Democrat is elected president. “Look back at November 1991, the French franc was very, very strong—4.6FF to the dollar. Once Clinton was elected, the dollar climbed to 6.4FF to the dollar. Let’s hope that’s the case again.”

Khalidi admits that the car rental business is down in the EU. But firms like his have more than made up for the loss by renting to Europeans who are vacationing in the U.S. and, because of the currency exchange, people living on a euro income feel rich and are making the most of their buying power. Walk into any big-city department store in America, and the locals will wonder if they’re in bargain basements when they hear the tourists exclaiming how cheap everything is. It’s reminiscent of the Japanese forming lines to gain entrance to Louis Vuitton on the Champs Élysées.

Travel industry experts agree that the very rich will travel when and wherever they want. Whether or not it costs more or less isn’t a big factor. The swanky Meurice Hotel, located near the Place de la Concorde and facing the Tuileries Gardens, isn’t crying the blues over losing its American clientele because it hasn’t. Eighty percent of them are from the U.S – except during August when the hotel is filled with families from the Middle East because they love Paris and want to flee from the heat at home.

What J.P. Morgan said about maintaining a yacht—”If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it”—applies here where the least expensive room begins at €650 per night, and a lovely Continental breakfast in the Michelin two-starred restaurant, Le Meurice, headed by Yannick Alleno, costs a mere €36. Since most of us have to ask, it’s pretty obvious we can’t afford it.

Another take is from Bill O’Such, who owns a super apartment in the Marais. “If reservations for our apartment— The Elzevir—is any indication, we have people reserving into 2010. It hasn’t affected Americans’ desire to travel to Paris.” In talking with them, they do cut down on what they do (i.e. fewer dinners out, less shopping, etc.) which costs a lot of money. They search for less expensive ways to come travel. “One theory I have is that hotels are now so expensive in euros that people are considering apartments even more than before. The other trend we’ve seen is we have more Australians and Canadians as clients.”

Of course the dollar is stronger against currencies that are pegged to it, so traveling in Asia, for example, may be a better bet than traveling to Europe. “In fact,” says a San Francisco resident, “I can fly more cheaply to Beijing than to Paris.”

So, the exchange rate is only one factor. The cost of flying may be greater, depending on your destination. It’s not easy to balance. And naturally enough, what we love is often what we’re willing to pay for, not matter what.

For instance, author Nancy Bruning says that she doesn’t know about others, but she’s booked to come to France this summer. “I’ll simply be sparing when it comes to spending. But, I love Europe so much that I’m not going to forgo my France fix.”

I don’t know about others either, but I will just be “sparing with the spending” and hope my credit card doesn’t melt.

For people who live here, we’re holding our breaths and eating a lot of pasta and drinking a wee bit too much wine.

Karen Fawcett is the president of Bonjour Paris

Just when they think the Parisians aren’t looking, the merchants have at it. First, they raise prices just a few cents, as if the natives won’t notice when they come back from vacation in September. (If you think Americans are the only ones complaining about prices, you’re wrong. The French are also feeling the economic pinch.)

But walking the streets of Paris will reveal other changes, and some are definitely for the better.

There’s a lot of construction taking place as boutiques are either undergoing renovation or have lost their leases and new ones are moving in and upgrading the space. Unlike American stores getting a makeover, few signs are visible about what will occupy the redone premises.

That is why there are some new-to-the-scene places that have had soft openings and have yet to make a splash. They’ve opted for a shakedown period to make certain the staff is ready for the (hopeful) onslaught.

One is Baboto, a new restaurant. Montpellier native Daniel Alauze wanted to introduce a très Mediterranean, very hip-feeling-and-then-some restaurant in the Forum des Halles/Châtelet area. He spent two years gutting the interior of this building that’s classified as a monument historique. Now it’s anything but traditional and serves very good food from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., but never on a Sunday.

You can eat standing up at the Lucite bar or sitting at one of the higher or lower tables and, during good weather, on the terrace. And there’s free WiFi in the event you’re bored or want to hang out and work (or surf) during the day.

At night, the restaurant takes on a new persona. The bartender shakes up some mean drinks made of faux absinthe since the real thing was banned years ago for being highly addictive, unlike whiskey or cigarettes, evidently. He has an entire repertoire that will leave people who sample them feeling no pain. For non-drinkers, there is an extensive menu of non-alcoholic cocktails.

Shake it up, baby, on Friday and Saturday nights when there’s a DJ between 8 p.m. and 2 in the morning. Don’t wear your go-to-church clothes if you go at night. Opt for something a wee bit sexier.

Another soft opening, but this is the right time of year when people are the most receptive. After a three-month renovation period, Raimo opened its salon de thé in a very charming boutique that’s located at 59/61, boulevard de Reuilly in the 12th Arrondissement. Created in 1947, Raimo is undoubtedly the oldest continuing ice-cream maker in Paris. Now his son is assuming the reins. Some people swear the ice cream is better than Bertillon’s, founded in 1954. Besides Raimo is open in August, and Bertillon is closed.

Another newcomer is Pierre Herme, maker extraordinaire of macaroons—you gain five pounds just walking in the store, ten if you actually eat a couple in his new boutique on the Right Bank at 4, rue Cambon, 75001. The store is so new that it’s not even listed on the Web site. But if you happen to be shopping on the Right Bank and have a craving for undoubtedly the best macaroons in Paris, voilà.

Don’t turn your back long in the City of Light — and love. There are always changes.

Karen Fawcett is president of Bonjour Paris.

People who live in a city are sometimes the last to know what’s happening there. But this August, I’ve made it my mission to see what’s hot and new in Paris.

Here’s what I discovered.

1. Paris means business. It’s mid-August and there are more stores and restaurants open this year than ever. Guess President Nicolas Sarkozy’s mandate that French workers had better work harder and longer hours has been taken to heart — or the French have taken to reading economic news and it’s not so hot.

Even though the French government stipulates two yearly sales periods for retail stores, shoppers can score big discounts if they go into boutiques where the sales people are happy to deeply discount the summer stock. The sale signs may not be posted in the store’s window (and yet they may), but don’t hesitate to ask to see if there’s a cache of goodies in the back. Perhaps it’s not in the best of taste, but people have been known to bargain. Something off something on last year’s dress is better than a lot off nothing.

Places that do tend to be closed are bakeries and some small markets in residential areas. But, if you’re in a pinch (and even if you’re not), don’t despair. Just head to Picard Surgelés, a chain selling amazingly good frozen foods. If you need a dessert, it’s hard to beat their sinfully delicious chocolate cake or lemon tart. Their frozen foods can make any person a gourmet cook, and no one is any the wiser. This is a not-to-be-missed store when you’re in France.

2. In a word, EXKi. If you’re craving the freshest of the fresh organic meals, or want carry-out for a picnic or simply to eat in your room, EXKi is definitely for you. The food is good and light, and the price is right. There’s currently only one store in Paris, not far from the Opéra, but the group is in expansion mode. After the rentrée, there will be a second store on the Left Bank’s Boulevard du Montparnasse. Its slogan is “natural, fresh and ready”—interestingly enough, in English. If I were a betting person, I’d wager you’ll see many more of their restaurants mushrooming up in the City of Light.

3. It’s a driving city. No, really. I rented a tiny Mercedes for two from Mobizen. Not everyone is terrified of driving in Paris (most especially in August or on weekends when there’s actually space between cars on the streets) and we managed a fast tour and were able to pick up a few necessities.

4. Where are all the Americans? It’s reputed that there are many fewer Americans in Paris this summer, but it’s really hard to tell. You hear American English everywhere. Just head to the fountain on the Place St. Michel (at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. and there’s a free three-and-a-half hour English-language walking tour that covers a whole lot of Paris. Don’t wear anything other than super comfortable shoes or you’ll live to regret having joined the group. There’s no charge, but the tour guides work for tips—and, believe me, it’s worth four or five euros.

5. Do the pub crawl. And if you’re not convinced there are a lot of Americans currently here, for 12 Euros, you can meet up at the fountain and embark on a pub-crawl. The students I’ve met have loved the evening, and thank goodness they’re not driving after their foray of seeing French bars and expat pubs and having a great time. Ah, to be in my twenties again.

But, ah to be in Paris now finding wonderful new things to do.

Karen Fawcett publishes the site Bonjour Paris.