We are going to be in Paris for a few days in July. The guidebooks tell us that restaurants usually serve lunch from 12:30-3:00 and dinner from 7:00-9:30. While we understand that it's best to adapt to local customs, what happens if we get hungry around 5:00? Do cafes serve food during the period between 3:00 and 5:00? We were thinking that we should plan to have a big meal for lunch and then something smaller in the evening. Would that work better with local practices?
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10627 posts
You can look around for a snack outside of serving times: bakeries, cafes, supermakets, sidewalk stands, or even fast food places like MacDonalds. The restaurant staff eats before serving hours, and you wouldn't want a hungry waiter who didn't get to eat serving you, would you. You can have your main meal whenever you prefer. Some Parisians eat heavier at lunch, others at dinner, some just eat all the time, and some of those skinny little women pick at all their food no matter what time of day!
Posted by
Park Ridge, IL
524 posts
Dav If you eat your main meal at lunch, you will save money! However, in a nice restaurant in France, ordering 3 courses or so, plan on staying 2 or 3 hours, even at lunch. This may be the perfect break you want or maybe not. Paris is wonderful, enjoy! Bobbe
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Cafes serve light meals, cold plates , salads , sandwiches most of the time. Brasseries serve meals all day long,, into late evening often.
Restaurants are most restrictive with definate serving times. They can vary,, but yes, most do not open till 7 or 730 . You can find a place to sit and eat something almost anytime.. don't worry about it.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Having a big meal for lunch may work for you if that is what you're used to at home. But if it isn't, then having a big meal at lunch may just slow you down in the middle of your prime sight-seeing time. I think you will quickly figure out what's best for you, it's hard to generalize about this, except to say that, indeed, the French do eat dinner later than many of us in this country do. Viva la difference!
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
Unlike most of France, where restaurants generally open for dinner at 7 or 7:30, in Paris there are many places that serve meals all day long.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Restaurants that serve a full range of food outside mealtimes often have a sign outside saying "service continu" ("continuous service"). As said above, these are particularly common in Paris.