How to Recreate a Parisian Wine Vacation at Home

Do you find yourself daydreaming of travel more and more while you’re stuck at home during quarantine? We feel that. Luckily, while you can’t physically go to Paris right now, you can totally pretend you’re on a relaxing Parisian wine vacation from the safety of your own home.

Take a look at these tips and tricks for an amazing at-home rendez-vous filled with the sights, smells, and tastes of Paris:

In the Morning

• Enjoy a petit dejeuner (breakfast) of strong coffee and freshly baked French pastries – whether that means heating up frozen croissants or hand-making a brioche. Either way, your home will smell divine and you’ll start drifting into a Parisian state of mind.

• Dress the part. Parisian fashion needs no introduction. It’s famous around the world, but surprisingly easy to replicate, provided you know the rules. Across genders, there are simple guidelines: keep it understated, invest in quality basics, and say “NO” to logos! For men, opt for tailored suits in black or blue and invest in quality denim. For women, make sure your clothes fit perfectly and that you find the right balance between being dressed up and looking laid-back. Et voilà! You look the part of a real Parisian.

• Listen to the ambient sounds of Paris while getting some work done. Before COVID-19, the team behind My Little Paris, a Paris lifestyle newsletter, recorded ambient sounds around the City of Light. They call it, “Bruits de Paris” (Sounds of Paris). So now you can get some work done while pretending to sip a glass of wine on the banks of the Seine (when you’re really just drinking in your pajamas on the couch).

• Make a playlist of French music on Spotify or Pandora. We suggest starting with one of the greatest living Parisian musicians, French pop master Jacques Dutronc.

In the Afternoon

• Take a long, leisurely lunch with French wine and fromage.

• Wander around Paris (virtually of course). These videos will allow you to safely explore the museums, gardens, and monuments of Paris – sans the crowds.

• Visit the Lourve (also virtually, of course). You can visit several of the famed art museum’s galleries virtually from the comfort of your coach. No more jostling in a crowd of tourists to maybe check a glimpse of the Mona Lisa.

• Read a book written by a Parisian. Go all in and start with Marcel Proust’s, In Search of Lost Time, considered to be one of the most important French-language novels written in the 20th century.

At Night

• Cook a meal inspired by French chefs. Consider cooking one of these 43 French recipes, and serving it with a perfectly paired French wine.

• Stream a French movie on Netflix or Amazon. This might be even more enjoyable than seeing a movie in France, since there are English subtitles. For a list of the 100 French films of all time, click here and take your pick. Our recommendations for French-language movies? Amour, which one the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2012, Blue is the Warmest Color, which won the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and Amélie, which won Best Film at the 2002 European Film Awards.

• Light a French candle before bed. Nothing will relax you and prepare you for a good night’s sleep more than a French lavender candle from Provence. After all, you’re a Parisian now – you need your beauty sleep!

Wow – you packed a whole Parisian wine vacation into one day – and you didn’t even leave your house. Bon travail, and bonne nuit, mon ami!

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