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Paris Revealed: The Secret Life of a City
PARIS - one of the most visited cities in the world.BUT do you know ...Which is the most romantic spot to say 'je't'aime'? And the sexiest?Where to see fantastic art, away from all the crowds?Why Parisian men feel compelled to pee in the street?How to choose a hotel room where you might actually get a good night's sleep?Stephen Clarke goes behind the scenes to reveal everything Parisians know about their city - but don't want to tell you.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2010
202 people are currently reading
984 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Clarke
31 books412 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Stephen Clarke is the bestselling author of seven books of fiction and nonfiction that satirize the peculiarities of French culture. In 2004, he self-published A Year in the Merde, a comic novel skewering contemporary French society. The novel was an instant success and has led to numerous follow-ups, including Dial M for Merde (2008), 1,000 Years of Annoying the French (2010), and Paris Revealed (2011). After working as a journalist for a French press group for ten years, Paris-based Clarke now has a regular spot on French cable TV, poking fun at French culture.
Stephen Clarke is the bestselling author of seven books of fiction and nonfiction that satirize the peculiarities of French culture. In 2004, he self-published A Year in the Merde, a comic novel skewering contemporary French society. The novel was an instant success and has led to numerous follow-ups, including Dial M for Merde (2008), 1,000 Years of Annoying the French (2010), and Paris Revealed (2011). After working as a journalist for a French press group for ten years, Paris-based Clarke now has a regular spot on French cable TV, poking fun at French culture.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
January 25, 2022
It might have taken me some time to get through it, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was the book I would read on my phone in the middle of the night when I was battling insomnia. And I loved it because it would put me back to sleep. Not because it was boring or dull, but because it was chock full of information and I would go on all these detours researching random facts about Paris and French history, etc., etc., and down so many delicious varied rabbit holes. I learned so much. So hats off to Stephen Clarke! Highly recommend for those of you wanting to know more about Paris --particularly the nitty gritty that you won't find in your basic travel guide.
February 17, 2023
Loved this.
Cultural books can get really heavy, but Stephen Clarkes style is light and flows so well.
It is a great look into the day to day life in one of the post iconic cities in the world.
Cultural books can get really heavy, but Stephen Clarkes style is light and flows so well.
It is a great look into the day to day life in one of the post iconic cities in the world.
May 18, 2011
Everything you needed to know on how to live in Paris like a Parisian. From which metro line goes where to the proper etiquette at a cafe (don't order coffee and then sit a table that has been prepared for lunch) and how to rent an apartment in Paris without getting screwed. Lots of historical facts and anecdotes and while not as funny as his previous book, 1000 Years of Annoying the French, it is light hearted and interesting enough if you're looking for a good read on a rainy weekend. The opinions in the book were clearly Clarke's own but if I ever decide to visit Paris, I'll be sure to consult this book for guidance (well, actually I've been to Paris for one whole day in 2000 but that hardly counts).
March 30, 2017
It is an interesting and entertaining book on Paris. The author is an Englishman who has been living in Paris for years. In this book he shares his experience, point of view and opinion about different fields: the metro, culture, appartments, history, sex, food, romance, inhabitants in Paris etc. It is useful to read it when you want to visit Paris or spend a longer time there.
May 7, 2012
Paris Revealed is a travel guide that makes you feel like an experienced ex-pat is telling you all the inside info when you first move to Paris. This is definitely not the usual tourist book and visitors to the city may never actually use a lot of the scoop during a typical vacation, but author Stephen Clarke offers what may prove to be the most interesting and entertaining tome you read on the long plane ride getting there. While Clarke’s tone sometimes seems a bit negative, offering his own judgments of the locals and their ways, it makes you feel like you know Paris better -- its history, where to buy groceries and what all the contradicting street signs might mean -- even if it doesn’t really relate to your vacation experience in any way. However, should you decide to join the legions of ex-pats and actually relocate to the CIty of Light, you may want to take a much closer look at this one.
December 20, 2022
Lovely read!
August 24, 2019
I read this book just before a trip to Paris and I found it ever so much better than a typical guide book (Frommer, Fodor, Steeves) because it is written with affection but with tongue firmly planted in cheek! The author is an Englishman with a quirky outlook who narrates a very personal series of opinions - much like an old friend would over a few drinks. I finished it on the airplane over the Atlantic just before landing at CDG. Very enjoyable.
March 14, 2014
Continuing with my book a month for 2014, February saw my literary senses being tingled by Stephen Clarke's Paris Revealed. After spotting the word Paris on the cover in a charity shop, I quickly snapped it up and skipped up the road to continue my love affair with the city of lights.
Each chapter details a different element of Parisian life from the Metro to water before a discussion on sex and ending with some detail on the apartments of Paris! Basically if you want a little bit of insight into the social history and the day to day happenings of the city - this is your friend.
Clarke has a dry sense of humour which I of course chuckled along too as well as his chatty nature which made you feel at ease and discussing the city with a friend assisting you in your move. Complete with photographs related to the chapter and a little bit of French thrown in here and there this book will make you want to up sticks and move to Paris, like I needed encouragement...
Other titles by the author include the non-fiction books 'A 100 Years of Annoying the French' and 'Talk to the Snail' along with a host of fiction. After reading Paris Revealed and enjoying it thoroughly from cover to cover, I am 100% going to research Clarke's other titles. I obviously need more French based books...
2/12 so far for my book every month in 2014. Good start I would say *pats self on the back* so Number 3 of this 12 part challenge is Daphne Du Maurier 'Jamaica Inn'. A book described by Mama erratic glamour as a page turner that is written so well you feel the eerie, unsettled atmosphere. I for one cannot wait for this.
Each chapter details a different element of Parisian life from the Metro to water before a discussion on sex and ending with some detail on the apartments of Paris! Basically if you want a little bit of insight into the social history and the day to day happenings of the city - this is your friend.
Clarke has a dry sense of humour which I of course chuckled along too as well as his chatty nature which made you feel at ease and discussing the city with a friend assisting you in your move. Complete with photographs related to the chapter and a little bit of French thrown in here and there this book will make you want to up sticks and move to Paris, like I needed encouragement...
Other titles by the author include the non-fiction books 'A 100 Years of Annoying the French' and 'Talk to the Snail' along with a host of fiction. After reading Paris Revealed and enjoying it thoroughly from cover to cover, I am 100% going to research Clarke's other titles. I obviously need more French based books...
2/12 so far for my book every month in 2014. Good start I would say *pats self on the back* so Number 3 of this 12 part challenge is Daphne Du Maurier 'Jamaica Inn'. A book described by Mama erratic glamour as a page turner that is written so well you feel the eerie, unsettled atmosphere. I for one cannot wait for this.
January 16, 2019
This is not a tourist guide book! If you don't know Paris (either not born there or never been - a couple of times at least), then this book is not for you: you might be disappointed as the other reviews pointed out.
As a native-Parisian living abroad, I really enjoyed the walk in my city, remembering anecdotes and history with the added convenience that the author did the research for me: the facts are known to any Parisian, except that we don't know most of the time where they come from, historical facts in particular. Perfect book to nurse my nostalgic homesickness and pretty neat to organise my next trip home - few places I want to revisit and even places I forgot about and should definitively check out!
It's also a great book from a cross-cultural point of view. True, the first few chapters are a bit over-stereotyped (Clarke's style anyway), but this is how foreigners see us, Parisians, at least from an anglo-saxon point of view. I live in Australia and can totally relate even though those stereotypes are obviously over the top.
All in all, a nice read, a touch of Brit's humour that never hurts, and the urge to book my next flight home!
As a native-Parisian living abroad, I really enjoyed the walk in my city, remembering anecdotes and history with the added convenience that the author did the research for me: the facts are known to any Parisian, except that we don't know most of the time where they come from, historical facts in particular. Perfect book to nurse my nostalgic homesickness and pretty neat to organise my next trip home - few places I want to revisit and even places I forgot about and should definitively check out!
It's also a great book from a cross-cultural point of view. True, the first few chapters are a bit over-stereotyped (Clarke's style anyway), but this is how foreigners see us, Parisians, at least from an anglo-saxon point of view. I live in Australia and can totally relate even though those stereotypes are obviously over the top.
All in all, a nice read, a touch of Brit's humour that never hurts, and the urge to book my next flight home!
September 26, 2012
I had to marvel at Clarke's genius in taking a few facts and then spinning off page after page of slightly droll blather and commonplace commentary. I'd say the ratio is about 1 to 10. His humorless, repeated citation to his other books in footnotes was quite tiresome. So annoying. And I never was sure I could trust him as a historian. Okay, I admit that as a result of reading this book I'll have to watch "The Tall Blond with One Black Shoe" again.
April 28, 2014
Amusing insight into Parisian lifestyle, culture, and geography. Highly recommended to anyone travelling to Paris for the first time. This is not your typical guide book with lists of hotels, restaurants, and museums; rather, it is an exploration of neighbourhoods and Paris quirks that will allow you to better plan your trip and better understand things that you encounter in the city. Well written and engaging, this is light-hearted and easy to read.
October 6, 2014
I read this book before I went to Paris this summer, and despite my miserable visit there due to a theft, I decided to re-read it when I came back. It is witty, sarcastic and jam-packed with historical facts. I would suggest it be a must-read when visiting the City of Lights.
I'm certainly going to search out his other called "1,000 Years of Annoying the French" for more tongue and cheek reading. Great writer!
I'm certainly going to search out his other called "1,000 Years of Annoying the French" for more tongue and cheek reading. Great writer!
May 23, 2018
Part travel guide, part love letter from an English ex-pat (and best-selling author) to the city he now calls his home. Packed with fascinating facts, tips on how to survive the 'merde' from the locals and cloaked in the author's now trademark and very readable 'For Dummies' approach to the history, this book would be both an essential companion (along with your preferred travel guide) or for anyone who either knows or is curious about this very unique and complex part of the world.
July 15, 2014
It's really nice to have a true insight about Parisian before i move out there. ;)
And among all the books i have read about Paris, i guess this one is the most honest and blunt about it. Many books usually only telling the good side of Paris, but this one will make us see the good and the bad side of Paris and Parisian and of course how to blend well with them.
That was quite fun, actually.
And among all the books i have read about Paris, i guess this one is the most honest and blunt about it. Many books usually only telling the good side of Paris, but this one will make us see the good and the bad side of Paris and Parisian and of course how to blend well with them.
That was quite fun, actually.
January 27, 2016
Stephen Clarke is one of my favourite writers. In this book, he writes about Paris(obviously) and spouts helpful advice about maneuvering around the city. The great thing about his writing is, even with a guide book of sorts, he still makes the reading entertaining and humourous. As well as educational.
December 25, 2017
Really fun guide to real life in Paris
I am a frequent visitor to Paris but learned a lot about the city from this book. Aside from that, the book is a witty read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I am a frequent visitor to Paris but learned a lot about the city from this book. Aside from that, the book is a witty read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
April 28, 2024
I know Paris fairly well, having grown up in the banlieu and regularly visiting family in the 11ième and 13ième arrondissements, but I still learned a few new fun facts about the city (e.g., on pigeon control, pissoirs and the loi 1986). The book is also full of wit and spirit. For obvious reasons, however, much of the material and language is now dated. For instance, one would now be more likely to find rentals advertised online than in daily newspaper columns, and the references to transgender people and multiethnic neighbourhoods is problematic. The representation of Parisian life would also have benefitted from a female perspective to add balance. For example, the author seems to relish the erotic charge of day-to-day encounters in Paris' public places, whereas I know many women experience this quite differently. Being wolf-whistled or eyed-up at Nation is not a fun tourist attraction but at best a nuisance and at worst a threatening experience. This is just as true for local Parisiennes as it is for non-French visitors, cultural differences notwithstanding. I think many women also spot sex workers in Belleville and other spaces with a sense of sympathy and solidarity, rather than as objects of curiosity. Generally speaking, moreover, most of the descriptions are highly subjective, so this book is more suited to readers wanting a personal snapshot of Paris rather than hard and fast facts alone.
November 11, 2018
Picked this up from the library because it's about Paris and despite not having read any other books by this author.
I have only visited Paris once, but have read about it and seen it so often on screen, that it felt quite familiar. This book digs a little beneath the normal tourist trail to give you an insight into how to visit Paris without annoying the Parisians and introduces places worth visiting that you might not otherwise know about.
I found parts of it quite entertaining, but it felt like it was cobbled together from tidbits of information and I found the repeated footnotes referencing another book he had written quite frustrating. If it's relevant enough to need a footnote, you should explain the main point, rather than directing the reader to buy another of your books!
It was an easy read, with a few interesting facts which I will keep in mind when next visiting Paris. I do feel, however, that I should have started with another of his books as so much of what he references here seems to have been covered in an earlier piece of writing!
I have only visited Paris once, but have read about it and seen it so often on screen, that it felt quite familiar. This book digs a little beneath the normal tourist trail to give you an insight into how to visit Paris without annoying the Parisians and introduces places worth visiting that you might not otherwise know about.
I found parts of it quite entertaining, but it felt like it was cobbled together from tidbits of information and I found the repeated footnotes referencing another book he had written quite frustrating. If it's relevant enough to need a footnote, you should explain the main point, rather than directing the reader to buy another of your books!
It was an easy read, with a few interesting facts which I will keep in mind when next visiting Paris. I do feel, however, that I should have started with another of his books as so much of what he references here seems to have been covered in an earlier piece of writing!
April 19, 2020
I read this book over a year ago now and it has become my first little guide book to Paris that I keep referring back to.
Overall, it was an insightful book with a humorous twist from Clarke who had lived there for many years. Having written a few books on the French and their ways, it can be said that Clarke has a clue.
The book brings Paris to life through chapters that are specifically themed so that all the details can be related back to a subject. This I found as a useful tool in the ordering of the material, and furthermore brought a story-telling element to the corners and cafes of the City of Lights.
A very enjoyable account of Parisian life, and a good foundation for building upon!
Overall, it was an insightful book with a humorous twist from Clarke who had lived there for many years. Having written a few books on the French and their ways, it can be said that Clarke has a clue.
The book brings Paris to life through chapters that are specifically themed so that all the details can be related back to a subject. This I found as a useful tool in the ordering of the material, and furthermore brought a story-telling element to the corners and cafes of the City of Lights.
A very enjoyable account of Parisian life, and a good foundation for building upon!
June 12, 2025
Helpful in some ways, but as this is a 15 year old book, a number of things have changed since publication and so is maybe not as useful. He's trying to be funny and sometimes it just falls flat, like evoking a straw feminist who would object to strip places out of hand.
The best parts are him talking about the makeup of different arrondissements; I'll probably hit up one of the Sri Lankan places when I visit. The art section is especially good as the author does a solid job encapsulating French art for the last 2 centuries and pointing out some lesser-known gems of museums. If I had more time I'd definitely want to check out the Jean Arp museum.
The best parts are him talking about the makeup of different arrondissements; I'll probably hit up one of the Sri Lankan places when I visit. The art section is especially good as the author does a solid job encapsulating French art for the last 2 centuries and pointing out some lesser-known gems of museums. If I had more time I'd definitely want to check out the Jean Arp museum.
June 3, 2020
I enjoyed his earlier book, but this one lacked the humor that had me laughing out loud. There are a lot of very detailed descriptions - great if you are into trivia. There is a chapter devoted to how to rent an apartment in Paris, so maybe it was written more for someone planning to move there. I also thought he was 100% off base in describing the neighborhood I lived in (17th arrondissement). I wouldn't give up on him - this just wasn't a favorite.
April 8, 2021
Revisiting the Paris of my previous travels with Stephen Clarke has given me plenty of deja vu "laugh out loud" moments, but the best part of his guide is the interwoven history lessons which is what makes this really good reading whether you've spent 2 days, 2 weeks or 2 years in the city. If you and la belle capitale haven't been introduced, I highly recommend it. I'll be certain to check out his other novels.
February 15, 2019
Jeśli ktoś szuka dobrego, niekonwencjonalnego przewodnika po stolicy Francji, to polecam mu właśnie ten. W charakterystyczny, trochę żartobliwy sposób Stephen Clark opisuje w nim wiele aspektów życia mieszkańców Paryża, na które pozornie nie zwraca się uwagi. Wspaniała wędrówka po Mieście Świateł.
Lektura rewelacyjna, nawet kiedy wcale nie wybieramy się do tej europejskiej stolicy.
Lektura rewelacyjna, nawet kiedy wcale nie wybieramy się do tej europejskiej stolicy.
April 7, 2020
A thorough examination by humourist & francophile Stephen Clarke of Paris & its modern character & personality. He has the eye of an ex-pat...but the eye of a local too! This is full of insights into the sites & sights of Europe's most pretentious city; but let's not upset the entente cordiale, eh, mon brave?!
November 3, 2020
Stephen Clarke's handy guide to what makes things quintessentially Paris is a humorous and refreshing read. Even if you live in Paris, there are always new anecdotes you'll learn about: from the way of life of Parisians to what makes the city charming and magical. He approaches the dodgy side of Paris wittily and he divides the book into several themes. An interesting read.
July 10, 2022
There is a really interesting book trying to get out but the author's cudgel approach to humour and patronising tone rather gets in the way of the interesting information he includes. His constant reference to his other books is distinctly irritating. I wanted this book to inspire me to go back to Paris and it has done sort of but the author is annoying.
April 8, 2018
A great insight into Paris. It detailed some places I’ve visited as well as some new places to find. Definitely some great ideas for things to visit off the beaten track as well as experiences to try.
January 20, 2021
Książka o wszystkim i zarazem o niczym. Przyjemnie się czyta, ale następnego dnia już nic nie pamiętałam. Na pewno lepiej sprawdzi się dla kogoś kto mieszka albo jest na miejscu w Paryżu i może zabrać książkę w teren.
April 3, 2021
This was fun. Although 10 years old and some of the suggested sites will be gone, a lot of it is still very relevant - how to deal with Parisiens, choosing a great restaurant, lesser-known art galleries. I have been to Paris several times and this was a fun way to visit one of my favorite cities.
July 19, 2018
Nice view of Paris, a city that I would like to know better.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews