Photograph by Mike Kirwan

Ah, springtime in Paris…

Paris comes alive in the spring, a time when the city thaws out from the doldrums of gray winters.

Parisian boutiques roll out daring new designs, restaurants update their menus to include fresh legumes ripe for the season, and locals trade in their husky scarves for leaner neck wraps.

We’ve already told you about UNESCO’s secret Paris garden. While Paris itself goes through a bit of a rebirth, so too do the city’s parks, and none more so than the Parc Floral de Paris. Contained within the enormous Bois de Vincennes, the Parc Floral de Paris is a vast aggregation of 3000 manicured plant varieties set around a tranquil, artificial lake. Best of all, visitors can literally enmesh themselves amongst the flowers on small grass pathways that maze through the Versailles-worthy gardens. Homemade picnics are encouraged. The park’s amphitheater hosts a wide array of events all year, including the annual jazz festival.

The Parc Floral de Paris is a world class botanical garden and perhaps one of the city’s best kept secrets. Aside from the summer’s jazz festival the park doesn’t attract wide swaths of tourists. Their absence makes for a nice respite from the hoards of springtime visitors throughout the center of the city.

Popularity: 3% [?]

photograph courtesy of Melanie Clatanoff

Le Tais, a bar in the Menilmontant district of Paris, serves free dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. Yes, you read that right: free dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

All-you-can-eat couscous with vegetables and lamb on the side is served to everyone in the restaurant between about 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

The food is tasty and completely free, but you have to get there early to find a place—we suggest settling in and nesting around 8 p.m.

And you need to buy a drink or two. A pint of beer runs about €6, a glass of wine €3 and bottles of wine begin at €12. Small prices to pay for free grub, all of them.

Le Tais is located at 129 Boulevard de Menilmontant in the 11th arrondissement, on the left at the Menilmontant (Line 2) metro exit.

Popularity: 3% [?]