The insider’s guide to not looking like a tourist in Paris

How to not look like a tourist in Paris. Photo / Isaiah B on Unsplash
They say if you want to discover a destination you need to live like a local. In Paris, far-removed from the tourist traps, Susan Gough Henly knows just the person and place.
Tucked into a little nook of Paris’ 5th arrondissement on the rue du Bievre, which is named after the city’s almost forgotten underground river, there’s a tiny new shopfront that looks like it’s been here forever. Messy Nessy’s Cabinet is a bower bird’s collection of curiosities, carefully curated books on Paris and the French esprit, time-travel trinkets, miniature art pieces, games, Parisian nostalgia, vinyl records, and, yes, in this Olympics year, personally collected and bottled water from the Seine (Eau de Seine), which must not be drunk but is apparently safe to swim in.
READ MORE: Where to eat in Paris: An off-the-beaten-path dining guide
Once inside, look for the Don’t Be a Tourist guides to Paris, London, and New York; Parisian Pursuit and Don’t Be a Tourist in Paris Wildcard games for all tragic Francophiles; leather travel wallets and duffel bags; Paris People Watching Club T-shirts and caps; and a quirky array of insect jewellery, bijou miniatures, and brocante paraphernalia.
Every item reflects the whimsy and audacious curiosity of owner Vanessa Grall, the Nessy of the wildly popular Messy Nessy Chic, an online cabinet of curiosities otherwise known as her blog. For the past 13 years she has intrigued and inspired hundreds of thousands of followers with her fascinating and bizarre discoveries of people and places in Paris and around the world. And the name? Her French father calls her Nessy and she claims to be a little untidy, yet her observations and way with words are razor-sharp.
“I like to think that my cabinet is the physical manifestation of my blog. It offers an authentic alternative to all the Made in China tourist souvenirs that are being sold a few hundred metres away near the Seine.”
The 38-year-old London-raised, French-American moved to Paris in 2011 after working as a journalist for a bootstrap lifestyle publication in Notting Hill.
The highlight of Grall’s Instagram account is the people-watching reels taken from her upstairs window. These gentle style-spy observations of her fellow Parisians have gone viral and have spawned the T-shirts and caps in her shop.
But the most significant manifestation of Nessy’s insatiable curiosity is her idiosyncratic Don’t Be a Tourist books on Paris, and now New York and London. It does them a disservice to call them guidebooks. Indeed, this young autodidact has, in her quirky and unassuming way, completely turned the art of guidebook writing on its head and delivered unpolished gems of pure discovery.
At 358 pages, the book is now in its third edition.
“I knew I didn’t want to write a conventional guide that divided up Paris by area or by topics like museums and restaurants. I thought it’d be much more interesting to give suggestions about exploring the city based on a reader’s different moods, such as feeling romantic or having a lonely heart or keeping parents or kids happy.” she explains.
Her explorations of the city via various moods go something like this:
The Paris Runaways gives advice on creative havens, bohemian hangouts, booklover nooks and the hallowed trails of the Lost Generation from Hemingway to a whole cast of trailblazing African American artists and writers.
Anywhere but the Louvre offers suggestions on under-the-radar museums and art galleries as well as invaluable tips on how to shop like a collector including at the massive Saint-Ouen flea market.
I Know this Great Little Place tantalises with insider tips on tucked-away local restaurants, villages within the city, urban farms, tiny shops, secret Paris enclaves and lots more.
Don’t Call Me a Hipster dives into where to dine, socialise and party with the cool kids
Alice in Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole explores some of Nessy’s favourite haunts … abandoned and underground places as well as esoteric and scandalous Paris.
If you want more, you can also arrange for a 45-minute in-person session with Nessy at her Cabinet (€258, $455) to get her personal travel advice on whatever you fancy.
Now that travellers have explored the far corners of the Earth, it may seem that there is little left to discover. Messy Nessy has proven us wrong. She’s opened our eyes to the innumerable wonders – hiding in plain sight – of the world’s most visited city.
Join a life-drawing workshop at one of the oldest art schools in Paris and you might find yourself sitting in the very same chair where Picasso, Manet, Delacroix or Cézanne sketched their models a century ago. The unchanged atelier of Académie de la Grande Chaumière is open to the public for afternoon classes with a live model, Monday to Saturday and Wednesdays from 7pm-10pm. No reservations necessary, just show up with paper and pencils. Grande-chaumiere.fr/en
Find the Parisian equivalent to Dita Von Teese aboard an old barge parked across from Notre Dame cathedral. Below the deck of La Nouvelle Seine, there’s a red velvet theatre where a talented and glamorous troupe of burlesque artists put on an enchanting and memorable show at the weekends after dark. Lanouvelleseine.com
The outrageously overlooked Giacometti Institute houses the world’s largest collection of works by surrealist sculptor Alberto Giacometti, who was a key player in the bohemian Surrealist circle in early 20th-century Paris. You’ll find a recreation of his old studio in the stunning townhouse, works by Picasso, Dali and Meret Oppenheim, as well as personal letters, art and objects exchanged between artists. Take a wander around the neighbourhood afterwards, where you’re spoiled for choice with Art Nouveau architecture. Fondation-giacometti.fr
At one of the world’s oldest public auction houses, you’re just as welcome as any fine arts collector or antique dealer. Items typically go on display for close-up browsing the day before bidding starts, so it’s practically a free museum too. Auctions usually start from 2pm over three floors and there’s something for all budgets. Attend as an observer once or twice to get a feel for the process before taking the leap to bid. Drouot.com
Get on your glad rags and head to La Coupole, the legendary Hemingway haunt and brasserie of the “années folles”, which plays host to a monthly jazz cabaret, showcasing an incredible troupe of musicians, performers and dancers. Keep up with the decade dressers and French ballroom society around the city with the woman behind it all – La Baronne de Paname @laBaronnedePanama on Instagram
messynessychic.com
If this is right up your alley you can also sign up for US$4.99 (or US$49.99 for one year) a month to become a keyholder member to receive restaurant guides to Paris and New York as well as mini-guides to a host of other destinations from Berlin and Copenhagen to Mexico and Provence and a personal email-based travel concierge service to anywhere in the world.