La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in “My account”.

If you have spent any time with Parisians in the last several months (years, even), then you may have noticed an air of apprehension about the Olympic Games. Any time I ask Parisian if they’ll be in the city during the Olympics, I’m met with either a relieved “Thank goodness I’ll be in the countryside” or a frustrated “Yes, I’ll be stuck here”.

My theory is that people will start getting excited once the Games begin. After all, my skeptical neighbours were all outside joyfully watching the Olympic Torch relay go through our neighbourhood. 

But the nervous sentiment has trickled over to discussions about visiting France in general. It is true that Paris will be crowded – we are expecting around five million more visitors during the Games than in an average summer – but I don’t agree with the notion that the entire country is better avoided. Paris is not France.

Should I avoid France this summer because of the Olympics?

If you are coming to Paris this summer, either as a sports-lover or a regular tourist, then be aware that city will be transformed for the Olympic Games.

Security zones will be put in place around Games venues, and the area immediately surrounding the river Seine will be blocked off ahead and only accessible with a QR code in the lead-up to the opening ceremony. 

While the usual landmarks and museums will mostly remain open (though with some adaptations, such altered operating hours and obligatory advanced reservations), this is a great opportunity to test out some of the lesser-known museums.

5 lesser-known museums in Paris to visit this summer

I promise I’m not recommending these museums solely because I think the Mona Lisa is a bit overrated, though that may be changing as the Louvre prepares to give the painting its own room to improve visitors’ experiences. I genuinely think that Paris has a lot to offer off-the-beaten track. 

If you decide to visit Mona, or La Jaconde as she is known in France, you might be curious why she is in France in the first place, considering both the painter and subject are Italian.

Why is the Mona Lisa so famous (and why is it even in France)?

Recently, the French government passed an immigration law that created a new obligation for foreigners requesting residency cards to sign a contract promising to ‘respect French values’. Nothing was said about the primacy of French cheese, wine or other gastronomy, nor was there any mention of the crucial two-hour lunch-break and statutory five weeks of holiday per year.

There was a line about respecting France’s national anthem, the Marseillaise. 

The ‘French values’ that foreign residents must respect

Most of the values we foreigners must respect seem pretty doable in my opinion (I can’t argue with the line about ‘refraining from sexist attitudes’).

As for the things that foreigners would change about France, we recently asked our readers if there is anything they would alter about this country if they had unlimited power. 

Banning insects to abolishing ‘le’ and ‘la’ – The changes that readers would make to France

Aside from the official values France expects you to hold, there are a few other ways you might find yourself becoming more French over time.

From being prepared for strikes to attitudes about bread and wine, Norwegian writer Ingri Bergo lays out nine ways foreigners might be ‘Frenchified’.

Nine signs that you are becoming French