At the time of writing 41,000 people have visited www.best-in.paris to place their votes across 190 categories. 33 days* of campaigning and voting remain to find the best services, accomplishments and experiences in Paris, so while some categories seem to be decided already, others will go down to the wire.
*Note – At the time of republishing 7 days of voting remain
COMMUNITY
When arriving in a new country many expats turn to the support and guidance of a community. Currently leading the Best Association category is AARO (43%), closely followed by AWG (33%). Facebook group English Speaking Mums in Paris is currently the expat choice for Best Women’s Network with 23% of the votes.
FAMILY
Given the diversity of after school activities available to expat families, the ultimate winners of this category are the children. However the current standings show that Matt Black’s Rock U has taken a commanding lead with 55% of the votes, followed by Derek Ferguson’s Roaming Schoolhouse (25%). The voting for Best family friendly café or restaurant currently shows Chez Hé at 21%, 2016 winner Mombini at 20%, and La Baleine (15%) are all in contention. Parc de Jeux (6ème) is currently considered the best playground, ahead of c (2ème) by 3%.
ESSENTIAL
There are some services which are essential to living in Paris. First we have the Best Bank Category. Current voting shows HSBC as a favourite with 23% of the votes, 2016 winner BNP Paribas sits with 18% and LCL has 11% of the votes. TransferWise is currently the expat choice for best method of sending money overseas (69%), international bank transfer, XEtrade, Paypal and MoneyGram make up the other 31% of votes.
BUSINESS
My Bilingual VA. leads the Best Business Support Service for expats with 34% of votes ahead of PleaseHelp.fr (31%). Michael Pereira’s Broadway in Paris, currently stands in first place as Best Expat Business with 41%, Mexican bistro Candelaria sits in second place with 13% and spa Free Persephone follows with 11%. Anglopreneurs is a clear favourite for Best Business Association in Paris.
GOING OUT
The Best Bar to Cut Loose sees Le Medusa (45%) and Red House (43%) going head to head. The Moose has nudged ahead of 2016 winner The Great Canadian by 9% for Best Canadian Bar. The fiercely fought category, Best Wine Bar in Paris sees two bars fighting it out. Ô Chateau with 39% of votes and G.IV with 37%. The Best Cocktail Bar category sees Dirty Dick sitting at 22%, Le Syndicat at 20% and Moonshiner with a respectable 6%. The Best Club for a Night Out dancing places Le Rex Club on 51%, followed by Le Queen at 25% and Mix Club at 19%. The Best English Pub category sees The Bowler storm into the lead with 81% of votes. The Best Gay Friendly bar sees Les Souffleurs at 34%, Café Cox at 23% and Open café at 21%. The Best Bar for a Cozy Night Out is currently led by Le Comptoir Général with 69% of votes, whilst best place to hang out for expats sees WOS (24%), The Moose (21%), and Café Oz – Grands boulevards (20%) in a close contest.
ENTERTAINMENT
Moulin Rouge is currently leading the Best Cabaret category (25%) over Aux Trois Mailletz (18%). The Best Reoccuring Event sees Patricia’s Paris expat soirées and dinners a firm favourite with 41%, Rose Reyes’ Salon Sessions is also popular with 20%. Elsewhere, Matt and Manon’s LLost in Frenchlation sits in third position with 16% and Adrian Leeds’ Après-Midi in fourth position with 13%.
PEOPLE
Best Expat Achievement is currently held by Sabri Ben for organising a 3rd TEDx in Paris bringing 800 attendees (66%), Aaron Marz – CTO – for receive seed funding for Roomchecking has 16% of votes, and Paul Taylor – featuring in his own TV spot on Canal+ (What the fu*k France) (10%). Ukranian artist and graphic designer Daria Goncharenko leads the Best Artist category with 48% of votes, while American portraitist Moe Delaitre sits closely behind with 38%. Early leader Liba Stambollion now trails with 12%.
With 12 starting nominations, the Best Musician, Band or Singer category is now between just two musicians. American/Filipino pianist John Florencio (35%) and American Jazz Singer Marvin Parks (29%). Violin teacher Camilla Radford-Furman leads piano teacher Bonnie Brown for the Best Music Teacher category by 16%.
LEARNING
Learning the language is top of most people’s list when they arrive. Currently leading the Best French School category is 2016 winner OISE, followed by Ecole Perl (16%),
Inlingua (12%) and Alliance Française (12%). My French Coach currently leads The Best Teacher/Tutor /Lesson category with 65%. Ahead of 2016 winner Hélène Phelipon (27%). The Best Culinary School category sees La Cuisine Paris leading with 46%. Le Cordon Bleu sits in second position with 17% and École Lenôtre at 8% is in third position. The Best Bilingual Montessori or Montessori Inspired School category is currently dominated by Rainbow school with 50% of votes.
Ecole Jeannine Manuel currently leads the Best International School category with 31% of the votes, 2016 winner, American School of Paris, currently sits in second place with 19% and Marymount International school with 18%.
HEALTH
American counsellor Vanessa Corbera, LCSW is ahead in the Best Child Therapist category with 40% of votes. The Best Couple Counsellor is a close affair with three nominees in contention; bilingual licensed clinical psychologist Anne Belgram Perkins leads at 36%, South African Antoinette Steenkamp claims 27% of the votes and American psychotherapist David Safier has 18% of votes. The Best English-speaking Dentist category is currently tied with Dr Jane Matkoski and American-Canadian Dr Alexandra Germain. Both currently level with 30% of the votes.
This year the Best Yoga category seems to have been decided at an early stage. With its low prices and dedicated teachers Affordable Yoga sits in first place.
FOOD & DRINK
In their search for the Best fish and chips Expats have placed La Maison Mère in primary position with 28% of the votes, followed by God save the Fish (21%) and Johana’s Fish and Chips (17%). Firmly ahead, La Petite Liste de Manon (40%) seems to all but claim the Best Food Blog of 2017, Les Paris de Laura (17%) and Cook’heure (15%) follow. Buddha Bar currently takes top spot for best weekend brunch. Best Tea Room is currently led by new tea room (founded in August 2016) A. Lacroix Pâtissier, a friendly category with Kodama and Odette in contention. The Best Gluten Free Shop is between Naturalia, La Maison du Sans Gluten and Sitron Patisserie.
VISIT
Giverny currently seems to be the expat choice for a day trip away from the capital with 39% of votes. Provins (16%), Versailles (13%) and 2016 trip choice Fontainebleau with 12% of votes are alternative options.
With its 360 degree panoramic views, the Montparnasse Tower Panoramic Observation Deck is a clear favourite for Best View of Paris with 32% of votes. The Sacre Coeur currently has 12% of votes and Tour Saint Jacques has 8%. Fat Tire Tours currently leads the Best Tour of Paris category with 33% of the votes, followed by last year’s runner up, Street Art Tour (32%). 2016 winner Sight Seeker’s Delight currently sits in 3rd place with 13% of votes.
The Best Terrasse votes are as follows: Best View currently sits with Terrasse de l’Hôtel Raphael (23%), Unusual Choice – Palazzo (42%), Green Choice – Les Jardins de l’Hôtel Particulier Montmartre (27%) and Chic Choice – Terrasse Kléber du Peninsula (38%)
STYLE
Best Fashion Blog is contested between 3 main blogs, Agentluxe (24%), Meetmeinparee (18%) and 2016 winner – Petite in Paris (17%). The Best Fashion Startup category has evolved into a head to head clash with Cuvh (53%) and Unidraft (45%). Best Fashion Designer is between Ngalala Yaba (51%) and Enoka Fonseka (45%), and Best Fashion Week Hotspot sees Le Jardin du Palais Royal with 45% of votes and Café de Flore with 27%.
ROMANCE & SPECIAL OCCASIONS
Passerelle Debilly footbridge is currently the preferred choice for Best Place to Propose in Paris, leading 2016 choice Pont Bir Hakeim by 15%. Pont des Arts is proving a popular choice for the Best Place To Kiss with 42%. With 80% of the votes, 2016 winner Fete in France seems to be on track to retain their title of Best Wedding Planner 2017, however, the Best Wedding Photographer category remains an open category, Sławomir Janicki currently leads with 31%, Krystal Kenney at 14% and Anna Moskal at 13% chase for top
spot.
Voting closes on August 14th. If these past 30 days have shown us anything, it’s that the positions are volatile, and with another 33 days remaining we can expect big changes across most of the categories. If you haven’t voted yet you can visit www.best-in.paris to choose your favourites. We look forward to bringing you the results in September when the special edition of Expatriates Magazine, Best of Paris 2017, will be distributed – a useful, practical catalogue of the best in Paris for expat residents.
