Indulgences

1. l'apéro

   Pre-dinner drinks

   Usage

   Short for "apéritif" — the whole ritual of a drink and nibbles before dinner. "On prend l'apéro ?" is the standard way to invite someone. In the summer south it starts around 7pm

   Grammar Note

   A colloquial clipping; menus and formal contexts write "apéritif"

2. le pastis

   Pastis — anise spirit

   Usage

   The Marseille and Provence apéritif: anise and liquorice at 40% (45% for "pastis de Marseille"). ⚠ Never drunk neat — diluted with five to seven parts cold water, which turns it cloudy ("louchissement"). Locals order "un jaune", "un Ricard" or "un 51"

3. le kir

   Kir — blackcurrant and white wine

   Usage

   A Burgundy apéritif: "crème de cassis de Dijon" topped up with white Bourgogne aligoté, named after Canon Félix Kir, mayor of Dijon. With crémant or champagne it becomes a "kir royal"; with red wine, a "communard"

4. le crémant

   Crémant — traditional-method sparkling wine

   Usage

   Sparkling wine made by the same bottle-fermentation method as champagne, named by region: "crémant d'Alsace", "de Bourgogne", "de Loire". Cheaper than champagne and what locals actually drink day to day

5. le champagne

   Champagne

   Usage

   ⚠ A protected appellation: only sparkling wine from the Champagne region (around Reims and Épernay) may use the name. The same method elsewhere is "crémant" or "mousseux". Sweetness is read off the label: "brut", "extra brut", "demi-sec"

6. le cidre brut

   Dry cider

   Usage

   Apple sparkling wine from Normandy and Brittany. AOP ciders include Pays d'Auge, Cotentin and Perche in Normandy and Cornouaille in Brittany. Usually only 3–5% alcohol. In a crêperie it is drunk from a "bolée" with galettes

   Grammar Note

   "Brut" is dry, "doux" sweet, "demi-sec" in between — the same words as for wine

7. le calvados

   Calvados — apple brandy

   Usage

   An AOC spirit distilled from Normandy cider, colloquially "le calva". Three appellations: Calvados, Calvados Pays d'Auge and Calvados Domfrontais. Drinking a glass midway through a long meal is the "trou normand" — nowadays often replaced by an apple sorbet

8. l'armagnac

   Armagnac — Gascon grape brandy

   Usage

   An AOC grape brandy from Gascony in the South-West, reckoned France's oldest spirit. Distilled in a distinctive continuous still, giving it a fuller character than cognac. Drunk as a "digestif" after the meal

   Grammar Note

   Masculine, but the article elides to "l'" before the vowel

9. le cognac

   Cognac

   Usage

   An AOC grape brandy from around the town of Cognac in the Charente. VS, VSOP and XO on the label are ageing grades. ⚠ Brandy from anywhere else may not be called cognac

10. la Chartreuse

    Chartreuse — monastic herbal liqueur

    Usage

    A herbal liqueur made by Carthusian monks in the Chartreuse massif (Isère) from 130 plants. Green is 55%, yellow 43%; the green is stronger and more bitter. In the Alps it is drunk as a digestif, often after skiing

    Grammar Note

    Capitalised because it is named after the massif and the monastic order; feminine

11. le bureau de tabac

    Tobacconist

    Usage

    Tobacco retail is a state monopoly: only a licensed "débitant de tabac" (colloquially "buraliste") may sell it. ⚠ Not available in supermarkets or convenience stores. Look for the red lozenge sign, the "carotte". They also sell stamps, fiscal stamps, lottery tickets and transport tickets — handy for travellers

12. un espace sans tabac

    Smoke-free area

    Usage

    ⚠ A June 2025 decree (n° 2025-582) banned smoking on beaches, in parks and public gardens, at bus shelters and around schools, libraries and sports facilities; the fine is €135. Café and restaurant terraces, and e-cigarettes under that decree, are excluded — but all indoor spaces have been smoke-free since 2008

    Grammar Note

    "Sans" means "without"; the phrase is the official signage term used on the ground

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