Natacha St-Pier’s Paris Select: secrets, anecdotes, good addresses and inspiration

Natacha St-Pier is an artist you think you know… until you discover the woman behind the scenes. Between her intimate concerts and her love of Paris, she opens up a world full of tenderness, emotion and surprises. A loyal reader of Paris Select, she shares with us her Parisian adventures, her favorite neighborhoods, her favorite restaurants, and what makes her daily life in the city tick. A conversation that makes you want to rediscover Paris through her eyes.

Paris Select : Hello Natacha, we’re delighted that you’re following Paris Select and that you’ve agreed to tell us what you love about Paris. So, let’s start with the genesis: what brought you to Paris?

Natach St-Pier: Bonjour Paris Select. What brought me to Paris was very simple: music. I arrived the very first time, when I was 16 or 17. One of the first things I visited was the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre. I remember the Abbesses metro station with all those endless staircases. It was my first visit to Paris, and I hadn’t yet come to sing there… if someone had told me back then that I’d be living in Paris, I wouldn’t have believed it!

PS: Was it a meeting that prompted you to come to Paris? Or was it really a choice on your part?

NP: It wasn’t even my choice, it was that of my manager, a major producer in Canada and the United States, who wanted an artist to break through in France. His goal with me was to get an album released in France. I signed with Sony Columbia France and arrived here to release my album. We added a song written by Robert Goldman and submitted to Eurovision to gain access to the media. That’s how I got into the deep end, but I didn’t want to be a singer.
If there’s one encounter that changed my life, it was with Pascal Obispo, with the song “Tu trouveras”. A small fork in the road that ended up being a real turning point in my life.

PS: How did you get to know the city? What were your favorite neighborhoods from the start?

NP: At the very beginning, the record company put me up in an apartment-hotel on Boulevard Haussmann. I didn’t know a soul, and I thought it was strange that restaurants closed in the afternoon between noon and evening! Finally, I was put up in another apartment, and there I began to discover the Étoile area. I loved it, I walked around Paris a lot at first, market, market, market, and then I moved to Montmartre, where my real love affair with Paris began. Much later, I lived on rue des Martyrs, at 80 rue des Martyrs, a little house behind the Chez Michou building. I met all the shopkeepers, and this neighborhood family made me feel protected, like in a village.

PS: What advice would you give to the young girl you were when you arrived in Paris?

NP: Don’t be afraid. Paris is safe, there are lots of really nice people.

PS: And now, in Paris, what addresses or restaurants would you like your foreign friends to discover?
NP: Always a Parisian brasserie. I like Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore for the history… Of course, there are plenty of Michelin-starred restaurants, but if you just want to spend the day like a basic Parisian, you can find a café on the street and simply sit on the terrace.

For a special dinner, Norbert’s restaurant, or a trip on the bateaux-mouches, notably Le Calife with musicians and atmosphere. There’s also the classic Les Jardins du Presbourg on avenue de la Grande Armée in the Étoile district. In every neighborhood, there’s a café or bouillon to discover.

PS: Are you more of a chic, gourmet diner or Parisian bistro?
NP: I’m both. Two different experiences, one daily, the other exceptional. For birthdays, we give each other experiences and adventures, not material gifts.

PS: What about theater or concerts in Paris?
NP: It’s a couple’s rule: one cultural outing a month. We take turns choosing for each other. It can be opera, theater, comedy, a concert… as long as it’s a cultural evening.

PS: Do you have an address for brunch?
NP: For my son, Fruit ParadiseI like him to eat healthy and balanced. For a romantic brunch, you can also have brunch in a palace: the Ritz, George V… For lunch, you enter a world of luxury.

PS: What inspires you most?
NP: I like the guinguettes along the Seine. I test a lot of them and I have a friend who has a company that offers tours on the Seine with small boats that can be rented or privatized.

It’s great to have your own little boat on the Seine. There are guinguettes all over the place, so I’m discovering things. I like the Seine. For me, it’s a district in its own right.

PS: Parisian market or supermarket?
NP: When I lived on rue des Martyrs, it was more of a supermarket because I wanted to go fast. Now, the older I get, the more time I take to cook because my child is older, so now it’s market!

PS: When you need to unwind in Paris, what do you do? Stroll, spa, museum?
NP: Spas, museums and exhibitions are a great asset to Paris. Temporary exhibitions are often held in great places, like the Grand Palais. There’s plenty for young and old alike. I’m really looking forward to seeing the Barbara exhibition at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

PS: Your favorite time of day in Paris?
NP: Walking my dog in Montmartre very early in the morning, around 6:30. Paris is calm, gentle, almost anything is possible.

PS: Are you tired of Paris or does it give you a boost?
NP: As I live in the suburbs, Paris gives me a boost. Before, when I was 20, I had the energy. Today, I’ve found the right dose. Paris is a vitamin boost when you come here once in a while.

PS: Parisian luxury for you?
NP: Access to culture. For a concrete expense, it’s transportation: yesterday, 4 hours of parking in the 14ᵉ cost me 78 euros with my hybrid SUV! Using your car or a cab is a luxury.

PS: What’s new in Paris? Any upcoming concerts?
NP: I have concerts in the Paris region, not yet in Paris itself, but everywhere in February, March, April 2026. I’m doing intimate tours, like in the 60s and 70s: small venues closer to the people.

These days, we ask a lot of the public: to buy albums, tickets, subscriptions, likes, comments… So what I can offer is to reach out to them, to be close to the public. It’s more work, but I think it’s fair and benevolent. I have a real love for my public, who have been following me for a long time.

PS: We’re in the middle of Fashion Week. Are you fashionable?
NP: I like fashion, I saw the Hermès Homme show, congratulations to the designer. For a long time, I wanted to be very up-to-date, and I often messed up. Today, I prefer classics that last, clothes that I can wear again, that define my style, more important than ephemeral pieces. It’s also ecological: no fast fashion, less waste. An iconic piece that lasts is better than a one-season wardrobe.

PS: If Paris were a song, what would it be?
NP: There are lots of songs about Paris, but there’s one song that, for me, is Paris: it’s Brel’s Vieux Amants. Because we have this relationship with Paris. He says, of course, “nous eûmes des orages, vingt ans d’amour, c’est l’amour fou, mille fois tu pris ton bagage, mille fois je pris mon envol”. And at the end of the song, he tells us: “we continue to love each other, sometimes we still go to war”. But isn’t the trap to fall into something too smooth? And we have this love-hate relationship with Paris. For me, the song that defines my relationship with Paris is Brel’s song.

PS: If Paris could be summed up in three words?
NP: I’d say cultural, cosmopolitan, surprising.

PS: And last but not least, I know we’re following and we’d like to thank you for that. What does Paris Select mean to you?
NP : A Parisian friend, a guide, a good friend who has the time to look for good addresses, who discovers them and shares them; who finds lots of nice things, and who always gives you lots of ideas!

Interview conducted on January 29, 2026 in Paris.
Thanks to the Canopy by Hilton Paris Eiffel Tower for hosting us.

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