The mysterious, elusive French girl gets it all right: headwear, make-up, stripes. But the real reason we currently wish we could pick up and move to the land of baguettes and berets? Three words: Sparkling water fountains.
Let us clarify. The water fountains themselves don't sparkle, but they do dispense free sparkling water to all who stop by.
So actually, we do want to adjust our earlier statement to four words that make us want to move to France: Free sparkling water fountains.
As Conde Nate Traveller reports, the initiative actually started in 2010, with eight fountains rolled out across the city. It was announced this month that those original fountains will expand to include at least one in all of Paris's 20 arrondissements.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
The brilliance doesn't stop there. The fountains dispense the magic bubbly water is both cooled and carbonated with CO2 kept at 44 degrees Fahrenheit, Conde Nast Traveller also writes. That means your free water is also cooled to a nice temperature and you don't have to worry about room temp seltzer. The only drawback? So far, there's no way to flavour it like your favourite La Croix.
While the initiative may just sound like the stuff of bougie dreams, there's a more high-minded reason behind it. The idea was to keep Parisians more hydrated on the go, as well as reduce plastic waste. According to studies, the average French person drinks 40 gallons of bottled water a year. The water fountains provide further incentive to BYO water bottle.
The new fountains will be rolled out slowly, with the first arriving in December and the project completing in December 2018. So if you're going to the City Of Light in the near future, keep your eyes peeled. The odds of you stumbling onto one of these wondrous devices just got a lot higher.
Related Video: