You Must Try These 9 Foods When You Travel To France

No matter how well you've studied and practiced recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, there are some French dishes that just don't taste the same outside France. Here are 9 foods that you just cannot miss when you are traveling through that beautiful country.

You Must Try These 9 Foods When You Travel to France (Slideshow)

It wasn't easy to narrow down the dishes that comprise this list, but we are confident in saying that if you eat these nine dishes when you're in France, you will leave satisfied. We included restaurants that you can enjoy these foods in based on the recommendations of chefs like David Leibowitz, our contributors, and other publications.

While many of these dishes can be enjoyed in Paris, there are certainly other tasty cities in France that are well-worth the visit. Thus, this list includes a few different regional specialties.

Unlike the United States, France does not tend to advertise that their foods are local, because there is no need to. Local and seasonal is de rigueur, and this tends to be truer for small towns than cities.

So brush up on your French restaurant vocabulary and make sure to order these nine dishes while you're there. Can't go soon? No worries. You can always try one of America's best French restaurants first.

Aligot

This bowl of decadence from the Aubrac region of France has five magic ingredients: mashed potatoes, butter, cream, garlic, and cheese (traditionally a tomme from central France). Try it at a 25-seat, reasonably priced bistro named Chez Germaine in Paris.

Bouillabaisse

You cannot leave the port city of Marseille without trying this traditional presentation of fish (bony Mediterranean fish preferred) and shellfish. The famous restaurant Grand Bar des Goudes, which overlooks the water, seasons it with garlic, fennel, saffron, and cayenne, among other ingredients.