Generally dinner in France is later than it might be in the UK or US and is eaten between 7.30 and 8.45 pm – French TV schedules key programmes to commence after dinner at 8.45 as it's considered bad etiquette in France to watch TV while eating dinner.
Another example of how important food is in France can be seen when you consider their traditional meal times: breakfast at 7:00 am, lunch at noon, afternoon snack (le goûter) at 3:30 pm (for kids only), dinner around 8:00 pm.
Unlike in some countries, where lunch involves grabbing a quick sandwich or salad, in France, it is a more substantial and leisurely affair. This often consists of a salad, bread, a main dish, and a dessert. This is also why they tend to eat dinner much later than some of their European neighbors.
A typical French breakfast is light, sweet, and fairly simple. It's usually made up of breakfast cereals, a tartine (slice of bread with topping) and a drink (tea, coffee, orange juice). It's usually eaten between 6 AM and 8 AM.
Eating Schedule
In Paris, there are two distinct service times: Lunch is typically from around 12 until 2:30, and dinner around 7:30-11 p.m. If you are hungry in between, you can always step into a patisserie or boulangerie.
Le goûter, served around 4pm, consists of a biscuit and fruit purée for little ones. Older kids want something more substantial, like bread slathered with chocolate or jam, or individually packaged pastries – madeleines, cakes, brioches – found in supermarkets and convenience stores everywhere.
The Typical Italian Dinner
Italian dinner or la cena, usually from 8:00 to 10:00pm, is another time that Italians enjoy sitting down together and socializing.
The three meals of the day– breakfast, lunch, and dinner– often include both bread and cheese. Maybe that is why the French rarely snack.
The Average Daily Life in France
Adults and school-aged children are generally up by 7:00 a.m., allowing for the business and school day to begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. A typical workday begins at 9:00 a.m. However, lunchbreak in France can last up to two hours.
Distribution of bedtime during the week among French 2019
It displays that 33 percent of respondents declared going to bed between 11 pm and 12 pm on weekdays.
For the main dish, usually a combination of meat or fish will be presented, along with some vegetables and classic French pantry staples. Heavier meals like roast beef, lamb roast, boeuf bourguignon stew or a coq au vin are served in winter.
An usual French lunch will include: an appetizer (une entrée), such as a mixed salad, soup, terrine or pâté; main course, (le plat principal), choice of beef, pork, chicken, or fish, with potatoes, rice, pasta and/or vegetables; cheese course (from a local selection) and/or a sweet.
At the French table, you should keep your hands on the table, on each side of the plate, in a relaxed manner. Palms may be down, or your hands can be on the side, but both hands should be on the table, never under the table on your lap.
Le goûter, sometimes called “quatre heures” (four o'clock) is a snack that French children—and some adolescents and adults—eat at the end of the afternoon. During the Renaissance, this meal was called le reciner, a word that can be found in Denis Diderot's 18th-century Encyclopédie raisonné.
It may surprise you that eggs are not usually part of traditional French breakfasts. Even though omelettes originated in France, in French cuisine, they are usually served for lunch or dinner. Even at the best cafés in Paris, the breakfast menu will mainly consist of a variety of French breakfast pastries.
The French typically eat pastries for breakfast, potatoes for lunch, and soups for dinner. France, like most developed countries, also has its share of meat eaters, vegetarians, and salty-and-sweet food enthusiasts.
Most French people eat bread every day. It's not just a cliché, bread in France is a staple and something most people care about. French people take bread very seriously. In some countries bakers add nutritional supplements to their bread, or they add gluten to make the bread rise better.
Usually more sweet than savory, le petit déjeuner, as the French say, is not a very big or important meal in France. In fact, many French people don't eat breakfast at all, waiting until lunch to eat.
Le Plat Principal (The Main Course)
In many regions of France, people like to eat their main meal at lunchtime and eat lighter meals in the evening (this includes both children and adults). The idea is that lunch gives you energy for the afternoon, and dinner allows for better sleep.
But in Germany, the traditional dinner time is much earlier: you'll find many German households having their evening meal between 5 and 7 pm.
Lunch - between 12:00 and 1:30 p.m. Dinner (sometimes called Supper) - The main meal. Eaten anytime between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. (Evening meal)
Typically, these hot weather countries have a long afternoon siesta (nap) and people commune for dinner later in the night, starting at 10pm or even later. In fact, Spain is known as a country with the latest dining time (but as an Indian, I'll contest to that!)