Insiders know that making headway while doing business in Paris means paying attention to more than the choice of venue. However perfect the location or the café au lait, attentiveness to local business customs is vital to making a good impression. This translates to avoiding absolutely any references or questions of a personal nature, and maintaining the correct degree of formality by addressing contacts as Monsieur, Madame or Mademoiselle unless invited to do otherwise. And hold off on the hard sell and that firm handshake, both of which can be construed as aggressiveness. In France, a brief handshake with light contact is considered professional and polite — as is using both your first and last names during introductions.

While working lunches and cocktail discussions have gained acceptance, doing business over breakfast has not. Demonstrate your savoir faire by inviting associates to join you at one of the city’s many significant addresses for lunch, dinner or cocktails.

Among the narrow streets lined with cafés, book dealers and antique shops in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, the small Musée National Eugène Delacroix is familiar to locals but far less known to outsiders. The exhibition space — which includes a collection of the artist’s sketches, paintings, lithographs and personal items — was once the private apartment of Delacroix and is ideal for a cocktail meeting or dinner. Receptions and meals can even be arranged within the artist’s workshop, among his watercolors and pastels, or outdoors in the adjoining garden. Remember, though, local etiquette dictates that you save business talk until after the last dinner course has been enjoyed.

Not far away from the Delacroix museum, Parisians know the Musée Zadkine is also available for meetings and receptions. A rare Parisian artifact, this preserved home and studio space was where painter and sculptor Ossip Zadkine (1890–1967) created his best-known works. Filled with bronze, stone and terracotta figures, the graceful, light-filled rooms provide a striking and unexpected backdrop to a small-scale executive gathering.

For lunches and dinners, the lovely, design-centric Hôtel Bel Ami in the same district offers a completely different vibe. Sleek, elegant and contemporary, the hotel is located within a former printing house. The provenance is impressive: It was here the first edition of the French classic Bel Ami by author Guy de Maupassant was printed in 1885. The book-library theme carries into the brightly colored bar space, and the hotel hosts a revolving exhibit of works by artists from a wide variety of disciplines.

Along Avenue George V, the stately Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière terrace is the perfect meeting spot for coffee, pastries and atmosphere. The terrace of Le Café Fouquet’s overlooks the Champs-Elysées; should the weather prevent outdoor seating, head inside to the private teahouse and indoor terrace of La Galerie Joy, decked out in shades of lilac, lime green and shimmering gold. Note that when discussing business in a sit-down situation at a table, you’ll be perceived as impolite if you rest your hands in your lap. Instead, keep hands and arms — sans elbows — on the table.

The Hôtel Fouquet’s-Barrière itself is a business landmark, hosting meetings between titans of industry and entertainment since 1899. Other spaces here include Le Fouquet’s, a brasserie popular with artists, actors and musicians; the Alexandre Boardroom fronting the private interior gardens; and the top-floor François-André terrace on the hotel’s fifth level, with views of the Eiffel Tower and the rooftops of the city — all of which can be reserved for a private tête-à-tête.

Hotel de Sers’ Baccarat Hall © Hotel de Sers

Close by and just a few yards away from Avenue George V, the Hotel de Sers provides a sophisticated, modern edge to a classic Belle Époque building. Formerly the private home of the Marquis de Sers, what once served as a carriageway ending in front of a wide staircase has transformed into a stunning corridor lined with art — including portraits of both the Marquis and his dog, Moustache.

Impress associates by heading directly for the hotel’s S’ Bar and choosing one of the sumptuous armchairs that look toward a bar topped with a thick slab of Carrera marble. The enormous mirror behind the bar oscillates continuously through a color spectrum, adding a dream-like element to the space. The bar is known for its masses of fresh flowers as well as its signature Champagne- and fruit-infused cocktails. While you want to remember to keep your hands visible, feel free to interrupt. In Paris, interrupting an associate (provided you’re talking about the same thing) before he or she is finished speaking implies interest. Likewise, if you’re interrupted, take it as a sign that what you’re saying has definitely caught the other person’s attention.

Hotel de Sers’ marbled Baccarat Hall — a wide landing at the top of the stairs lit by a Baccarat chandelier — now serves as private space for cocktail meetings and intimate gatherings. Just off the landing lies a second choice, Le Salon du Marquis. The room, replete with soaring ceilings, Versailles parquet and original fireplace, delivers a very Parisian alternative to a standard meeting space. There’s also the showcase Panoramic Suite with sweeping city views and, from October to April, a covered winter garden for coffee or drinks.

Facing the Avenue de l’Opéra with balconied rooms overlooking the Palais Garnier opera house, another historic residence-turned-hotel proves perfect for charming clients and colleagues. Once the Paris home of Edward, Prince of Wales, who became King Edward VII and most likely held a few meetings of his own beneath its roof, the Hôtel Édouard 7 provides an inspiring meeting spot. Seek out the plush, classic French décor of the lobby bar with its historic stained-glass windows for a drink or the modern Salon Marigny and Salon Mogador for more structured gatherings.

West of the famed Louvre, the graceful Musée de l’Orangerie rests at the southwest edge of the vast Jardin des Tuileries. Once a royal greenhouse, this smaller, more manageable museum houses Monet’s masterwork, Les Nymphéas (Water Lilies). Within two long, elliptical rooms hang the massive canvases that fill the walls, offset by the high ceilings.

For an authentic Parisian meet-up with a colleague that’s completely in keeping with the city’s low-key approach to business transactions, stroll the exhibit and wander outside, down the stone stairway past the reclining Henry Moore sculpture, and slip into the gardens. Follow your nose to the source of the heavenly scent of freshly made crêpes at one of the small crêperies located there. Once you’ve established a business relationship in Paris, you’re free to skip the boardroom, order your café au lait in a paper cup and settle onto a convenient park bench to talk shop.