After a longer travel break than we’d usually like, this spring my boyfriend and I headed off on a short city trip. This time we went to Paris and to say we had a great time would be an understatement. As a short disclaimer to all these recommendations, both of us had already been to Paris at least once and only had time for about two days of sightseeing on this trip before heading to Disneyland – more details in the rest of this article and an upcoming Disney post. If you’re visiting Paris for the first time and for a longer time, there could be some additional points that you’d like to add to your list. I’ll go over those another time but for now, here’s an overview of what we did in a couple of days and some important things to consider when planning your visit:

• Accommodation
• Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur 
• Louvre
• The Eiffel Tower
• Food and drink
• Metro
• Disney

Accommodation

When looking for accommodation in Paris, as with any city trip, there are many factors to consider and arguably the most important one is the location.
For this trip, we were looking for something nice but not too expensive, preferably near Montmartre and close to public transport. After some looking around on sites like Booking.com and Secret Escapes, we found a lovely looking hotel called “Hotel Philéas Lazare and Spa”  located right by the Gare Paris Saint Lazare metro station. Once we found the hotel on the comparison sights, we checked the price on the hotel’s own sight and managed to get an even better price – this is something I would always recommend when trying to find a good hotel. Comparison sights can be very helpful and especially Secret Escapes can have some amazing offers sometimes but always be sure to check what the booking would cost with the hotel directly. This is often still the cheapest way and then you also have a direct contact to the hotel rather than communicating through a third party in case there are any issues.
As it turned out, the hotel was even nicer than we’d expected! It was very easy to find, the staff was exceptionally friendly, and the rooms and facilities were of a very high standard, clean and certainly good value for money.

The staff at the Phileas spoke great English and were very helpful and patient as I refreshed my now a little stale French. Most people working in hospitality in Paris usually speak at least a base level of English but apps like Google Translate are certainly a good idea. In France, you never know who will be able to help you in English. Personally, I recommend trying whatever you can in French – even if it’s just “bonjour” and “merci” – and then doing the rest in English if you don’t speak any more French. People really appreciate it if you at least try and adapt to the local culture a little bit (much like anywhere in the world really).

Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur

The area around and on Montmartre is one of my favourite places in Paris. Montmartre is a hill in the norther part of Paris and is famous for its artistic scene and is the location of the basilica known as the Sacré-Cœur. Montmartre is the perfect area for a stroll and to find a nice place for a relaxing coffee or glass of wine and often has some lovely temporary stalls set up depending on the season and what events are happening in the city. The main square by the top of Montmartre is full of various street artists selling their work. You can buy something that’s already finished or get a personalised piece of art depending on what you’re after and how much you’ve budgeted. If you plan on buying something, make sure to bring cash as most artists will not be able to accept credit cards or similar forms of digital payment. 

The crown jewel at the top of this interesting hill is the Sacré-Cœur with its beautiful architecture and white domes. It is free to enter the basilica itself and only costs something if you would like to go up the towers inside – and even this is usually not too expensive. Sometimes you may have to stand in a queue for a while but if you haven’t been inside yet, it’s certainly worth the visit. 

In front of the Sacré-Cœur is another reason this is one of my favourite areas in Paris. This is one of the best places to get a view of the whole city. There always merchants selling cheap souvenirs here if you’re looking for a key chain or something like that but there are also street performers here almost all of the time – some better than others but it’s an interesting piece of additional entertainment. As you wonder down the steps in front of the Sacré-Cœur, you will pass some lovely green areas that are perfect for a lunch time picnic. I would definitely recommend this if you have time, nice weather and are travelling on a budget. Paris isn’t necessarily cheap but you can certainly save some money if you buy snacks or picnic food and drink from shops such as Carefour or Monoprix. It doesn’t take long to find a supermarket in Paris and most of them will have a variety of produce on offer and tend to be much bigger than they look (still not huge, as they’re still in the middle of a major city, but still not too small).

Louvre

Paris is known as one of the most artistic cities in the world and this is probably most famously embodied by the Louvre art museum. When planning a trip to the Louvre, it’s a good idea to look into the various ticket types and offers. The best way to visit the Louvre is by booking a ticket beforehand. This not only gives you the chance to check which offer will be best for you and/or your travel group but will also save you a lot of hassle on the day. As it’s one of the most famous and popular museums in the world, at any given time, there are a lot of people – locals and tourists alike – wanting to visit it and all the wonderful pieces of art that it houses. This in turn causes large queues and the waiting time to get in can be very long. If you’ve prebooked tickets online, you can use the entrances designated to prebooked ticket holders which is much quicker. When booking your ticket, you select a timeslot of half an hour in which you can then easily enter the museum. 

Some of the most famous pieces of art in the Louvre are the Venus de Milo, Liberty Leading the People, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and of course, the Mona Lisa. Upon entry to the museum, you will receive a map or they will be displayed in various languages by the entrance and pretty much anywhere else in the main entry part by the lockers and ticket checks. You will definitely want to take one of those with you as this museum is incredibly large and not always the easiest place to navigate. The nearest exit is usually signposted and sometimes the closest bathroom. Other than that, there isn’t too much sign posted and with a museum this size it’s very easy to get lost. The closer you get to the Mona Lisa, the more signs will point you her way but these signs aren’t spread out across the entire museum. It is practically impossible to explore the entire Louvre in one day. I would recommend checking which pieces you would like to see before going or at the beginning of your visit and then planning your route through the museum accordingly.

Here are some additional tips for your visit that I wish I had known or thought of before going again:
The lockers are free, and I would recommend storying anything you don’t want to be carrying around for over an hour because that is probably the absolute minimal amount of time you’ll spend in the museum. You will need your ID to be able to enter with your ticket, so make sure you take that with you and do not leave it in your locker. Large bags must be stored away before entering the museum and selfie sticks are also not allowed. Food and drink is a bit of a difficult one because you’re not allowed to take in “excessive” amounts of either and nothing else to drink other than water. Basically, you’re not allowed to take in larger sandwiches or anything like that but small packets of snacks like nuts are ok. There is a café within the museum where you can eat and drink but it’s not cheap. Maybe try and time your museum visit between meals. In short, I would recommend taking a small handbag, bum-bag or backpack with your ID, some money, a bottle of water, maybe a small pack of peanuts and your phone.

The Eiffel Tower

This feels like an obvious one but no trip to Paris is complete without at least seeing the Eiffel Tower. The good thing is, depending on whereabouts you are, this is pretty easy, and you don’t even have to be too close to the actual tower to get a nice view of it. From the top of the Galeries Lafayette in Paris you can get an all-round good view of the city and particularly of the Eiffel Tower from afar. If you would like a closer view and some pictures in front of the tower, then the Champ de Mars is the best place to go. On the other side of the Seine, you can go to a place called Trocadero for probably one of the most famous views of the Eiffel Tower. You can even combine two sights by getting a view of the tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Basically, you can see the city’s most famous landmark from all around and then decide which angle is your favourite. At night the tower even lights up and sparkles regularly from dusk until just before midnight. I personally find that this isn’t the best time for pictures if you’re only an amateur photographer, but for videos and generally just enjoying Paris at night, it’s a must see.

On top of getting a view of the tower from below, there is the option to go up to one of the platforms. You can either go to the second floor or all the way up to the top. For both options you have the choice of getting the lift or taking the stairs and it can cost between 10€ and 30€ with children and people of certain ages can get a discount when showing ID. There are often large queues – especially for the lift – so it’s worth looking into buying the tickets online before your visit and maybe getting a workout in with the stairs if you’re up to it. This can save you anywhere between 5€ and 20€.

Food and drink

Now onto one of my absolutely favourite things in Paris and France in general – food and drink! If there’s one thing I know, it’s that when on holiday in France, it is always cheat day and the best way to enjoy that in my opinion is with some wine and cheese. Eating out in Paris can be expensive but if you avoid the very touristy places such as the area around the Louvre, Palais Royal and directly by the Eiffel Tower it can be much cheaper. There’s a large variety of restaurants and food all over Paris and with very little effort, you should be able to find what you’re looking for if you look up the area and type of food online. As mentioned before, you can also do a pretty reasonable shop in the city and buy the things you’d need and like for a picnic or homemade lunch or dinner.

Paris is obviously a great place to enjoy various traditional French dishes such as crêpes, croissants, various types of bread, French onion soup and more adventurous tastes such as snails known as escargots. I would recommend not trying these dishes in places too close to tourist attractions if you can help it because they can cost up to double of what they would cost you about a 10min walk away. Feel free to ask your hotel staff or Air BnB hosts for any recommendations they may have. In my experience the French locals are more than willing to help and point you into the direction of good food with decent value for money.

My personally favourite meal was one that I would recommend but is pretty hard to replicate as it was hosted by my wonderful friend and previous roommate back in Moscow, the lovely Sasha. I can’t oversell how amazing the meal was that she prepared for us and how great the restaurants were that she recommended as well – so again, make sure you ask locals for recommendations, it’s worth it! Sasha pointed us in great directions for food, drinks and entertainment and our trip wouldn’t have been the same without her. Just another great example of the advantages and heartfelt friendships that travelling makes possible.

MetRO

A slightly more annoying topic but still relevant is the underground train system called the metro. There are electronic kiosks in the stations and also information counters where you can ask for assistance. It is easier if you speak French, as not everyone will be able to help you in English but thanks to google translate and the internet in general it has been made a lot easier to communicate about issues just like this one. Apparently, there is some kind of scam with people that try and help you at the electronic kiosks when buying a ticket in Paris – I personally don’t quite understand how it works but have been told by a lot of people to be careful of accepting help from strangers when buying metro tickets so would also pass this piece of information on to you. Generally, be aware of your surroundings.
To be honest, this is generally a good idea as Paris, much like any major city, isn’t exactly the safest place all the time. Keep your belongings close to you when out and about and be wary of where you go in the dark.

The metro system is pretty easy to navigate and reasonably reliable but not particularly cheap. If you can walk the distance, I would always recommend that as Paris has a certain flare, but some distances are just a little too far and that’s where the metro comes in handy.

Disney – new post coming soon

After about two days of exploring Paris, we then spent two days at Disneyland and stayed overnight at a Disney hotel. We’d both been to Disneyland before but never together and never with a stay in one of the hotels. This experience was fantastic and included so many great things and tips in itself that I’ll be writing another article dedicated to those couple of days. To summarize it though: those two days were to of my favourite days ever and we even managed to stay under budget thanks to some thrifty tricks. Disneyland Paris is a great theme park for young and old including a lot of rollercoasters, themed rides and great decorations, themed areas and shows. Find out more in a soon to come post all about our Disney ’23 experience and our stay at the new Marvel themed hotel.

There you have it. On the one hand, Paris can be quite dirty, a little dangerous and slightly dingy at points. However, there are also so many great things to see and do that I’d argue that the smaller issues can be overlooked. The French capital is a city where a long weekend can be enough or maybe you need a week to fully enjoy it – it totally depends on what your goal is. It’s worth thinking about your plans a little bit ahead of time to try and save money where it’s convenient and give yourself more flexibility on your budget while you’re there.

If you’re interested in some Top 10’s, travel and packing tips or more information on different destinations, then check out some of my other Meg’s Places articles and stay tuned for more! In case your questions aren’t answered here, or you have any comments or personal experiences you’d like to share, don’t be afraid to get in touch, comment and let me know. 

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