Paris, France

Paris is one of my most favorite cities in the entire world! There is nothing like Paris! Paris has so much activity from all of the sights like the Eiffel Tower and Arc De Triumph to amazing shopping to incredible art museums and the most adorable cafes and boulangeries! Paris has so much to offer and I would definitely put this on the top of my list for where to travel to in Europe!

Here are some tips I found out about Paris!

1. Eat all of the delicious food and have picnics everywhere! Grab a baguette and find somewhere nice to eat it!

2. Take time to just explore! Paris has amazing streets filled with incredible cafes that really are amazing if you take the time to just stop and enjoy them.

3. Sit down in the chairs that face the streets and people watch as everyone walks by! This is such a fun thing to do! You can have a cup of coffee and look out at all the people passing by.

4. Walk up and down the different bridges along the river. Walk everywhere you can because the walking is part of the experience. Get lost in the hidden streets and find new areas.

5. Use the metro but make sure you know where you are going! The train can get you from place to place pretty quickly and it won’t cost as much as taking a taxi. It can be a little difficult to navigate so ask before just hopping onto a train.

6. Go to the Eiffel Tower at night when it sparkles!

7. Try to pick up on some of the French language and use it! The locals really appreciate when you try to speak French and it is fun to become submerged even more into the culture when you speak some of the language!

8. Make sure to where comfortable clothes and shoes because you are going to be doing a lot of walking!

Below I listed a few of my favorite spots throughout Paris-

1. Eiffel Tower! It’s a long line to climb up to the top so if you do want to do that I suggest planning on spending a lot of your day there. We chose to bring a blanket and have a picnic looking at the Eiffel Tower rather climbing to the top of it. Make sure to go at different times of the day, especially at night to get the full effect. Once the sky gets dark, the Eiffel Tower will sparkle for five minutes every hour on the hour! Make sure to go see it sparkle because it is like nothing else you have seen before! Watch your belongings at all times. People will constantly come up and try to sell you items but I learned the best way to get them to move on is to say that you already bought one.

2. The River! The Seine River is fun and quiet during the day and at night it is packed! It is super fun to pack a picnic and go down to the river for sunset. There are great places for drinks and dessert alongside the river but most of them do not serve dinner food. Don't forget to walk along the river at night to see all of the lights from the city and the bridges lit up. If you're looking for somewhere to get dinner close to the river I recommend La Fregrate. You can see the Louvre, the ferris wheel, the river, the sunset, and the Eiffel Tower all from your dinner table. It can be very windy sitting outside but it’s worth it for the view.

3. Sunset River Cruise! Take this cruise on the river. The cruise runs at different times but we took the sunset one. You travel all along the river and pass by the Eiffel Tower while it is lit up. We stood in the back of the boat rather than sitting because you can see better and take the best pictures.

4. Montmartre! Wow, this is my favorite spot in Paris! Set aside a full day to walk all around Montmartre. We took the metro there from our hotel. Located at the bottom of the hill are many shops which tend to be cheaper than the stores at the top of the hill. Make sure to stop and order crepes on the side of the street or take a picnic and eat it on the grassy hill. On the stairs as your walking up the stairs you might hear some live music. Take the time to stop and enjoy the beautiful views of Paris while listening to the music. It can be hot during the day and there are a lot of stairs so make sure to wear comfy clothing. Keep walking until you reach the square center where all the artists are. Walk into the artists shops and pick out some souvenirs to take home with you! Some of the stores have the cutest paintings which are not very expensive. If you go down some of the side streets there are some great picture spots! Moulin Rouge is close by so we took a quick walk there before taking the metro back to the hotel.

5. Champs-Elyseés! Walk around and shop till you drop on this street! The biggest Sephora in the world is located right on this street. You can see the Arc De Triumph and it’s about a 5 minute walk to it! George’s Restaurant is fun to eat at since you are sitting right on the Champs-Elyseés. If you want to stay right on the Champs-Elyeseés there’s only one hotel, the Marriott. It is absolutely stunning! It is such an experience getting to wake up and walk down the stairs right onto the Champs-Elyeseés. You can see the Arc de Triomphe from the hotel. It has amazing location!

6.The Louvre Museum! This museum is huge and it would take months for someone to walk through and see everything. If you are really into art I would recommend putting a day aside to look through and explore the museum. Otherwise, I would suggest just walking through the gardens and around the museum. You can see the famous pyramid without having to pay to go into the museum.

I hope you find this post helpful and I know you are going to fall in love with Paris just like I did!

Talk Soon!

Sam