‘d always wanted to go to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, but found much more – Gothic Notre Dame, the massive Louvre museum, bridges lined with Cherubs, the river Seine, crepes, Picasso, and romantic old-world charm at every turn.
Paris, being the capital is pretty huge, luckily they have an easy to use Metro system, and you can always call for a taxi or just walk around the central area.
My introduction to Paris was staying in a lush Airbnb overlooking a park and with a clawfoot tub, and red walls. Just a 10-minute walk to Notre Dame, Bastille and the bars, restaurant, and nightlife of Rue de Lappe.
Museums are probably going to be a big part of any first trip to Paris:
The Picasso museum is four floors of paintings and sculptures from all though his life. You could watch how his style changed through his relationships and evolution. I got to learn about cubism and the way he showed multiple perspectives of his subjects on one flat plane so you could better see the whole person or object.
1. Things to see
The Louvre is deceptively small from the outside, an open plaza with a small glass triangle. You might not even realize the buildings surrounding it, and underneath is a huge complex spanning 9,000 years. From Egyptian sarcophagus, and ancient jewelry to famous statues like (the now armless) Venus de Milo – and of course the Mona Lisa which is kept in a sealed thick glass box that protects it from vibrations, heat, humidity, and bullets. It’s difficult to get close as everyone scrambles to take their perfect Mona Lisa selfies. Ironic as it’s an Italian piece of art.
Getting out of museums for a bit you can head to pere Lachaise graveyard, a sprawling maze of ornate gravestones and dead superstars like Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Gertrude Stein. A beautiful and quiet place to spend a few hours and reflect on how short life is and the accomplishments of others.
We got lucky with the Eiffel Tower, arriving an hour before sunset so we could try to get photographs both with light and at night. Strangely, there wasn’t a long line. However the further you want to go up the tower the more it costs. If you only want to reach the top level it costs 17 euros, However, if you’re willing to climb the 704 stairs to the second floor you’ll only pay 7 euro. The amazing views makes the expense a good value, you simply can’t miss going to the top your first time in Paris.
Don’t miss the small apartment the designer of the tower (Eiffel) created near the top. While not huge it must have been an interesting place to entertain and call home.
At the top, they sell single glasses of champagne in old school glasses (however plastic) for just 10 euro. Can’t get any better than that – sipping champagne and looking out over all of Paris.
We went back again another night just to sit in the grass and wait for the light show that happens on the hour. It sparkles like 10,000 camera lights flashing, or fireworks. It’s a romantic place to sit and hang out with your partner with some wine or snacks.
Other sites not to miss:
The Arch de Triumph, located in the middle of a crazy roundabout (France has the most roundabouts in the world). You can’t cross the street, instead, the Arch is reached through underground tunnels. It’s on the western end Champs-Élysées with expensive flagship stores like Louis Vuitton, where you can see Japanese girls lined up first thing in the morning waiting to get in and spend. I climbed the Arch through a circular staircase, at the top you get an interesting view of the long boulevards stretching out in straight lines – it’s not like the view from the tower, but it’s unique enough to make it worth a visit.
I also made it out to Sacre Coeur, everyone said this was a must, but we honestly didn’t find it that interesting. It was up a hill lined with endless souvenir stands and the view wasn’t amazing. I’m not sure I’d repeat if I had a time machine.
Notre Dame is as beautiful inside as it was outside. As beautiful in the day as night. Don’t miss the opportunity to walk around the whole cathedral and see the view from the back and different angles. You’ll need a zoom lens to view the gargoyles at the top or buy a ticket to climb to the top. Inside I lit a candle for a euro and also bought a rosary to bring home as a gift.
Cat cafes are popular in Paris, we visited a couple, however, that came to a quick end when a cute black cat gave me a nasty scratch. I didn’t do anything, just reached to pet him and he attacked me. I guess he was just tired of tourists.
Notre Dame
The giant head is listening for my secret
Everything Paris!
Beautiful Airbnb
Waiting for the lightshow
Gothic
More scenes and my Mona Lisa selfie!
Sleeping on the couch
2. Nightlife
Paris also has a history of naughty nightlife, most all of that is long gone as well. We did visit Crazy Horse, a famous burlesque show/tourist trip where they charge a lot to sit at cramped little tables and then use the time before the show to upsell you on expensive photographs of you sitting at the cramped little tables. The show itself was pretty cool, some amazing acts and choreography. I’d say it’s erotic but not x rated. A series of dance vignettes. The tickets included two free drinks.
Rue de Lappe was my favorite nightlife area, a long cobbled street lined with bars and restaurants that gets packed on the weekend or late on just about any night. From small hole-in-the-wall bars to proper clubs this nightlife area is easy to access via the Bastille metro. The further down the road you go the smaller the venues are, we tried several shots of some kind of brandy from large mason jars with fruit marinating in the bottom (peach, plum?) But when I took a shot of that I threw up – so strong! My travel partner enjoyed it.
Rue de Lappe has the best bars
A few more views
3. Spend
You could spend endless amounts of money in the tourist shops buying enough tourist kitsch to ship home in a shipping container. Like Dublin everything in the world that can have Paris or an Eiffel Tower stamped on it – is. Postcards, clothes, magnets, Eiffel Tower replicas, endless berets and ‘art’ which is just mass-produced. I admit I bought my fair share. Many shops are congregating around the Centre Pompidou.
4. Food
Paris was also the first place I ever tried a crepe, a very thin pancake that you can fill with various ingredients… The desert ones are Nutella and banana but I like ham, cheese, and egg. Crepes are inexpensive and delicious way to save money in Paris and eat while walking to the next sight / or late-night comfort food after the bars.
Paris has changed now and people gravitate to the big supermarkets everywhere, but you can still find the small shops for individual items – the cheese shops, fruit and veggie stands, pastry store, Fresh bread, wine, pastries, etc. If you have the time it’s nice to seek them out and frequent them independently, although, unfortunately, you will have fewer options and pay more.
French food is world-famous, it’s like they have us convinced that it’s the finest food in the world. I’m not sure how that happened? There are plenty of other great international restaurants around at affordable prices. I wasn’t a huge fan of French cuisine.
Paris pastries
Yummy Parisian food
5. Getting Around
Taxis were difficult (read: impossible) sometimes to hail on the street. You need to learn where the taxi stands are or use an app. Because we stayed by Bastille it was pretty easy – there are always taxis waiting.
6. Costs
If you buy your baguette and fill it with cheese and ham, live of crepes and street food and do a lot of walking, then Paris is almost free. The museums cost but there’s a pass for that, Paris can be as expensive or inexpensive as you care to make it. Our biggest expense was housing.
7. Tips
Tips are probably best left to experts, but a few things I learned along the way:
