Travel Recommendations: Paris, France
Getting Around
o Paris is divided into “arrondissements” or city districts
o The awesome thing about Paris is that it’s a very walkable city. All the monuments are also very close together so walking is a great way to take in the city and see as many things as you can!
o Metro. If the weather is not great and you think you’ll be taking the metro most of the time I recommend getting a day pass. It’ll be more cost efficient. If not buy just a couple of metro tickets for the day. A one way ticket is about 2 euros.
o Transportation during late night hours: the metro usually closes around 1:30am on the weekends. If you miss the last metro I recommend taking an Uber. If you’re on a budget take the uber pool option since it’ll be waaay cheaper than the regular Ubers
Must See
o Eiffel tower. If you do want to go up, book your ticket in advance to avoid waiting in line.
o Trocadero. Plaza across from the Eiffel tower. You can get a nice view/pics of the Eiffel tower from here… beware of pick-pockets because it is usually very crowded.
o Invalides.
o Pont-Alexandre III. (Right between Invalides and the Grand Palais)
o Grand Palais
o Jardins des Champs-Elysées
o Place de la Concorde
o Jardin des Tuileries
o Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
o Louvre. The Mona Lisa, The Pyramid, etc.
o Palais-Royal + Jardin du Palais-Royal
o Colonnes de Buren. Instaworthy AF.
o Palais Garnier. (Opera House) The inside is breath taking.
o Galeries Lafayette / Haussmann. Department store heaven… I could’ve gotten lost in this gorgeous building for hours.
o Champs-Elysées. Shopping heaven - more modern!
o Arc du triomphe. If you want to go to the top I would also recommend buying tickets in advance so that you don’t have to wait in the line.
o Le Merais
Notre-Dame.
Saint-Chapelle. It’s a church with the most beautiful stained glass windows. I would recommend getting there early since it’s small and there can be long waiting periods.
o Pont des Arts. This is where they used to put the locks. It has a nice view of Notre-Dame.
o Sacre-Coeur Basilica. One of the best views of the city! Also, it’s situated near Montemartre which is a super charming / artsy area with nice cafes. Would recommend taking the metro to get there.
o Hotel de Ville (City Hall)
o Moulin Rouge
Food
o Beefbar
o L’Organerie, Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris
o Bouillon Chartier. MUST GO! One of Paris’ oldest restaurants. It’s super popular so get there in advance (dinner or lunch!). The prices are also crazy cheap for Parisian standards.
o Bouillon Pigalle. Same concept/type of food as the Chartier but it’s a newer restaurant and more “chic” and young.
o Pain Vin Fromages. Fondue and raclette restaurant. Raclette is where you grill your veggies and then pour cheese on top. YUM.
o Mami burge. Near grands boulevards. Great burgers combining French cuisines.
General Tips
o Watch out for pickpockets. On the metro, in crowded places.
o In some museums there are people waiting outside trying to sell you tickets. Don’t be tempted.
o In Paris there is no need to tip at a restaurant or bar. But if you’re feeling generous a couple of euros is always nice.
o If you are going to have data, I recommend downloading the app City Mapper, Google Maps, or Apple Maps, so that you can save important locations and find your way back to them.
Museums
o Louvre
o Musee d’Orsay
o Musee de l’Orangerie. Small museum that you can easily cover in 1 or 2 hours. I recommend this one because it has Monet.
o George Pompidou. Full of modern/contemporary art and the exterior of the building is super cool.
o Atelier des lumieres. Paris’ first digital art museum. It’s an immersive art display where the art is projected all over the room. It’s super cool. You have to get tickets in advance. They sell out quickly!
Noteworthy Places…
o Grande Mosquee de Paris. This mosque has a famous restaurant and tea terrace where you can get some delicious mint tea and pastries.
o Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Very famous artists and people are buried here (Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Colette, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison). It’s really cool to see tombs that are hundreds of years old.
o St. Michel. This is the area near Notre-Dame. It’s full of restaurants and little shops.
o Pigalle. This where the Moulin Rouge is located. It’s a fun area for a night out full of bars.
o Le Marais. Great for boutique shopping and falafel!
o Places des Vosges. A nice park to relax surrounded by beautiful red brick buildings.
o Place du tertre. Right by the basilica full of portrait artists and art galleries
Shopping
o Galeries LaFayette. One of Paris’ luxury department stores. You have to go here just to see it’s beautiful stained glass ceiling! Address: 40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris
o Printemps Haussman. It’s right next to LaFayette, so you can do one after the other!
o Le Marais. There’s tons of boutiques if you just walk around! Street names to guide you: Rue de Turenne, Rue de Sevigne
Night Life / Drinks
o Pigalle Area
Lulu White. Small bar with live jazz band
Dirty Dick’s. Fun tiki themed bar. It’s right next to Lulu White so you can check both of them out!
o Place de Clichy Area:
Le Cyrano
Strasbourg St. Denis street
Rue Princesse. Small street full of different bars
Rue des Lombards
The Hoxton. This is more of a date night kind of bar. It’s inside a beautiful hotel.
