My friend Jessie was heading to Paris and asked if I had any advice on where to stay, what to see, and the must-do items I learned from my travels, so I created this list.
(Of course they are far more things to see/do than this list, but here are a few things to get you started! And remember, I was there from June-August so this is a ‘summer list’.)
First and foremost:
Get this Paris offline map on your phone!!
Download this bit of brilliance to your phone. I have found it indispensable- you don’t need to be connected to wifi and it doesn’t use data roaming to work– you can find the nearest metro, a Starbucks (if you need wifi), a grocery store (like a ‘franprix’ or ‘carrefour’), museums, galleries, (and many other things), and always find where you are and which direction you are facing. It’s free. And awesome.
(There is also the same kind of free app for Amsterdam, London, Prague… Etc)
The Sunken Chip-delicious fish and chips, UK style. And if weather permits, taking it over to the banks of the Canal St Martin to eat it.
(Nearest metro: Chateau D’Eau (line 4) or Jacques Bonsergent (line 5)
The Artazart bookstore and boutique by the canal St Martin- honestly the coolest selection of books ever. Plus other cool things, but dear god the books. I could have bought a dozen.(Nearest metro: Chateau D’Eau (line 4) or Jacques Bonsergent (line 5)
The Loire Dans La Théière:A busy little tea shop with unbelievable desserts. In the Marais area, where there are all sorts of other fantastic eats. Laptops not allowed.
(Nearest metro: St-Paul (line 1)
The Musée des arts et Métiers:
Full of inventions, toys, design, engineering and architecture, it’s extremely cool to check out.
(Nearest metro: Arts et Métiers (line 3 or line 11)
The Pere Lachaise CemeteryThis place is huge and remarkable. I liked it best on a cloudy day; you can spend hours here exploring ancient gravestones and famous resting places. I was interested in this place far more for the beauty than the celebrities.
L’Orangerie
I know there are numerous art gallery/museums that will be recommended to you so this shall be mine. This beautiful gallery has a lower level of many artists, and my favourite part on the main floor: two rooms with wrapping floor-to-ceiling paintings of Monet’s water lilies like you’ve never seen them.
You can also walk through the Jardin De Tuilleries afterwards, on your way to the Louvre or towards the Marais area.
Nearest metro: Concorde (line 1, 12 or 8)
Rent ‘Velib’ bikes – if it isn’t too cold or rainy, this is a great way to get across town quickly and leisurely.You can rent a bicycle online or at a velib station with a credit card- it’s 1.70€ for 24 hours, and you can use a bike for up to 30 minutes at a time (as many times as you want) for no extra charge, so it’s great to get places a little quicker, or enjoy a ride along the Seine. We found it perfect in the evening- the least amount of traffic on the roads. The roads often have bike lanes and we always felt comfortable on the roads here- drivers and cyclists cooperate. The stations are all over the place, and there’s an app for that as well.
Have a picnic. (Just about anywhere):There is nothing like buying some good cheese, a baguette, grabbing a bottle of wine and finding an outdoor spot to eat. Way cheaper than a restaurant and you can enjoy the beautiful evenings that Paris often has. Three of my favourite places are: along the Seine (by the Musee D’Orsay, or at Pont Neuf), in Champs Des Mars- the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower, or the Jardin du Luxembourg.
Speaking of the Jardin du Luxembourg: go there. 🙂 It’s huge, beautiful, and a fabulous place to walk through, or sit and people watch. My favourite place in the garden is by the Medici Fountain.(Nearest train line RER B- Luxembourg, or Metro: Notre-Dame-Des-Champs)- you can also walk here from the Odeon station.
Parc de la VilletteThis was a very late discovery and we went there to check out their outdoor movie festival, but the park and area have even more to offer than that. In addition to all the pathways and walkways and playgrounds and artwork here, there is the largest Science Museum in Europe, The City of Music museum, IMAX theatre (in La Géode, pictured above), and numerous venues for music and events.
You can walk a lot in Paris, but if you take the metro, my suggestion is to buy a pack of ten tickets. I think you can use the same ticket for 60 minutes (any direction) on the metro but don’t quote me on that. I don’t know the bus system very well aside from the fact you need tickets (or exact change) for buses too.
In terms of food, there are endless possibilities. Crèpe stands are all over and the price is often very reasonable, boulangeries (bakeries) are common and amazing, and fruit stands (even sometimes in the metro stations!) often have the absolute best fruit you’ve ever had. If you want the most concentrated restaurant options, get off the Metro at Saint-Michel(just southwest of Nortre Dame) and head south. There are a lot of cool restaurants in the Marais area, just west of the Etienne Marcel metro stop, and Rue Mouffetard (right by the Place Monge Metro stop) is another awesome spot for a variety of options. There are markets all over, and they happen regularly, often on a schedule like Sunday/Wednesday/Friday or Monday/Saturday. Fun to wander through and amazing selections of food, flowers, and sometimes housewares and crafts.
Festivals abound, but some I got to and loved:
1) Fête de La Musique (3rd Saturday in June) (Free music festival with concerts galore!)
2) La Plage Sur La Seine (August)
An Eiffel Tower statue made out of metal lawn chairs
3) En Plein Air (Outdoor Cinema Festival) @ Parc De La Villette (July-August)
Bring a picnic dinner, drinks, and your own blankets (or rent chairs and blankets for a reasonable price) and enjoy!
There are new exhibits and events going on all the time, so check out TimeOut www.timeout.com/Paris/en for their ‘hot list’- a list of things to do and see each week. I found this site really useful.
Hope this list has some things you find helpful. Let me know what you have found and would suggest! I’d love to learn about more must-see things for my next visit there! 🙂
We then looked around Monmartre and truly stumbled across the Musée Monmartre. I love stumbling across things- often they are some of the best discoveries on a trip! I wish I had thought to say I am a student, as that would have got me a better price on my entry to the museum, but oh well. I’ll be able to use that for the next month while I attend classes at L’Alliance Fancaise!! 🙂 but it was very nice to have an audiobook be included in the price of admission, so as we walked through the garden and rooms of the museum, we could listen to all the extra details you wouldn’t know. I don’t often pay extra for this so it was a nice treat to have. There is a lot of art related to the history of Monmartre, Le Sacre Coeur, the Moulin Rouge, and many of the artists that lived in the house now transformed into the museum, like Pablo Picasso. There was also an installation dedicated to the new 4-book comic book (or really, graphic novel) completed in 2014 about Pablo Picasso in his early years.
After that we grabbed some baguette sandwiches on our way to Notre Dame and the Bridge of Locks. I had heard of the bridge but had never been, so I’m glad Diana suggested it. Notre Dame was busy, and we didn’t go inside- though that has been highly recommend and I plan to do so later this summer. We delighted in the fact we had wifi (or “wee-fee” as the Parisians pronounce it), in the garden of Notre Dame. We also came across a British girls choir singing several pieces in the park, which was great.
I could easily create a gallery of the photos from the bridge of locks, because there are so many cool angles you can get! Apparently you write your name and your sweetheart’s name on a lock, lock it onto the bridge (or at this point, to another lock) and toss your keys into the Seine, and your love will last forever. I also found out that ACTUALLY the Bidge at Pont de L’archevêché is the place to lock your lover’s lock, while the (MUCH more empty) Pont Ds Arts is for your ‘committed love’. Maybe people have just been misinformed… As we saw a bride and groom lock a padlock on this ‘lover’ bridge and take photos of it… Do they know?? 😉
There is a large map at the gate (and we also picked up a free paper map at the main office, but did discover that the numbers on each did not match up, FYI)… And went to see a few specific tombstones- like Edith Piaf, Chopin, and Oscar Wilde, to name a few. You could often find the most ‘popular’/famous grave sites by looking for the most flowers or gifts on them. Some graves are so old they are covered in moss and you cannot see the name on them any more. Others have built-in planters with well-manicured or overgrown plants and flowers. We also saw one site that had been completely taken over by a large tree that had grown out of the centre of the plot.
Nothing But Blue Skies 
