10 Tips for your Trip to Paris: 3 Days in the City of Love
“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and the point of life” ~Thomas Jefferson
We were recently lucky enough to find ourself in Paris for 3 days. We traveled with open minds and a simple list of a few well-known things we wanted to see. Our stay was absolutely perfect!!
We usually take on cities by foot. However, we encountered this year’s record-breaking heat-wave. which undoubtedly added a degree of challenge and a whole lot of sweat and about 5 showers per day! This didn’t stop us from seeing most of what we wanted to, it just slowed us down a smidgen.
We stayed in a magical little Airbnb just outside of Bastille with the best host we have EVER encountered. Fabio even left us cold wine, beer, chocolate, fresh fruit, espresso, slippers, high-end soaps, and the cutest little bamboo backyard garden! After each full day of Paris adventure we would return home, turn french cafe music on my travel Bose speaker, sip wine in the garden, then dose solidly in our wine-drenched trance to french music all night long. This Airbnb was quite far east from most of the central sites so we had to take the Metro to major sites but this made us feel like locals, so we nailed it.
The only thing we planned beforehand after my research was a sunset dinner cruise with Bateaux Parisiens. We were lucky enough to stumble upon some local friends who happened to be in Paris at the same time. They joined us on the Seine River for a scrumptious dinner, copious consumptions wine, good food, a spectacular sunset, and a whole lot of laughs.
This vocalists name was Katie Kraw @ktkraw
This moment was….SO…PARIS!! In fact, we found ourselves humming this song our entire trip.
If you are so lucky to be heading to Paris, or simply dreaming of going to use these 10 tips to help make your stay even better!
MY 10 TIPS TO FOR YOUR TRIP TO PARIS
#1 Travel by Eurostar: If you can travel by Eurostar, it is such an easy and fun experience. Free bags, and a quick way to see the countryside. Book well ahead of time for the best prices (or if you have flexible travel you can book via EuroSnap for good last-minute deals)
#2 If possible, try to stay somewhere with air conditioning if it is summer and you are used to air conditioning. It can get HOT! We found airbnbs much cheaper than hotels and there were many to chose from, (ours however did no have air conditioning, but very good shades to block the sun during the day…so albeit warm, we survived!)
#3 If you take the metro by books of 10 passes. The metro is so easy once you figure it out, and must be much faster than being in traffic. We just figured out which trains by Google Maps on our phone (we bought 10 passes, but if you do this do not put the passes near your phone as they demagnetise
#4 Bring a map: I know, sounds so old-school right? We did use our phones most of the time but it does get a tad confusing sometimes and a map certainly would have helped.
#5 Try to speak French, even if you are not good at it. They will love you for it. But don’t fret most people can speak some degree of English, but do not expect to hear much of it.
#6 Listen to your pre-downloaded Spotify French Cafe playlist while you sleep (this was honestly my favourite part of the trip!!!) It will remind you where you are, all day long.
#7 People watch. Cafe’s and Bistros in Paris are mostly set up for two people to look out onto the street. No matter where you are in the city, it is an awesome people watching the city.
#8 If it is summer bring face wipes (it can be a hot and sticky city, these puppies saved me, I used an entire package of these while I was there over 3 days, so refreshing!)
#9 During summer, do the 8:30 pm dinner cruise on the Seine River: see the sunset, people sitting along the Seine River and all the sites you need while in the comforts of a beautiful river barge. We loved Bateaux Parisians they were lovely, ~ $130 CDN each, but there are a few to chose from. (p.s. leave yourself lots of time to get there, traffic is nasty in this city especially around dinner time, we almost missed ours!)
#10 Practice Patience. No one in Paris is in a rush. The Metro is cramped, hot, and stinky. The traffic can get thick, many people smoke, and the language barrier is thick. But you too will fall in love with the city of love!
Next on my Europe list is 7-day River Cruise! Happy travels on your next adventure.
