24 Hours in Paris

Ah, Paris!  The land of love, romance, wine, cheese & meat! Our trip to Paris was a bit different for us because we went to visit a very good friend of Devin’s. We were able to experience Paris like a local, eat at the local’s favorites and be toured around, again, like a local. Our friend opened his apartment to us, so for this post, we do not have hotel suggestions; but, we do have transportation tips, restaurant recommendations and sights to see!

Compared to other cities that we have visited, Paris’ metro transportation system is quite complex, and sometimes confusing to a weekend visitor.  When purchasing a ticket, the machine will ask if you’d like a full-fare ticket, or a specific destination ticket. When traveling around Paris we bought metro tickets that were full-fare; 1.90 euros each every time we wanted to go somewhere. There are options to purchase bundles of 10 tickets for 16.90 euros, but you must plan your trip accordingly to maximize on bundle savings. It is best to know where you are going, and if it would be best to only be charged to a specific destination, or if a full-fare ticket is more economical. Full-fare tickets include one transfer from metro to bus. But wait, there’s a catch! Tickets must be used within 1.5 hours of the first validation, or else they are invalid. Tricky system, we know.  To read about the ins and outs of the metro system while planning your trip, see the following link.

When we first arrived in Paris, we bought a ticket each to get from the airport to Devin’s friends house. This ticket worked for an hour train ride and then a bus ride to his apartment. It worked great and never gave us any issues! We asked a lot of people for help while we were in the airport to make sure we bought the right ticket, got on the correct train and everyone we asked was so helpful. Do not be afraid to ask any transportation attendants for help as they’re stationed around most of the metro stations.

We highly recommend walking the following route during the day to catch all of the tourist attractions during with good visibility. Starting with the Arc De Triomphe and finishing the night with the Eiffel Tower at sunset so that you can view it both during the day and night when the sparkling lights shimmer! We were lucky enough to catch the Eiffel tower on a clear day and night which was absolutely incredible. No photo could ever do it justice! 

The Ultimate Sight Seeing Path

One thing to make sure of when you are there during the day is that we had a lot of people walk up to us and ask  “do you speak English?” At first we thought they were just looking for signatures on a petition but it turned out, after you signed your name they would ask for money or your credit card information. We did not give any of them information but at times they were extremely pushy and would follow us. We asked our friend about this run in and he informed us that often, if you do give them money, it does not go anywhere they say it will. So be careful about these individuals and it is best to just ignore them completely.

We also visited the many shopping centers that Paris has.  We went to Paris right before Christmas so the shopping centers were decorated for the holidays. Les Galeries LaFayette is seconds away from the Opéra Garnier and during the winter, the main atrium has a 100 foot christmas tree as the main spectacle for visitors to capture a photo of. With each shopping centre better than the next, we highly recommend stopping by the following, even if your budget doesn’t allow for shopping:  Le Bon Marché, Beaugrenelle, Le Printemps Haussmann, Le Carrousel du Louvre, Forum des Halles, and Italie Deux. 

On top of seeing all the iconic buildings and attractions, we recommend just walking the crowded street. We did this often just to see the beauty that Paris has to offer! Just get lost!

Though we would classify ourselves as “non-city people,” we fell in love with this beautiful city and all it had to offer us!