Paris, France

Things To Know:

• Currency: The Euro is used in Paris. 1 Euro is about 1.08 USD. We booked all of our tours online so we didn’t have to worry about exchanging money for that. You can use ATMs or use your credit/debit card almost everywhere as well.
• Weather: I went in February and I was comfortable in either a long sleeve or a cardigan and jeans or leggings for both day and night. Shoes wise, I wore converse during the day and heeled boots at night and had zero problems.
• Hotel: I stayed at Ibis Style Paris. Free breakfast of course because as you can tell apparently I only stay at hotels that serve me free breakfast. Our Hotel’s nearest train stop was Porte d’Ivey. It was a big help to remember the closest stop because when trying to find our way back home we’d just look on the metro map, find our stop and follow the map to see which lines to take.
• Transportation: Two words for you when it comes to how to get around in Paris: Public Transportation. You will use the bus and metro to get around. They are extremely easy to navigate by looking at a sign. Similar but way easier than NYC subways. If I can figure it out, you can too, trust me.
• BE ALERT. WATCH YOUR BELONGINGS. Some jacka** stole my phone right out of my hand on the metro. Literally grabbed it out of my hand and ran off the train. Unfortunately for him…He underestimated my will to live without a cell phone and we both learned that I can out run him. Even in heels. My reflexes kicked in and I got my phone back but 0/10 I don’t recommend chasing after someone in a foreign city. Just hold on to your stuff.

Things You Must See/Do:

Eiffel Tower: This is an obvious must do. Go all the way to the top! The experience is unbeatable and the Eiffel Tower itself is mesmerizing. I couldn’t stop looking at it the entire time I was in Paris. We visited it and went to the top during the day BUT you can also see the Eiffel Tower at night. Every night, every hour, on the hour, the Eiffel Tower sparkles for 5 whole minutes.

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Louvre Museum: Home to the Mona Lisa. The whole place itself is shaped like a giant palace. We actually sat outside in the center of the museum for a while and just relaxed in the sun and hungout. If you don’t take a picture in front of the The Louvre Pyramid you’re doing it wrong.

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Notre Dame Cathedral: RIP. At one point you can go in and take tours around the world famous Cathedral. Now, they are accepting donations to rebuild the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral that suffered from a fire in 2019.

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Palace of Versailles: I’m going to be completely honest here… I didn’t actually make it to this tour. My travel buddy and I (dumb and dumber some would call us) read the ticket voucher wrong and showed up to the wrong meeting place. To be fair, it was the last day of our 2 week long trip and we were just shot. We ended up getting coffee at a cute little cafe across the street. The palace looked pretty from the outside! $100 down the drain for me. Click the link to take the tour I was supposed to take and let me know how it is.

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Jardin du Luxembourg: The most relaxing place to just sit and soak it all in. The garden itself is over 56 acres of land and is covered in open lawn fields, statues, trees, fountains, flowerbeds, and even the Luxembourg Palace. It was crowded with both tourists and locals who come there to read, but the garden is so big that it was easy to find a spot to sit and relax. Not much to do but enjoy the peace and serenity.

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Food:

The cafe we stopped at was Salon sur Cour. I got some tea and my friend got coffee. Its a small little cafe located right next to the Palace of Versailles and I’m pretty sure the guy let us in before they were even open. But he let us hangout there for a while so we could soak in how royally we messed up this tour

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The absolute best shrimp risotto I’ve ever had in my whole life was from Place De La Republique. Delishhh. Close second for dinner goes to La Malakoff

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Nightlife:

It was surprisingly really hard to find nightlife in Paris. We ended up a lot of weird underground clubs that played trance music. Try Queen Nightclub, Le Social Club, Cha Cha Club, La Machine du Moulin Rouge, Le Baron, and Zero Zero Also, pro tip: bring a flask in your bag or pocket if you don’t want to spend $100 on drinks.

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Dirty Dick: This bar has a tiki theme and a funny name. They have couches and cute stools to sit in. Most importantly the waiters and waitresses double as a masseuses and you can get a massage from them while you drink! Now that I’m writing it out it sounds weird but I swear it’s cool.

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Lavomatic: This place looks like a laundromat! Except theres a line to get in and a security guard. They only let one group in at a time and when you get in you’re literally in a Laundromat. You have to figure out some code to get one of the washing machine doors open and then it opens a door to a staircase. Don’t ask me the code because it was pure luck that we figured it out by pushing random buttons. You go up the stairs and theres a little tiny crowded bar with all different kinds of seating (couches, bar stools, a swing).

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