[TRAVEL] Paris, France
For my senior spring break trip, my two girlfriends and I decided to spend it in Paris together! The last time I had gone to France had been in high school, where my family and I visited the Louvre – my brother and I begrudgingly – as well the Eiffel Tower and a few other historic landmarks. I did not cherish the abundance of art and architecture around me at the time and was extremely excited to spend 10 days back in Paris more mature and appreciative than before.
France was a beautiful country altogether – we split our trip into exploring both the city center and countryside (specifically the Loire Valley) and filled our itinerary with museums, castles, wine tastings, and restaurants featuring all different cuisines. Overall, France was a beautiful country to visit.
With an extensive and easy-to-navigate public transportation system, my favorite aspects of the country were the shopping opportunities and Parisian style (the flagship designer stores were entire buildings, with incredible showrooms of items featured in the most recent fashion shows), French cafes and brasseries, and the incredible collections of art, both in private galleries and public museums! The city layout is also West to East, with the Eiffel Tower, Arc Du Triomphe and Louis Vuitton Foundation on the left-most side, to Montmarre & The Louvre, etc. on the right. To get from one side to the other took about ~25-35 minutes, which was super manageable. Ultimately, It was clear to me that Paris was the city of fashion and hospitality, and that people living there had a lot of national pride.
Although people weren’t the friendliest to American tourists, it was easy to get around and a decent amount of people spoke English while we were in Paris. As we ventured outside of the city, however, English-speaking individuals were less frequent.
Exploring Paris on a budget is possible – I allocated ~$1,500 for the trip, including a round trip flight from New York. This included hotels, meals, rental car expenses, public transportation, and tickets to museums and additional attractions. As for shopping, our group did a combination of thrifting (which is fantastic in Paris by the way) and more high-end stores. I got a great mix of both, and found my graduation dress along the way 😊
Where to Stay:
Our hotel accommodations were at the Westin Paris & the Le Meridian Etoile. Both were quite pricey due to their location (Westin is located right in the middle of the luxury shopping area, and Le Meridian was a 3-4 minute walk from the Arc Du Triomphe), but hotels average between 150-200 Euros a night. Many people opt to stay in an AirBNB for a more affordable option while being in a good location, but we shared a hotel room between 3 people to save money.
Things To Do:
1. Shop at Champs Elysees: this street stretches from the Arc De Triomphe down two miles, offering both high-end luxury shops to boutique stores and cafes. It was a beautiful activity to do when it was sunny out and a great way to explore the city on the first/last day of the trip! We stopped by Galeries Lafayette, a large department store with concepts and pop-ups within, which was super cool to see!
2. Musee de l’Orsay:
3. Le Centre Pompindou: This museum
4. Musee l’Orangerie
5. Chateau de Chambord
6. Cloitre de la Psalette
7. Chateau du Clos Luce – Da Vinci’s former home
8. Thrifting at: Free P Star, Hippy Market, Cinemachine, Kilo Shop, ‘Episode, Citizens
9. Sacre Coeur
10. Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris
11. Pantheon
12. Luxemborg Gardens
13. The Louvre Museum
14. Musee de Montmarre
15. Sunset Jazz Club
16. Le Duc des Lombards
17. L’Arc Paris
a. Additional nightclubs to check out: Cova Club, Wanderlust, Le Duplex, Medllin on Av. Marceau
b. Speakeazys: Lavomatic, Little Red Door, Le Syndicat
Places to Eat:
1. Au Bonheur
2. Laudree
3. Pierre Herme
4. Pedzouille La Grange
5. Cave de Vouvray
6. Kamara
7. Jacques Faussat
8. Yann Courer Patisserie
9. Virtus
10. Marché def Enfants-Rouges
11. Restaurant Libanais Janna
12. RAN
13. Le Relais de L’Entrecote
14. Cuppa
15. Le Comptoir Boutary
General Travel Tips:
1. Buy a Navigo card if you plan to use Paris public transportation! For days in which we were traveling within the city and needed to take the train 4+ times, it was always more worth it for me to get an unlimited day-pass on the Navigo. You can purchase one at the service desk of any train station!
2. BEWARE OF PICK POCKETERS. Though I did my research and was hyper aware the entire trip, my phone was still stolen out of my hands on the street while I was walking to meet a friend. It was pretty traumatic to be alone and helpless for a minute as I scrambled to figure out what to do with myself, so try to be as cautious as possible while on public transportation or outside in general. Some tips I’ve read are: (1) Try not to hold your phone out while walking on the street, especially if you’re alone. If a motorcyclist approaches you, put your phone away. (2) Don’t leave your phone out on a table if you’re sitting at a café – people will approach you and swipe your phone before you realize. (3) Don’t respond to solicitation on the street, especially if people are trying to get you to sign a waiver. It’s likely that they will pick pocket you while you’re not paying attention.
3. Bring your passport around & ask for tax-free forms if you purchase any big items while shopping! The EU makes it easy now to get a tax refund with a simple bar code scan.
4. Go to Museums on Sunday! All museums are free the first Sunday of the month & select museums are free every Sunday. The lines are long, however, so try to get there early!
5. For an inexpensive meal, drop by a French grocery store to pick up bread + pastries + fruit or anything you would like! The quality of groceries in France is really high, so you won’t be disappointed by what you find! I bought a baguette for 2 Euros and couldn’t believe I had ate a 3 foot long piece of bread until all I had left were crumbs and the wrapper.
Additional Recommendations I didn’t have the chance to try:
Food: (Parenthesis is the Google Maps rating)
Maison Sauvage (breakfast/brunch) (3.8)
L’As du Fallafel (cheap on-the-go falafel) (4.4)
Pink Mamma (Italian lunch/dinner) (4.5)
Café de Flore (cute but cliche Parisian cafe) (4.0)
Le Moliere (mussles and fries) (4.0)
Maison Mille (breakfast in Montmarte) (4.2)
Inexpensive french bistros:
**Bouillon Pigalle - 22 Bd de Clichy (cheap French bistro) (4.4)
Bouillon Chartier - 59 Bd du Montparnasse (3.9)
Bouillon République - 39 Bd du Temples (4.4)
Bouillon Julien - 16 ru Faubourg Saint-Denis (4.1)
Brasserrie Victor Hugo (3.8)
Brasserie Dubillot (4.6)
Élémentaire (4.4)
Le Petit Cler (4.4)
Le Petit Cadet (4.3)
Restaurant Chex Paul (4.2)
Asian
Neko Ramen (4.4)
Petit Bao (4.4)
Kisin (4.8)
Mediterranean:
Dalia (4.5)
Liza (4.2)
Sosso Restaurant (4.9)
Parisian Cafes:
Café Cassette - 73 Rue de Rennes (3.9)
Les Deux Magots - 6 Pl. Saint-Germain des Prés (4.2)
Café de Flore - 172 Bd Saint-Germain (4.0)
Le Choupinet - 58 Bd Saint-Michel (4.3)
Au Cadran Voltaire - 109 Bd Voltaire (4.1)
Au Vieux Paris - 24 Rue Chanoninesse
Café Milou - 1 Rue du Faubourg Saint- Antoine
La Rêverie - 15 Rue de la Roquette
Maison Sauvage - 5 Rue de Buci
Odette - 77 Rue Galande
