Paris Travel Tips

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved Paris. I'm infatuated by it, I think about it every day and I'm finding myself being a Francophile! There's so much I want to continue exploring there and we only touched the surface on our trip. We definitely scratched off the major tourist locations, which although touristy, are still not to be missed! You could spend weeks at the Louvre, days at the O'rsay and many nights under the Eiffel Tower. I didn't even get to go shopping! GASP! But I wanted to recap our trip, with a few helpful tips and tricks I suggest for you to help prepare for your tip to Paris, plus tips for further on in your trip!

Download these apps, you'll thank me later:
1. Ulmon: it's a life saver! It has a GPS map that works offline, so if you're lost or need to find your way, it will automatically find you in the city and help you navigate your way. I was highly impressed with the accuracy of this app and if we did not have this, I don't know what we would have done! It really helped us feel relaxed and comfortable navigating our way on our own. You can pin helpful places that you want to visit as well as the major attractions to the map. It's available for most major cities, including upcoming ones I'll touch base on, Venice and Rome!

2. Louvre Audio Guide: This was a great app for us to use to get a rough view of what the Louvre had to offer. We did the "Masterpiece Tour" and it helped you navigate the never-ending museum and take you to THE major pieces that a tourist would be most interested in. Don't get me wrong, I want to go back and explore more, but the museum really IS exhausting and huge! You could spend weeks there, not just an afternoon, so the app allowed you to take in what you would really want to see in an afternoon or day. It was worth the small investment just to be able to navigate the museum because it's confusing!

3. TripLingo: This is a great app to review proper protocol in terms of manners, local culture and phrases (from slang to proper). We brushed up on phrases like how to ask for a table for two and getting the check at the end of the meal. (If you can speak both of those phrases in French, your servers will be highly impressed! Also, if you don't ASK for the check they won't automatically give it to you like in the US - "l'addition s'il vous plait".) Overall, this is a great app for phrases and culture tips.


Packing:
In terms of packing, we were about to travel for just over two and half weeks and I knew how important it was to only pack a carry-on and boy am I glad I did! Example A, our flat in Paris was 4 flights up an old building, carrying a suitcase.. I mean, it was a no brain-er!  And don't get me started on the trains and the cars in Europe. They are much smaller than what we are used to! Our host family was even happy we only packed a carry on.

Here is almost an exact graphic of everything I packed for our trip! I bought a Samsung 4 wheel carry-on (similar to this) before we left, which was very helpful. You'd be surprised at how handy 4 wheels are over two wheels! You must roll everything and make it tight to have plenty of room and it really does work wonders. I packed all the below in a carry on (minus my hat). You can use shoes to stuff undies and socks into and if you bring a jacket that's bulky just wear it on the plane. Pretty much my wardrobe consisted of things from Old Navy because they don't wrinkle bad, I can have many pieces for a low price and if they get messed up I won't be too sad! Black t-shirt dress, black tank dress, two skirts, tanks, tees, and the ever classic in Europe, the denim jacket! Scarves, hats and shoes changed up the outfits from day to day.

Black t-shirt dress - you can dress up with sandals and a necklace, dress down with sneakers, wear with a denim jacket or chambray shirt and change up with scarves, perfect!!
Chambray Shirt - again, wear it over the black shirt, with a skirt or even skinny jeans!
Longer black dress - same as the above dress, so many ways to change it up but still have another option in your arsenal!
Patterned or Solid Button Down - good with skirts, over dresses, and of course with jeans!
Silk Top - a little dressier for things like dinner. Great with a black sweater over jeans or with a skirt, even paired with a denim jacket. Versatile is what I love!
Long Skirt - perfect for the Vatican tour in Rome since you have to have your knees covered, and perfect for a warmer day with a tank, or cooler day with a jacket or sweater.
Short skirt - can dress up with the silk blouse, dress down with a tee and sneakers!
Scarves - pack a few to change things up!

If you have any more questions about packing, Stacy Reeves put together this amazing article as well! Packing is a HUGE part of your trip, so don't underestimate how valuable planning this element of your trip is. I felt like all summer I stocked up on things that would be helpful to pack and finding a comfy pair of flats! I purchased the Cole Haan with Nike air for the trip and they worked quite well. But make sure to buy the BandAid friction blocker stick, it works WONDERS!!


Eating and Getting Around:
If you're a foodie like us, I highly recommend that you do some research for restaurants you might be interested in visiting. I like resources like Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, etc. Many restaurants require advance reservations to get a table, so head the warning in advance! Also, take into account that in Paris there are awards for best baguette and croissant. I wish I had known more ahead of time to have been able to scope these locations out, because I have yet to have anything in America that compares.. Here are the restaurants that we ate at on our trip to Paris:

• Les Papilles
• Cafe Constant
• Les Cocottes
• L'Eclair

Paris also has many forms of travel. It really is a walkable city depending on where you're staying. In the 7th, we were incredibly close to the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Musee Rodin, Musee d'Orsay and le Seine, so we walked many places and were rewarded with gorgeous glimpses of the real Paris. There is also the metro, Bato Bus, and things such as Uber and LeCab. My biggest advice is just figuring out how you're going to get to the airport to the city. I recommend a cab or Uber so you can get your barrings and not deal with public transportation. I may be comfortable with it in New York City but I was not comfortable with it in France upon my first time being in Europe!

If you're continuing on to another location either before or after Paris, make sure to check out this site, Rome 2 Rio, for assistance in finding the best route to and from your location! One of the most difficult situations for me was figuring out how to get from Paris to Venice. 
 

Hope these little tips and tricks help you plan your trip. I LOVE to plan a trip so if there's anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask!

xoxo,
Amanda

Paris Day 4

On our final day in Paris we had one activity scheduled, as you might guess it was the Louvre. Before we headed out on our final day though, we stopped on Rue Cler again for petit dejuener. Again we attempted to blend in with the crowd during a weekday and try our might at ordering breakfast in French. I ended up ordering only brioche and hubs ended up order oeufs and brioche. (His french is obviously better than mine..) The brioche was amazing though. The restaurant was called L'Eclair and it had amazing coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice as well. I also fell madly in love with fig jams while in France. AHHHmazing. The coffee is also amazing. Did I mention that the bread and pastries are amazing too? Yeah...

After breakfast we hoped on our Bato Bus and headed to the Louvre.

 

SECRET TIP! A little known fact around Paris is that there is actually a second entrance into the Louvre. You'll notice a HUGE line outside the pyramid because the "real" entrance IS under the pyramid, but if you enter on the side of the Seine there is actually an underground entrance to the mall area in which you can access the ticket line for the Louvre. It definitely looks like it's not legit, but if you look for the lions on either side of the Arch de Triumph du Carrousel there is a staircase leading down into the mall area and viola!! Skip the lines!

I'll also note that we had purchased the Louvre app on our iPhones to use while visiting the museum. It's such a crowded place and it's so massive in size that it's incredibly easy to get lost. We used the Masterpiece Tour while visiting so that we could see all the major pieces of art that are a significant attraction to the Louvre. It also helped because it told you where to walk and where to go and also entertained you while walking to your next location. It probably took 2-3 hours and in a museum where you could spend weeks, it was nice to have some direction and to learn what we were looking at!

 

Venus de Milo above

 

Victory of Samothrace

Probably one of my favorite galleries that is majestic in person!!

OH there's the Mona Lisa... and her ridiculous paparazzi!

 

I barely gave much thought and time into taking a good picture of her, the crowd was overwhelming and a little tip about the Louvre as well... IT'S HOT!! The AC barely works because of it being an older building and the ridiculous amount of people that swarm the museum every day of the week. Also be sure to CHECK ALL MUSEUM TIMES because some are not open certain days of the week! More paparazzi below of Mona..

These are photos of Napoleon's actual apartment inside the Louvre. Definitely make time for this as it's not on the masterpiece tour but it really is incredible!

You can barely see, but there's the massive crowd at the main entrance.

After exhausting ourselves in the Louvre we sat down for some "typical" French food.. Escargot and Nutella crepes that were WAY overpriced but worth the time we were able to sit down and rest our little feet. We had a big dinner planned for later that evening at the only restaurant I made a reservation for in Paris.

 

Pretty Paris.. This really never gets old..

 
 

Pantheon on the way to dinner.

For our last meal in Paris I had done some research on restaurants and one restaurant kept popping up time and time again. Les Papilles. It sounded fun and interesting without being super pricey but I felt would garner us an authentic Parisian experience. The chef goes to market each day and hand selects his ingredients for his menu which is a complete surprise every day as well. So you don't choose what you want, the chef simply prepares it for you. Four courses, as typical of a French meal, for around 33E per person! Once there, the chef collects wine so you simply choose a bottle of wine off the shelves and they'll serve it to you, or the chef will personally choose a bottle for you. It's such a fun experience! To get a table at this TINY restaurant you HAVE to make a reservation and you must confirm your reservation day of by email or phone call to retain the table!!

  

First course, Zucchini soup

 

Second course, Osso Bucco
 

Third course, camembert cheese, a favorite of the French! We followed the cheese with a apricot panna cotta, which I normally don't care for, but it was delish! I just didn't take a photo of it unfortunately. It was a lovely experience and it was so nice not choosing what I wanted to eat and just having it prepared for us. The kitchen was so small at this restaurant that they were constantly cleaning dishes while cooking. I'd definitely recommend Les Papilles to anyone visiting Paris!

After our lovely meal we headed back to the Seine and caught the Bato Bus for it's last round of the evening and to take in Paris one last time at night. It was the first time we rode at night and it was c'est magnifique!

One last time walking by Madam Eiffel.. She never gets old that's for sure. Until next time Paris. You were amazing and I still can't get you out of my mind..

Au Revoir Paris, j'taime!
xoxo,
Amanda

Paris Day 3

After our amazing photo shoot with Stacy, we headed back to our apartment to change and head out for our next day of sightseeing. We didn't have too much planned for this day, but from our flat, we decided to walk towards the Musee d'Orsay and make a pit stop to the Musee Rodin since it was really close to the flat. We have some pieces of Rodin right here in Raleigh and it's beautiful so I was excited to visit the museum. Instead of visiting the inner museum though, we decided to pay the 2E and just visit the gardens. I heard they were beautiful and our weather was still perfect so it seemed like a fun stop on our walk around Paris.

After our visit to the gardens, I desperately wanted to eat macaroons from the famous Laduree macaroon shop. There happened to be a location very close to the Musee d'Orsay so we started wandering towards the macaroon shop, taking in the back streets of Paris and trying to find a location for dejeuner. I couldn't help but take photos of this AMAZING building below. How great are the colors?!

I can't remember where we had lunch but it was relatively close to Laduree so I could finally get my macaroons. We walked in and said bonjour and spoke our few French phrases to the surprise of the man behind the counter. (I can't even begin to tell you how helpful it is to be polite and speak even a few phrases in French. It goes so far and everyone is so appreciative!) He proceeded to speak to us in French and we told him we really didn't know any but said our French was very good! We were stoked to hear that! Maybe he was just buttering us up for their amazing macaroons.. I choose to get a keepsake box from the shop.

Since we were in no hurry, and that's how I recommend everyone take in Paris as well, we walked down to the Siene and decided to eat our treats with a splendid view of the Lourve. What's more Parisian?!
 

 

iPhone snap of us eating our treats!

I love this shot hubs took with his panoramic app on the iPhone. Just a neat little perspective from where we sat eating our Laduree macroons and framboise (hubs personal favorite) and taking in everything Paris had to offer us!

After our amazing little break we headed over to the Musee d'Orsay. It's an AMAZING museum with amazing artists, some of my favorites, like Degas, Monet and Renoir. The thing that makes this museum so spectacular though, is that it was built in the old train station that was operating up until the early 1900's! So about 100 years ago this was a bustling scene in the center of Paris. It's absolutely stunning and the art is fabulous too. We didn't spend too long in the museum as I started to get tired and my feet started to hurt so I'd love to go back sometime.

After the museum we went off in search of dinner. We ended up at another establishment by chef Constant, called Les Cocottes where everything is cooked in little pots. It was a neat restaurant with yummy French dishes. I also captured this stunning photo of the 7th that evening that I thought captured the feeling of the back streets of Paris.

We finished the evening in the most romantic way possible. Probably one of the highlights of my life really. We stopped in a little market after dinner, purchased some Rose and beer and grabbed a blanket from our flat and headed out to catch the Eiffel Tower light show in all it's glory. It was such a fun vibe on the Champs de Mars. There were locals, teens, families and tourists all alike, hanging out and enjoying a gorgeous evening. Although there are people always trying to sell you "beer/wine/wine/beer" in case you forget to bring your own.

 

Every hour on the hour, madame Eiffel sparkles for 15 minutes of glory like the above video. It really is SPECTACULAR to see in person and it's so magical. I'd love to come back to Paris and go up the Eiffel at night to really see the "city of lights", but we sat under the Eiffel for two hours and watched the tower sparkle twice. It was probably THE highlight of our trip really. It may seem odd to rave so much over the Eiffel Tower, but really it is that amazing in person and being there with the one you love, is even more special.

Bonne nuit!

Amanda