A city that never fails to enchant! We returned to this beautiful city after a gap of 10 years and it is now more popular, expensive and crowded than before!
Jump to
Getting to Paris
Eurostar
Eurostar is the most convenient way to reach Paris. However it is also very popular and hence, expensive. It takes just over 3 hours (including the time to check-in and clear immigration) between the city centres of London and Paris. As soon as you get off the train at Gare du Nord, you just have to walk out into the city! Nothing can be more convenient than that. However if you aren’t staying in London it really doesn’t matter as you need to take a train to get to London and then get to St. Pancras international and then take the Eurostar with all your luggages. Tickets open 330 days in advance and the prices, obviously, are the best when you book early. Children travel cheaper as well. Again, nothing can beat the convenience of Eurostar and if you can plan a trip to Paris that early in advance then this is the way to go.
Fly
If you aren’t living anywhere near London this is the next best option to reach Paris. Most direct flights from the UK are under 1 hour. Paris’ two airport – Charles de Gaulle and Orly are well serviced by public transport that get you to the city in under an hour. Several airlines make non stop flights from several airports in the UK to either of these airports. The inconvenience is that you have to check-in 2 hours before your flight and go through the hassle of checking in large liquids (checked baggages cost more). The other hassle is after you arrive at Paris. CDG is a very busy airport and if your flight lands when lot of others do the lines at immigration can be very long. Last time we were there it took us an hour and a half just to clear immigration.
Eurotunnel
You can book crossings through the channel tunnel ahead and arrive for your time slot to take the train or Ferry across to Calais from Dover in your own car. The car needs to meed certain guidelines for driving in Europe. You can check for details here. Driving in cities with a car that’s not made to be driven on those roads can be challenging. We found it pretty easy to drive in villages and small towns in France but I would not recommend driving in the city of Paris.
Eurolines
There are buses to Paris and many parts of France from London’s Victoria Coach station. These take the Eurotunnel and take between 8-10 hours to reach Paris from London. Is quite a long journey but is very economical and there is no hassle of driving.
Brittany Ferries
A full size cruise ship makes the channel crossing from several ports on the south of England to several ports on the west coast of France. Caen and Le Havre are the ports closest to Paris and ferries depart from Portsmouth in the UK. You can choose to travel by foot or take your car on these overnight or day crossings. Good quality cabins and food are available on these ships. We used Brittany Ferries for our trip to St. Malo and Mont St. Michel. Since it was in the off season we got a good deal for channel crossing and an overnight stay in Dinan.
Transportation in Paris
Taxis
Taxis are plenty and there are ranks outside important points of interest. They are quite expensive. The prices from the airport to the right bank and left bank are regulated (€55 for right bank and €60 for left bank for anywhere within the ring road). However using a taxi within the city is generally not recommended. With traffic jams and one-ways the rates on the meter can climb up very quickly. There are also App based taxis like Uber and Bolt available.
Metro and RER
This is the best way to travel in Paris. There are several metro lines that criss cross around the city of Paris. Most important things to remember while taking a metro is the number of the line that you are supposed to take and the final destination of the train. This is how metro routes are identified all over Paris. The trains themselves are driverless so it takes a couple of times to learn how to board and disembark a crowded train. The doors can close quickly. If you are a family traveling together and don’t want to be separated do not try to board once the alarm for door closing starts ringing. Wait for the next train which is most likely only 3 minutes away. As with most cities in Europe, beware of pickpockets and petty thieves who might relieve you of your valuables. The stops aren’t far away and can arrive pretty quickly.
RER trains serve the suburbs. They have fewer stops within the city and separate stations and access. A metro ticket can be used on RER within the city limits but for suburban stops like Versailles and Disneyland Paris a separate ticket is required.
There are several passes that can help save a visitor (or resident) a few Euros over regular single travel tickets. A single travel ticket costs €2.10. A carnet of 10 tickets costs €16.90. There are also day passes, weekly passes, special passes for children and youths under 26. But other than Sacre Coeur and returning to / leaving from hotel we hardly used the metro. Most of the sights are within walking distance of each other and it is usually more convenient to walk than ride a metro. The airport is located in zone 5 and has it’s own fare for travel to the city. On these days it could be cheaper to buy a day pass for all zones and use that for travel from/to airport. However if you are not intending to use the metro it would be cheaper to just buy a one off ticket to/from airport for €11.45. This ticket is valid for onward travel on a metro from the RER station of arrival. These passes can be loaded on to an Android phone (support of iPhone is apparently coming soon in 2023) or on a Navigo card. Most passes can be loaded on a Navigo Easy card (costs €2) while the weekly pass can be loaded only on a Navigo Decouverte and that required a photo. The RATP website lists all available passes and prices and can be helpful while planning.
The RATP is phasing out the paper tickets. I would advise against the purchase of paper tickets unless it’s for single use. The magnetic strips on the back of the ticket are very sensitive and the ticket can become invalid during your journey. We purchased our day pass (mobilis) on paper but mine was invalid by the time I reached Gare du Nord from the airport and it took me an hour to rejoin my family at the other side of the barrier.
Bus
Google maps are very helpful in suggesting the bus routes between two points and the stops they depart/arrive. However we never used them as most of the sights were walkable and buses would only take longer. It may come in handy during colder months.
Top attractions
Eiffel Tower
Undeniably the major attraction in Paris! It can be seen from almost everywhere within the city or even from the air as you arrive or depart from either of the airports. Built in 1889 as part of the Paris World Fair by Gustave Eiffel, it made the Parisians very unhappy! They did not like the giant steel structure growing out of their city. It was supposed to have been taken apart after 20 years. Little did they realise it would become the symbol of Paris in the 20th century! Even today many Parisians avoid the Eiffel Tower. They consider it very touristy. Lifts carry tourists up to the second level or to the top floor but tickets get sold out almost as soon as they open. The tickets go on sale 60 days before and it helps to lock them in here if you really want to go up the tower. For any first timer to Paris it is a must do but can certainly be avoided on subsequent visits. Even with a ticket in hand the lines to the security and the lifts can be very long. Alternates to the lifts is to climb the stairs up to the second floor or book yourself in for a meal in one of the two restaurants in the tower. They are very expensive however include entrance to the second floor of the tower.
The tower is lit up at dusk every day until past midnight. It also sparkles for 5 minutes every hour on top of the hour which is quite a sight to see.
Musee du Louvre
One of the most popular museums in Europe, the Louvre museum is a former medieval palace converted to a museum and hosts incredible exhibits. From Italian renaissance art to artefacts from ancient Egypt, from the royal crown jewels to Napoleon III’s apartments, you can easily spend a day here. On our first visit we spent about 5 hours in the Louvre and chanced upon many empty galleries with wonderful paintings and great views over the courtyard and the pyramid.
With every visit the Louvre seems to be becoming more crowded. It is best book to book a timed ticket online especially during holidays and in the summer. A morning slot would likely be less crowded than an afternoon slot. It’s best to enter through the Carrousel (follow directions to the Carrousel from the metro station). The first time we visited the Louvre in 2013 we purchased our tickets inside the Louvre (costs €16 and free for children under 18). We had to go through security check at the entrance and the line was somewhere between 15-30 minutes long. However the second time with a timed entry ticket (costs €17) it took us over an hour at the carrousel entrance. The only consolation is that there are a lot of shops around to look at while you’re waiting in the line and there’s also the sunken pyramid! We avoided the pyramid entrance both times.
The Louvre’s most popular exhibit is Mona Lisa or La Joconde, as she’s known in French. Leonardo apparently brought with him an unfinished painting from Italy to Paris and sold it to a French king. This is now on display in the Louvre. You now have to queue up to see the painting and it can take 30-45 minutes just to see the painting up close for a few minutes. However the Louvre is filled with such incredible art that it would be shame to skip all the other paintings and just queue up for this one. For one, the Wedding feast at Cana, right across from Mona Lisa in the same room is one incredible painting. The Louvre is probably teasing us by hanging it right across from the Mona Lisa! It is several times larger than the Mona Lisa and the work on it is much more incredible. There are many other paintings (some by Leonardo) and sculptures (some by Michelangelo) that are worth your time in the Louvre. The website of Louvre offers some trails and tours (this costs extra and can sell out quickly) that take you on different trails around the museum. You can also look at my recommendations for a 2 hour visit here.
Sacre Coeur
It’s position on top of the hill at Montmartre makes it an attraction worth traveling 20 minutes from the centre of Paris. The neighbourhood is also quaint and a little different from the rest of Paris with it sloping streets and pretty whitewashed cafes. The steps to the church and the access road offer incredible views over the entire city of Paris. The Place du Tertre is known as the artists square and you can get your portrait made by one of the upcoming artists that have their easel set up on the square, but remember to haggle for the prices (upwards of €30) depending on the quality of their work.
Notre Dame
This is one of the oldest churches in Paris and is easily identified by its twin spires and the rose window. It was built between the 12th and 13th centuries and is the finest example of French Gothic architecture. Located in the Ile de la Cite, in what is considered the birth place of Paris, it is one of the most visited monument in the city of Paris. Due to a fire in 2019 some of the oldest parts of the church have been lost and they are currently being restored (in 2023). The church is expected to reopen in 2024.
Jardin du Luxembourg
Paris is famous for its gardens and the Parisians take pride in them. They are well maintained, mostly bordering a palace and serve as an ideal location to relax and catch up with a book or with friends! Built in the 17th century the Luxembourg garden is built over 23 hectares and has sever tree lines avenues, cafes, a mini statue of liberty, a large lake, fountains and several sculptures through out the garden. Boats can be rented to sail on the Grand Bassin overlooking the Luxembourg Palace. People do not picnic on the grass.. it’s forbidden! Instead there are countless chair placed all over the garden for people to use!
The other popular garden is Jardin de Tuileries across from the Louvre.
Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees
The Arc de Triomphe was built in between 1833 – 36 to honour those that fought and died in the French revolutionary wars and Napoleonic wars. It is at the centre of 12 avenues that are positioned equidistant from each other around the Arc. It’s a national monument and you can visit the top of the arc which is accessed by step. It has the tomb of an unknown soldier beneath it an eternal flame in memory of the dead that were never identified. The tree lined avenue of Champs Elysees if famed for its cafes and Parisian architecture. It is now an overpriced touristy avenue!
Seine cruise
The best way to rest tired feet and for a quick highlights of the attractions along the river seine is to take the 1 hour Seine cruise from any of the operators along the river. The first time we took the ones right below the Eiffel Tower and the second time we got on Vedettes du Pont Neuf from Ile de la Cite. Some boats are large and host lot of tour groups while some are smaller. However they all offer similar routes and are similar in quality. Check prices and departure times online and book if possible. Sunset would be an ideal time to cruise. In the warmer months a night cruise to see the monuments lit up would be a good way to end a day in Paris. There’s no restriction on carrying food and drinks so you can have a mini picnic or book one of the longer and more expensive lunch/dinner cruises (which I don’t recommend since you can neither enjoy your food not look at the sights. Doing both at the same time can be quite tiring!)
Other museums
There are several other museums in Paris that you can choose to visit based on your interest. There’s Musee d’Orsay housed in an old train station with a famed clock on its top floor, Orangerie for Monet’s water lily panels housed in a special oval shaped room (Monet designed that too) or the Pompidou centre for contemporary and modern art including several of Picasso’s works. All these require tickets to be purchased. Seeing how crowded Paris was during our visit I would certainly recommend booking them in advance on their websites.
Other than this there are free museums around the city of Paris like the Grande Palais and Petit Palais. Across the road from each other and very close to the Pont Alexandre bridge (one of the most famous bridges in Paris), there are beautiful paintings and sculptures housed in beautiful buildings with beautiful gardens! The best part of these museums is that they are absolutely free to visit (donations are of course, welcome!) and are hardly crowded. You can stare at an exhibit for as long as you want without being elbowed out or being cut off by an inquisitive tourist. We visited Petit Palais (as Grande Palais was closed) and got to see some interesting paintings including one by Monet and another by Rembrandt. The Petit Palais app has several tours that can help you find your way around.
Food
Cafes
Cafes are an integral part of the Parisian life. People have long lunches and dinners sitting at one of the outside tables and watch the world go by or just reading a book before they return to the call of reality. During our earlier visit we hardly found any vegetarian offering. However this time most cafes had something for the vegetarians and vegans. Many cafes were expensive and there are several that are at least a hundred years old. We only tried out the cafes near our hotel and hardly had time to explore more.
Bakeries
Countless bakeries dot the streets of Paris with great displays and wonderful aromas wafting out when they bake their goodies! Our favourite was the La Parissiene chain of bakeries that were present in every neighbourhood and gave us our breakfast, lunch and snacks. Most of the bakeries offer sandwiches and quiches for a picnic lunch. Their glass cases were filled with so much of pastries and deserts that it was a challenge to pick what we wanted to eat! We also shopped for macarons at Pierre Herme. Their filled croissants are available only in the morning and we were lucky to get some of them. We unfortunately did not have time to taste the Mont Blanc and hot chocolate at Angelina’s. The croissants from any bakery in Paris taste much better than what we get from across the channel. They are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and you can literally taste the butter! They are made fresh in the morning and past noon you’ll hardly find anything in their display cases except for perhaps baguettes that taste so good by themselves!
Hotels
Hotels in Paris are very very expensive! It’s best to stay in any of the 17 arrondissements. 1 starts at the centre (Louvre is in the 1st) and the number follow a spiral pattern around. The first time it was a challenge to find a hotel to stay in the city and we stayed at a Novotel just outside the ring road. Though it was served by metros it took quite a bit of time to reach the city. This time we stayed at Hotel des Bains in the 14th near the Montparnasse tower and what a blessing it was!
The best sites for selecting a hotel are booking.com and hotels.com. Accor hotels have a lot of hotels in France and Paris is no exception. However rooms within the ring road can be expensive. There are hardly any family rooms in Paris and all children are considered adults. You’d have to search a bit to locate a family room or be willing to book two rooms with interconnecting doors and or across from each other. After almost booking a Novotel once again outside the ring road, I found Catherine des Bains by clicking on every hotel on google maps! This hotel was listed as “sold out” by booking.com for our dates but the hotel’s website found us a family suite that could fit 4 of us for €190 a night. This is one of the cheapest we could find in the entire city of Paris! Air BNB is another source for stays if staying over a few days but can also be expensive and sell out months ahead. Paris is one expensive city and I can’t recommend enough on planning for it as far ahead as possible!
Neighbourhoods
Paris has some quaint neighbourhoods that are worth a walk through. Interesting buildings, churches, gardens, shops and cafes that you probably cannot find anywhere else in the world! Staying in the 14th we were able to walk through 2 neighbourhoods and completely avoid the metro on one of our days in Paris. Here are some of my favourite neighbourhoods and routes
Saint Germain des Pres
Start at Luxembourg Gardens and continue until the Saint Sulpice church. This church is free to enter and was featured in the the book The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. It’s a beautiful, large, old church! There’s a Pierre Herme nearby for buying some macarons! You can also visit the Saint Germain market (marche) before continuing on to Boulevard Saint-Germain. There’s the instagrammable Cafe de Flore (though we found prettier cafes elsewhere too) and the church of Saint Germain. Continue along the boulevard to reach Fontaine Saint-Michel. It was constructed in the late 19th century and is one important icon in Boulevard Saint-Michel. You can now walk across to the Latin quarter or take the metro to other parts of Paris.
Latin Quarter
Home to the Sorbonne (one of the oldest universities in the world), the quarter got its name from the large student population that frequented the bistros in the area back in the medieval period, conversing in Latin amongst themselves. Today it is famous for its narrow streets, street markets and bistros. Follow Rue de la Huchette to Rue du Chat Quie Peche (the narrowest street in Paris), Shakespeare and company (book store and a cafe overlooking the Notre Dame), Square Rene Viviani for Paris’ oldest tree and Pont au Double (the oldest bridge in Paris connecting the Latin quarter to Ile de la Cite). You could also go further south to see the Pantheon, Madame Curie museum and Rue Mouffetard for its street market.
Montmartre
Rue de l”Abreuvoir is considered the prettiest street in Paris! Take a metro to Lamarck-Caulaincourt and walk to this pretty street with a pretty cafe before walking to Place du Tertre. Then over to Sacre Coeur for its enchanting views before walking to the wall of love and the Abbesses metro to take you further.
Other popular neighbourhoods include Le Marais, Palais Royal and Champs Elysees.
Itineraries
Ideal time to spend in the city of Paris would by between 3-4 days as a minimum. To visit Disneyland Paris or Versailles it would take more time.
2 days
Day 1
Morning at Montmartre – Walk through the neighbourhood, spend sometime on the steps at Sacre Coeur looking over the city of Paris. If you have time, visit the church of Sacre Coeur. Take the train from Abesses to reach Trocadero.
Afternoon at the Eiffel Tower – If you have booked tickets to visit the tower then join the line after gaping at the tower from Trocedaro. Else grab a picnic lunch and gape at the tower from Champs de Mars.
Evening – Walk to Pont Alexandre and visit Grand Palais or Petit Palais if they are still open. See the Champs de Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe from far and make your way down to the Seine river for a river cruise at sunset
Night – See the monuments lit up – from the Louvre pyramid to the Pont Alexandre to the Eiffel Tower sparkling on the hour.
Day 2
Morning – Visit the Louvre for a highlights tour
Afternoon grab a picnic lunch and walk over to the banks of river Seine along/on Ile de la Cite and watch the world go by.
Evening – walk through the Ile de la Cite to Notre Dame cathedral, the Latin quarter and to the Luxembourg garden
Night – Dinner at one of the cafes in the Saint Germain neighbourhood
5 days
Day 1 – Eiffel Tower, Pont Alexandre III, Petit/Grande Palais, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Opera Garnier, Galleries Lafeyette, River Seine cruise
Day 2 – Louvre, Jardin de Tuileries, Palais Royal, Place vendôme, Rue de Rivoli
Day 3 – Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, Ile de la Cite, Notre Dame, Latin quarter, Saint Germain des Pres
Day 4 – Palace and Garden of Versailles
Day 5 – Disneyland Paris
Fly ✧ Ride ✧ Drive 