Bonjour! Just got back from three days in Paris through London and wanted to share a few tips from my trip to make your next vacation to la Ville des Lumières (The City of Lights) relaxing, rewarding and fun. With tons of articles and tips available, planning can seem like a beast and a romantic trip can seem overwhelming. With so many options on travel tips, this is a good moment to thank you for checking out this page! My goal is to make your trip fun again by posting personal tips as well as the best articles I could find and links to the Paris attractions you won’t want to miss.
Getting to Paris Gare Du Nord from London St. Pancras was a simple process similar to customs at any border or international flight. Took the Eurostar which only took about an hour and a half which was amazing being from California because it is easy to drive 8 hours in California and still be in California. What a wonderful experience to see a new country in the time it would take me to get to Anaheim.
The top five attractions in Paris are the Eiffel Tower, Palace of Versailles, Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens and the Louvre.
Always have two plans for the day, the gardens at the Palace of Versailles aren’t as wonderful when it is wet and raining while a trip around the Louvre when it is sunny and warm outside would feel like a waste of great weather.
When you first arrive and after checking into your hotel, hostel or Airbnb, get yourself to the Seine River and take the one hour boat tour (Vedettes du Pont Neuf) to get yourself oriented with most of the major attractions. This is such a relaxing way to settle in to the city and be able to plan distances between places you want to explore. The tour itself is wonderfully narrated so it also puts a lot of places in context to get you interested in a few places you may have not thought to see before. Planning on Google Maps may give you a distance, but the river tour really gives you a plan on how far you may have to walk and what the crowds outside of certain places looks like.
Speaking of crowds, tourists from all over the world queue up outside Paris museums and monuments, but the worst lines are at the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Having tickets ahead of time is always a good strategy otherwise you may have to wait 2-3 hours to get tickets before waiting again in a similar size line to get inside an attraction.
The Paris Museum Pass provides entry to 60 museums over two, four, or six days, and the pricier Paris Pass, which admits you to additional tourist attractions make financial sense if you’re planning on charging through at least two or three museums per day for at least two days in a row. I highly recommend against this strategy, but if you’re young, quick and just looking for selfies then this is the best way to slam through Paris.
A bucket list isn’t just a checkbox, don’t make a museum a checkbox, it is an experience and in my opinion should best be enjoyed casually. Every brick in Paris has a story and it is rewarding to take a moment for yourself to enjoy a painting not necessarily the name of the museum.
“Skip the line” and Priority Admission make your visit more efficient, but can quickly make a trip expensive, especially for a family of four. At the same time, I completely understand why a jet-lagged ten year old kid wouldn’t be excited to stake a place in line for a museum at seven in the morning. If you’re a student, bring your student ID for discounts and freebies on everything from transportation to museum admission. Also consider getting an ISIC (international student identity card). Chacun voit midi à sa porte!
The Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo are priceless Paris must-sees in the only museum worth name-dropping, the Louvre (Raining). Conveniently, quintessential Parisian gardens Jardin des Tuileries and Jardin du Palais Royal, with its elegant boutique-clad arcades, are right next door (Sunny).
The most popular entrance for the Louvre is at the glass pyramid, but Le Carrousel du Louvre is by far your best bet if you do not already have a ticket for the Louvre. This is basically the underground entrance to the Louvre. This is the one you access if you take the metro (metro stop for the Louvre: ‘Palais Royale-Musee du Louvre’ on line 1 and 7), but you can also access it from the Rue de Rivoli.
If you enter from the Rue de Rivoli, walk down two sets of escalators into a small underground shopping strip. Pass all the shops and you will find an inverted pyramid. After going through the metal detectors at this entrance, you enter the same part of the Louvre as the guys who waited in Le Pyramide line -but you will have saved 2 hours of standing in line. Pyramid and Galerie du Carrousel entrances are open from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Another entrance to the Louvre is Porte des Lions which is reserved for groups with their booking confirmation (it will give you the details on when/where to meet). Finally Passage Richelieu is an entrance into the sculpture section of the museum, and is between the exterior Louvre courtyard (the part with the pyramid) and the Rue de Rivoli (street running parallel to the Louvre). The Passage Richelieu entrance is reserved for groups like Porte des Lions and people who have an annual pass to the Louvre.
The Louvre is open Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m (also make sure it isn’t a French Public Holiday). Rooms begin closing 30 minutes before museum closing time. Don’t forget that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, this means that there tends to be a big line on Mondays! If you have other days to spare, probably best not to go on Monday if you can help it.
I had to leave back to London the day of the Louvre, but just with the amount of walking, I wasn’t able to spend longer than 4 hours in the museum before I wanted to sit down, so rather than line up super early at the Louvre, consider going in the early afternoon, when the lines have generally become shorter. Also, many visitors may have already left for the day, so you might find there is less people in the Louvre as well! The Louvre was also one of the only places I got a group tour because I wanted to be efficient with my time and not miss the train. The tour was pretty awesome and even though I got the audio tour at the Palace of Versailles, there was something about a person showing me the incredible history around the Louvre and ability to answer any questions I had that made it real special and personal.
The one ticket I researched that shouldn’t be passed up, is the “cut the line” pass for the Eiffel Tower. You can reserve tickets at 30 minute spots the entire time the Eiffel Tower is open in advance, but buy early during peak travel times because it does sell out early, especially right around sunrise and sunset times (surprise, surprise). Gazing down on the city from the top of the Eiffel Tower is the ideal Paris baptism, I chose to head to the top my first night, (making the Louvre story earlier a bit out of order chronologically).
To be a true itinerary aficionado you should be flexible on your schedule. After you hit the Eiffel Tower grab a bottle of champagne and park yourself on the green lawns of the Parc du Champ de Mars, or cross the Seine to snap the perfect Eiffel Tower selfie from the Jardins du Trocadéro.
Taking a bit of a detour from simple tips is a safety lesson to help protect you from scams around any major city. The reason I bought my Eiffel Tower ticket in advance was most of my prior research found a ton of articles on pickpockets and scammers. I didn’t find the area to be as bad as it was described, but it is a safety issue and should be addressed. I was thinking of adding the information from the articles I found on this blog as well, but my goal isn’t to scare you away from talking to other humans. Every article I found would say low-life, gypsy, african, and really touch the line on socio-economic and racist issues so the following two seemed the most appropriate on sticking to objective facts.
Paris Police Bust Eiffel Tower Pickpocket Gang
Eiffel Tower Suffers Shutdown Over Pickpockets
My experience from traveling is too be aware of your surroundings, don’t ever forget the big picture when you focus in on the details. If you feel uncomfortable, leave. If you think you’re in a scam, walk away and find a police officer. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You can get robbed on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills or The Barrios Of Caracas in Venezuela, obviously one holds a greater risk, but if you’re flashy, naive or just have bad luck either area can feel like hell on Earth. I posted a few articles as a reference that crime really can happen anywhere, it is unfortunate, but a reality and it is important to stay aware. Hopefully you can make the mature distinction to not let awareness become a disabling paranoia. Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir!
17 Most Common Tourist Scams in France
The Paris Pickpocket: How to Recognize and Avoid Them
Pickpockets in Paris: How to Avoid Becoming A Victim
42 Most Common Tourist Scams in USA
20 Most Common Scams in Spain
19 Most Common Tourist Scams in Canada
Anyways so back to my pickpocket and scam free amazing trip full of tips to help you march into Paris like… well maybe don’t go marching, get comfy on the metro.
Looking at a map of the Metro in Paris may be a little intimidating at first, it has 16 lines, covers more than 130 miles total, and is accessible by 300 stations. Fortunately Paris is a fantastic city for walking around, but if you’re in a hurry, tired or the weather gets rough you’ll be amazed that the city has one of the best subway systems in the world. The Metro is remarkably easy to master. Plus, because it is so well connected there are very few places in the city that are not located close to a metro stop. After a trip or two you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ve figured exactly how to get anywhere in the city and once you do, the city opens up to you in a whole new way.
Get your hands on a Paris Metro map as soon as you get to town (or download one in advance), and then figure out your “home” station – this is the one that’s closest to your hotel or hostel. This will help you orient yourself in the city, and also in relation to anything you want to see or visit in Paris.
To figure out your home station, the first thing you’ll want to do is figure out how to read the Paris Metro Map! Like many subway systems, the lines on the subway in Paris are not only numbered and color-coded but also named based on the direction they’re going. That means each line will have two names – one for each “end” of the line – and you’ll need to not only pay attention to the stop you’re going to get off at but also the name of the final stop in that direction so you know which track to head for in the Metro station. Also, be sure to lift the lever on the door if you want to enter or exit — not all subway doors open automatically and subways leave the station quick (I learned this the hard way).
Even though it may seem like there’s always something going on in Paris, the Metro doesn’t run 24 hours a day. Sunday-Friday, it starts up at 5:20am and shuts down at 1:20am the following morning. On Saturday nights, you’ll get an extra hour’s worth of train time – from 5:20am through 2:20 the following morning. Never throw out your ticket, you are likely buy a carnet of 10 really-easy-to-lose tickets. Controllers do periodic checks for tickets and getting caught without a ticket is a big fine.
Probably because the Metro is so quick and easy to use, taxis in Paris tend to be on the expensive side. A ride that is only a few kilometers long can end up costing you a small fortune. This is especially true late at night, when taxi fares go up even more. This means if you are stuck after the Metro shuts down (at 1 am), you may find yourself having to part with a fat stack of euros just to get home.
Now that I’ve talked up the metro, 
The Palace of Versailles which is just outside the city and not part of the metro, is the most famous day trip from Paris. This was by far my favorite full day in France. The train is the easiest and most inexpensive way to reach Versailles. It took about 40 minutes on the RER C train which is available from many Paris stations and takes you within 5 minutes of Versailles. Exit the train at the Versailles-Rive Gauche station and follow signs to the Chateau Versailles. The roundtrip ticket was 10 Euros ($13.75). It is pretty simple, the only tip to know is that on your return trip, double check that you are getting on the RER C back to Paris versus an express train, but even then a ton of people are available to help you.
Make sure you arrive at 9 a.m. when the palace opens. Don’t forget to bring a bottle of water, some light snacks, and sunscreen. Wear comfortable footwear, and bring a sweater or long-sleeved shirt, as it can get very windy in the gardens especially in the late afternoons. (It’s always a few degrees chillier in Versailles than in Paris).
Once you are at the Palace you can wander the extensive castle grounds for free and imagine the decadent life of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. My recommendation is to rent the golf carts to get around, the tram (yes it is big enough to have multiple trams) is very specific in its direction, whereas the carts allow you to roam freely. I being the cheap and frugal man when it matters chose to walk, which I regretted at 3pm in the Trianon when I started my hike back to the Palace (1st world problems). This was the entire reason I wrote this articles, this one tip, get the golf cart, that was a big mistake and I regretted not having as much energy in myself or on my phone around the Palace when I went inside.
The easiest way to ensure the smoothest visit to Versailles is to purchase your tickets in advance. This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to walk straight into the chateau—but it will mean that you’ll get to join the ticket holders’ line, which is much faster than the hour-long queue for those buying tickets on site.
The passport ticket for Versailles is 18 euros ($25) and provides access to ALL sites and areas of Versailles. While a ticket for only the palace is 15 euro. Audio guides are included in the price of the ticket and are available in 11 languages. I think the audio tour is well worth it, after being amazed all day in the gardens, it was nice to get a bit of historical context on why the place was built. The audio guide offers the rich history of each room in the palace (as you’re in the room), and otherwise keeps things interesting when it might seem overwhelming or redundant. I think this context is important, and it certainly made me care about each individual room I visited much more. The Palace of Versailles website has a ton of other options and tickets to customize the trip however you’d like.
Aim to tackle the palace around lunchtime or better yet, at the end of your day by first visiting the Trianon complex (get the golf cart!), and then working your way back through the gardens to the main palace (you’ll avoid the peak hour crowds). Remember: All of Versailles, including its gardens and the Trianon domain, is incredibly vast, so coming early is a huge benefit.
Alternatively, you can arrive in the late afternoon when the crowd tapers off—and then take in one of the special evening shows or an opera. Every summer, the gardens of Versailles come alive with a series of thematic evening shows. Replete with music, costumed performers and a spectacular fireworks display, these events are about as close as you can get these days to the Sun King’s grand fetes. Also if you go into the palace later in the afternoon, most of the tour groups are out of your way, the younger kids are too tired to keep walking, and it is easier to get around and take pictures. Sometimes 2nd place gets the best view.
Speaking of number two, if you have a full day of walking and sightseeing, it is inevitable that you are going to have to use the restroom (where is the restroom? – où sont les toilettes?) when out and about at some point in Paris. However, finding a public restroom can be a bit on the tricky in Paris and most restaurants will not let you use the restroom unless you are a paying customer. You can however find free restrooms in many large department stores. A great place to look for public restrooms are the many parks scattered throughout the city. The Tuileries and Luxembourg gardens both have nice restrooms. Don’t be surprised to find an attendant, however, and be expected to shell out 40 to 50 centimes when you used them. Paris also has automated toilet structures on the streets of Paris that also cost a little bit of money to use.
Now that we’ve shaken out the details of using the restroom. A few tips on etiquette in the City of Lights. In Paris, it’s important to say “Bonjour Madame/Monsieur” when entering a shop or restaurant, and “Merci Madame/Monsieur” when leaving. There is a perception that Americans are impolite since they don’t acknowledge the salesclerks in their shops, which is like being invited into someone’s home and stepping inside without saying hello. Smile, say “Bonjour” and you’ll often get an equally warm response back.
Unfortunately a warm response doesn’t replace a warm meal. Be prepared to wait a bit between courses because leisure is a national pastime. And always ask for “une carafe d’eau” (a carafe of water) if you don’t feel like constantly asking for refills. It probably won’t come with ice.
Finally at the Luxembourg Gardens there’s plenty for people to enjoy from all ages and all interests! Come across open air concerts or catch a sweat on the tennis courts. Older Parisians play bridge or chess and if you are looking for a very French experience, come to the Luxembourg gardens to have a picnic with a glass of wine. During the week, Parisians will only take a quick sandwich during their lunch break, whereas on a sunny weekend they might spend their whole afternoon there! Parisians love to relax and get together in parks and gardens. So, if you want to meet locals, spend some time in the Luxembourg gardens!
The seemingly overwhelming amount of world-famous museums and landmarks, unforgettable cuisine mixed with chic shopping and picturesque locales like strolls along the banks of the River Seive are just the beginning of what this cosmopolitan city offers. Return time and again for a fantastic experience. The amount of options available can be a real challenge for first-timers in deciding where to start but with some forethought and planning, your first trip will be a coup de foudre. Qui vivra verra, Au revoir!
