“There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.” – Ernest Hemingway
It seems every time I go to Paris, I learn something new about traveling in the city of light. When I first visited in 2010, Paris scared me. Although I was with a group of grad students, it was my first trip with relative strangers in a foreign country, and I was supposed to be one of their leaders. Now, in 2017, you’d think I’d be a pro, since it was my third trip. I should know by now that there will always be something to discover everywhere I go. So without further ado, here is what I learned during day 2 in Paris.
Go to the Louvre first thing in the morning and get tickets in advance
It should go without saying that the Louvre can get quite crowded. I’d been to the Louvre before, but my sister never had. In order to make the most out of our day, we decided to buy tickets ahead of time. When our Uber driver dropped us off five minutes before it opened, the first thing we saw was the massive line to get tickets and another much smaller line for those that already had tickets. Since we had a few minutes to spare, we took many pictures in the somewhat empty area where the fountains were.
By getting to the Louvre early, we practically ran to the Mona Lisa just before the room got too crowded and from there, zoomed over to see Venus de Milo. An hour later, and we had seen all we wanted to. The Louvre is so massive that you could spend all day there, but we had much to do and see that day so we only saw the highlights.
Take some time to relax in the Tuileries
There is something about Paris that sometimes makes me want to be constantly on the go and see everything. Since the Tuileries is right next to the Louvre, it was nice to sit, relax, and do some people watching. The park had lovely green chairs set up all around just for that. It was nice to remind myself that it was okay to not do anything….I was on vacation for goodness sake!
Splurge on at least one unique Parisian purchase
After the Tuileries, we made our way over to Galerie Vivienne since I had never visited one of the covered passages that are located throughout the city. Of course, we got a little lost on the way but that’s pretty normal when my sister and I travel. Galerie Vivienne was relatively empty, and we found a really cute store called Les Pepites. Although I didn’t end up purchasing anything, my sister bought a hand bag that was high quality and very unique. The entire store had cute accessories that were designed by a Parisian artist. After shopping, we toasted my sister’s purchase with some champagne at the cafe located there.
Dine at a Michelin star restaurant at lunch instead of dinner
If you follow any Paris travel sites or even Conde Naste on Facebook, you know how many articles they post on ‘the best of’ in a particular city. One restaurant in particular called Frenchie was mentioned a few times as being one of the highest rated restaurants. My cousin had the foresight to make reservations for lunch way in advance, so luckily we had a table ready for us.
We walked from Galerie Vivienne to the restaurant since it was relatively close by and met up with our cousin and her family. The restaurant was small and only held about seven tables. The waiter provided an excellent selection of wine and we all got bread to enjoy as we reviewed the prix fixe menu. I ended up choosing the foie gras to start (my first time trying it!), the pollock, and the peanut butter mousse for dessert. All were spectacular and for the meals only, it cost only 45 euros! This is a much better option than paying way more for dinner, and yet we still got to experience a Michelin star restaurant in Paris.
Visit Musee Rodin for the gorgeous sculpture gardens
From the restaurant, my sister and I took the metro to Musee Rodin. It was quite peaceful in the gardens that housed many pieces by Rodin, including one of his most famous pieces, Le Penseur (The Thinker). At one point, I laid down in the shade on one of the many benches to relax for a bit. The sculptures were incredible and I loved the detail expressed in each piece.
Use the metro everywhere you can except during rush hour
We made the mistake of taking the metro after the museum right as everyone was getting off of work. It took us several attempts to even get onto a metro because of how many people were crammed in there. When you add in the scent of body odor on a hot day, it’s not pleasant at all. When we finally were able to get onto a metro, everyone was exiting. Not knowing any French, I wasn’t able to translate what the person on the overhead speaker was saying, but apparently everyone was forced to exit. Another twenty minutes later and we were on our way. Next time, I think I’d rather take Uber during rush hour.
Make a list of things you want to see and do and stick to it
I am only writing this because there was one thing that I didn’t get to do simply because we were too tired. In actuality, we could’ve done this. I wanted to see the sunset in Montmartre and had this on my list of things to do while in Paris. I was so bummed that we didn’t get to go, but now I know to add this to my next Paris list. Instead, we went to the Eiffel right at dusk and just before the lights twinkled, which was the perfect ending to the day.
Great tips. I love the one about avoiding metro during rush hour and having a plan.