If I had to choose a favorite city in the world, it would definitely be Paris. Obviously I haven’t been to every city, but I’ve been around, and so far it’s holding strong. 🙂
I first went to Paris in 2007 as a wee college girl, and spent a semester there on study abroad while I learned French and ate all the crepes.
Then, in 2013, I went back with my partner Josh. We visited a few countries and cities (London, Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome), but I insisted on spending almost a week of our vacation in Paris. I wanted to show him every inch of my magical city so that he would love it as much as I did!
In January, we got to go back to Paris because Josh had a work trip and he moved heaven and earth so I could come along! He was working while we were there, so I had a lot of time to hang out by myself. When I shared on Instagram the sort of things I was doing (I’ve already basically seen all of the sights, so not too many touristy things this time), I got several comments from people that are going to Paris this year! ¡Que suerte!
So here are some of my favorite Paris spots & tips in case you have a trip planned, or in case you’re wanting to plan a trip (you should! you so should).
MONEY EXCHANGE & CITY PASSES
Before leaving the US, we exchanged dollars for euros at the airport. Most places in Paris take American cards just fine, but the cash was nice to have for smaller places like crepe stands and convenience stores.
Once we got to Paris, we bought Paris Visite travel passes, which let you use all of Paris’ public transportation services (metro, bus, RER, etc.). You can buy a 1, 2, 3, or 5 day pass, so we got the 5 day one (and definitely got our money’s worth because it was too cold to walk everywhere).
If it had been my first time there and I was planning to go to a lot of museums, I also would definitely have gotten the Paris Museum Pass. We did that last time and it’s worth it if you’re planning to visit a few of the (manyyyy) museums in Paris.
MY BEST PARIS RECOMMENDATIONS
I want to preface this by saying that even though I don’t have many of the famous Paris landmarks on this list, you definitely should see those, too! But if you’ve been to Paris before, or aren’t interested in spending a lot of time in museums OR you’re going with kids, then maybe some of these are good options.
Bateaux-Mouches: When I lived in Paris as a student, I didn’t do this cruise down the Seine until nearly the end of my time there. At that point I was all eye-rolly about it (“soooo touristy!”) but then I did it and guess what? It was one of my favorite things I did there. I made sure to take Josh our first evening in the city together in 2013. Highly recommend this as a first-day-in-Paris activity because Paris is gorgeous from the Seine, and it gives a good introduction to the layout of things.
Rue Montorgueil: This is a permanent market street in the center of Paris. What this means is that it’s an adorable pedestrian area filled with cheese shops, bread shops and adorable brasseries. I love walking and exploring here!
Crepe stands at Trocadéro: Another rather touristy thing, but these crepes are the BEST! I don’t know if I’m always just really hungry when I’m there or if they actually are the best, but I’ve never been disappointed. The phenomenal view of the Eiffel Tower from here probably doesn’t hurt, either.
L’As du Fallafel in the Marais: The slogan for this Middle Eastern eatery is “toujours imité, jamais égalé” (“always imitated, never equaled”), so… there’s that. There’s normally a line out the door, but they move really fast and do have really great falafels, shawarma & kebabs.
Musée Rodin: The Rodin Museum is one of my favorites in Paris (maybe my very favorite). It holds a lot of Rodin’s sculptures (of course), but the grounds are also really beautiful and the museum café serves a delicious lunch.
STORES
Any of the hundreds of pharmacies: There’s one on almost every corner, and I don’t know why it is but there are few things so enjoyable for me as standing in one of these meccas of great skincare. I always pick up a few things to bring home for myself and as souvenirs (like this and this).
Merci: Part coffee shop/restaurant, part clothing store, and part bookstore, Merci is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people. I’ve never actually bought anything here except food at the cafe, but I love going in to look around.
HEMA (118 Rue Rambuteau): This trip was the first time I’d been here! It’s an awesome Dutch store filled with little things for pretty low prices. I came out with a coloring book, stamps, a bib, and modeling clay for my kids, as well as earrings, a hair barrette and office supplies for myself, in case that gives you a better idea of the kind of things they sell.
SOME SUGGESTIONS IF YOU’RE GOING WITH KIDS:
A disclaimer first to say that I’ve never actually BEEN to Paris with kids (we left our girls with my suegros in New Jersey on a layover on the way there, then picked them up on our layover on the way back home). However, if I was going to take my kids, these are some of the places I’d want to go with them.
Puppet Show: Some of the bigger parks like Jardin de Luxembourg and Champ de Mars put on those classic old-school marionette shows. They’re designed for little kids, so even if no one in your group speaks French, they’re still pretty easy to understand and very cute! I couldn’t speak to exact times they do it at this point so I would check beforehand.
Rent a toy sailboat: I’ve seen these sweet little toy boat rentals during warm weather months at both Jardin de Luxembourg and the Tuileries. You get to choose your boat and then send it off into the pond while you guide it (if you’ve been to Central Park in NYC it’s the same kind of thing).
Parc Floral: This is an enormous park towards the south-east of Paris that has the most amazing kids’ toys ever! The park is also just really pretty, with fields of flowers and all kinds of places to find a snack. But seriously, those slides. Tempting even as an adult.
Ride a carousel: There are tons of them all over the place, and they’re all so lovely and sweet. Might be kind of fun to do a carousel crawl one day!
I hope this is helpful if a trip to Paris is in your near future (can I come?!). And if you’re a Paris lover like me and I missed a great spot, let me know in the comments so I can add it to the list!