Top 10 Tips for Visiting Paris

I’ve been to Paris 5 times and am planning to return for number 6 soon. Call me crazy but I just love it. I never feel like I have enough time to do, see and eat everything I want. I learn something new every time I visit and wanted to share what I currently consider the best tips I have either picked up, read, or just figured out myself. If you have your own best tips I would love to hear them as well. Just reply to this blog and I will get them. Sharing is caring!

* If you are planning to see even just 3 or 4 of the major museums buy the Paris Museum Pass. It will save you time and money. You can buy it for 2, 4 or 6 days, and it pays for itself with just a few visits to the places you want to go. The pass must be used on consecutive days so planning your itinerary is key. In addition the pass isn’t active until you make your first stop. Decide what is important for you and check the schedule for that museum. For example the Orsay is one of my favorites but closed on Mondays. If you have a two day pass you wouldn’t want to start using it on Sunday and wait till Monday for the Orsay. The pass covers about 30 different places - even Versailles, Louvre, Orangerie, Picasso, Saint-Chapelle etc. It does not cover the Eiffel Tower. I usually buy the pass at the TI right at the airport when I land. There is usually no line and then I know I’m ready to go on the planned day. You can also wait and buy at the first museum you go to, but you almost for sure will be waiting in a line to do it and wasting valuable time. By having the pass you skip right to the security line which is typically much shorter - instead of waiting in the line to buy a ticket and then again waiting in the security line. Make sense? Most sites have free entry for those under 18 so no need to buy passes for kids.

* Take public transportation starting right at the airport. It is the cheapest and most efficient way to get into and around Paris. The traffic is crazy and getting from the airport into the city could cost 80 or 90 euros. You can take the train for under 12 euros and get there in less then half the time. When you’re in Paris buy a carnet (10 transportation tickets) good for the metro or the bus for 14.50 euros - cheap! I love the metro. It’s very clean and I always feel safe. It’s the way Parisians get around and will make you more familiar with the city.

* How to navigate around? Use your Google or Apple Maps on your phone and click the metro icon. You will have step by step instructions that even include which exit to take from the metro to be closest to your destination. Take screen shots of the entire route so that if you lose cell service at any point you will still have photos of the route. I use my phone a lot while traveling so I carry a small portable battery to always make sure I have a charge.

* Staying in an Airbnb and need a place to store your luggage until you can check in? The answer is Eelway! Most flights from the US arrive in Paris early in the morning, and if you don’t have a place to leave your luggage you’re stuck hauling it around with you for most of the day - bummer! With current security being what it is there are lots of places that don’t allow luggage so you could be stuck sitting in a cafe for a chunk of the day and losing valuable site seeing time. Eelway is like Uber for luggage. They will meet you anywhere - even right at the airport and store your luggage for as long as you need. Then deliver it to the location you designate at a specified time. It worked like a charm and they are expanding rapidly to other large cities.

* Always make two photo copies of your passport and bring them on your trip. Leave one copy in your suitcase, leave your original in the hotel or Airbnb, and bring the second copy with you always. If you make any purchases that qualify for a VAT refund you will need a copy of your passport in order for the paperwork to be filled out, and it’s best not to risk losing your original. Along those same lines - I always make sure I have the address and phone number of the US Embassy in all the cities I am visiting just in case. If you were to have your passport stolen or lost that’s where you would need to go for help. Best to be prepared.

* Planning to visit the Eiffel Tower? Of course you are! It’s best to book a ticket online in advance, but it’s not as easy as that sounds. Start checking three months in advance of your visit date at www.toureiffel.paris. There is no set schedule of when they open upcoming dates so you just need to keep checking. If you are unable to get a ticket through the website all is not lost. You can try just going to the Eiffel Tower and buying a ticket but you could find yourself waiting in line for hours. Your best chance is to get in line 30 minutes before they open, or later in the day - after 5 or 6 at night. If it rains it is much less crowded and we were able to get in right after a rain with almost no waiting. And even if you can’t go up in the Eiffel Tower it’s beautiful to at least go see it and you get a fabulous view from Place du Trocadero.

* If you are staying in Paris for 6 or more nights consider staying in two different areas. On my most recent trip we stayed 3 nights by the Arc de Triomphe and 3 nights in The Marais. Two totally different areas which lets you familiarize yourself with more of Paris. Each arrondissement has its own personality, shops and restaurants and I can’t really pick a favorite.

* Go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. If you have the Museum Pass it is covered. Go in the evening when it is much less crowded. The added bonus of going at night is that you will see the Eiffel Tower all lit up, and also the lights on the Champs-Elysees. Paris was planned with streets like the spokes of a wheel and from the top of the Arc at night you can see it.

Watch the Eiffel Tower twinkle every hour for 5 minutes on the hour - magical!

* Make dinner reservations. This is something I’m working on being better at myself. I get so busy site seeing that before I know it it’s dinner time and I’m scrambling to find a place to eat. The restaurants in Paris tend to be pretty small, and they enjoy the art of leisure dining so the emphasis is on quality and not turning over the tables as quickly as possible. Check out your neighborhood and stop in early in the day and make a dinner reservation for evening at a place that looks good. Check it out online if you want but make the effort at least for a few nights to have a great Parisian dining experience. We did a really good job of doing this in Belgium and it really added to our experience.

* One of the best ways to enjoy Paris is walking the streets and sitting at sidewalk cafe’s people watching. Even in the rain and winter people sit outside with awnings and heaters and enjoy a glass of wine and/or a meal and relax. Make time to do this and it might be your most favorite memory.

This is always how they sit outside - not facing each other but next to each other. So pleasant! Cheers!

I hope these tips help make your trip to Paris the wonderful experience I always have there. I can’t wait to go back again!