Three Perfect Days in Paris
Welcome to the city of love! The Parisian streets and people are known for their culture, hidden bistros, gorgeous wine, and tasty cuisine. Paris can be overwhelming so use this guide to make your trip perfect.
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Language: French
Currency: Euro €
Average cost of a coffee: €5,50
Population: 2.1 million
NOTRE DAME, PARIS
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Day 1: Settle and start exploring
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Arriving and getting into any city may only say it'll take a couple of hours on your plane ticket but in reality, it takes a lot longer. Delays and customs have really increased in length recently so it is important to allow the extra time to actually arrive and settle. If you get there early and are ready to explore, fantastic! If not, you're in no rush with our itinerary.
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If you're arriving by plane, there is a train service that takes you directly into the city centre. If you arrive by train from other parts of Europe or end up at Gare Du Nord from the airport, then you can either take an Uber, bus or walk to your accommodation. They say that you can wait in the official taxi queue for a cab at Gare Du Nord, but please BE CAREFUL OF SCAMMERS! Despite what people say, it is so NOT obvious who is a scammer taxi driver and who isn't. Rule of thumb is that you should not get into the taxi of a taxi driver who got out of the car to come and get you. We were prepared for scammers but it was difficult to tell who was the 'taxi director' putting people into cabs and who was a scammer as it was all so busy. We got into the car and he proceeded to talk rubbish about a taxi strike and tried to get us to pay €90 for a 10-minute journey. He then conveniently pretended not to speak English, despite speaking so beautifully beforehand, and with almighty screams from Emmy, he finally pulled over the car. We are not aggressive people but my only regret from this trip was not planting a punch straight to his nose. The worst part was that it seemed every other queuer likely knew he was a scammer and did not warn us. When you're in Paris, don't engage in any games or let people put bracelets on your wrist.
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If we were to return to Paris, we would only use Ubers or public transport. It is simply not worth it in our minds to use taxis unless you are fluent in French. So please, either use your legs or call an Uber! The amount of scams in Paris is unfathomable.
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If you make it to your hotel in a less of a huff than we did, then settle in and get ready to explore during the late afternoon and evening. We stayed in a wonderful Parisian AirBnB just by Le Louvre. It was truly magical!
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On this first afternoon, we recommend that you take your time to figure out how the public transport works, stop in a local café for some coffee and a crepe and just walk the streets of Paris. Many people find Paris a romantic city, so don't rush it. Take your time. If you have time, head up to Moulin Rouge as it begins to get dark and snap a pic of the stunning performance theatre.
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Enjoy your first evening eating snails and drinking champagne, get a good nights rest, tomorrow is busy.
SACRE-COUER, PARIS
Day 2: Got your walking shoes on?
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Hopefully on your walk around the Parisian streets yesterday you noticed a nice café or bakery to grab some petite dejouner from. The French are very passionate about their pastries, so ensure to try a proper fresh croissant from a local place - it is so worth it.
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Once you've had breakfast, head on over to the Eiffel Tower. It is a good idea to get there early if you want a shot of the tower before tourists arrive, but you'll also want to see it in the evening. You can take photos from underneath the tower or there are some view points nearby. We didn't climb up it, purely because it didn't make sense to us to stand on the thing that that you want in your photos, but if you want to do it, go for it.
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Next up, head to the Arc de Triumph and walk down Champs-Elysées. If you're brave enough (and look both ways!) you can cross the road and snap some pics as you do so.
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We had lunch and a glass of vin.
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Down Champs-Elysées are lots of shops, so if shopping is your gig, allow some time to stop here.
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Next up, head to Le Louvre. If you're interested in art or want to see the Mona Lisa up close and personal (albeit behind a glass box) then grab your tickets online in advance and enter. We went in 2021 and they were only allowing people who were triple COVID-19 vaccinated to enter. In the UK at the time, under 70's were not being offered a third vaccine and after twenty minutes of explaining in broken French to the security guard, he did let us in. We have no idea if they are still strict on COVID so please check online first.
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At this point, we had some more wine in a local café and headed out for some dinner once it got dark.
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We went to the northern part of the city for dinner and took some photos of the Moulin Rouge theatre. We highly recommend you get tickets for this if you think far ahead in advance. The show mimics a prestigious bar with dancers, so you can have some drinks here too.
LE LOUVRE, PARIS
Day 3: Le Seine and Sacre-Cœur
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Getting up super early on this day isn't required. This was a Sunday for us so we had some late breakfast and headed out to Notre-Dame. When we went, the building had just burned down so it was inaccessible. We are not entirely sure what it looks like now but if you can go in, do it.
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Take a walk along the river Seine back and enjoy the stroll.
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At various points along the Seine you can opt for a boat trip.
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We stopped for some more wine... sorry, it's just too good in France! Champagne is super cheap too... just saying! Then we headed up to the Sacre-Cœur for a sunny afternoon on the hill. You can enter into the Basilica if you like or have a picnic right outside. Be aware, here there are lots of scammers trying to put bracelets on your wrist.
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After a stroll back to the AirBnB and a little freshen up, we spent the remainder of the afternoon in the Champ de Mars, admiring the Eiffel tower, before heading out for dinner. We chose a nice spot for dinner where we could view the Seine and watch the Eiffel Tower glisten all evening.
EIFFEL TOWER LIT UP FOR UKRAINE