WHAT TO DO IN PARIS
The Eiffel Tower – It’s the icon of the city it’s great to go up just before sunset to see Paris in the daylight and at night. The park around the tower is lovely to wander around too. The tower is best viewed from over the river at the Trocadero. Nearest Metro stop is Bir Hakim, or RER C stop Tour Eiffel. More info, pics, links & map...
The view from Notre Dame
Notre Dame Cathedral – There’s always a great atmosphere, in the square outside the cathedral with loads of people around, but it’s well worth a trip inside and it’s free. Join the queue to the left of the building to climb the towers (for a fee), but be aware it moves very slowly! Our top tip is to arrive around 15 minutes before the towers open at 10am and see how many people are waiting. They let around 20 people climb the steps every 10 minutes, so you can work out roughly how long you’ll have to wait. Metro stop Hôtel de Ville or Châtelet, or RER stop Notre Dame Saint Michel. More info, pics, links & map...
Arc De Triomphe – You’ll find it at the top of the Champs Elysées and it’s the most bizarre traffic junction in Paris. We go as much to see the near accidents as we do to see the Arc! Fortunately there are pedestrian underpasses to get you to it and you can climb to the top for a good view (small fee). More info, pic, links & map...
Champs Elysees – This is the city’s most famous street. Essentially it’s just a combination of designer shops, chain stores, restaurants and car showrooms but the pavements are wide and tree lined so it’s pleasant to walk down even if you don’t like the shops. Anyway, you have to say you’ve been! We’ve found it best to walk down the hill from the Arc De Triomphe. If you’re feeling really energetic, you can then cross the Place de la Concorde with its beautiful water fountains and walk through the lovely linear Jardin de Tuileries park all the way to the Louvre museum. More info, pics links & map...
Montmartre artist's market
Montmartre – If you have the time to take a trip out to this hill, you’ll enjoy it. Not least the Sacre Coeur church at the top, but also the artists square in the village centre surrounded by traditional cafes. There’s a funicular to help with the steep steps in front of the church but bear in mind that Monmartre is particularly busy on Sundays. There are lots of souvenir shops here too which detract a bit from the lovely setting, however if you’re in the market for this kind of thing, the prices here are much cheaper than those of the Champs Elysees. Our favourite Metro stop is Lamark Caulincourt (which you might recognise from the film Amelie). Then walk up the steps and keep climbing till you get there! More info, pics, links & map...
Jardin du Luxembourg – This is the city’s most used park. Great to wander through on a sunny day to sample Parisian life. The flower beds are stunning at the right time of year too. You’ll find a huge bronze head amongst the art works in the park and the attractive centrepiece palace is now the home of the French Senate. Nearest RER is Luxembourg, nearest Metro is Odeon. More info, pics, links & map...
The Louvre
Opéra de Paris Garnier – Beautiful on the outside, despite the busy traffic that surrounds it and you can take tours to see how amazing it is on the inside! Sometimes access to the actual auditorium is excluded from the tours so ask before buying your ticket. The district around the Opera has some of the most exclusive shops. More info, pics, links, admission prices & map...
Louvre – This museum is huge! You’ll find the Mona Lisa inside and the glass pyramid featured in the DaVinci Code outside. If you have a rainy day, you could easily spend most of it in here. Even if you don’t plan to go to the musuem, we’d recommend you descend into the pyramid to see how it looks from underneath. This area is free to access and you can browse the shop and the walkways without purchasing a ticket. Nearest metro station is Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre. More info, pics, links, admission prices & map...
Inside the Musée d’Orsay
Musée d’Orsay – This museum was a former railway station and is well worth a look. If you thought the outside was impressive, the architecture inside is really remarkable too and then there’s all the exhibits to enjoy on top. For us, the building was the best exhibit here. The museum is across the river from the Louvre, nearest Metro is Assemblée Nationale or RER stop Musée d’Orsay. More info, pics, links, admission prices & map...
Saint Sulpice – If you like seeing churches, this one is certainly worth a visit. It’s towers are visible on the city skyline from many of the viewing areas like the towers at Notre Dame and inside it’s both humble and huge. If you’ve read The DaVinci Code you’ll know that the obelisk and brass line in the floor feature in the book. Nearest Metro stop is Saint Sulpice. More info, pics, links & map...
Centre Pompidou – If you like your modern art, you’ll love a visit inside, but it’s the outside that’s my favourite bit of this building. All the functional bits like pipes, lifts, escalators etc are on the outside. Great fun! Metro stop Châtelet. More info, pics, links & map...
Canal Saint Martin – If you have a spare few hours, this is a great way to see a different side of Paris. You can walk the canal tow paths and visit the cafes on route, but we found the boat trip through the locks a better experience. It does take quite a while to do though, so don’t miss out on the sites above in order to do this. It’s also quite expensive. You can take the trip from either the Musee D’Orsay quai or Parc de la Villette
OUR TOP TIP IN PARIS
Walking is a great way to see the city. You get a much better sense of it’s size and layout by spending time on the streets of Paris and most of them are full of beautiuful buildings. You can also take Walking Tours which are fascinating or for something totally different, check out the Paris Segway Tour which consistently gets great reviews from travellers.
GETTING AROUND PARIS
Walking as above, or for longer trips, use the Metro! Don’t be put off by it – it’s part of the experience of Paris. Buying tickets is easy and most of the Metro stations have staff who will speak enough English to get what you want. You can buy travel cards that will last your whole stay or what we’ve done in the past is buy a carnet of 10 tickets to use whenever our legs get tired. You’ll pick up the way the Metro works quite quickly as the various lines are numbered and colour coded but one thing to bear in mind – they’re signed in the direction of the final stop on the route, so you’ll need one of the free maps to work out which way to go. The website Paris By Train is really helpful too. Another way to get around now is by using the city’s rental bike system called Velib. You can pick up and drop off the bikes at hundreds of locations and they’re used by tourists and Parisiens alike.
We’ve always found the easiest way to get from the airport (Charles De Gaulle) is to catch the Air France busses which drop you to the Arc De Triomphe. They run very frequently. If your hotel is elsewhere in Paris though, you might be better taking the RER B train from the airport stations which links into the Paris Metro. We’ve tried it both ways and as the price and duration of journey are similar, it does depend on where your hotel is in Paris.
RECOMMENDED HOTELS
A promotional shot of the Hotel Jardin de l'Odeon
We have stayed in many hotels in Paris but there are only two we’d really recommend to other people. Our favourite was Hotel Jardin de l’Odéon near the Jardin du Luxembourg. This is a lovely traditional Parisien hotel with attractive rooms down a quiet residential street, but still at the heart of the city near the Odeon Metro stop. The rooms are not large, but they are comfortable, clean and luxuriously decorated. The other hotel we would recommend is a modern 4* hotel near the Eiffel Tower called the Mercure Tour Eiffel Grenelle. It’s right on the Boulevard de Grenelle and has lovely tastefully decorated rooms which will add a bit of luxury to your visit. One thing to bear in mind with this hotel is that the raised Metro line runs right past the front of it, so if you’re a light sleeper, ask for a room away from the front of the hotel. There are more accomodation options here: Hostels in Paris
MORE ON PARIS
More Things To Do In Paris – From our Tours & Activities pages
Hotels in Paris – Great deals from Hotels.com
More Paris hotels – Up to 30% off from Expedia.co.uk
Paris.Org
Official Paris Website
Disneyland Paris Tickets – Attractiontix
Paris Guide Books - Amazon.co.uk
Rent Paris Apartments - Next to great landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum
Has anyone tried taking the Dinner-Cruise on River Seine? Three to four companies organise this, great atmosphere! For excellent viewing of Paris city and Eiffel Tower, go up to Montparnasse56 where it gives you panoramic views in 360 degree. http://www.tourmontparnasse56.com/index.html
The new “Defence Arc” in the modern part of the city is also worth a view also! (If you’ve watched the film Mr Beans Holiday it’s where the movie starts from!)
The view from the top of the modern square shaped “Defence Arc” (which can be seen from the Arc de Triumph) is as spectacular as being up the Eiffel Tower or the traditional Arc de Triumph!
I never expected the modern quarter of Paris to be as exciting as the traditional olde worldy Paris where most people tend to gravitate to!
The musee D’Orcy is worth going in even if you aren’t an Art gallery person. Lots of well known french artists and some monet’s which I wanted to see. Has eating places and bookshop which are good. Gets very busy in holiday season.
Also worth a look (I think its near the opera house) Gallerie Lafayette. You don’t need to shop -just experience the layout of all the Galleries and the huge dome.