At last, the French captial, Paris. The city of love, beautiful architecture and mouth watering pastries.
I always envisioned myself visiting Paris with my partner and dreamt of how magical and romantic it would be – something straight out of the movies. Not knowing that my visit would be much sooner than expected and with my family instead, not that I’m complaining because it was still a magnificent experience!
Since my visit to Paris, people have always asked if it’s as romantic as it seems. Well, I read something along the lines of “Paris is like a mirror” and I couldn’t agree more. If you’re young and wild, Paris will be young and wild; If you’re a hopeless romantic with your soulmate by your side you’ll most likely feel the love in the air; If you’re old and groggy she can meet you there as well. It’s all about the mindset you have when you enter the city and the people you’re surrounded with. So that obviously makes it really difficult to answer the question without changing ones perspective of Paris, but my answer is no, it’s not like the movies, but it is what you make of it.
I didn’t feel the love in the air as I’d expected but everything else was out of this world. The street vibes, the delicious passteries and the beautiful buildings. The extremely hot weather did come out of the blue though, as we were expecting it to rain but suddenly it was over 35°C and sightseeing in such hot weather does not go too well with me, but we had to make the most out of our time there.
We flew in from Venice and landed around 1pm, but because it was a demostic flight it was about a 2 hour drive from the airport to central town. Once we had finally reached central town, we took a train to our hotel, freshened up, had something light to eat and headed out to explore. Travelling within Paris was quite easy with the metro station being so close by and having plenty bus stops along the streets which are both very cost efficient. We made good use of both options depending on where we were headed. The subway has over 300 stations and is one of the oldest in the world! The more subway tickets you buy the cheaper it gets and you can purchase 1 which allows you to use it over a certain amount of days. I won’t lie, I definitely enjoyed taking the subway and felt as though I was part of an American film.
We began touring by first visiting the Eiffel Tower. Everyone has their own experience of seeing this unique structure, some may not find it to be anything special yet to me it was rather incredible. A dream come and another wonder of the world ticked off my bucket list. We spent a good few hours there, capturing many pictures, people watching and embracing the lively vibe as foreigners and locals came together picnicking along the Trocadéro Gardens while talented freelancers sang to Ed Sheeran and danced along the sidewalk. It was these little things that made the experience all the more wonderful. The only thing I wish I had the time to experience was going up the Eiffel Tower during sunset, but since sunset was only past 9pm we had to move on.
Next, we took a walk toward the Arc de Triomphe, we were told it was only a 10minute walk from the Eiffel Tower but after what felt like forever we finally decided to take a bus instead. We then walked up along des Champs-Élysées Avenue which has a long line of popular clothing stores, restaurants and pastry heaven. After stopping for dinner we went on a mission to find Ladurée, known to be a French luxury bakery with the best pâsteries in Paris. Once we had bought a box of goodness, the sun had finally gone down and it was time to head back to the hotel.
Our second day in Paris was booked for DisneyLand – another childhood dream finally coming true! Although we didn’t go as early as expected because of how exhausted we were, we still managed to get there by 12pm and only left after midnight. It was a full day of fun and adventure but even after spending so much time there we didn’t get to experience even half of it!
If you are considering going to DisneyLand Paris, ensure you go as early as possible and you most likely still going to need at least 2 days there, but it is an absolute must! My sister had bought the tickets online as soon as we booked for Paris along with the fast pass, which is their own system of skipping the queue – but it’s a bit more technical than that. It did make all the difference though!
The next day it was time to leave Paris, but our flight to Spain was quite late so we had the whole afternoon to spare. We surely made the most of it by visiting the remains of Notre Dame. It was difficult to see much after the fire as they had blocked it off and already began reconstructing it. We then made our way to the Louvre Museum after stopping along the street to indulge in Nutella crepes – absolute world class!
The Louvre Museum hosts artwork from across history, some of the artwork include Mona Lisa, Seated Scribe, works from civilisation, Islamic art and many others. If you’re a fan of museums, you’ll definitely be in your element and should consider purchasing the Paris Museum Pass as I’ve read that Paris has some of the best museums!
Paris was definitely the most expensive city that we’ve visited in Europe so budget accordingly and spend wisely. Try to cut back on certain areas so that you can indulge more in other areas. Again, hostels and Air b&b are a saviour, especially for our weak rand and hotels being extremely expensive.
Final Paris Travel Tips:
Go for more than a weekend – 2 or even 3 days definitely aren’t enough. Paris has so much to offer so you might as well spend a few more days there and try to fit in as much as you can!
Stay somewhere Central – my mom’s most important rule! even if it is a slightly more expensive, you could end up saving a lot more on public transport over the course of a few days.
Be prepared to Dine late – Parisians like to eat dinner late which can mean two things – you wait until late to eat like a local surrounded by locals, or if you are not a night owl, head out early and take advantage of early bird plat de jour offers around the town!
Take the Usual Precautions when it comes to your personal safety- Paris is notorious for pickpockets (and other travel scams) but remember to keep your belongings secure and a critical eye around you.
Stick to the Metro & public transport: Cabs can be expensive, and Uber isn’t always reliable. The metro and bus system is safe, clean and cheap.
Get Skip The Line tickets for major attractions – if you are short on time you don’t want to waste it in a queue!
Avee Amour ♡
Fashion Villa 
Amazing! Such beautiful and vivid descriptions from one of the greatest bloggers in the southern hemisphere, I feel fully prepared to tackle the city myself!
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