I'm a firm believer that there are two kinds of people: those who have been to Paris, and those who haven't. It's really hard to explain, but if you're one of the people who has been ,you know what I'm talking about. It truly is a place that must be visited before you die.
If you are thinking about travelling to France in the near future, I have a few tips that you may want to consider so that you don't appear to be as clueless, and waste as must time as I did when I was there.Most importantly, pack shoes. Lots of them. You'll want to have 1 pair of nice dress shoes, 1 pair of good walking shoes, and another pair of very comfortable shoes. Trust me on this one. You will walk more in your stay in Paris than you have in the last month combined, easily. The streets and sidewalks are very hard, and the floors in the museums and old buildings are not exactly soft themselves. Buy everyone in your travelling party a pair of Dr. Scholl's inserts before you leave, they're not sold anywhere in Paris. I learned this the hard way, as my trip was almost ruined because I could barely walk near the end.
Use the Metro. Contrary to popular opinion, it's not a wasteland of thieves and gangsters. Instead, it is a highly efficient and quick way to get from one end of the city to another. You'll also get great entertainment, because buskers routinely get on the cars and play tunes or do little mini-shows. Just don't make eye contact with them. The Metro is best when you need to get to a destination further out in the town, such as Montmarte or the Catacombs. For all other trips inside the Arrondisments, you will want to walk. You'll get so much more out of the trip by going down side streets and back alleys. The best part of the city I saw was getting lost in the Montmarte/Pigalle section, and ending up in the places you won't see in the brochures. If you truly do get lost, a Metro station is always a block away, and you can find your way back eventually.
Skip the high priced restaurants. Never, ever go into any restaurant with a person who stands outside and herds people in. You will be greatly disappointed. Instead, attempt to eat at every crepe stand or corner falaffel and gyro shop you can find. I never found a bad stand, and I miss crepes every single day here in America. Jasmine is a fan of plain powdered sugar and lemon crepes. I will take the classic Nutella crepe every single time. Yum. Don't bother with the waffles they serve at the crepe shops though. It's just a waffle, nothing special.
In the same thoughts of food: take advantage of your hotel's breakfast, if they provide one. Food is very expensive here, along with everything else. If you stay in a hotel with a breakfast, you can load up on croissants and other things and skip a lunch to save some cash. We stayed at the Crown Plaza on Republique Square, and they severed anything you could ever think of for a breakfast spread. It was very impressive. I usually had 2 full plates of various items and stuck away a few bread items for later. It really is efficient, and extremely tasty also.
Latin Quarter is overrated. The only reason to visit, in my opinion, is the nightlife. Pop in a few bars and enjoy the live music, but avoid the alleyways with all the restaurants and packed out tourists. You'll do a lot of standing around, avoiding pushy restaurant herders, and guarding your personal belongings from the inevitable pickpockets that make a living from the area. There are so many other things to do that you won't miss it.
The same goes for the Catacombs. They're overrated. It's fun to go underground and walk around for a bit, but after seeing your 6 millionth skull and continuing to walk for a bunch of dark and dank miles with limestone dripping all over you, it will get old. Go for the novelty sake, if your travelling party is into it, but beware that when you exit the Catacombs you will be in a very different part of the city then where you entered. They do not tell you this when you go down, and it is a shock to try to find your way around when you come up. Take a minute to study the map after you re-emerge. Also, finding the entrance can be tricky. It's right in the middle of the roundabout near the Denfert Metro stop. We literally spent 90 minutes walking around the neighborhood looking for it.
Boat rides on the Seine are not overrated. I highly recommend them. They typically cost 9-12 euros (12-15 dollars) and last about 2 hours. You will see a different side of Paris, and get to enjoy all their beautiful bridges. We took the one at Pont Neuf bridge. When you get off the boat, go for a walk on the river's edge. It's easily one of the best and most romantic walks in the world. Do NOT do this at night. It gets very dark, and people live under those bridges in tents, doing presumably nasty things.
Museums are great, but you have to really love art to get the most out of them. Musee D'Orsay is massive and well-stocked, but if you're not a fan of modern art and sculptures it's probably best to just skip it. I wasn't too impressed by anything in there, honestly. The Louvre is also great, but it should be an all-day affair if you plan on getting in. I only had a couple hours to spare and I rushed through it. The line outside alone will be at least a 30 minute wait. I believe we stood in line for an hour. Admission is free on the first Sunday of every month, so if your trip falls on one of those days, take advantage of it because it is rather pricey to gain admittance regularly.
Bring a camera. We took over 1000 pictures, and I still think we should have gotten more. Everything within eyesight is historical, and just plain beautiful. You'll want a memento of everything.
Lastly, appreciate the French people and culture. They are not at all the rude, hateful, and unclean people that ignorants like to make them out to be. They are very fashionable, very accommodating, and extremely happy. I have never seen so many smiling and helpful cashiers and employees in my lifetime. I heard more "pardonne" and "s'il vous plaits" in 4 days of Paris than I have heard their translation in America in the last 3 months. Shopkeepers were extremely patient with me when I was trying to speak French, and when I was a bumbling idiot who couldn't make sense of what they were saying they gladly switched to English to help me out. In my whole trip I only met one rude Frenchman, and it was a businessman in the subway. Of course, if I was running late for work and some foreigner was standing in front of an open door on an already packed subway car trying to make up his mind to get on it or not, I would probably push them out of the way as well.
Enjoy your trip. You will remember it forever.
