There are very few cities in this world that are quite as iconic as Paris, France. There is a definite romance associated with the City of Light. Maybe it has to do with the French language, French cooking or the French wine. Whatever it may be, Paris is the very definition of a world class city and it was definitely one of the biggest highlights for my first ever trip to Europe.
And so, just as I did for Amsterdam last week, I have now put together a set of photos that I took while in Paris to share with you today. Seeing how I took somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 photos in Paris, the curation and editing of this photo collection took some time and it’s naturally not fully representative of everything I saw, ate or experienced. But it does give you a taste of la Ville Lumière.
Paris is an iconic city and it is filled with a lot of iconic architecture. There is the Eiffel Tower, to be sure, as well as the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and more. It’s exhausting, but it’s an absolute joy exploring all the different buildings and architectural styles in Paris, from the artsy alleys of Montmartre to the decidedly modern and overbearing Montparnasse Tower.
By far the easiest way to get around is with the robust Metro system. While there are day passes available, they’re not really worth it unless you’re riding a lot of subways to get everywhere. Instead, I’d recommend getting the books of ten tickets for about 13 Euro. Each ticket gets you one trip, including any necessary transfers. The ticket machines only take credit cards and coins, so if you’re buying with a Euro note, you’ll need to see the attendant at the booth.
Of course, no visit to Paris would be complete without visiting the museums. And there are a lot of them. It’s worth it to get the Museum Pass, not only to save some money, but also to skip the lines. There is usually a separate entrance for pass holders, as most of the lines are simply for people buying tickets.
The Rodin Museum was naturally a highlight for me. The Louvre is massive and crowded; we spent the whole day there and only covered about half of it. I’d also recommend checking out Napoleon’s tomb, located in the same complex as the Army Museum and Les Invalides.
And then there’s the food. You can walk into just about any patisserie (pastry shop) or boulangerie (bakery) and you will not leave disappointed. Pick up a croissant or a pain au chocolat just about every chance you get for about one Euro. Crepes from the street range from about 3-6 Euro and are great for a quick snack on the go.
I’ve already written about La Jacobine Restaurant and we also visited Le Petit Prince (third picture). Both dinners were about 70 Euro total for the two of us. We also indulged in a wine tasting, which was very educational for us wine novices. You’ll learn that the French typically list their wines by region (Bordeaux, Sancerre, etc.) rather than by grape (Chardonnay, Pinot noir, etc.), because they believe the terroir is more important.
The city is split up into about 20 arrondissements (administrative districts) and this is a good way to help plan your visit. If you check the postal code for any location, the last couple of digits will represent in which arrondisement you’ll find your attraction of choice. I also found that most Parisians can speak some English, but it is best if you at least attempt to speak French with them first.
As I make my way through the rest of my pictures, I’ll be adding more to my Flickr photostream under the KwaninEurope tag, so be sure to check that out from time to time.
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