Do: Give yourself plenty of time to do everything you want.
I like to do ALLLL the touristy things, so if that is what you like do to as well; make a list and plan out your trip, so you can make sure you get everything done in the time that you have! There are so many things in Paris that you could do that would take up a whole day on it’s own – like the Louvre, and Champs de Elysee/Arc de Triomphe. We got to Paris early in the morning and had to head back to London later that night to finish our trip and one day is not enough time to do everything. Whenever I get the chance to go back to Paris I will go for AT LEAST 4 days. Paris is already a very busy city, so having to rush your trip on top of that is very stressful and much less enjoyable.
Don’t: Expect everything to be in English.
This may seem like an obvious one, but google will be your best friend in Paris, unless you speak French of course. This was the first country I had been to where the main language was not English, and what I didn’t realize was that NOTHING is in English… street signs, menus, literally everything is in French so having google to translate, and help you navigate will be a life saver. Again, this may seem obvious, but before going, it wasn’t something that even crossed my mind.
Do: Get a hot chocolate and go to the bathroom at Angelina.
This may seem like a weird recommendation… but TRUST ME. After we landed in Paris, our first stop was at the Louvre to take some pictures (we did not go inside – that is one of those things that could take a whole day so make note of that if it is somewhere you are planning to go). It was cold and rainy ALL day, and on top of that I had a cold, so I was feeling pretty miserable as I’m sure you can see from this picture.
When I heard our next stop was going to be for hot chocolate, I was pumped. I just wanted to be warm! We walked over to Angelina and I think all of us ordered a hot chocolate – some got Macaroons as well. Best hot chocolate I’ve ever had, hands down. It was super thick and creamy and literally just tasted like melted chocolate. SO GOOD. I also made a quick stop at the bathroom here and I was blown away. Sounds weird, but it was the most boujee, beautiful bathroom I had ever been in. So just go, take a mirror selfie and thank me later!
Don’t: Pay ANY mind to scammers who try to talk to you on the street.
After the louvre and hot chocolate we walked to the lock bridge, this is something really fun to do if you have someone special with you, but it is also cool to look at all the locks and hang out by the Seine river for a minute.
However, on our walk, we encountered so many people trying to pickpocket/scam us, and that is something that we learned was very common in Paris, so be very careful and keep your stuff close to you! I am the type of person who always wants to help and be nice to people so it was very hard for me to remember, but thankfully, I had people around me so I would just talk to them and it was a lot easier to ignore the other people. So stay with a buddy! You will feel much safer.
Do: Stop at Notre Dame and Eat at La Creperie du Cloitre.
Then, we went to see Notre Dame. Unfortunately, we could not go inside, since we only had one day and needed to save time. I am thankful we got to see it before it burned a year later in 2019. Thankfully, they are rebuilding it, but I don’t think anyone is able to go inside at the moment. Regardless, the outside is still beautiful! We took a couple of pictures there and then went to lunch at the cutest spot – La Creperie du Cloitre! I got a Croque Monsieur and it was EVERYTHING. The only problem was that I was sick and dairy + my congestion was not fun for the rest of the day. Worth it.
Don’t: Forget to bring extra money to use the bathroom!
This is definitely something I was not expecting, but most places in Paris require you to pay to use public restrooms (If you are eating at a restaurant you can usually pee for free :). After lunch we went to the famous Champs de Elysee, also where the Arc de Triomphe is located.
I really needed to go to the bathroom, but everywhere I tried, I had to pay. Eventually, I just gave up and paid up. If you want to shop in Paris, this is the place I would recommend, however there are so many shops and it is very busy so I would probably schedule a whole day. We spent WAY too long there, which brings me to my next “do”…..
Do: See Eiffel Tower and take all the pics.
Once we FINALLY got to the Eiffel Tower, we didn’t even have time to get out and explore nearby and take pictures. Our only views of the Tower were the ones we got from the top of the double-decker bus we were on. I don’t care if you’re doing it for the gram, doing it for your grandma, or doing it for your future grandchildren. TAKE THE PICS. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Don’t: Go to paris on International Women’s Day and nearly miss your train back to London!!!
To make a long story short, International Women’s Day marches in Paris had ALLLL of the roads blocked off. So we sat in traffic on our bus for HOURS. By the time we finally got close enough to the train station, we had to RUN all the way to the station, through security, and some of us had to jump on the train as it was moving so we could get back to London that night. Would not recommend.
Things I wanted to do in Paris but didn’t have time for:
Climb Arc de Triomphe & Eiffel Tower – Both have really pretty views of the city from the top.
Trocadero – Cute spot with views of the Eiffel Tower and great for pictures. We got to drive by but didn’t actually get to stop.
Gardens of the Palace of Versailles – This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you have never seen pictures of the gardens they are beautiful!
Have you ever been to Paris? What was your favorite part? Leave it below so when I get to go to Paris again, I can add it to my list!
