My Mini Guide to Paris
I wouldn’t give the traditional roadmap for a trip to Paris. For me, it’s always about embracing the culture, the lax atmosphere, the routine drinks every night at the same restaurant, making friends with the servers. I walk everywhere, hardly ever taking the Metro. Every street has its own personality you don’t want to miss — and you can never walk slow enough. On my last trip to Paris with my best friend, we decided we were going to set rushing aside, and take our time with every moment.
We woke up everyday at about 10am, went to get coffee and a pastry then shopped, walked around, went to a museum if we fancied it, made a stop at a bench to read, had afternoon rosé, walked some more, ate dinner, went to after dinner drinks, got gelato, went home, went to bed. It was pure magic.
My first bit of advice is to stay in the 5th arrondissement. It’s in the heart of the city, and houses that quintessential, magical Paris feeling. It’s where Ernest Hemingway lived in the 20’s — bonus points if you find his apartment.
Restaurants:
Personal opinion disclaimer. If you find a restaurant you love — go more than once. There’s probably lots on the menu you’ll want to try that you can’t possibly get in one sitting. Don’t get overwhelmed with sheer amount of food options the city has to offer, find what you love and spend time there getting to know all the flavors.
Here’s a few of my favorites:
Café de Flore - It’s an iconic must.
Maison Sauvage - FAVORITE — Go at night cause there’s twinkle lights and it’s perfect.
Café St. Regis - The perfect place for a spritz.
Chez Michel - Absolutely delicious classic French cuisine.
Amorino - Yes, this is a chain gelato shop. But, it was located right around the corner from our Airbnb and we couldn’t get enough of it.
Special Note:
**Eat every crepe you see.
Art, Monuments & Museums:
The amount of museums in this city is wild. It can be very intimidating. There are some incredible ones that could fly under the surface that I would recommend over some of the larger museums. If you’re an art fanatic, I would carve out a half day or entire day to walk through the Louvre. It has a lot of the pieces I’m sure you studied in school, and the history of the building alone is worth a walkthrough (even if you don’t want to force your way through a crowd to see the Mona Lisa).
Here’s my recommendations:
Musée de l'Orangerie - My personal favorite in the whole city. Monet’s wall murals are absolutely breathtaking.
Musée d’Orsay
Musée du Louvre
Musée Rodin
Pantheon Crypt
Eiffel Tower (of course) - It’s actually as beautiful as they say.
YSL museum - If you enjoy fashion, it’s a must see.
Special Note:
**Every street is a living and breathing piece of art, look around always.
Final Suggestions:
**Go to Rue Mouffetard (the square) and sit outside at a cafe for 4 hours.
**Go to the Luxembourg Gardens, bring a book and a coffee and read forever.
**Get some bread, cheese and wine and walk along the Seine (by Notre Dame), and find a spot and have a picnic.
