If you’ve been following this blog for a while, it’s no secret that my first trip to Paris was less than stellar. On a two week trip where we visited London, Edinburgh, and Paris, that city was by far the worst of the three. When I returned I found out that I was not alone in my experience – many people have the idea of Paris built up in their heads into a magical place and when they arrive it doesn’t live up to their imaginations. In the extreme cases some people even experience Paris Syndrome – a mental disorder caused by the extreme shock of realizing that real Paris is very different from your fantasy Paris.
Last year, I visited Paris again with my sister. I had more control over the trip this time, and I knew that I would have to make some serious changes so we would both have a good experience on the trip. It turns out that we did – you can read about our art-focused five days in the City of Light here. I’d like to share some of tips I learned along the way, so read on if you want to be sure to avoid Paris Syndrome – you don’t want to be hallucinating or fainting on what should be an enjoyable vacation!!
1. Lower your expectations
Seriously. Paris may be rich with culture and history, but it also has problems. Like other heavily-trafficked tourist destinations, you’ll find crowds, touts and hawkers on the streets, and an unfriendly or resentful-toward-tourists attitude from some natives. Like any big city in the world it won’t be as clean or smell as fresh as you imagine. My first time, I had an extra unpleasant experience–I was groped while seeing the Eiffel Tower at night (within a few hours of arriving in Paris), and we saw a violent fight between two men on the street as we left our hotel the final time. So don’t let all the lovely photos and media representations you’ve seen fool you – be sure to temper your expectations going in to Paris!
2. Give Paris the time it deserves
Don’t rush your experience – be sure to give yourself at least three or four days in Paris. My first trip, we really only had two and a half days, which wasn’t enough to see everything and made waiting in line for certain attractions extra frustrating. My sister and I spent five days last year, and with our two day trips outside of the city (to Giverny and Versailles) it was about right, although we could have filled one more day if we had had it!
3. Decide on how best to experience the Eiffel Tower
You can’t miss the Eiffel Tower while in Paris, but be sure to think about how you want to experience it. Do you want to go to the top for the views? Will you pay for that (and wait in the perpetually long line) or are you brave enough to take the stairs? You might break a sweat but you’ll probably also get to the top faster than if you waited in line for the elevator! And if you have other priorities in Paris, feel free to skip going up to the top at all (my sister and I did).
Tons of guidebooks recommend seeing the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero. The view is nice, but you will definitely be bothered by hawkers and it gets SO crowded! My sister and I stumbled on a much better alternative – relaxing on the grass of Champ de Mars park. We were able to snack on some eclairs we’d brought, people watch, sketch and paint with watercolors, and watch the sun set, its colors silhouetting the Eiffel Tower beautifully. It was such a lovely, relaxing experience that I would 100% do again if visiting Paris! If you go in the evening as we did you can watch the beautiful sunset and then stick around after dark to see the Eiffel Tower lit up, and then sparkling every hour on the hour for ten minutes!
4. Learn a LITTLE French
The first time I visited, I didn’t bother to learn any French. This was partially because we were only going to be there for such a short time, and partially because I’d heard that French people didn’t really appreciate tourists trying to learn or use the language compared to people of other foreign countries/languages. The latter may still be true, but manners are also very important to the French, and I found on my second trip that just using French for a few key phrases – good night, good morning, please, thank you, excuse me – (even to those who speak English) helped some of our interactions to go more smoothly. This blog post from Travel Twirl has a great list of useful phrases, otherwise I used the Memrise app to learn some key phrases before going.
5. See more than just the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
I get it, the Mona Lisa is on everyone’s bucket list, but don’t skip the thousands of other treasures in the Louvre when you go! I’ve written a Beginner’s Guide to the Louvre (and was actually interviewed on an Australian radio station about the topic – you can listen to the podcast here) if you need help knowing where to start.
6. Don’t overlook the smaller museums
Pretty much everyone visits the Louvre while in Paris, but if you’re not a big art lover it may be a bit much for you. Check out my guide to finding art you’ll love in Paris to get an idea of some other options you can look into. Two of my top suggestions would be Musée de l’Orangerie – a wonderful museum with information on lots of artists who worked in Paris and two amazing rooms with 360-degree Monet water lily paintings – and Musée Rodin, an elegant hotel with beautiful gardens that houses works by Auguste Rodin and other sculptors associated with him.
7. Walk versus taking the Metro whenever possible
Paris is a very walkable and very pleasant to walk – we started our first day in Paris with a walk along the Seine and it was very pleasant. The Metro on the other hand is definitely not the cleanest or nicest one I’ve used. Your experience will be improved if you lean toward walking around the city when possible. Pack a pair of comfortable shoes and a good map of the city (this Paris map is the one I used) and get out to explore!
8. Maybe just skip Montmartre…
On my second trip to Paris I skipped Montmartre and seeing the nearby Moulin Rouge, etc. It was far from giving me the Bohemian truth-beauty-freedom-love ideals I expected when I visited on the first trip; instead it was SO crowded, full of hustlers trying to put bracelets on your hand and then charge you for “telling your fortune”, and dirty. It may have changed since I was first there but I decided to skip it anyway because there really isn’t much to see. The Moulin Rouge is just a cabaret in the sex district (not far from Montmartre) and there’s Sacre Coeur, but from what I’ve read a lot of the museums in the area are quite small so we skipped it and I have no regrets!
9. Get out of town
There are plenty of great day trip options out of Paris – a day at Versailles, a trip to Monet’s home in Giverny, or seeing the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Chartres Cathedral. If you have enough time I highly recommend taking a day trip to get a little break from the city. Fresh air will do you good, and there are lots of lovely places to explore! If Paris is your only stop in France, taking a day trip can help broaden your view of the country of France a little bit too, which is certainly a good thing.
10. Look for beauty that most appeals to you
Paris has many lovely spots, even if there are a lot of places that might be dirtier or less pleasant than expected. Do some research before you go – check out travel guides, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. to find the places you are most interested in, and don’t feel like you have to hit things on other people’s Paris “must do” lists. I read up on Paris libraries before going and we were able to step from the hustle and bustle of the streets into the tranquil Mazarine Library for a few minutes, which we quite enjoyed. Sainte-Chapelle was a sight I’d missed on my first trip but knew I had to hit it on this trip and it was absolutely breathtaking. If the lovely pastel colors of macarons appeal to you, find a bakery. If you’re a romantic at heart find whichever bridge is the current love lock one (it changed between my two trips) and take some photos (maybe refrain from putting a lock on though – they really don’t like it!). If fashion or shopping is your thing, check out boutiques of the “golden triangle”. There are endless possibilities, so be sure to tailor your Paris experience to what interests you most.
11. Go out at night to experience the City of Light
You won’t understand why Paris is nicknamed “The City of Light” until you’ve been out walking along the Seine or past Parisian cafes at night. The city seems much more peaceful – and sometimes almost magical – in the evenings and with everything lit up it’s really quite lovely. Be sure to plan some time in the evenings to go for a stroll or see some of Paris’s most iconic sites, like Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, lit up at night instead of during the day.
12. Choose the neighborhood of your hotel carefully
Research the twenty arrondissements (or neighborhoods) of Paris and try to get a hotel in an area that appeals to you and that is near the attractions you most want to see. Do this both because it will make walking (see tip #7) easier, and because you might have a better experience in a lovely area. We stayed at a really cute hotel within view of the Notre Dame this time around (since I had remembered that being one of the prettier parts of Paris from my first trip) and really liked that location.
13. Travel during off or shoulder season
Paris is very popular and summer is the high season. Not only is it hot then, but it will be very crowded and some of the less pleasant people who “make a living” off tourism – touts, pushy hawkers, and pickpockets – will be out in full swing. To avoid this, consider traveling in shoulder seasons (spring or fall) or even in winter. You might save on prices too! Both times I have visited were in May, which was lovely, but I have seen pictures of winter in Paris and it does look enchanting…
14. Be aware of pickpockets and current scams
Read up on common scams in Paris before you go – this site keeps an updated list – so you know what to avoid. Not everyone approaching you on the streets of Paris will have the best intentions in mind! If you follow some of the other tips on this list and avoid some of the most crowded and touristy areas you might not experience as many of these. I know I ran into much fewer on my second trip! It also helps (like everywhere else in the world) to dress to blend in with locals a little bit and not wander around with your map out or a camera around your neck–in other words, not to give away immediately that you are a tourist!
15. You won’t regret buying tickets to a ballet at Palais Garnier
I have to mention this opera house in its own tip because it is one of my very favorite new experiences I had on my second trip to Paris. We bought cheap tickets to see the ballet (they start at about 25 euros) and had a fantastic evening out at the Palais Garnier. Not only was the ballet fantastic but the opera house is completely gorgeous and opulent and it just felt like such an iconic Paris experience. For more comfortable seats or even your own box you can really treat yourself and spend much more, but if you’re on a budget you can buy a cheap ticket like we did or even tour the opera house during the day. We really loved it, and if you try it too it just might make “real Paris” seem a bit closer to the dream Paris you had expected!
What about you? Have you visited Paris? Did anything about the city surprise you? Are there other destinations you’ve visited that didn’t live up to the hype? Comment below and tell me about it!