Soon you’ll be sipping champagne and eating arguably the best pastries on the planet in Paris, France! Preparing for a trip to Paris is so exciting, but it helps to do a bit of preliminary research to make sure you are fully prepared for your time away and know what to expect. In no way is this a conclusive list, but it can be a helpful resource as you are planning. These are a few questions I know that I was googling late at night in the weeks leading up to our first trip to Paris!
Should I go to Paris?
YES! As I was planning the trip, whenever I mentioned traveling to Paris people would ask “Why?” Some would even add, “You should go to Italy!” Even in France, a server we spoke with said, “Most Americans go to Italy!” This kind of cracked us up! Italy is definitely on our travel list though!
I also was asked both before and after the trip if I saw social media videos from influencers telling people to not travel to Paris, that it was not what they expected, or that they didn’t have pleasant social interactions. Honestly, there is always someone who loves the chance to complain about a major city!
You cannot let other people’s opinions of a place dictate your view. I am glad I brushed off those comments. I usually can make the most out of anywhere I go. I also love most major cities and can admire something special in a new place.
Whatever inspires you to explore a new place, let that inspiration and sense of discovery lead you. I was interested in experiencing a new culture, trying different foods, and seeing a beautiful historical cityscape.
Paris has quite a bit to offer! The Seine River snakes through the city. Stunning architecture is everywhere! There is no shortage of museums and gardens to explore! Eating in a cafe or bistro in the city feels communal. Long leisure, and yet delicious meals are what I remember most about our time in France!
How long should I stay in Paris?
If it is your first time visiting Paris I would recommend 4-5 days. We stayed 4 nights in Paris and had one last night at the tail end of our trip before we headed back to the States.
Paris is massive. We were walking about 20,000 steps a day! There also can be long lines at tourist sites. Museums might have audio tours that slow down your pace. There are travel logistics such as missed trains or road traffic.
You likely will need more time to explore the city than you think you do. There were still so many places we did not make it to, just due to time. It seems obvious, but you really won’t be able to do everything.
Any less than four days for your first trip to Paris might feel like you didn’t experience enough of the city. We were coming from the United States and I completely underestimated being jetlagged. Also getting around can be tiring and this is vacation, right? You want to see some sites, walk around, eat the food without feeling rushed.
We could have even used an extra day to just relax in more parks and gardens with a picnic, a novel, or even a sketchbook.
One of our best memories from the trip was my husband Geoffrey sketching outside of Shakespeare and Company cafe while I went and explored the bookstore! There are no photos allowed at this bookstore, but make sure you check out the top floor! We were so surprised by how large the city felt. You by no means have to do any of the popular tourist destinations, but maybe you want to! They are popular for a reason.
As a first-timer, I recommend writing out the major destinations you want to see and basing your number of days on that.
What other cities should I see while traveling to Paris?
London and Amsterdam are within good proximity to get there by train. London: 1.5 hrs by high-speed rail. Amsterdam: 3 hours by high-speed rail.
For our second leg of the trip, we flew down to Nice to explore the French Riviera along the Mediterranean coast. Nice was a nice change of pace. Paris and Nice was the perfect combination for us and we were so glad we did not tack on another major city.
Strasbourg, Lyon, and Aix-en-Provence are all wishlist places I would love to add to another trip to Paris!
Is going to Versailles worth it?
It depends if you have the time and the energy! That being said we did take some beautiful photos here. Take everything I am saying with a grain of salt. I woke with a head-cold so I wasn’t feeling my best. We also got wildly lost on the train getting there. More on that later. We went on a Tuesday because we had plans all the other days and it is closed on Mondays.
Even though it is opulent, some elements are truly stunning and a wonderful source of design inspiration.
I love Rick Steves guides and videos. He’s like the history teacher I wanted in high school! Rick Steves said do not go to Versailles on a Tuesday. We did it anyway! There are lines everywhere with tour buses and large groups. We went to Versailles in September, and we thought most of the August summer rush would have been over, but it likely is always a very busy site.
It was hot, but even if it was only in the 80s, there was no shade outside. That’s how you made a grand entrance back then I guess.
Also, the property is over 2000 acres. We didn’t know when the next time we would make it back to Versailles so we wanted to see as much of it as we could.
People are walking slowly even if they don’t have anyone in front of them because they have headphones on listening to the guided tour. I thought we could see most of Versailles in 2 to 3 hours, but no I would plan to go to Versailles all day! If you go I would not plan to see any other sites or have any other plans. We did a river tour that night, but it was still stressful getting back and wanting to just rest.
Outside of the main palace, think if there are other places you want to see such as the gardens or the Petit Trianon. I wanted to see the Queen’s Hamlet, which was not easy to access.
I read and watched videos about people being tired after going to Versailles and I was expecting it, and I can say I still was exhausted afterward because it was crowded, and hot, and the place is so large it takes physical effort to get around and see things.
My clothes were perfect. It is cute so people look nice in case you want a photo, but wear something comfortable. Wear sneakers. Marie’s Hamlet was my favorite part, and it was far less crowded!
Versailles was a busy yet enjoyable experience, but unless you are here for an extended period of time and have an entire day to devote to it, I might not add this to your first trip to Paris unless it is one of the top things you want to do there.
Is the food in Paris good?
I loved the food! It is a major international city so you can find a variety of international cuisines. We mostly elected French cuisine though.
Coffee
If you mostly drink espresso in the morning, you’ll be just fine. I like my coffee cafe au lait style with some sugar and I was able to get that most places.
One interesting thing I noticed is that in America we commonly drink our coffee to go. If you take it to go most of the little cafes do not have lids. Unsurprisingly, I spilled coffee on myself in a crowd of people walking to the train.
Try try to drink your coffee at the hotel or apartment you are staying in, or relax and enjoy your coffee at the cafe, and don’t be so on the move. I was trying so hard to follow my itinerary at times that I didn’t make enough time to sit in a cafe every morning and enjoy my cafe in a true French way.
Breakfast
We didn’t think breakfast was very common here in how we eat breakfast in the United States. That being said we stayed near two brunch places that had lines down the block. Unfortunately, we only had time to eat at one of them called Holybelly, but it was one of the best brunch experiences! The food was delicious, they were playing old-school R&B, and it was such a vibe! I would be here every weekend!
Most other days our breakfast was a pastry from a cafe. The pastries were like nothing I had ever had before. One we frequented several times was called Maison Mae. They had this pistachio chocolate pinwheel that was incredible! For the most part, breakfast in Paris was a pastry or some baguette from a cafe.
Lunch
We didn’t always eat true lunch. We learned our lesson on the back half of the trip once we got to Nice, but in France, lunch ends around 1:30 pm. You need to be at the restaurant for your lunch around noon. If you show up at 1:45 pm when you are hungry for lunch, you might not find much open. This happened to us several times and we would run in a cafe and get a baguette or a premade sandwich or something.
Lunchtime is also when you might be sightseeing. Sometimes our tour times got in the way of a casual lunch. If you see food that looks good during this time go ahead and eat! You don’t know when your next meal with be.
Dinner
The dinners were hearty. I loved the French Onion Soup in Paris and ordered it several times. Meals almost always come with fresh bread. My husband ordered escargot a few times and loved it! Roasted chicken and veggies and lamb shanks were things we typically ordered on the menu.
Similar to being closed for lunch, we also didn’t find much food open late at night. We ended up walking about 1 mile after 10 pm to find dinner after touring the Arc de Triomphe. We ended up getting pizza and a croque monsieur at 11 pm at a pub. We were starving, they fed us, and it was wonderful!
I recommend having a dinner reservation each night based on the neighborhood you will be in or look up a restaurant you want to drop into that is near where you will be exploring.
You don’t want to have to rush to the complete other side of the city for your dinner reservation!
Is Paris safe?
We generally felt safe in Paris. Before the trip, I was very concerned about pickpocketers! I’m sure everyone knew we were tourists, but we tried to fit in! We walked with a purpose. I kept my purse crossbody and held it close to me.
The main Paris airport, Charles de Gaulle Airport, definitely had me feeling pretty on guard. That being said, somehow I lost my Apple Watch the day we arrived and a kind woman texted me, (my husband replied because I was scared it was a scam) she waited for us and returned my watch to me! It was a miracle that I got it back! I found Parisians to be nice!
Another time to be aware of is riding the train during rush hour. Some of the trains are insanely crowded. On one metro ride, this sweet lady told me to hold my bag closer to me since the train was crowded.
There can be protests in Paris, we weren’t there during that time, but just be aware. There also were two instances of issues that happened on the train. It wasn’t just tourists, everyone seemed pretty on guard.
We walked around quite a bit at night and still felt safe, but of course, be aware of your surroundings.
Are the people nice?
Several people have asked me this. A stranger returned an Apple Watch to me at the airport so that speaks to their kindness! We did not have any negative encounters with locals. Thankfully we had a positive experience and everyone was kind. It felt like a major city such as San Francisco or New York City. I don’t think we should expect people to roll out the red carpet for us just because we are visiting their city. We don’t know much French so we kept it to pleasantries. We always spoke when we entered a place and we always spoke when we left. “Bonjour” and “Merci” will help you out a ton. Honestly, I missed the niceties when we came back to the United States.
Do I have to know French?
No, but it helps! Many people working service jobs did not speak English. We do not know much French. We tried a bit of Duolingo starting about 6 weeks before the trip, but we weren’t very good. We focused on greetings! Some people started speaking French to us, and we had to ask them if they spoke English. We tried, but it’s a challenging language and takes time. Use Google Translate if you need to!
How was the restaurant service?
It is typically slow compared to American standards. We tried to lean into being in France. They appreciate their meal times. Paris was full of locals meeting friends, family, and coworkers for drinks (and cigarettes) around 5-6 pm. Dinner is late! I typically eat dinner around 6 pm in the United States. There, most restaurants aren’t even opening until 7 pm. So dinner is usually closer to 8 pm.
If you sit outside, you will probably be around cigarette smoke at some point. Culturally this is a major difference from the United States. Did it bother me? Yes.
Dessert seemed like a big deal there. Our first night we had dinner at an amazing restaurant. We started with drinks, bread, and appetizers. We ordered our entrees which were wonderful, and then the server gave us the dessert menu and asked if wanted coffee and dessert. I had in my head that we would go to another neighborhood and walk around and get gelato so I declined. She looked so surprised. She was like “Oh really? No coffee?” It was such a regret! The other area we got gelato wasn’t worth it. We should have stayed where we were and continued to enjoy our time!
Just take it easy and enjoy the moment. If you are dining out for dinner get the dessert and the coffee! They take them seriously and the times we stayed for coffee and dessert were so worth it!
What area of Paris should I stay in?
There are districts called arrondissements, designated by the last two digits of the zip code. We stayed in the 10th. On our last night, we stayed closer in and stayed in the 7th. We liked both areas. The 10th had some really good restaurants, and shops, and felt like a vibrant neighborhood to live in, but we typically had to change trains on the metro due to it being less central.
The 7th arrondissement hotel was very central and we were walking distance to the river, museums, and major sites, but it didn’t quite have that neighborhood feel.
The lower number arrondissements are more central. I recommend a place that has some good restaurants, metro stations, shops, and cafes within walking distance.
Many of the hotels in Paris are very small in comparison to hotels in the United States. Since we were staying multiple days, we elected to stay in an apartment rental and then we stayed in a hotel our last night.
Did your cell phone work or did you purchase a SIM card?
We contacted our phone company and they have an international plan. It was $10 a day and $5 for a second line per day. The Sim card we were looking at was $40 each so it was about the same price. Also, the SIM card didn’t work for us due to our plan with our phone company so I would talk to your phone company first before purchasing a SIM card.
How long should you plan to stay at the Louvre?
If you truly enjoy museums like my husband, spend a half day at the Louvre. I goofed and thought I purchased tickets to the Louvre weeks in advance. Remember that it is closed on Tuesdays! The night before we were planning to go I realized I never bought the tickets! I frantically booked the only time slot available which was a 4 pm timeslot, and the museum closes at 6 pm!
Just know going in you aren’t going to be able to see the entire museum. We were there for two hours and to me it was plenty of time. I was so tired of walking. (We went to Disneyland earlier that day! I’ll save our itinerary for another post.)
I think 2-3 hours is a reasonable amount of time to spend at the Louvre. You probably won’t even see half of the museum, but that’s ok. Come back for more on your next trip to Paris if you’d like. The exhibits are huge and there are a lot of stairs and walking, but everything is grand! There is so much to take in.
All that being said, the Lourve was super impressive! I enjoyed what we saw. The building itself is a work of art, despite the crowds.
I recommend researching the art you want to see first! I watched a few YouTube videos giving me an overview because frankly, I had no clue what was even going to be at Lourve. Once I did some preliminary research about the exhibits, I noticed what piqued my interest. I wrote down a must-see list. My must-see list was ancient Egypt, the Mona Lisa, and the Red Rooms.
The directions to see the Mona Lisa were funny. Lots of teaser signs that made you keep walking before you got to the Mona Lisa. This exhibit gets some hate about it being underwhelming, but not from me! It was pretty cool seeing such a recognizable art piece.
After the Louvre and walking so many steps that day, I rewarded myself by doing absolutely nothing and recovering in the grass. (So glad I brought my travel tarp.)
There is another park right next to the Louvre, The Tuileries Garden that is beautiful, but you can’t sit in the grass there. Don’t miss the Tuileries Garden!
What should I wear on my trip?
I barely feel comfortable writing about this because this very search on Google kind of screwed me on this trip. I was very concerned about what to wear and if I would look Parsian enough. I desperately didn’t want to look like the basic American tourist that I am! This is a question I searched for so I will try to give my best advice: dress for the weather, and wear what you want!
Look at the weather! I brought some clothes that I wanted to wear in “September in Paris.” However, September is a transitional season and it can be cold or it can be hot. I brought some blazers and a trench coat that I never took out of my suitcase! I made the mistake of packing my clothes about 1 week out. Almost all of my clothes were in a suitcase ready to go! I was so excited! Day by day, however, the weather kept changing. Instead of a high of 75, it changed to a high of 85. Then when we were there it changed even more to a high of around 90 degrees some days! So then I was wearing my linen tops, flowy dresses, and skirts every day I was in Paris. Initially I had planned to wear these things in Nice. I don’t think I was ever cold on the trip so I wish I listened more to the weather and not just what I wanted to wear because it is Paris.
This is a fine time to mention, that I would avoid going in the summer months. Many of the buildings do not have air conditioning.
What should I pack?
I would stick to a capsule wardrobe as much as possible. I had several outfits that I could mix and match which made choosing clothes easier. Comfortable shoes are essential. Unless I was just going to dinner and back, I opted for comfortable closed-toe shoes because it is a major city with uneven walkways and lots of stairs. I never wore sandals.
It was nice to have a backpack at times. We took one to Disneyland. A very cool thing about the Disneyland Paris park is you can bring outside food and drink!
Bring a handheld fan if traveling in a warm season. Also, I love having a refillable water bottle with me always. We also did use my travel-size tarp.
Bring an eyemask and earplugs. The city can be bright and noisy where you are staying.
How much cash should I bring?
We barely used cash. It was helpful to have a few euros with us for tipping here and there, but it wasn’t expected. There was one ice cream shop in Nice that was cash-only, but that was it. Paying with a card is the default. We mostly used credit cards that avoided international fees. Check with your banks.
How did you get around? Did you take the metro?
We walked a ton, maybe about 20,000 steps a day which is way more than I walk living in Texas. We took the train to most places.
We always took an Uber to the airport. Occasionally we took an Uber around the city but it didn’t feel that efficient because of the traffic. The ETA would just creep up and take us way longer than expected. I would take Uber, but I might not rely on it since public transportation can take you everywhere.
Just be aware that trains are very busy in Paris during peak hours.
That being said there were two places where we struggled with the metro: going to Disneyland Paris and going to Versailles! Disneyland Paris requires a special ticket to get in and out of that station. There were scams trying to “help” us with this.
Versailles also requires another ticket and we took the wrong train multiple times and it took us at least twice as long to get there! Just make sure you research your routes for these two destinations.
Gathering photos to make this post makes me want to book another trip to Paris! Before we went I studied Google Maps a bit to get a sense of different neighborhoods and proximity. When we arrived it was fun exploring the areas I had read about such as Montmartre, Le Maris, Rue Cler, the Latin Quarter, and the Seine River. We stayed 5 nights in Paris and there is still so much we didn’t have time to see! With so many neighborhoods, cafes, museums, markets, and shopping in Paris, you can continuously return and have new experiences. Until I book another trip to Paris I’ll keep scrolling my iPhone photos! Au revoir!
Thanks for reading! If you are looking to plan a trip soon that is a little closer to home check out my post on a vacation destination I love!
Have you been to Paris? Did you enjoy it? Are you looking to visit? Please let us know in the comments!
Now I want to go to Paris! What an experience!