{"id":43320,"date":"2019-11-18T20:16:47","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T01:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=43320"},"modified":"2019-11-18T20:16:47","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T01:16:47","slug":"tips-for-visiting-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=43320","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Visiting Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have tips for visiting Paris for you today.\u00a0 However, most of these tips will work in any city that you plan to visit.<\/em><\/p>\n

Instead of giving you a day to day wrap up of my trip to Paris last week, we are breaking it down into several “tips” posts.\u00a0 The first one was last week when we shared tips for getting the Ralph Lauren look in your home’s outdoor areas.\u00a0 You can read that post here.\u00a0 <\/a><\/span>Today we are going to share my tips for visiting Paris.\u00a0 This most recent trip was my eighth time to visit the City of Lights.\u00a0 If you have been there, then you know that there are tons of things to do, to see, to experience, and to eat.\u00a0 It might be fun if you add your own tips in the comments below so that we can have a collection for anyone who is going there.\u00a0 I am sure that you have some ideas that I haven’t even thought about.<\/p>\n

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Let me just preface this by saying that I traveled with my friend Missie.\u00a0 I have been to Paris alone, with Jordan, and also with my husband.\u00a0 I have been reluctant to travel to Europe with a friend because I didn’t know just how that would go.\u00a0 However, Missie and I were perfect travel companions.\u00a0 My two requirements are that you have to be low maintenance and high energy, and Missie was.\u00a0 We spent around 10 to 12 hours a day “out on the streets” and even walked over 11 miles one day.\u00a0 So, here are some of my tips for visiting Paris:<\/p>\n

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Plan A Flexible Itinerary Before You Go<\/h2>\n

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Since this was Missie’s first trip to Paris, I wanted her to see as much as possible.\u00a0 Before we left, I put together a rough day to day itinerary so that we could visit spots that were in same area of the city.\u00a0 That would make our days flow better, and make better use of our time.<\/p>\n

Map Out Each Day<\/h2>\n

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Once we knew what we were doing each day, we spent time each evening deciding which order we would visit our sites the following day.\u00a0 Based on how far they were from our apartment and from each other determined if we walked or rode the metro.\u00a0 Then Missie used a map of the city to write down the metro routes and walking routes we would use.\u00a0 That saved a ton of confusion and uncertainty when we were out and about.\u00a0 We were confident in where we were going and knew just how to get there.<\/p>\n

Listen to Podcasts Before You Go<\/h2>\n

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I listened to tons of “Join Us in France<\/em>” podcasts before we went so that I could refresh my memory on all things Parisienne.<\/p>\n

Buy the Paris Museum Pass Before You Go<\/h2>\n

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We bought a two-day Paris Museum Pass and spent extra money to have it delivered to my home before we left.\u00a0 You can buy a two-day, four-day, or six-day pass, but they have to be used on consecutive days.\u00a0 (The museums close on different days so know their schedule before you buy a pass.)\u00a0 Since we were going to be there six full days, we only wanted to spend two days visiting museums.\u00a0 We used our pass on the second and third day in the city and visited the Picasso Museum, the Louvre, L’Orangerie, and Musee D’Orsay on day one.\u00a0 That was a lot, and we were exhausted at the end of the day.\u00a0 On the second day of the pass, we used it at Versailles and the Arche de Triomphe.\u00a0 We both agreed that buying this pass was so worth it.\u00a0 It saved us money on the entry fees, and we didn’t have to wait to purchase tickets at each museum.<\/p>\n

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We were lucky enough to be at the Arche de Triomphe when they were about to begin their Armistice Day ceremony.\u00a0 I told three of the French soldiers that my father had been shot on three different occasions by the Germans while he was fighting for the French.<\/p>\n

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They were so pleased that we were escorted to a special area to observe the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Stay in a Neighborhood Where You Are Comfortable<\/h2>\n

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Just like in any city, all neighborhoods are not created equally.\u00a0 There are good ones and seedy ones.\u00a0 I have always stayed in the Marais area (4th arrondisement) because I know the area, and I feel safe there during the day and in the evening.\u00a0 That’s important for women traveling unescorted.<\/p>\n

Plan Something Really Special Each Day<\/h2>\n

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Just being in Paris is special, but we still had a highlight on each day.\u00a0 For instance, one day we took a cooking class from a French chef in his apartment.\u00a0 Another day we had tea at the Ritz Hotel.\u00a0 And yet another day we went to mass at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a special Paris church for Catholics.\u00a0 Pick things that you love, and then do them.<\/p>\n

Take Breaks<\/h2>\n

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I have always said “Having fun is hard work.”\u00a0 We took breaks during the day when our bodies told us it was time to.\u00a0 We stopped for a cappuccino, a sweet treat, or a glass of wine.\u00a0 It was a great way to regroup and do some people watching.<\/p>\n

Eat At Local Restaurants<\/h2>\n

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We ate most of our meals in our neighborhood.\u00a0 We often had a French breakfast in one and our evening meal in another.\u00a0 Parisiennes will tell you that all of their restaurants are good, and we agree.\u00a0 We did not have a bad meal.<\/p>\n

Prepare for Crowds by Having a Plan B<\/h2>\n

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We chose to travel in November for many reasons, and one of them was to avoid the huge crowds of summer.\u00a0 We had no waiting at any of the museums, including the Louvre.\u00a0 However, on the Saturday that we were in Paris, there were huge crowds in certain areas, and we were not willing to wait in a long line to visit Saint Chappelle. \u00a0 We made a plan B to get away from the people, and we went to the famous cookware shop, Dehillerin.\u00a0 The sites are more fun when things aren’t so packed.<\/p>\n

Plan A Free Day<\/h2>\n

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We set aside our last day as a free day to do anything that we did not have time to do before.\u00a0 It was an easy day, but a full day since we chose to do some shopping in different parts of the city.\u00a0 We both made sure we didn’t over pack so we would have space in our suitcase to put the things that we just had to have.\u00a0 You know how that goes.<\/p>\n

Okay…..those are my tips.\u00a0 You can actually use these tips for visiting Paris or in almost any city that you visit.\u00a0 Remember to share any of your special tips in the comments.\u00a0 Bon voyage!<\/p>\n

Take care.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have tips for visiting Paris for you today.\u00a0 However, most of these tips will work in any city that you plan to visit. Instead of giving you a day to day wrap up of my trip to Paris last week, we are breaking it down into several “tips” posts.\u00a0 The first one was last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":43328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43320"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43320"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43344,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43320\/revisions\/43344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}