Hi there,
we just came back from our very first Paris trip for 3 days and I’d like to share my experiences with you and hope it will help one or two. I’m from Germany so if anybody has some particular questions feel free to write me in English or German.
Overview:
- Hotel, Metro (which tickets)
- Louvre
- Eifel Tower
- Arc of Triumph
- Champs-Élysées
- River Seine
- Notre Dame
- Versaille
Hotel, Metro
Hotel: We stayed at the Hotel Sejours & Affaires Paris Malakoff which was a 2 star hotel and absolutely fine. It was cheap, clean and had modern, average furniture. We got a studio so we had a little kitchen as well. Everything required to cook was provided. Only minus point here was the bad smelling fridge. It was clean and seemed new but the smell once we have opened it was rotten-like. Bathroom was small but clean; new shower head, shampoo and soap provided, 3 towels (not that much but I’m sure you can ask for more) and I even got a hairdryer from the reception. Breakfast was continental and for the price good. They offered cereal, milk, coffee, juice, baguette, toast with toaster, nutella, jam, butter, camembert, some ham, yoghurt and more. Only minus points here was the bad baguette (I just expected more from France! It was mainly hard.) and some good croissants (they were very mini and not freshly baked but still tasty). If you aren’t a fan of sweet breakfast, you will probably missing other choices such as a variety of cheese and sausages and eggs. Overall, I was very pleased with the breakfast. Hotel stuff “tried” to be friendly but I just can’t compare it to what I normally consider friendly. Based on what we experienced in Paris, you will get this hospitality everywhere in France. Don’t expect smiles or somebody randomly helping you with a map.
Hotel is in a nice, quiet area, about 5-10 minutes from the metro station (You can get anywhere very quickly from this stop). A supermarket is right around the corner (I would recommend getting some water and some ingredients for a sandwich; don’t buy baguette at the supermarket but at the small bakery right next to the hotel. 70cents for a fluffy baguette) Careful, the supermarket is closed on Sundays and not open all night. I would get there before 9pm. There are also some local shops where you can buy overpriced food and drinks but I would not recommend going there. The seller was very unfriendly and didn’t speak one word of English to us even though he clearly understood what we were saying. He also tried to charge us 30cents more for water because it was in the fridge after one of the other sellers recommended it to us. It felt like a tourist trap.
Metro: Taking the metro in France is relatively cheap and easy to use. One single ride is 1,70€ and it takes you everywhere in the center of Paris. I summarized the different tickets for you:
Ticket+:
1,70€ for Metro, RER Zone 1, Bus, Tram; Switch from Metro to RER possible, but not to Bus ticket turns invalid as soon as you leave the Metro gate, valid for 1,5 hours
Ticket Sans Correspondance: directly on bus, 2€
Billet Ile-de-France:
RER (SNCF/RATP) out of Paris or suburbs of Paris; price depends on zones
For Versailles: Zone 1-4, 3,35€
Mobilis (day ticket):
6,60€ for Zone 1-2 (not valid for Roissybus, Orlybus, Orlyval)
Ticket Jeunes weekend (cheap weekend ticket for young people):
3,65€ for Zone 1-3, (other zones possible) day ticket for young people under 26, Saturday/ Sunday only (RATP/ SNCF)
Louvre:
We arrived at a Sunday and it happened to be the first Sunday in the month which granted us free admission to the museum. Every first Sunday in the month is free, so make sure to plan ahead! Tip: If you are under 26 and from the EU, don’t worry – you get free admission anyway! We got there around 3 pm and surprisingly there was only a small line. It was crowded in the museum though. I mainly went to the Louvre because of the building and its beautiful architecture – as for the actual museum I must say I was quite disappointed. The art description was only provided in French so you couldn’t get any detailed information about a specific painting. I have never seen this in my life. Even in small museums in Germany they put at least English descriptions on it. On top of that, the art pieces didn’t seem well maintained at all. Lots of statues were covered in dust, damaged and unprotected as there was no guard. Dust was on every picture and it was very hot and muggy. Considering the normal admission price this isn’t acceptable. The Mona Lisa isn’t worth the admission – the museum has lots of other great art pieces but it makes me sad to see how badly they are being taking care of. I would recommend the Louvre if you get in for free or when you are really interested about particular collections. Otherwise, look up some other museums – there are plenty in Paris! I do though highly recommend the garden/park behind the Louvre – beautiful with lots of seats and a great view at the Eifel Tower!
Eifel Tower:
What can I say… it is worth it! It really is a beautiful piece of architecture and the view from the top is worth it. I don’t regret waiting in line for an hour and to pay the admission to get to the top. My boyfriend made a paper airplane and let it take off from the top – it was so much fun watching it flying down the Eifel Tower. Wouldn’t want to miss the experience! =) Some advice though: Prepare to wait a long time for the elevator tickets and unless it is 30°C+, bring warm clothes! We came in the morning and the tower was casting a huge shadow so all people were freezing while waiting under it. I don’t if it makes a lot of sense to get the tickets online since I have not really seen a special entrance for that kind of purpose. There were only two entrances: the one for the elevator and one for the stairs (which only lead to the 2nd floor). I would recommend taking the elevator to the top, then taking it to the 2nd floor and then taking the stairs down.
Careful: the ticket lady! She gave me 1€ too little change and just when I noticed it, she did the same to my boyfriend. We told her and without any apology she gave us the 1€ back. It seemed so normal to her – very practiced. We figured she might try this with every customer, making a lot of tax-free, additional money for herself. Most people don’t count their change or notice it much too late or being too afraid to ask for it. Just be careful and check your change!
Arc of Triumph:
We walked there from the Eifel Tower (bad decision… long walk! =)). It was nice to look at it from the outside. I also went up because I got free admission (under 26 and from the EU get up for free) while my boyfriend waited. It was a very beautiful view over Paris but it wasn’t worth the full admission price.
Champs-Élysées:
After the Arc of Triumph we walked along the famous Champs-Elysees (which directly connects to it). I guess it make sense to walk there when already at the Arc but believe me, it wasn’t special at all. I don’t know why it is considered so great. It’s just full of tourists and restaurants (with seats facing the people walking by) and some luxury stores (not even that many though). The avenue is divided by a huge street which makes it impossible to switch from the stores on the opposite sites. You literally would have to walk the entire street down on one side and then walk it up on the other one to be able to look at every store. Just skip it.
River Seine:
Beautiful to walk along! Really! Especially in the evening when the sun sets! You will pass by bridges with millions of love locks and the view on Notre Dame from the river side is magical!
Notre Dame:
Going in is for free and really worth it. Beautiful church. Definitely a nice thing to do. Don’t forget to walk around it. =) I wanted to walk up the towers (admission/ under 26 EU free) but the line was moving very slowly (there is a limited amount of numbers for the top). Since it was our last day I didn’t want to spend it with waiting so we skipped it. Definitely come early to prevent long waiting.
Versaille:
A hell of a trip! I never walked so much in my entire life! Admission for everything is 25€ including audio guide. If you are under 26 and from the EU, you are lucky! Careful though, the garden is not included in that and you will have to pay 7,50€ to enter it. I payed it after all because my boyfriend payed the 25€ and could access the garden. If it wasn’t for that though, I would skip the garden and come back after 6pm (which is when everybody can access the garden for free). You can walk around the garden from the palace to Marie Antoinette’s Estate. The palace was definitely nice to see, Marie Antoinette’s Estate and the other stuff too but the garden itself was a little bit disappointing. Definitely not worth 7,50€! I admit, its size is impressive but that’s about it. It is not particularly beautiful - no flowers (only nicely sculptured trees and bushes), ground is not well maintained and the biggest minus point for me: the water was poisoned. On every fountain or pool it said: “Avoid contact with water. Bio Hazard” I could see that! The water was dark, very dirty and had dead fish in it! Again, it made me sad to see how such a beautiful garden is not taken care of properly. If you didn’t had to pay the full 25€ (which includes the garden) then skip the garden and wait after 6pm. It is not worth paying for it extra! Rather spend more time on Marie Antoinette’s Estate and Hamlet – the area is so huge… we spent 6 hours walking and didn’t get to see everything! Overall: Versaille is worth it but it isn’t as beautiful as expected. The garden and the bad maintenance let me down in particular. I just keep comparing it to the castle Dunrobin which I visited earlier this year in Scotland. That I call a beautiful garden. Sorry Versaille! =) P.S.: Consider taking a bike or one of those mini cars to drive around Versaille… it really is huge!