I'm French and here's how I'd spend my time in
Paris if I only had 48 hours to visit. Chances are you took a really long flight to come here
and you know you want to drop your bags at a nice hotel and I'll tell you more about where to
stay in a bit but after that you need to go have breakfast at a bakery. Don't go to an overrated hype place that's in all the guides. Just go to your local neighborhood bakery that has a long line of locals. Here you can get a few croissants, you can try
a bunch of different pastries, can have a few of the tiny espressos... You know this will really set you up right for your
day and also give you a taste of delicious French food. Then after that, I really recommend you to start your day by walking around. Paris is a super walkable city, it is super dense, there's so much to see so you will see cool stuff just by walking around anywhere you are within Paris. Also in the morning the city tends to be
pretty empty because we wake up quite late here in Paris. It's the perfect time to just explore and
see stuff. So, just pick a neighborhood and walk in it. My two favorite well-known neighborhoods are
Montmartre which is super nice especially if you go in the north a bit away from the Sacré-Cœur you have
a bunch of little hidden gems and it's you know the quintessential stereotypical French Vibes,
but especially if you go in the north, local people actually live there. The other well-known neighborhood
that you've probably heard of and that I really like is Le Marais. So Le Marais, this is
where a lot of people go to buy clothes, to go shopping and it's also a really cute neighborhood
to explore because all the buildings are super old and there's also really nice squares to picnic in.
Again, both of these places are places where locals also live, and I'll tell you about my favorite
local neighborhoods later when I explain where to stay, but here again, don't have FOMO, don't try to do too much,
just walk around, enjoy the atmosphere, and get settled in your two day trip.
Then the other thing you need to do if you only have 48 hours in Paris is to eat.
Seriously, have plans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because the food is so good. Obviously I'm biased, I'm from here, but the food is really good.
My tip here is to plan at least an hour and a half for a proper lunch
and a proper dinner so that you have plenty of time to enjoy. So I obviously like Southern French
food which is where I'm from, so here we have duck confit, we also have cassoulet which is some kind of
a heavy dish from the south, anything that's uh ham and cheese related,
charcuterie boards are really great, love these in France. Another one of my favorites are the galettes, which are salty crepes.
And if you come during winter you absolutely have to try raclette. If you like cheese, raclette will be heaven for you, it's
just half a wheel of cheese that's heated and that melts into potatoes, it's so good...
I've personally only eaten snails when my American friends come to visit France because they want to try it and
I've never seen a French person eat french onion soup. I've only seen those in American diners.
And Paris is a big city so I recommend you don't only stick with traditional French food there's a lot of creative
French cuisine that you can find there too and for that I recommend you check out LeFooding which
is a website with a lot of different restaurants. One good place to try traditional French food is
at a Bouillon, and with Bobby we went to Bouillon Pigalle and as you can see here with the lines it is not
a hidden spot at all, and it's because a bouillon is Paris version of fast food, which means they
serve simple and cheap meals to a lot of people and for starters we went with some paté served
with a slice of bread and pickles, and also with œuf mayonnaise which is just that, it's just eggs
with mayo, and I've heard it seems to be a really big thing in France because the restaurant we
went to had won the egg mayo competition. Then we had one of my favorite French foods, which is
steak frites, which is basically just a beefsteak served with homemade fries and pepper sauce.
And we also shared a plate of pork roast with garlic potatoes and a bunch of sauce on top.
And as you can see on the menu the prices were really, really super low. So, our whole meal, a starter and a main
was only 15€ which is around $16. Also a lot of people who come to Paris want to see the
old stuff, the buildings, the monuments, the museums, and that's great but my advice to you is do not try to do too much. Paris is a very old city, there's a lot of old stuff, so it can be
really overwhelming, you will not see all the old stuff in two days. I'm thinking especially about Le Louvre,
Le Louvre tends to be what breaks people, it's so big it's really overwhelming, there's not a lot of
cultural context unless you take a guided tour, or you know about art history, and also you won't
be able to see the Mona Lisa because there's so many people so you're better off just Googling it.
What I recommend here is either to pick a smaller museum that has an exhibition you're interested in.
My favorite big museum is musée d'Orsay and here again I recommend you just take to one section to not be overwhelmed.
Also if it's your first time in Paris, I know you want a picture with the Eiffel Tower,
and if you've been to Montmartre already you can see it from the steps so that might be enough for you.
But, you know, as a French person I personally didn't care about the Eiffel Tower until I met my American boyfriend Bobby,
and he's always super excited to see it so every time I see it now, I make sure to appreciate it,
and I don't personally think you should go all the way up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but you know,
don't listen to me I've only been there once when I was a kid like every French person.
But one thing is, if you are at the top of the Eiffel Tower, you don't see the Eiffel Tower, so there's better places that are
free where you can get a good view of Paris. Also it's super overwhelming, there's a big line and big
crowds, and, if you're like me and you hate crowds just see the Eiffel Tower from a safe distance, just across the river.
Okay so by now you've ticked one or two of your most important things to see, and it's
time for the fun part which is experiencing Paris. So, you see, Paris is super beautiful, but it's not a museum.
It's an actual city where people live, and there's so many fun things to do, and if you
take one thing out of this video is, I want you to experience Paris rather than just seeing things as a consumer.
And before I tell you all about how to experience Paris like a local, I want to tell
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discount on your first month. So, the first thing you need to do to really experience the city is
to chill a bit, and not overpack your schedule. Really recommend you to travel a bit more slowly and you
know, maybe if it's sunny you can go to a park, have a little bit of a picnic, read a book, and a few of
my favorite parks in Paris are Jardin du Luxembourg, and it's a very tiny park that's really really beautiful, it's right next to the French Senate, and it has these public chairs that you
can move around and sit on, a really beautiful fountain, and really great opportunities for people watching.
Then the other park I recommend this one is one of my favorite secrets of Paris.
So you've probably seen Place des Vosges in every guide, it's a very wellknown square, but, there's a secret
passage at the corner of Place des Vosges. And from there, you can arrive to a really cute courtyard that's
linked to a castle, and it's super quiet, and it's a welcome break from all the people and noise of Le Marais neighborhood. Then of course I love parc des Batignolles, it's one of my favorites, I've spoken about
it many times, it's super cute, there's a river, there's ducks, there's really cute benches, you
know, what else can you ask for? And the other thing you should absolutely do if you want to
have a more relaxed Paris experience is to go to a local coffee shop, so you've probably seen
the typical French cafés which look like this, and you know, these are cool if you really enjoy
a high energy upbeat atmosphere, and of course people watching, which is a national sport here in Paris.
But for me, I prefer something that's a bit more relaxed, and I love hanging out at coffee
shops in local areas, since they tend to be a bit smaller, and more chill. I really like this one in particular called Café Dose which is right next to parc des Batignolles, I was telling you about. So, a cool thing about French cafés is that you can stay almost as long as you want. People will not kick you out as soon as you're done with your drink,
unless there's a really long line of people waiting for your seat. And you know, speaking of local neighborhoods, let me tell you a few
of my favorites that I recommend if you want to really discover the local life, and maybe the French culture.
And, by the way, if you go there, don't feel intimidated. You know, Paris is super touristy, and,
of course people can tell you're not from here, but, you know, in these local neighborhoods no
one cares, because, we are not overwhelmed with the crowds of people because simply tourist don't go there.
So we are not annoyed with you at all if you come see us there, and also most people will even help you have a good time. Just remember if you talk to a random person, just say hello and smile,
so that people don't think you're scary or rude. So here are my favorite neighborhoods :
Obviously Batignolles, I constantly speak about it I love love love love this area, it's super under the radar,
it's super cute, there's so many cute bars and shops and restaurants, and it almost feels like a little village.
Another area I really like is Père Lachaise which is around the famous cemetery you've probably heard of,
but also a really relaxed neighborhood with a lot of food from different cultures,
and a really cute village feel as well. Then if you have a bit of a higher budget and you really value
walking everywhere, you want to be staying in the north of Le Marais area, so here you really get
the best of both worlds because you can walk up north through Belleville and the 11th arrondissement with a
bunch of really cool bars and restaurants and a really cool night life as well. You can also walk South to Le Marais and
all of the historic Center of Paris. So, this area is not a hidden gem by any means,
people know about it, it has been cool for a very very long time, but, I feel it's a great mix between being
local and having a lot of things to do in the area. And speaking of transportation, your goal
should be to walk as much as you can, it's so fun to walk around in Paris, and Paris is pretty
dense so you can easily walk from one point to another in half an hour. Also, everything is so old and beautiful,
and you're guaranteed to find some hidden gems on your walks. If you can't walk,
just go ahead and take the metro, it goes everywhere, it's cheap, it's pretty safe, and it's just one of
the easiest ways to move around Paris. And I have a bit of advice for you if you want to make
sure you really enjoy your 48 hours in Paris. I really recommend you spend a chill evening doing a very
French thing called un apéro. Un apéro just means you're gonna have a drink and a bit of food to
share with people you love, and you're just going to talk for hours on end without looking at the
time or thinking you need to do anything after this. And by the way if you don't drink alcohol,
there's so many fun and artsy activities you can do in Paris instead, like with my boyfriend Bobby,
we went to this ceramic painting café where we painted our own cup, and we're terrible at it,
but had a really fun time. And this is what I personally love the most about Paris,
like you can really take time to be fully present with the people you love, and just have a good time without feeling
you need to be anywhere else. And that's all for me today and if you like this video,
you should watch this one or this one! I'll see you there.
