PARIS TRAVEL TIPS FOR FIRST TIMERS | 50+ Must-Knows Before Visiting Paris + What NOT to Do!

if you want to make sure that you don't hate Paris when you visit make sure you watch this video hi I'm Christina from happytoander.com and Paris is honestly one of my favorite cities in the entire world I do admit though it is definitely a love hate City and a lot of people who come to Paris actually end up hating it so much to the point that there's actually a word for that specific disappointment known as Paris syndrome don't worry though I honestly do think that the difference between loving Paris and hating Paris is just how prepared you are so in this video I'm going to be sharing all my best tips and tricks all those things that you need to know for first timers let's start with some Paris travel planning tips first things first make sure you're planning your Paris trip for off-peak periods contrary to that popular saying Paris is not always a good idea and definitely not in peak season so when should you visit Paris honestly apart from July and August I do think that there's reason to visit during any time of year in May to June you have the beautiful weather minus the peak of the crowds in September October you get the Fall Foliage and of course Christmas in Paris as you can imagine is actually a super magical time to be visiting so really the only times I would definitely avoid are July and August and even August a lot of people are kind of divided on that some people think that August is a great time to visit just because generally speaking there are fewer crowds just because a lot of locals go on vacation but at the same time the flip side of that is there's tons of tourists so it's not going to be completely crowdless and also lots of businesses are closed so generally speaking try to avoid it because there are better times of you to be visiting now as for how long to stay in Paris I would honestly advise a minimum of four days that's not to say you can't enjoy a day or a weekend in Paris but to be honest with you if you want to get a good feel for the city see most of the major sites and Venture a little bit more off the beaten path then four days is definitely minimum more days if you want to do some of the most popular day trips like Versailles or Disneyland Paris now another important must know is to book your hotel as far in advance as possible Paris is definitely one of the busiest cities in the world in terms of Tourism so the best hotel is the most affordable hotels really do book up super quickly and if you're scared of committing to a hotel really early on what you can do is you can make a refundable booking through booking.com or something that has a free cancellation that way you at least have a backup option and you have some more time to kind of delve into the different options in terms of hotel location honestly what I would say is book as Central as you can afford because being in the heart of Paris is really important in my opinion to enjoying the city if you're going to be staying really far on the outskirts or like out in the suburbs and commuting in that really does hinder The Experience quite a bit so I would say try your best to stay Central if you can afford it so where exactly is Central Paris well for a quick geography lesson what you need to know is that Paris is split into 20 small or Iran dispense if you want to anglicize it and these are basically administrative areas or neighborhoods that each have their own town hall and elected officials now both locals and travel guides will often refer to hondi small by their number so they'll say oh I live in the 18th or I live in the fourth but you don't need to memorize all these numbers it's not that important what you do need to know though is if you're visiting Paris for the first time I would advise staying essential as possible at minimum stay Within These 20 Central haunty small because otherwise you're gonna be out in the suburbs and it's not really that fun to commute now as for which ones are the best to stay that really depends on what you're looking for if you're looking to be close to the sites often people recommend you stay kind of in this area because that's where most of the tourist sites are of course they're very touristy neighborhoods so they're going to be a bit more expensive and they're also going to have sort of like a more touristy feeling there are a few neighborhoods that I would advise you avoid so first of all I wouldn't book anywhere near the main train station specifically gaudunos and guest list just because especially after dark these areas don't feel to me super safe to be walking around in especially not as Solo Traveler and others often advise avoiding the 19th and large parts of the 18th Honda small as well overall though if you're staying within the central area and you're close to a metro station you're not going to have any trouble getting around my main tips with hotels though honestly is just to diligently go through reviews because odds are if the hotel is in a sketchy neighborhood or if there's something wrong with it someone will have said something in the reviews so make sure you comb through reviews specifically read the one star ones and just kind of get a feel for what the pros and cons are of each place now as for Airbnb a lot of people will want to stay in a Airbnb in Paris because they see it as a more affordable option honestly these days I don't feel like Airbnb is that much cheaper than hotels just because of the fees that they add on but if you're a big group or you want to have a space where you can cook then Airbnb is still a valid option that said I feel like Airbnb has a ton of scams in pairs or a lot of traps at least that most first-time visitors aren't aware of so I'm going to quickly go through them now for instance it is very common in older more historical buildings in Paris to not have an elevator so if you're traveling with a lot of bags that's something to bear in mind because oftentimes you'll show up and you'll realize it has a beautiful view because it's on a high floor but then you're gonna have to walk up all those stairs every single time so that's not necessarily the most convenient elevators generally speaking in these older buildings are not common now another thing to take note of is a lot of the cheaper more budget-friendly Airbnb rentals in Paris tend to be something called champla de bun which are these small micro Studios that are on the top floors of buildings and traditionally these used to be where household workers used to live and so oftentimes with these apartments they don't actually have a toilet inside of the apartment often they have a share toilet that's at the end of the hallway or something so just bear that in mind that's again a piece of information that tends to be buried sometimes in the listing so be sure to look through all the photos to see if they have a toilet because it's shockingly common that it's a shared toilet at the end of the hallway which obviously isn't the most fun lastly noisy neighbors a lot of older buildings in Paris are not soundproof at all so you'll be able to hear pretty much everything your neighbors are up to so just keep that in mind when you're staying in an Airbnb you read the reviews because oftentimes people will tell you if they find that the neighbors are particularly noisy now in terms of arriving in Paris there are three main airports there's shell to go there's orli and there's bovet now if you're coming from overseas odds are you going to be around arriving at either child degal or Lee if you have a choice Orly is a smaller airport and it's also closer to town so the taxis to and from there are cheaper that said both are really well served by public transport and by taxi services so you don't really need to worry about getting into town either way in fact both of them do have flat rates that taxis must abide by so before you get into a taxi make sure to double check what their fee is going to be just because there is a flat rate that they're supposed to use so if they quote you anything higher than that no it's a scam now Bove is quite different it's quite far up north and so if you're going to take a shuttle from that airport into Central Paris it takes about an hour and a half if you're traveling from elsewhere in Europe or you're doing Paris as part of a bigger Europe trip then Bove might be a good budget-friendly consideration just because you can often find really cheap flights into this airport just be mindful of the fact though that it is farther so it's obviously not as convenient lastly in terms of what to pack at the end of the day just wear what's comfortable because you're going to be traveling around a lot you can be walking a lot so good shoes are a must but if you're wanting to blend in a little bit more and not look like an obvious tourist then of course avoid things like athleisure looking overly casual overall you want to look put together but with Basics and kind of muted colors black is of course always a great idea and honestly the overall vibe that you're trying to channel is like an effortless chic all right now let's move on to Paris Metro tips and tips for getting around now first be sure to use public transport while you're in Paris to save a lot of money you're not going to need to rent a car unless you're going to be traveling and doing road trips kind of in the surrounding area but even then honestly just know that you're not going to need a car when you're in Paris public transport is amazing and if all else fails there are taxis now one thing I will caution you against though is a lot of the information online about the Metro system is actually very outdated now just because they very recently decided after 120 years to start phasing out the paper tickets that they historically have been using so when you go to Paris if you're watching this video right now odds are in 2023 2024 you're not going to really be seeing these Paper Tickets very much anymore instead they're going to be using these contactless cards which you can buy and load up with money so just keep that in mind so now here's some general tips for Conquering the Metro first things first avoid rush hour at all costs rush hour would be anytime people are going to work or coming home from work so generally speaking like 8 to 10 a.m and 5 to 7 P.M this is the busiest time and as a tourist you have flexibility so don't cram into the Metro at the same time as everyone else it's just a really miserable experience in terms of etiquette make sure you do stand to the side and let everyone out of the Metro car before you step in people can get really annoyed by that if you're just standing and blocking the door and on that note when you do go in make sure you move in as far as possible so that you can clear as much space for people for me personally I love kind of standing in the little accordion section in between trains just because that tends to be less busy and I feel like I have more space to breathe lastly be sure to hold on to your tickets or your card until after you leave the metro station just because there are a lot of ticket controllers in Paris who are there to make sure that you are paying the fare and so if you have proof of payment then they're gonna ask to see it all right now let's tackle some Paris tips for attractions first things first you need a sightseeing plan I know that probably sucks to hear if you're like a go with the flow sort of spontaneous person but Paris is a city with so many attractions that you really do need to develop a strategy or at the minimum a list of places that you want to go now when you do that though make sure you're not overstuffing your itinerary I think a lot of people when they come to Paris for the first time they tend to think they want to see every single thing and they end up with this crazy itinerary that includes way too many sites and then at the end of the day they're just burnt out their feet are tired and they feel like they haven't really experienced Paris at the most I would say do one or two huge attractions per day and then organize more fun little relaxed activities around it otherwise you're going to get burnt out super quickly and also it's really important that you be honest to yourself and also your travel Partners about what you really want to see and what you don't want to see because at the end of the day Paris has so many attractions everything at some point has been called a must-see or a must do by someone so if you're not a museum person don't force yourself there are so many other things to do in Paris there's really something to do for every kind of traveler so be honest with yourself and also your travel Partners now when you do decide which attractions to see one really important thing is to book your tickets in advance you don't want to be getting tickets on the day of at the ticket office because that is time wasted these days you can buy pretty much every kind of ticket online in advance and if there's an option to skip the line make sure you buy that because in Paris time is money so it's really well worth spending the little bit extra so that you can save that time now another tip for saving money if you do intend on visiting a bunch of big attractions is to look into either a museum pass or a Paris pass anything that includes a bunch of attractions for one set price I really like doing these because oftentimes I'll end up going to places I wouldn't have otherwise paid to go see and depending on how many sites you're going to see it can save you a bunch of money and overall if you want to do the math on that it's very simple just write out the places you want to see total them up and see if you're going to save money with the museum pass now another important tip is to wake up early again I know this tip sucks to hear especially if you're not a morning person like me but really the best time to experience Paris is just after Sunrise when not all the tourists are on the streets and the streets are empty and you kind of feel like you have it to yourself even in peak season when you get up at sunrise the streets will be quite empty and I just feel like experiencing Paris this way is just so special and I know it sucks to be getting up super early in the morning but it's worth it what I would personally do is pick the number one attraction that you really really want to see and then going there first thing in the morning and planning a little Sunrise walk around it trust me you won't regret it it's amazing now in contrast to that another tip I have is to visit some attractions just before they close so this is one of my favorite travel hacks if you're going to a museum oftentimes if you go about an hour before they close the crowds will have already dissipated so much because nobody's gonna be trying to go to a museum an hour before it closes but if you're efficient with your time and you're like me you're not a dweller an hour can sometimes be more than enough and I have saw the proof that this works because actually on Bastille Day several years ago which is a day that all the museums are free by the way I went to the Louvre and I walked right in without queuing up at all and this was about an hour before closing this wasn't my first time in the museum so I just kind of walked around for about an hour and I got to enjoy it with very minimal crowd so keep that tip in mind on that note if you're on a budget it might also be worthwhile planning around free days for different attractions so what's really cool is in Paris there are certain days that different museums and attractions will be free and be sure to prioritize the free things to do in Paris as well because not everything is a paid attraction there's actually a ton of cool stuff you can do in Paris completely for free and I have a full list of those on my website now another thing that I recommend you do is really just research things to do in Paris beyond the touristy must use because to me when you go past the typical sightseeing circuit that's where Paris really shines and I have a really good friend her name is solo Sophie she's got tons of Vlog articles about Paris that are really really helpful and show you kind of different sides of the city definitely check her out but generally speaking you know if it's raining go check out some of the covered passages they're really beautiful there's also tons of parks where you can have a nice picnic there's also the flea market which I think is really fun to browse around in there's also tons of local events and pop-ups as well so be sure to look at local blogs and figure out other things to do because this to me is where Paris is just really the most fun now I'm going to cap off a list of Paris attraction tips with some weirdly specific tips that I think are really important so first of all don't get hyped up for the Mona Lisa you've probably heard this already but she's very small you've probably seen photos of her before and there's often a really long lineup to go take a selfie with her just keep your expectations low because she's quite a small painting another thing is when you go to the act of Triumph do not try to run across that roundabout that's super dangerous there's actually a tunnel that's underground just look for some stairs and it'll take you down this tunnel and you can get to the up to 20 amps safely by doing that I've seen so many tourists just try to run across it's very dangerous and honestly looks really dumb now if you're trying to get good photos of the Eiffel Tower oftentimes people go to Trocadero or they'll go to Shanda Mouse of course both of those are great but if you want really great photos of the Eiffel Tower remember it's this very big structure that can be seen from many points across the city so if you even just go like a few blocks over you'll often be able to find places to get a great photo of it with a fraction of the crowds one of my personal favorite viewpoints is from this bridge I feel like the angle that you get there is really really pretty but honestly there's like a million and one nice places to get a photo of the Eiffel Tower so don't just go to the most famous viewpoints because there's so many people there at the same time lastly in terms of getting around I'd say avoid those sightseeing bus tours or those hop-on hop off bus tours just because traffic in Paris is atrocious and these tours are really not the best way to get around or really see the city in contrast I think that River cruises on the scent are super worth it they're very touristy but it's really just the best way to appreciate the city from the water and there's not really traffic alright now very important we're going to move on to safety tips for Paris now the first thing is to always keep your valuables close to you and within sight most of the Taurus related crimes in pairs tend to be opportunistic ones so a lot of these can be easily avoided just by keeping your valuables close to you and not just leaving your stuff around because odds are if you put your bag on the ground and you're not watching it someone's going to snap it up now a few common scams to look out for when you're in Paris first of all don't sign any petitions you've probably heard this but in Paris it's very common for big groups of young girls to kind of come up to you ask you if you speak English and ask you to sign a petition don't sign it just ignore them and move on because either they'll be using this petition to distract you and they'll be pickpocketing you at the same time or sometimes they'll get you to sign it and then demand a donation from you and either way it's not a fun time second be sure to never accept bracelets from strangers in some busier places in Paris like around and the Louvre there's going to be guys with string bracelets and oftentimes they'll ask you if you want one or if they get close enough to you they'll even tie it on your wrist as a free gift but then they'll demand you pay for it and it's just really awkward because they can get very aggressive so if you see these guys with the friendship bracelets be sure to walk and ignore also don't accept any free roses sometimes people will come up to you give you a free Rose it's like a welcome gift it's not a welcome gift they're going to ask you for money or if you're a girl oftentimes they'll ask your partner for money whoever you're walking with because that's just one of the oldest tricks in the book so don't take the free roses and lastly be careful at Metro stations what sometimes can happen if you're at a metro station and you're standing by the machine and you look really lost about which tickets to buy a very helpful stranger will come up to you and ask you if you need help and then they'll go through the process with you help you buy some tickets but what they'll sometimes do is they'll take your money and they'll buy you the wrong ticket like a child's ticket and they'll pocket the rest of it so just be mindful of that honestly generally speaking parisians aren't going to just come up to you and ask you if you need help so if somebody's overly friendly in that way you know it's probably a red flag all right now let's move on to some food and drink tips for Paris now the first thing is to be aware of overhyped restaurants from Tick Tock and from social media in general I feel like over the past few years there's been some places that have just been super hyped up on social media mainly for the aesthetic and not necessarily for the quality of foods if you want to go to a place with excellent food quality what I'd recommend is actually searching up different social media accounts that cater to a local Paris audience so try to find a Paris foodie account or something and then that way you'll be able to find places that are a bit more off the beaten tourist track at least now in that note Paris is full of a lot of tourist trappy restaurants so a few good ways to make sure you avoid that is by looking at the menu if there's a bunch of pictures or if the menu is written in a bunch of languages in addition to French that's probably a red flag you'll often find restaurants like this advertising tourist menus or free Wi-Fi or things like that especially in the Latin quarter and other really touristy areas so just be aware of that because most of the time the food here isn't going to be the greatest a huge red flight to look out for is if there's a host outside trying to beckon you to come inside because trust me the good restaurants in Paris are not going to have someone doing that now in terms of dining out at restaurants and pairs there are a few basic things that you need to know first of all make a reservation if you can parisians are really big on reservations and so make sure you book a table because oftentimes they're not going to have tables allocated to walk-ins and if you're scared of calling them up on the phone you can also make reservations with online platforms like OpenTable and the fork although of course the selection that they cover is quite limited also be prepared to eat later parisians tend to eat a little bit later than we do in North America they're usually dinner time will be around 7 30 or 8 o'clock or even later and restaurants will often close between lunch and dinner as well for prep time so just be sure to plan your meal times around that now when you arrive be sure to stand there and wait for a host to seat you don't see yourself they get really annoyed by this you should also know how to get some free tap water when you're at restaurants so if you ask for incahonto then they'll bring you tap water but if you just ask for water sometimes they'll bring you a really expensive bottle like once upon a time I was charged I think seven euros for a bottle of water which was definitely shocking so make sure you ask for uncohato so that you get tap water instead of the fancy stuff of course the best money saving hack when you're in Paris is just to avoid dining out all the time to be honest one of the best things you can do in Paris is make a picnic for yourself so go to a supermarket or a local market grab some fruit go to a bakery grab some pastries and just enjoy it outside this will save you a ton of money and it's just a really nice experience overall now let's move on to a very important section which is Paris etiquette tips the first one is it's super important to greet people when you walk into a shop or into an establishment so if it's during the day say bonjour if it's in the evening say bonsoir they find this to be super important so if you enter a place and you don't greet them they find that to be the Pinnacle of rudeness and oftentimes that's when they'll start being brood back so be sure to greet them that's at the very least something that you need to know how to do otherwise they can be quite snippy and when you're leaving be sure to say Maxi as well on that note don't take rudeness personally honestly a lot of people think that parisians are so rude and they let it ruin their trip but I'm here to say don't honestly it's not really a big deal it's not a personal attack against you just culturally speaking their customer service is not as bubbly and friendly as in North America and also they're used to dealing with a lot of really dumb tourists so honestly Paris is such a cool City and if you let these aggressions get to you it just ruins your trip so don't let them don't give them the satisfaction on that note it is very important to learn some basic French as I alluded to earlier it's important to know how to greet people so like bonjour bonsoir but you should have some other basics down as well just because I feel like they tend to be way nicer to you when you do speak some French I took French immersion in school and I can speak French decently well which is why I think I like Paris more than most people because they tend to be nicer to me because I Try So at the very least know how to say you know hello know how to say thank you which is Mercy know how to say please and see Vous Play last but not least try to keep your voice down I think North Americans have this their valid stereotype that we speak very loudly compared to locals in European countries so if you're in a place that's quiet like in the Metro just kind of read the room if other people aren't speaking then try to keep your voice down or don't speak at all lastly here's some final tips for when you arrive in Paris now the first one is to get your expectations straight Paris is a beautiful city but it does have its ugly side because at the end of the day it's a big city with big city problems there's crowds it can smell there's garbage in places it's not the most aesthetically pleasing place around every corner like you might expect from Instagram so in my opinion Paris is one of those cities that you love in spite of its imperfections and so just keep that in mind there are a lot of imperfections don't come here expecting it to be absolutely Flawless in every way now another thing is to be okay with things not going according to plan I know I said earlier how important it is to have a strategy and plan but in Paris there can often be times when things don't go according to plan because of random strikes because of random closures and so in that case you really need to be okay with that happening and be flexible and don't have your heart completely set on seeing specific things just because from personal experience there's always going to be something that's closed or covered in scaffolding or there's a strike and you can't go see the thing that you've always wanted to see so don't have your heart set on this perfect itinerary that you've created because odds are it's going to get disrupted and in some way another practical thing is to bring a water bottle especially if you're visiting in the summer because Paris is full of these fountains that dispense really delicious clean cold water so be sure to bring a bottle with you and you can fill up and you don't have to pay for water from any stalls or anything last but not least be sure to carry some coins with you for the public washrooms because oftentimes you do have to pay there are these free ones called Sani zet but they're not everywhere so it's always good to have a backup just in case all right thank you so much for watching this very long video as you can tell I'm super passionate about Paris and hopefully with these tips in mind you're going to love it as well if you are from Paris or you have any additional Paris tips be sure to drop them in the comments and as usual feel free to ask if you have any more questions thanks so much for watching for more practical travel videos just like this one be sure to like And subscribe I'll see you guys next week bye

Channel: Happy to Wander

Views: 215,349

Keywords: Paris, Paris France, Paris Travel Tips, Paris Tips, Things to do in Paris, Paris Travel

Id: Hes4bxbNRrY

Length: 20min 41sec (1241 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 17 2023