Your first time in paris? This is the travel guide you need (how to move around, where to eat & what to do)
My best friend Mike lives in Paris, and in the spring, around May, I set off to visit him. That was my third trip to Paris, and I finally had one of those Paris experiences that people dream about. My first trip to Paris was back when still in college. My mom and I left home in Germany, hopped on a two-hour train, and spent one of the last few days of December in Paris. I remember it was freezing, and I saw many top tourist sights. The second time was last year when I returned to see my best friend. I stayed at this nice hotel called Jardin Eiffel; my room had a view of the Eiffel Tower, and I saw it light up at night. It was quite a view. I highly recommend staying at the hotel and seeing the Eiffel Tower at night; that's when the beauty comes alive.I split my 2022 Paris stay between a hotel, a vacation stay, and a hostel because I wanted a more well-rounded experience in Paris. Unfortunately, I had a bad experience; some dude molested me on the M13, which is apparently the creeper line, and that almost ruined the trip for me. But this 2023 trip was fabulous!!!When I landed in Paris, I remember reading somewhere that the metro stations in Paris are not built with reasonable accessibility in mind, so basically, there are no elevators or escalators. I had a bunch of luggage, so I walked outside Charles De Gaulle airport and took a taxi into the central city I was staying in Montmartre. The average taxi cost from the airport to the central city of Paris was about $68.For this trip, I stayed in a hostel because I was going to South France and I wanted to spend all my money there, so to save some money, and stayed at Beau M. It's a new hostel, and I loved that because I knew it would be clean and all the amenities and facilities will still be in tiptop shape. I highly recommend it.
Best Eiffel tower photo spots
I spent about five nights there for about $200. You can click here to see my comprehensive budget list and how much I spent doing my state in Paris. I stayed in a girls' dorm with seven other girls and four bunk beds. It was so comfortable. The location was perfect. It was neat. It was clean. You could control the door and your private locker with an app. So you didn't need a key for anything which I thought was perfect. My only issue was the wifi was super wonky, but besides that, it was an excellent stay.So one of the major reasons I was in Paris, besides the fact that I love Mike, is because Burna Boy was touring, and Mike and I have gone together the last three times Burna Boy has performed, so that's kind of our routine. We met at Mike’s to power up for the concert and then headed to La Defense Arena for the show. That was a movie!! He's a hell of a performer.How to navigate paris on the buses & trains
Things to do in Paris:
See the Arc de Triomphe. Because I had been there before, I went the second time because I wanted to climb to the top, because it's one of the best views of Paris. It's about like 900 steps to the top. OKAY, OKAY, maybe not 900, but there were many stairs to get to the top. It was a beautiful view. Just so you know, one of the best views in Paris is NOT from the Eiffel Tower. P.S. You have to pay to climb up the Arc de Triomphe; it costs about $13.
Another thing, you need to eat brunch or whatever meal at Restaurant Monsieur Dior, you will not be disappointed. You have to book a reservation and can't make a reservation online; you do have to call them to make that reservation. The food was incredible. French cuisine is number one, right? After an exquisite meal, I stayed for another three hours, just immersing myself in all the beauty that is Dior, and ended up coming back out with two bags, and I may or may not have maxed my credit card out, but YOLO, right?Enjoy brunch at Sadelle’s at Kith Paris. Kith is a pretty cool concept store, so look around after you’re done eating.You should see the Moulin Rouge. I would've loved to go in there to see a cabaret shows. But I had Burna Boy planned for that night. So if that interests you, you should definitely see a show inside. Or you can just walk in front and take a bunch of photos. PS The opposite street will be crowded with people, so good luck!
Paris is the place for crepes, period. They have the best creamiest, buttery-est crepes in the world, and there's a creperie just about every corner. So eat as much crepes as you can.
Learn how to take the metro! Learn how to take the metro! You could buy the paper day passes, or you could buy the Navigo card. The subway is called the Metropolitain, and this is where you can get the card/transport tickets. Beware, Paris has this weird thing where the week ends on a Friday, so it is tricky to buy weekly tickets. So while I was there, I was buying daily tickets. Suppose you decide to buy the Navigo card. In that case, you have to register it, and registration involves going into this little cubicle and taking a photo of yourself (if I remember correctly). But after that, you can keep topping it up, and then moving around becomes easy, whether on the subway or the buses.Walk to the Tuileries Garden. It was so beautiful. You can just sit by the water, relax, and read a book. There were a bunch of people just chilling there, doing nothing. But that’s what I love about Paris: you can just chill and do nothing, sip some wine, eat a croissant.Head over to the Basicila Le Sacre Coeur for another remarkable view of Paris. I didn’t go in because I was running out of time (I had to prep for the Burna Boy concert). But I enjoyed the view, took photos, lay on the grass, and did nothing, just like the hundreds of others there.
So there is a chain of Italian restaurants/stores worldwide called Eataly. I've been to about four around the world, and I found out there was another one in Paris. So obviously I went there to eat dinner. The food was phenomenal. So if you like Italian or French-prepared Italian food, you should go to Eataly. One of the perks of staying in hostels is that you get to make friends, and I made two friends, Emma and Ashley. Emma and I went to Eataly together.
The next day, Emma and I found this charming cafe near the M12 metro called Le Nord Sud. It was so good that we ate breakfast there for the next three days! We had the Parisian breakfast: a croissant, a bread roll, a hot drink of your choice, and some orange juice.Visit the Louvre! I walked past it several times on previous visits and was stressed by the long ass lines to get in, but I finally went in on this trip. The trick is to go early, book your tickets in advance too, AND try to avoid entering from the main pyramid or you'll be in a line foreverrrr. So the key is to take the train to the Louvre, right? Whatever you do, you’ll need to end up on the M1 train, stop at the Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre station, and then enter the museum from the subway entrance. Honestly, I breezed right through.Attenzione!!! The Louvre was a damn maze. At some point, I was overwhelmed, and I left, but I tried to see as much as I wanted. No one cares about La Joconde, AKA the Mona Lisa. It’s one of the pieces I never understood the appeal of, not when Da Vinci’s Madonna of the Rocks exists. But hey! Art is subjective, yeah. Also, when you visit, there was and will be a long ass line in front of the Mona Lisa, and I wasn’t going to do that. Walking around the halls of the Louvre was extra thrilling because I imagined myself as Robert Langdon in Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code book. Real fans know!
While I was outside trying to take photos of myself, this guy walked up to me and introduced himself as a photographer, and I'm glad I listened because he took some fire-ass shots of me at the Louvre. I had so much fun, and he charged me two euros per photo. If you are ever going to The Louvre or anywhere around Paris and looking for a fantastic photographer, his name is Laurent, hit him up; he's so good. I promise. Here are some killa photos that he took of me.
Paris, also being a fashion capital, I went designer vintage shopping at GoodJo and bagged a head-turning multi-pattern Philosophy skirt. It was about $400, probably my most expensive skirt, but it was soooooo worth it. Highly recommend, they had a lot of good shit in there, plus the store attendant June was phenomenal!
Looking for another unforgettable dinner experience, go to Malro Paris. My best friend took me there, and the place was a straight 20 over 10. It was terrific, and when I return to Paris, I will go there!Another dinner place that will rock your taste buds is Le Machon D’Henri. Mike and I went there for my last night in Paris. He had the lamb, and I had the duck and mashed potatoes. It all tasted like butter. I don't even know how to explain that. The food is just incredible! You need to make a reservation beforehand, and FYI, the restaurant is quite tiny, but I promise that won't affect your experience.
A big takeaway from this trip is that May is the perfect time to visit Paris before the summer rush of June and July. I definitely went at the right time because compared to last year, when I was there in July, it wasn't as packed or hot as it was.I’ve made it easy for ya’ll by hyperlinking all the important spots. If you want some more juicy deets on my Paris trip, click here. Until I book another flight somewhere… who knows where, follow me on Instagram and TikTok for more travel stories, tips, itineraries, and gist. xxx- Summer