Paris,
One of the first cities I have ever visited.
Even as a teenager, I remember falling in love with this city!
Its special architecture, food and atmosphere. Everything is just magical! No wonder this is a destination that is always fun to return to again and again.
My last short visit to the city was this winter and I thought to myself, most of the people visit this city for just a few days at a time and want to see as much as possible in this short time!
So that’s exactly why I put together a list of all the places you shouldn’t miss on your visit to the City of Lights + a map that you can download to your smartphone to help you build a route that crosses its amazing locations (:
Due to the size of Paris and the division into quarters, I created this map so that you can actually see the distances between place to place and decide for yourself what combination of places you want to reach each day.
so, let’s start,
The most important thing to me when planning my trip is knowing “where to sleep?”
As in any big city, it is best to stay in the center and thus save the great transportation / walking times to the tourist spots. Of course, the accommodation in the city center increases accordingly, but you can also find good-quality hotels at affordable prices (after all, a vacation in Paris is mainly characterized by wandering around the city sights and not staying at your hotel room as much, so it is a shame spending a lot of money on a fancy hotel, for my taste). The main topic is the location!
The Louvre Museum area, located in the 1st quarter, is the most ideal for a few days trip. This way you can be close to the museum itself and many other places like; Tuileries Garden and Palais Royal, and within walking distance from Concord Square, the Seine River, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe etc.
In terms of safe areas, the safest quarters are 1-2, 6-8.
Paris is complexed of so many special places, which makes it such an attractive and photographed destination, If I start talking about each and every one of them we will stay in this post forever (you can find all of them in my map, of course), So I chose the four biggest icons of this incredible city that I can’t help but expand on in a few sentences.
Eiffel Tower –
The ICONIC symbol of the city. An iron tower of over 300 feet high.
The tower was built in 1889 by an engineer named Gustav Eiffel as part of an international exhibition held in the city on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The tower was designed to stand in place for 20 years until it was meant to be taken down, eventually, after many years of resistance from the local population, the tower managed to become fond of the residents and they decided to let it stay.
Another interesting fact about the Eiffel Tower is that it is the most photographed structure in the world and holds the “most shared on social media monument” record with more than 35 million images of it shared online.
Every round hour (starting at sunset and until 1 am) the lights on the tower twinkle for 5 minutes and consist of over 20,000 LEDs. This is a must-see magical spectacle I think every traveler should witness!
* Fun Fact: A few years ago, the official website of the Eiffel Tower claimed copyright on the Eiffel lighting at night. So actually, sharing a photo of the tower at night on social media is considered a copyright violation.
The
Louvre Museum –
One
of the largest and oldest museums in the entire world with over 10 million
visitors each year.
Holds dozens of famous artworks of all time. The most famous of them is
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa I’m sorry to disappoint you, but in reality it is
far less impressive than what you might think and its display (alone on the
wall, given its small size), Does not contribute to the experience at all.
If you have enough time for your trip, it is no doubt that entering the museum
is a special cultural experience I recommend very much, but I do not think it
is a must if you are short on time. One of the most beautiful things about the
museum is its exterior structure, so it is worthwhile to get the museum square
even if you do not intend to enter.
Arc de Triomphe –
Another monument that is pretty much associated with Paris, located at the end of Champs Elysees Avenue, in Charles de Gaulle Square. In many European cities, starting the second century AD, different triumphal arches were built to commemorate a victory in a battle or a war. The Paris triumphal arch was built from 1806 to 1836 under Napoleon’s command to honor the victory of Austerlitz battle.
Below Arc de Triomphe is a tomb of an anonymous WWI soldier, in memory of all the soldiers killed in the many wars in French history.
Notre Dame Church –
Is a gothic cathedral located in the center of the Île de la Cité Island in the heart of the Seine River and its constructions took about 182 years!
There are many churches in France (and other French-speaking countries) that also bear the name Notre Dame meaning “Our Lady”, dedicated to Maria, Jesus mother.
On April 15, 2019, evening time, a huge fire started in the cathedral, which destroyed the its roof, leading to the overthrow of the central spire and cause tremendous damage. The site is currently undergoing renovations to try and restore the building to its former state and it is estimated that the process will take up to 10 years.
In addition to these four sites, there are other places in Paris that are well worth a visit;
Its gardens – Tuileries, Luxembourg (with its sculptures, Ferris wheel, food stalls and carousels)
Special Neighborhoods – Saint-Germain, Marais, Montmartre and its Sacré-Cœur Church, Rue Montorgueil (Street for Foodies), Rue de l’Universite (the street from which the Eiffel can be seen in full glory between the buildings
Shopping centers – Galerie Lafayette, St. Honore Street (mostly luxury brands), Champs-Elysees.
All those and more (Moulin Rouge, Alexander Bridge, Royal Palace, Trocadero, Hotel de Ville, a colorful stylish basketball court, etc.) + restaurants you must check out are marked right here on the map.
All you have to do is just save it on your smartphone and you’re ready for your Parisian vacation(:
That’s it for now,
Hope you liked my photos and that I inspired you to visit this amazing destination (:
Let me know if you’ve already visited Paris or planning to do that any time soon..
* For more photos and videos from this perfect destination, go to my Instagram page and click on the Paris highlight or enter my previous post for more pictures from this gorgeous city.
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