France MyMaps

Resources

• r/travel City Destination of the Week: Paris
• Redditor's Guide to Paris
• https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/paris-itinerary
• https://earthbelowgirls.com/top-things-paris-guide/
• https://about-france.com/paris-free.htm
• Free museums and monuments in Paris
• City Guide to Paris, France: Part 1 | Public Transportation
• City Guide to Paris, France: Part 2 | Must See Attractions & Beyond
• Louvre map

Tips

• The Mall entrance to the Louvre (Carousel entrance) is by far the shortest line compared to the Pyramids entrance above. Best to pre-book a timeslot ticket through the official website, this cohort has an exclusive entrance. Do spend at least half a day here.
  • Free admission for under 26-year-olds and teachers
  • Free on 1st Saturday evening of the month.
• Not obvious to first time Paris visitors but changing trains in Paris could be difficult if your source and destination are different region of France / countries (not dissimilar to London). My personal example was that I had 2 TGV tickets with a 4 hour layover, coming from Rennes to Montparnasse and travelling from Gare du Lyon to Geneva on Lyria. With luggage, we didn't have a ton of time to spare making that transfer and grabbing a bite.
• Paris is a foodie paradise. My tip would be having a heavy lunch as the Formule (set) menus for lunch are quite filling and cheaper than for dinner. Don't remember having a mediocre meal in the city.
• Sacré-Cœur has some of the best views of the city. I personally like it better than the Notre-Dame due to its architectural uniqueness for the lack of a better word. Took the funicular both ways (included in the Mobilis day ticket) as the area is somewhat infamous for petty crime.
• Palace of Versailles is a major part of the day as a daytrip. Leave as early as possible because there are no shortcut security lines AFAIK as individual tourists and the one line is HUUGE (hence getting a ticket up front does not help, no concept of time slots). And even then, you'll be walking in a crowd of people in the hall of mirrors on a busy summer day. Top Versailles tip: Definitely rent a buggy to drive through the massive gardens. Any time you spend in line for the buggy rental will be recouped as walking through the gardens end to end doesn't even seem humanly possible.
  • For Versailles, you can get a timed entry ticket. Buy a "Passport with timed entry" online ahead of time, you get a PDF ticket you show on your phone.
  • I also downloaded the app ahead of time to do the audioguide through my phone rather than using theirs. Bring headphones for that.
• Arrondissements (neighborhoods) in Paris all have their own personalities. The best way to see the city, in our opinion, is to walk and explore!
• Paris has a great public transportation system (metro, bus, tram, and Train (RER) system) that’s wonderful for getting around the city. There’s no need to rent a car if you’re able to walk. Plus, the stations are uniquely decorated, making them a unique attraction in and of themselves.
• There are a several different public transportation tickets you can purchase, but as a tourist you’ll most likely be interested in the Single Tickets or the Paris Visite Ticket (good for 1,2,3 or 5 days on all public transportation. Further reading: Paris Public Transportation Guide.