I immediately fell in love with Paris right when we arrived. I loved the hustle of the train system, the cafes on every block and the beautiful buildings where each balcony told a story. We were here just for 2 nights but I wish we stayed longer. There are SO many things to see and experience.
We stayed the the St Christopher's Inn Canal which is located in the 19th Arrondissement. The dorm beds were $30 per night and the location was perfect. We were right on the canal which was stunning at all times of the day and close to many train stations. The hostel itself was clean and felt very safe.
Our first day after we checked in we went straight to the 'Champ De Mars' to see the iconic Eiffel Tower. We wandered around and went to a butchery, fromagerie, bakery and liquor store to grab all the needed supplies for a picnic. With our minimal amount of French and google translate we were able to grab everything we needed and we were blown away with the amount we got for SO CHEAP!
We ended up spending the evening at the tower, watched it sparkle at every hour while enjoying too much wine. It was the perfect evening.
The next morning we woke up and headed to the famous 'Cafe de Flore' we were in a bit of a time crunch so unfortunately we didn't get a spot on the patio, but we enjoyed a quick latte inside.
We then went to check out the 'Arc de Triomphe' and it blew my mind how large it really was. We heard you could go up the top to check out the view but we decided to save the money and stay at the bottom.
To get from place to place we just used the train system. It's definitely cheapest to buy the 10 pass for €14. To figure out directions I just used google maps and it told me exactly what train to get at what time!
One of the coolest things we did and would recommend anyone to do was a self-guided tour through the Catacombs. The Catacombs is Paris' largest grave site that's home to an estimated 6 million dead bodies (creepy).
We bought our tickets from: https://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en which costed about €30, and you'll definitely want to book in advance since they sell out FAST! We did the self-guided audio tour where we just held a radio to our ear as it walked us through the dark tunnels of skeletons.
After the full morning we went for a quick snooze then woke up and got ready to walk around Montmarte. This area was so romantic and seeing Sacré Coeur up close was truly breathtaking. They say lots of pit-pockers like to find their victims in this area so keep an eye on all your belongings and don't let a French man attempt to put a friendship bracelet on you otherwise you'll be paying for it (lot more than its worth)
My French father insisted we tried steak tartare while we were here and it didn't disappoint. However, after about my 8th bite the texture did start to freak me out a little.
To sum up Paris:
- It is pricier than lots of other European cities but if you stay away from the big touristy restaurants you can definitely eat for cheap.
- When buying train tickets, keep in mind which zone you'll need to buy for. Zones 1-3 cover the entire city of Paris, while zones 4-5 include the suburbs. A one use ticket is €1.90 while 10 tickets is €14 and I can guarantee you'll use all 10. Use google maps to figure out which trains to take!
- Get places early to beat the crowds (especially for instagram photos)
- Never keep things in your pockets. I used my lulu belt bag and it was perfect.