France

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An Insiders Guide to Paris

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Paris is up there as one of my favourite places in the world. Technically I’m not an insider, but I have been there over 10 times so we are going to say maybe I’m almost one? I am so very lucky to have been there many times with my work, have enjoyed staying there for more than a few days at a time (my longest stint was 10 days) and I always love to go back. It holds a special place in my heart as it was the first place I ever went to in Europe and as a girl from NZ, my eyes just fell out of my head the whole week I was there.

I’d love to share with you my favourite parts of Paris - where I like to go when I have a day or evening spare, my favourite places to roam and eat. If you’d like help on how to get around in Paris, please see my ‘Navigating Paris for Beginners’ guide which includes how to use the Metro.

I’ll also share some recommendations on places to stay and good areas to base yourself as I’ve stayed all over in a range of hotels and AirBnBs at various times of year. So, if you’re off to Paris this summer (or anytime), I hope this guide will be useful and cover all the bases. Any questions? Just leave me a comment.

Click on the links below to jump to each section.

See below for my favourite must do's in Paris

Must DO’S in paris

Hotel Emile in Le Marais, as soon as you get off the metro at Saint Paul

I have many favourite places in Paris, but a few that really stand out. My absolute favourite thing to ‘do’ in Paris is to just to walk the streets, wondering about, discovering new places, cafes and parks. There are so many amazing spots in Paris and honestly I think its hard not to have a good time, but here are some of my favourite things to do. I have included rough time estimates on each of these including some half day options with a full guide of what to see and do, so you can then mix and match activities to create the perfect day(s) for you.

1.Visit le Marais / Half Day
The Marais is my favourite area of Paris, and it also happens to be the oldest. It is home to hidden alleyways, amazing street art, the jewish quarter, Place des Vosges (a must see park) and my favourite book store and pie shop / cafe. I would suggest catching the Metro to Saint Paul and heading towards Rue des Rosiers (the main jewish street). This street houses incredible jewish food with the best falafel in the city, jewish bakeries (out of this world, grab something to go) and down the far end, the coolest cafe selling slices of pie and cake made fresh each day plus your usual French cafe fare. It’s called Le Loir dans La Théière. Allow yourself a half day just to wander and soak up the architecture and culture.
Must see in le Marais: Rue des Rosiers, Place des Vosges, Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine, Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, Marché des Enfants Rouge (Paris' oldest covered market), Sainte-Chapelle Chapel, Musee Cognacq-Jay if you would like to visit a free museum.

2. The Louvre, Tuileries Garden & Arc de Triomphe / Half Day (excluding admission to Louvre)
The buildings of the Louvre are the most impressive i’ve ever seen. Anywhere. Take some time to walk around the outside, through some of the alleyways an just take in the splendour. Be on guard and careful here as there are loads of scammers around, but just be aware of your surroundings. If you plan on going in to the Louvre, book your tickets on their website ahead of time to save yourself HOURS lining up. When you arrive you can go straight into the pre booked tickets line.
From the Louvre, you can see right up through Tuileries Garden to Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe. Head in this direction and take some time to sit at one of the fountains in the garden. At Place de la Concorde there is a great lookout towards the Eiffel Tower before you go down to to ground level. From here you can walk all the way up the Champs Elysees but it’s a long hike. You could catch the metro instead, getting off at George V and walking the short distance to the Arc de Triomphe (which you access via underground tunnel). There are loads of shops here, with some notable macaron shops. Both Ladurée and Pierre Hermé Paris can be found here, and both are incredible for macaron. However, I prefer the experience at Hermé (they have pastries as well that are just works of art) and recommend sitting at the bar, ordering a cafe & pastry - but be prepared to pay top dollar! Order some macaron to go on your way out.

3. The Eiffel Tower Experience / Half Day
You can’t come to Paris and not go to the Eiffel Tower, but I suggest not just going straight there. Hit up these alternate view points, as you may be disappointed if you just go for the in front of the tower spot. When I first went to Paris 13yrs ago, it was not all cordoned off and fenced like it is now. You used to be able to wander right under, but sadly no more. I would recommend starting at Trocadéro (catch the metro to the station with the same name) and seeing the tower from across the Siene. When finished here, walk down to Siene and over to Pont de Bir Hakeim bridge (not the one right in front of the tower, it will be packed and the view is not as good, trust me!). This bridge is super romantic and the views are incredible. Now it’s time to walk to the tower and take it in from below. Carry on walking through the park (its lovely in among the trees also) and navigate to Rue de l'Université. I love the view of the tower from here.
I then recommend walking a quick 5 mins to experience Rue Cler, which is in my opinion the vest market street in Paris. A street full of market stalls and every food you can imagine plus cafes, it’s magic. You can either end your tour here & metro back to your hotel, or continue to the very impressive Hôtel des Invalides and back down to the Seine through the garden to Pont Alexandre III. This bridge is super impressive, decked out in a lot of gold. If you want to cross it, you’ll end up back by Place de la Concorde.

Combine Number 2 & 3 for a great day circumnavigating some of the best areas of Paris.

4. Visit Notre Dame on Île de la Cité + Île Saint-Louis & Hotel de Ville / 2hrs
Notre Dame is currently not open to the public due to the restoration project after the devastating fires, but it’s still worth visiting and taking in the grandeur of this building. The next little island over, Île Saint-Louis, is a real treat and the Hotel de Ville is not far away. It’s lovely to walk through Île de la Cité & Île Saint-Louis. Pass by pretty Rue Chanoinesse.

5. Take a cruise on the Seine / 1-2hrs
Paris looks so different from the water, and the batobus is a great way to take in the sights, or you could go for a proper cruise or tour if you have time. The sights along the Seine are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so needless to say it’s pretty special.

6. Take a walk around the Latin Quarter / 2hrs
This was the first area I stayed in on my very first trip to Paris. It’s lively, and full of beautiful streets, sights & food. Home to the Pantheon and incredible Luxumborg Gardens, the area has long been associated with intellectuals, artists, and bohemians.

7. Visit one of the infamous Galleries / Arcades / 2hrs
Scattered throughout Paris are hidden arcades / galleries, a beautiful part of Paris history and well worth visiting if you’re going to be in the neighbourhood. My favourite is galeries vivienne.

8. Take a Day trip to Versailles / Full Day
I’ve never seen anything quite like the Palace of Versailles. it’s opulence is unparalleled in my opinion! If you have the time, like a day up your sleeve, definitely hop on the RER and visit Versailles for the day. There’s plenty to explore between the palace itself and incredible gardens.

Make sure you visit these beautiful Parisian streets!

A Summary of My Favourite Streets:

  1. Rue des Rosiers

  2. Rue Cler

  3. Rue Montorgueil

  4. Rue Chanoinesse

  5. Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine

  6. Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie

  7. Rue de Bretagne

I have stayed in a lot of places in Paris, some really great, some not so great. See below for my recommendations.

PARIS RECOMMENDED Accommodation

Here we go - I have 3 recommendations for hotel & apartment style accommodations in Paris. I’m going to keep the recommendations limited as these are really the only ones out of all my visits that I would recommend to friends. The 3rd suggestion also offers quite a lot of options.

Hotel du Lion Dor

  1. Hotel du Lion Dor
    My number one recommendation in Paris is this hotel. The location cannot be beat. It’s super close to the Louvre, so very central and close to so many amazing sights, but is on a quiet alley / street away from the noise. It’s also very reasonably priced. The breakfast is EXCELLENT and staff just incredible. Honestly, I’ve never experienced hospitality in Paris like this hotel before. The room (a Junior family room) was also really well sized. Tell them I sent you!

  2. Hotel Spended Etoile
    Views of the Arc de Triomphe from your room anyone? This hotel is in an excellent location, with clean, decent sized rooms an a good breakfast. Plus really great views!

  3. Cobblestone Paris / Apartments
    A great option if you’re staying a while and want to do your own cooking etc. This American owned company has a variety of apartments throughout Paris. They have English speaking greeters to let you in (at least at the ones I stayed at) and the two I stayed at were really great. The best one I had was called called Le Tresor Marais (not sure if still available)

Let's talk food! My favourite topic 😆

my fave Restaurants & cafes in Paris

I don’t think you can go wrong with food in Paris (or France). I’ve NEVER had a bad meal there, but I’ve also had some that really stood out. These are my favourites that I would return to, but honestly most places you stumble in to off the street will be excellent. Just stay away from super touristy spots to avoid paying sky high prices.

Le Cafe de la Régence

  1. Le Cafe de la Régence
    On our first night in Paris on a recent trip we happened across this place. WOW. The food was next level amazing. Make sure you try the Foie gras here, it’s amazing. , the Roast Chicken and Entrecôte and Frites (steak and chips!) was also incredible. .

  2. Le Hide Paris
    I got taken here by a French coworker and have returned multiple times. Tiny restuarant close to Arc de Triomphe with incredible food. A very intimate experience.

  3. Le Musset
    Wonderful food & service, plus really beautiful florals on the outside of the building. Recommend the escargot!

  4. Le Loir dans La Théière
    My favourite place for some quiche Lorraine for lunch, and a slice of whatever pie looks best on the day!

  5. Cafe de Flore
    A bit of a French institution that did not disappoint.

    As well as eating in cafes & restaurants, make sure you experience the delights at a Boulangerie, Patisserie and crepes from a street vendor.

Le Musset goodness - a great place to try escargot

Last but not least, lets check out my favourite spots for a photo op in Paris below:

FOR THE GRAM

We all want those great shots or the gram. Obviously Paris is full of photo opportunities so you don’t have to go far. I thought I’d show you a few of my favourite images, and where they were taken.

  1. Trocadero lower level / 2. Cafe Le Voltigeur / 3. Champs Elysees / 4. Cafe Emile / 5. Junot / 6. Patrick Allain Florest / 7. Rue de l'Universite / 8. Rue des Rosiers

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Navigating Paris for beginners

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Navigating Paris for beginners

So you’re planning a trip to Paris? I’m so excited for you to get to experience this amazing city!

Let’s start with the basics - how to get around and use the Metro. Make sure you also check out my Insiders Guide to Paris for where to stay, eat and must do’s in Paris!

Paris is actually pretty easy to navigate and get around, once you get used to the layout. I would familiarise yourself with the arrondissements (like suburbs) as you will often see the arrondissements marked out on maps. Each has it’s own unique character. The 1st arrondissement is considered ‘the heart’ with the rest spiralling out in a clockwise direction to the border of Paris, and you will often hear of ‘left bank’ (the side of the city on the left of the Seine) and ‘right bank’ (the side of the city on the right of the Seine).
I find the easiest way to get around is on foot, combined with the metro. On my first trip to Paris I spent a LOT of time walking which really helps you to get your bearings. For places a little further afield or getting from one side of Paris to the other, for sure use the metro. I get that it is a little intimidating, but I’m here to help as someone who has visited the city 10+ times and used every day.
I will put a metro map below, and also recommend cross referencing this with a map of Paris, so you can see how they correlate to one another.

This blog will focus on the Metro but there is also a decent Bus network if you prefer to be above ground, or the Batobus which go up and down the Seine. You are limited with where you can go with this obviously, but it is a super pretty way to travel!


The Metro In Paris:

Paris' train network consists of two separate but linked systems: the metro and the RER. The metro is the inner city system, and the RER is Paris’ Regional Express Network, you would use this service to go further out of the centre, like to Disneyland or Versailles. The Paris Metro is really simple to use once you get your head around the way it works. Below I’ll show you how to work the metro, price of tickets, some maps and have included some safety tips as well.

Here are the main points for using the Metro:

Signs on the wall in the metro

  • The lines are all colour coordinated (super handy) and numbered. Each line has a final destination station at either end to help you with what direction you’re going. This is the most important thing to know when you head down into the station - know what colour / number line you want, and the what the final destination is in the direction you are heading.

  • As you head down into the station and get your ticket (more below), just follow the signs that shows the COLOUR line you want (the sign will show a circle with the colour and number inside), and the destination station.

  • In some stations you might only have to make 1 or 2 turns until you are at the platform, but at some of the bigger stations you could be walking for 5-10 mins. Just keep an eye on the signs with the colour you’re wanting.

  • When you arrive where you are going, keep an eye out for with Sortie / Exit you want as there may be several. For the smaller stations there will just be one exit usually.

  • TRANSFERS. Your ticket enables you to transfer (if you need to change lines), assuming you are within 90mins of when you entered the first station. Again, just look for those signs with the colour and number line you want and know which direction you’re headed and they will lead you to the correct platform.

Kiosk machines in the stations

  • BUYING TICKETS:
    Each station will have ticket vending machines which are easy to use and all have English available as an option. Use the scroller to select where you’re going, and how many tickets you want. I’m pretty sure all are also manned, so if you want to speak to someone you can.

  • TICKET PRICES:

    If you’re in Paris for more than a few days, I would recommend buying a ‘carnet’ of tickets which is basically a booklet of 10 at discounted prices. A single ticket as of Jan 2024 is 2,50 € and a carnet is 17,35 €. After you buy your ticket you will see the turnstiles you need to walk through - insert your ticket into the machine, it will pop out the other side once you walk through.

  • SAFETY:
    I’ve never had an issue on the metro, but I am hyper vigilant. Always keep your purse / wallet / bag close to your body with one hand holding on to it at all times. No phones or anything in your back pockets or bags swung around at your back. Bags in front at all times! Don’t engage with people asking for money or trying to sell you something or people trying to distract you.
    I would also recommend that you know what line and direction you’re traveling in before you head down the stairs in to the station. Its a good safety precaution to look like you know where you’re going, and recommend having an app on your phone to refer to rather than paper map fore this reason.

  • Download a Metro Ap
    I highly recommend downloading a paris metro ap that will help you with navigation, it makes it super easy. They all have a map you can refer to, or, a route guide where you just put in the station you are at and where you want to go and it will figure out the best route for you, and where to transfer etc. The one I have is just called Paris Metro Map & Routes

  • Consider Walking:

    Keep in mind that sometimes it’s actualy quicker (and more pleasant) to just walk. Because some of the big stations are huge, it can actually be quicker to just walk above ground and enjoy the sights as you go. Some of the stations are also really close together so I wouldn’t waste your money on a metro ticket. So I would save the metro for the bigger rides.

If you have any questions about how to use the Metro, let me know in the comments below!

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How to Plan A Trip to Europe - All You Need To Know

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Traveling as a family of 3 with our 12 yr old son.

Not long ago we returned from our INCREDIBLE European adventure. We spent just over a month traveling through some beautiful places in Western Europe, and I think it was the perfect itinerary! A mix of city and country, inland and coastal towns with Mediterranean beaches and even some Scottish highlands and lochs. This was our idea of the perfect vacation.

Now I should tell you, I am ALL about the planning. I love to plan holidays, even though it can be overwhelming in the beginning with where to start and knowing what to do or where to go, I love the research phase. I am the girl with spreadsheets, apps… ALL the things. It’s part of the joy of travel for me. So all of this trip, I organised myself. I understand that this is absolutely not everyones jam, so don’t worry, I’ve got your back to help you plan your next adventure, wherever it may be.

In this blog I’ll be sharing our 30 day itinerary, recommended accommodation, plus a bunch of tips and tricks on how to organise your trip and some things you need to remember. It doesn’t actually matter where you’re going, the methodology of how to build your trip is the same.

So let’s get started. I’m going to cover how to build your itinerary and choosing where to go, our 30 day itinerary with recommended accommodation, Travel Tips & Tricks including great Travel Apps to download before you go.

choosing where to go / build your itinerary

Gordes, South of France

Europe is huge with SO much variety that I believe the absolute hardest part is deciding where to go as there are literally countless options of amazing places to visit. For us, we were going on a family vacation (my husband and I plus our 12yr old son) and we really love nature and history, so we wanted an itinerary that spoke to us personally. We could have easily done any number of versions of our itinerary and added other places and it still would have been amazing - I think there really are no bad options.
BUT, how you plan your trip and putting extra thought into the kind of holiday you want is really important. Do you want to lay on the beach? Do you want big cities with culture and shows? Do you want to explore ancient ruins or visit vineyards? Maybe you want to do a little bit of each, which is totally doable. Most importantly, think about the PACE you want to have for your trip. If you don’t want to to really rushed, then I suggest sacrificing the number of places you want to visit for being able to take things a little slower. Which is what we did. Instead of trying to fit 10 countries in to 30 days, we chose 4 main areas / countries with the idea we could spend roughly a week in each: We chose London, France, Italy & Scotland.

Our 30 Day Europe Itinerary for uk, france & italy

First up, here is our itinerary outline that I used to share with my instagram audience and put in to our travel journals. I use Canva to create these types of graphics and it’s great - really easy to use too. When I got home I replaced the stock images I’d used with our own to personalise it. Having an outline is the best place to start, then you can move into organising in more detail.

Below this is the REAL itinerary where you get to see how my brain works - and how much I love excel for travel planning! 😂

On the excel spreadsheet I just started with dates, and then broke down into days / nights and added more and more detail as I booked things.

We absolutely loved our itinerary and everything we did. This was the first time both my husband and son had been to the Europe and UK, so I wanted to take them to all of my favourite places. The only place new for me was Scotland, which was an amazing experience for us all. The trip was a great mix of seeing the bigger cities with hustle and bustle and so much to see and do, with relaxing and quiet(er) places. I planned it so that following each huge busy city, we had somewhere quiet following. The South of France was such a lovely slow pace after being in London & Paris, and likewise, the Cinque Terre was welcome after Nice & Venice and preparing us for Rome! Although, the Cinque Terre is very popular, but still a relaxed vibe. Rome was the busiest, hottest place we went, but we followed it up with 10 night in Scotland which was truly magical with so much space to roam.

ACCOMMODATION planning recommendations

Accommodation is one of the biggest expenses when you travel. We chose middle the road options. We certainly could have gone cheaper, but are at the age we didn’t want to compromise comfort. I have done the backpacking thing and am beyond that now. I do a LOT of research when looking for accommodation, reading many reviews and even going to google maps to street view the locations so I know they are in a good spot. Booking.com is my favourite website for booking accommodation although I occasionally use AirBnB as well. I create a seperate tab on the spreadsheet where I have all of our accommodation listed, including booking confirmation, pricing and if breakfast was included. I will happily share the result of all my research below but have removed the two places we stayed that I would not recommend. Everywhere else is recommended, those with a rating of 5 were absolutely incredible and very special at what I thought was a reasonable rate. A rating of 4 was still really really good, just something could have been better (for example, in Rome, if the room was a little bigger it would have been perfect - so quirky and fun! And in Vernazza, Cinque Terre, the apartment was AMAZING with a rooftop terrace - but noisy at night). I’ve also included where I booked through to help you find them.

Travel Tips & Tricks

Pre Booking Attractions & Transport

Harry Potter World, book well in advance

I always pre book attractions for two reasons - a lot of the major ones sell out months in advance, or saving time in line. For example, if you want to go to Harry Potter World in London or do the Harry Potter Express (Jacobite Steam Train), you simply have to book well in advance. At the Louvre, you can go and stand in line for a ticket - but you will be there for HOURS. We paid a little extra for skip the line tickets, and it was well worth it. For HP world & the train, we booked around 3 months in advance, for the Louvre, about 2 weeks. There are a lot of queues / lines in Europe at big sites, so being prepared with a little research is going to be really helpful and ‘Skip the Line’ tickets are great. You pay a little more but are get to choose an arrival time which is so convenient when you’re traveling and have lots to see and do. Places we went that I would recommend buying tickets for in advance:
Harry Potter World, Jacobite Steam Train, The Colosseum (there are plenty of tours but be careful, we got duped on Viator), The Louvre (Skip the Line), Vatican City (Skip the Line).

Trains / busses and trains between cities and towns within Europe I leave until a little later, but I still book in advance. You can rock up and get tickets on many of the trains, but for the popular routes where you need a seat reservation - it could be fully booked up. We decided not to risk it. I started booking the biggest routes first and combined booking where possible. ie. in Italy, I booked our train from Venice to La Spezia and La Spezia to Rome on one booking.
Recommended booking sites we used are below. Do price check as there are lots of sites selling tickets at inflated rates.

ItaliaRail & Omio for Italy
SNCF & Omio for France
Scotrail for Scotland
National Rail for UK (regional trains)
Rail Europe is also a trusted site, but not always the cheapest.

Money & Communication

The biggie! We all want to be able to share our IG stories and stay in touch with loved ones easily when overseas without paying huge roaming rates. There are a few different options, you can get a local SIM when you arrive, or get an esim which I don’t know much about but you can google to find out more. I got a local SIM in London as soon as I landed from EE and it was absolutely perfect. The one I got was around 30 pounds / 60 NZD for 500gb data for 30 days and some texting and calling allowed for as well. I was mostly just concerned about data. I told those close to me at home the new number and put a voicemail on my NZ number to contact me via email. Perfect! EE are a service provided and have stores all over the place, and at Heathrow.
The other issue I lost sleep over was money. I really didn’t want to be carrying around a bunch of cash, and I didn’t want to be stung with heavy fees while trying to spend overseas or withdraw money. In the past I have just used a combination of getting cash out in country with my eftpos card and paid the $8 each time and used my credit card the rest of the time. But there is a better way! I researched travel cards and found a few, with the best overall seeming to be a Wise Card.
I had a wise account already for doing overseas banking transactions, and it seemed like it would work perfectly - and it did.
The major benefits are: 1. you can load money into different currencies at todays rate, OR, if you are not sure what the rate is doing, just leave the money in your NZ currency and it will take from there when you spend overseas. I liked loading different amounts into pounds and Euro’s so I could track a little more. 2. There is a really handy app for viewing transactions, loading and transferring funds. 3. You can can also load into Apple Pay. It’s just like a regular credit card but with VERY low fees. Amazing! You can sign up HERE, and receive a free transfer of up to 500GBP. Note that I get a kick back when you spend your first $175. Also notes that we used our card and I recommended it before their referral link came available :)

Recommended Handy Travel Apps

Visit my dedicated blog on Recommended Travel Apps - my top tips of must have apps for navigation, currency, itinerary building and transportation apps plus more.