In high school I took just one year of a foreign language. I chose French because like so many I loved the idea of going to Paris someday. I admired the pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the old Churches and beautiful bridges along the Seine. Over two decades later I was able to go and I tried to cram in every last thing I could in the time I had.

Before going I researched what I would want to see. There are 2 passes you can buy that include the admission to tourist attractions. Tip #1. I highly recommend utilizing a pass. I decided on buying the Paris Museum Pass. There is also a Paris Pass available. I had considered the full Paris Pass for the Eiffel tower and the Big Bus tour, which is a double decker sight seeing bus that you can hop on and off. I bought a 2 day Museum Pass because there were so many places included that I knew I wanted to see. I decided that I didn’t need to go up into the Eiffel Tower on this trip. I still would be able to walk by it and take pictures of course. The Museum pass included the Arc de Triomphe admission and the Notre Dame Tower tour. With these sites I’d be able to get pictures of the city sky line and that way the Eiffel Tower would be in those pictures. This ended up being a great choice for me. There are shops around the city that sell the pass and it is activated once you go into your first museum. I bought the pass on Saturday so I would have it available early the next morning to start my sightseeing adventure. Advantages to the pass are many. I would have paid more on the admission to all of the places I went if had I paid separately at each place. The pass also allowed me to skip several queues or lines. There were still security lines but often these were shorter as I got to go into a separate entrance sometimes or just skip the line and go straight to the security line. This gave me more time for other exploration. Here is a link to the museums included in the admission of the museum pass. http://en.parismuseumpass.com/

I got into the city on Saturday around 10 am. I knew I couldn’t check into my hotel until 2:00 pm so I started walking. I only brought a backpack and my purse. I packed a thin fold-able duffel bag into my backpack for the return trip so I could bring back little souvenirs for my family. Like many airlines I had to pay extra for checked bags. This way I saved money by not checking a bag on my way into Paris and I didn’t have to worry about it weighing me down on my first day exploring. Tip #2. I highly recommend packing light. Everything of value was in my purse which I wore crossbody. My phone doesn’t hold a charge too long when I am looking at maps so I had a good portable charger with me that would recharge it several times during the day. I spent most of Saturday walking. I looked at my map to get an idea of where the center of the city was and set off. I stumbled on a market and walked into a couple of shops along the way.

I stopped at a cafe to eat a quick sandwich and remembered that I should never order anything without looking at the price. I ordered a water and the price was not listed. Everything else seemed to be reasonable but I ended up paying close to €5 for a tiny bottle of water. The phrase “C’est Combien?” (How much is it) would have helped here. Tip #3. Always look or ask for the price ahead of time. I did not make this mistake again and luckily it was only a €5 mistake.

On day one I walked a lot of the touristy areas. I was starry eyed and excited and just enjoyed the architecture and ambiance around me. After about 10 miles of walking I stopped trying to keep track. I’m not sure how much I walked but it was a lot. It is a beautiful city and just walking and discovering little shops is fun. Sometime mid-afternoon I bought Metro passes. Tip #4. The Metro is a convenient and much cheaper way to get around the city. The ride tickets are €1.90 per ticket but they can be bought in a “carnet” or group of ten for a 25% reduced price. You can choose English when you are making your selection at the ticket machines. I bought the carnet and enjoyed the convenience. Like any big city or metro you need to be careful of your surroundings. In the DC area when I took the Metro there were automated messages such as “Door closing.” In Paris, the automated messages warn of pickpockets. If you are not comfortable there are other ways around the city but I found the metro to be a great option. If you have google maps it is even easier as your map will tell you which line to use, which direction to head on the line and which exit to use when leaving the metro. Because I was traveling solo I was back to my hotel around dusk each evening and not by myself in any late hours on the metro.

Saturday afternoon and evening I walked around some of the big tourist sites like The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and The Louvre and took pictures. I also went to the Jardin du Luxembourg. It is a beautiful garden with many sculptures. The garden is free and there are plenty of places for just sitting and enjoying the views. I really enjoyed the Louvre in the evening as it was already closed for awhile and not overcrowded. I was able to get some good pictures of the iconic pyramids and the buildings outside without a huge crowd.

On Sunday morning I started with Churches. Travel Tip #5. Start early. Find out what time the places that you want to go open and start at the earliest one when it opens. The crowds get larger as the day goes on. For example, Notre Dame opens at 8:00 but not as many people are there then. I went into the city early and got to Notre Dame just after 8:00 am. I was able to walk into the Church without standing in a queue. The Church is free to go inside and walk around. The ticketed items are the towers and crypt. I cannot explain the beauty and grand scale of Notre Dame. It truly is breathtaking. The detail on the outside and inside of the Church is extraordinary. I absolutely loved the gargoyles at the top of the cathedral on the tower tour. It is a medieval catholic cathedral and wow! What a beautiful example of French Gothic architecture. There is an app that you can download to get in line for the tower tour of Notre Dame. It is called “Duck the Line.” If you don’t want to use the app there are two computer stations where you can sign up located close to the entrance to the tower tour. I signed up through my app and it sent me an alert when I was 30 minutes away from my time. Once you get the alert that it is your turn you return to the entrance to the tour. When you open the app your tour time will be shown with a bar code that is scanned as you enter. I had an hour an a half total wait when I signed up. This allowed me to go see Sainte Chapelle as one of the first people in line and then return when it was time for the Notre Dame Tower tour. It also gave me time to eat a quick breakfast between sites. Sainte Chapelle is a beautiful gothic Church that is very close to Notre Dame. It is also included in the Museum Pass. It has marvelous, large stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Old and New Testament. It is well worth the time to see and as it is a smaller Church it isn’t somewhere you will spend as much of your time.

Tip #6. Prioritize what you want to see. There are so many things to do and to see in Paris. Decide what is highest on your list and find out which places are close to each other to organize your time. I am not a huge Rodin fan but I did want to see The Thinker and I had the Rodin museum and garden on my list as a place to go if I had time. I love Monet and impressionism and knew I wanted to see the huge paintings, Water Lilies at Musee de l’Orangerie. For me this was a high priority. I made it to the Rodin gardens but didn’t go inside the museum. I really enjoyed the gardens but there were some other places I just couldn’t get to and that was okay because they weren’t as high on my priority list.

Tip #7. Don’t try to see everything at the Louvre. The Louvre is beautiful and absolutely huge. There are over 35,000 pieces of art there. Have an idea ahead of time of which pieces or types of art you want to see and how long you want to stay. When you go in get a map. I planned the Louvre for my last day. I did this knowing that I had to check out of my hotel. This allowed me to lock up my backpack at the Louvre coatroom and not have to worry about carrying it around. You will know when you are getting close to the big pieces like The Mona Lisa or Venus de Milo. It will get more and more congested. There are also signs to point you in the right direction. I briefly went into the room with the Mona Lisa, because after all, it’s The Louvre. My favorites were in other parts of the museum though. Don’t forget to look up at the ceiling. The art isn’t just right in front of you and some of the ceilings are very intricate and ornate. I ate lunch at one of the small cafes inside the Louvre around 11:30 or so before it got too busy. I would also recommend this as the lines got much longer shortly after. Depending on when you come there is a security line downstairs in the Louvre as well. Many people line up outside by the pyramids. Going through the Metro to the security line under the pyramids may save some time.

Tip #8. Know the Paris scams. A quick search on the web and you’ll be able to find plenty of articles on the common scams. I read articles and watched YouTube videos ahead of time about the common scams in Paris and I did see quite a few of them. Some of the scams are just meant to distract you while someone picks your pocket. It is good to be prepared. I had one particularly forceful woman with a clipboard follow me a bit around the outside of Notre Dame. She yelled “Mam” at me several times quite loudly while I briskly walked away. I had already told her “no” when she first started to approach me. It took her some time before she gave up. I didn’t carry a lot of cash while I was there and I did not go to an ATM travelling alone. Anytime I sent a text or looked at my phone, I first looked immediately around me. It is like a lot of big cities where you need to use common sense and just be on guard. That being said, don’t be afraid of Paris. It is just always better to be prepared and to know what to watch out for.

Tip #9. Enjoy the food! Paris has amazing bakeries and is of course known for croissants, baguettes, cheese, wine, macarons and I could go on and on. Some of the shops sell small sized mini croissants and pain au chocolat which I really enjoyed. When they’re miniature you can try more of a variety! I didn’t think I liked crepes all that much but I had a great Crepe Fromage in Paris that changed my mind. I also walked into a local market and brought fresh fruit and cheese and had a little picnic for a meal. You don’t have to spend a small fortune to have great food.

Tip #10. Learn a few basic French phrases and always greet someone with “Bonjour.” (Good Morning) I had read this before going and my concierge at the hotel also told me that it is always good to start any interaction with “Bonjour.” He said he felt like the French have an unfair reputation for being rude but that there it is considered rude if you start talking to someone without first greeting them. In the U.S. it is perfectly fine to walk up to someone at a shop and say “Can you tell me where the bathrooms are please?” In France it doesn’t matter what you are asking or who you are speaking with. Always start with “Bonjour.” I took this to heart and found almost everyone to be very nice and helpful. Some other helpful phrases are “Parlez-vous Anglais?” (Do you speak English?) Especially in the heart of the city, many people do speak English. My French is extremely basic and limited but it helped being able to ask for a menu, ask for my check and properly greet people.

I hope you enjoyed my tips! If you are ever in Paris, take in all you can of this great city!