Yes, I had to emphasize “visiting for the first time” because I know my selection is probably not where you want to go if you have been there several times.

Without further ado, here is my top 5 places in Paris (in no particular order).

  • The Louvre Museum. I mean, did you even go to Paris if you didn’t go pay respect to Aunt Mona Lisa? A visit to The Louvre Museum was no doubt a MUST do on our itinerary. We opted on joining a group tour via Viator. From our experience, self-guided tour is not as enjoyable as when someone is actually guiding you on your tour, and explaining artworks/pieces in a more digestible way than when reading the description or listening to an audio guide. It is a bit pricier, but definitely worth it (but it can also depend on how good your guide is.)
Hello there 🙂 #monalisa
  • Eiffel Tower. I mean, just like The Louvre, did you even really go to Paris without braving the crowd for a mandatory photo here? I never truly appreciated a “tower” tour pretty much on any place we’ve visited (CN Tower, Willis Tower) so we did not go for an Eiffel tour but we did enjoy walking around it. I think the best place to take photo is in Place du Trocadero (it’s one of the subway stop so you def won’t get lost). And go early morning if you want to avoid other tourists. We went around 6 AM, and even then there were some tourists already (but nothing you can’t photoshop. LOL)
  • Versailles. Ok, technically not in “Paris” but close enough. You have to allocate a whole day here, unless you have a good stamina. Also, if you are not into self-guided audio tour, go with a group! This is where I quickly realized that when it comes to museums, I enjoy in more when I am only focusing visually on the art/masterpiece (not reading random descriptions on the wall). Palace of Versailles is stunning! It was built to impress by Louis XIV. We did not have enough time and stamina to explore the entire palace, but you bet I made sure I took photos in the Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors). It’s definitely one of the places I would like to visit again! Someday!
  • Montmartre. This was the first area we explored because it was near our Airbnb. We enjoyed our first afternoon in Paris with a panoramic view of Paris from Sacré-Cœur Basilica. And when it got darker we walked around Montmartre, saw lots of sex/erotic stores, and then found myself taking channeling Marilyn Monroe in front of the Moulin Rouge. LOL.
  • Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Where damage occurred! Walking around Champs-Elysees felt like I was in Rodeo Drive, but like 10 times better because it’s tax free, and much cheaper. I bought several babies here! 🙂

We only stayed in Paris for 3 days, then continued our tour in Italy and Switzerland, but we did come back for 1 more day because our flight was departing in Paris. On that day, we visited Notre–Dame de Paris, and did more shopping till I questioned my sanity.

If you guys wanted our 2 week itinerary (Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Zurich), message me or comment below. Thanks for stopping by!

Till next post!

Nate

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